3.0 to 3.3 (GPA) Parents Thread (2011 HS Graduation)

Parent Cafe
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<p>WestWing - you are in the right place. Your reach schools are pretty reachy, for anyone, and you’re going to need matches and safeties. </p>

<p>You’ll learn a lot on this thread about the current seniors. You’ll also want to look for the 3.0-3.3 thread for your graduating class, and there are other B-student threads that talk about lots of great options.</p>

<p>I don’t recall all of the details about your post, but a school that’s popping into my head is American. But it’s still kind of a high match for you. I don’t know how geographically broadly you are looking, but Lewis and Clark in Portland, OR is also a good school for you to look at.</p>

<p>Look at the Colleges That Change Lives website. Most of those schools are very attainable for B-students, and many are test-optional (I don’t remember where you are with test scores). There are great things happening in Poli Sci and related majors at many wonderful colleges all over the country. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Congrats Emmy!</p>

<p>Westwing, Emmy’s advice is very sound</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice!!! I’ll definately take a look at that website</p>

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<p>I looked at your post again - you clearly have excellent test scores, and it’s likely that colleges will take your rigorous private school into consideration with your grades. </p>

<p>There are lots of people here that have had kids whose grades aren’t quiet up to their test scores, or maybe their grades were on an upward trend, like yours. You will find schools that will work for you.</p>

<p>I’m guessing, but it sounds like you’ve only been around people who talk about the most selective, most elite schools in the country. It’s important for pretty much every college applicant to understand what’s out there among schools that are a few notches down in selectivity, because as we’ve seen on CC, even the kids with the best stats in the world might not get into any of the highly selective schools on their list.</p>

<p>It’s also really important to find schools that you know for sure that you can get into, and know you can afford - and that you LIKE. For many kids, it’s their state public school, but sometimes that just doesn’t work - either they truly don’t like it, or it doesn’t have the programs they want, or it’s either too selective (like Mich or Va) or not rigorous enough. </p>

<p>I hope you have a good guidance counselor, who understands that everyone at your school might not be able to go only to the tippy-top colleges.</p>

<p>There is a terrific cluster of schools in the NY/PA area - and yabeyabe can tell you many details - that are very good matches for a student like you, and also great for sports. My brother, for example, chose Lafayette many years ago, particularly for its soccer team (I don’t know how it is now, but I’m just using that as an example - I’m sure you have way better sources for soccer programs among the people you play with). I’ll go on a limb and throw out some names like Colgate, Union, Conn College … yabe, you got more to say on this? Soccer and Poli Sci?</p>

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<p>Another thing - there was a thread several months ago about “lopsided” kids (search that word). It was very specifically about kids whose grades were split among things they did well in and things they didn’t, or kids with better grades than scores and vice versa. Lots of good advice about schools that were understanding, and about how to present your information to them.</p>

<p>I’m rotten at links - maybe someone else can make that happen?</p>

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<p>I’m still searching for the lopsided thread, but quick question. If i could get my gpa up to a 3.3 and SAT up to 2250 do you think I’d have a chance at any of those schools? Or I’m I being unrealistic? (I’m not sure if it would make a difference that my brother went to NYU for undergrad and UVA for law schooll and my dad went to UMich of business school is that considered legacy?)</p>

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<p>WestWing: Here’s a general vision of “chances” -</p>

<p>Every school will say what test scores and GPAs they have accepted in the past. It’s often on their website, on the College Board website, and in the Common Data set. You can usually find what stats the top 25% of their accepted students had, the middle 50% had, and the bottom 25% had. You can find out where your stats fall, and statistically you have a decent “chance” if you are in the their middle 50%, and a good chance if you’re in the top 25%.</p>

<p>If they admitted someone with a 2.5 and a 1500 SAT, for example, even in their lowest 25% of accepted students, then they could do it again. But of course that’s not the only criteria they use - maybe students with lower stats had other qualities that they want. I know you know about this because you talk about legacy, ECs and other factors. But if your stats are within their accepted numbers, you have “a chance,” period.</p>

<p>The other numbers you have to look at are the total percentage of applicants they accept among those who apply. If they accept fewer than 20% of applicants, nobody can count on being admitted. If they take 30-40% of applicants, then everyone who applies only has a “chance,” but with those numbers they still most likely reject students who have the “right” stats just because they don’t have room. A school that accepts 70-80% of applicants is one where you can be confident that if your stats match, you will most likely be accepted.</p>

<p>Find some schools that have high acceptance rates, and where you are in the top 25% of applicants. Then you can apply to other schools where your chances are more in the middle, or even longshots. How many potential rejections you can handle is up to you - my D will probably be rejected from half of her schools (some are academic high match/reaches where she is in the middle 50% of applicants, and others are very selective auditioned programs), and she is gearing herself for that. Another kid might not want to go through the hassle and would try for surer bets. Nothing is right or wrong.</p>

<p>Use numbers, make sure you have some safety schools, and then go for whatever you personally feel comfortable with or excited about. I wish people could make you feel more confident about those highly selective schools, but with their acceptance rates it’s never possible to predict what will happen.</p>

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<p>WW, I believe there is a CC forum for African-American students; I think they can point you to some special programs where you can draw the attention of many schools who will pay for visits, etc. They may also offer guidance on whether schools where the avergae GPA is much above yours (such as Amherst, which was on your list) may not be realistic.</p>

<p>With soccer, a lot depends on how much time you want to devote to sports. In general, Division 1 schools require enormous amounts of time; Division 3 less time and Club soccer even less.</p>

<p>With schools, you need to focus on size of school; how close to a city you prefer; and how close to home. In addition, you need to consider how large an African-American presence you prefer, bearing in mind that many of the schools which will offer you the richest aid packages may have small minority communities they hope to increase.</p>

<p>I think Emmy’s list of schools was excellent; others to consider are Hamilton; Oberlin; Johns Hopkins; Brandeis; Emory and Tufts. At an easier level of admission, Gettysburg, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, St. Josephs and Muhlenberg are good schools.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

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<p>Emmy- Congrats on Goucher and Montclair State. </p>

<p>This would not change my perception to go or not to go - each student is responsible for their own behavior - but wanted you to be aware. There is a lot of talk about this in our community.</p>

<p>[</a>" + pageTitle + "](<a href=“http://www.thequindecim.com/news/alcohol-drug-related-incidents-reach-high-1.1749012]”>http://www.thequindecim.com/news/alcohol-drug-related-incidents-reach-high-1.1749012)</p>

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<p>Thanks, cherryhill. This is important news to read. I was impressed with the candor and forcefulness of how the College people responded to the issue. </p>

<p>I have one D in college and one about to enter. I know practically everyone says this on CC, but I can say honestly that my kids DO NOT drink, have a physical aversion to alcohol and a strong dislike of all alcohol-related behaviors. D1 certainly knows that it exists at her college, but she has found ways to live the kind of life she wants, and have the kinds of friends that support her disinterest in drinking. D2 will have to figure this out, too, I presume, but I know it isn’t always easy. Both girls did try to avoid campuses where drinking is a large part of the accepted student culture, but they both know that it’s nearly impossible to find a school where it plays no part at all.</p>

<p>Sadly, the issues described at Goucher could happen anywhere, and I do fear that one of my kids could end up faced with a truly horrible situation like this. I only hope that at any college, the administration will be as direct about how they plan to deal with this problem, and that the students who want to stop it will take as strong steps as the Goucher student leaders. They are right: a small minority of destructive students can’t ruin a place where 90% of the students won’t stand for it.</p>

<p>This is a topic we parents need to keep present in our minds as we send our kids where a positive community culture can so easily be upended by negativity and disrespect. Hopefully we can help our kids be part of the force that keeps community strong and moving in the right direction.</p>

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<p>Another thing: My D would prefer not to go to a small college. She has a few on her list because of specific things she liked about them, but neither one of my kids felt comfortable with the idea of a small school, in a small or non-existent town, where all of the social activities revolved around campus life. It’s so common that “partying” becomes the focus, and they felt that being at a larger campus, and one that has good access to the outside world, would help them avoid the usual college behavioral pitfalls. Goucher does have great access to “civilization,” which is good. But the negative aspects of its small size and small-school culture may be what ultimately makes my D decide against it.</p>

<p>D2 is at a private university with about 5,000 undergrads and great big-city access, and she’s found that for her being able to get off campus and remember there’s a real world out there is very healthy.</p>

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<p>Emmybet, on last year’s B thread, 2 or more kids wound up at Goucher–Gweeta was one of the posters. If Goucher stays a serious contender–and I think it is a very good school near 2 good cities–you might wish to reach out to them.</p>

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<p>Excuse me, meant to say D1 in that last part.</p>

<p>Thanks, yabe. I’ll check that out. Man, this next 6 weeks is going to be eventful! We never did this with one-and-done D1. Nor with H and I. I got in somewhere rolling, and the April answers were anticlimactic; H only applied to a couple of schools, got a nice surprise that was a no-brainer choice. </p>

<p>D’s brains are going to be sore working through her decision! But that’s what she wanted, and I’m proud she went through this.</p>

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<p>She is a great kid, who will make a great choice out of great options</p>

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<p>EB - I’m pretty sure that statistics show that the big schools are the ones that have much more of a drinking problems then the small ones. Specifically, big public colleges in rural areas, like PSU typically have more of a drinking atmosphere. Small colleges that put a value on Community Service and alcohol education are less likely to produce the binge drinking atmosphere. I remember reading several articles about this a few years ago when there was a regular poster on this forum that worked professionally with young people and alcohol abuse.</p>

<p>I’ve also heard good things about Goucher and wish that I visited it with my middle child. Too many good colleges, not enough time!</p>

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<p>Yes, kathie, I agree about that, too. We live 20 minutes from UW-Madison, and after seeing the “Bar Buses” on game days and reading our newspaper growing up, they were pretty turned off by that, too. When I described their thinking, I was trying to show how they felt, personally, not trying prove a point. I apologize if I did. D2 even ended up applying to couple of schools that are in the “middle of nowhere,” actually. Her main interest is in the school itself, not so much a “type.” Location and type were much more important to D1, although she was a very high stat kid and knew that every school on her list was going to have top-notch academics, plus her major is not hard to find.</p>

<p>This won’t faze us. I do believe that Goucher (or fill-in-the-blank college) can definitely heal their community from this strange aberration and move forward. That is the nice thing about small colleges with strong leadership.</p>

<p>I do think that for some kids, based on their personality, it’s nicer knowing that there are a few thousand more people around where they can feel sure they can find their group of friends, and a bigger campus where they can avoid the partiers. But that’s just the flipside of the coin, not something that’s inherently “better.” </p>

<p>I know size and location will play into D2’s choices, but obviously it wasn’t such a big deal that she only applied to schools that met exact criteria for both. It will be interesting to see how she thinks when the time comes. And absolutely - she is very fortunate that things are turning out so positively for her, regardless of what happens with the next group of schools.</p>

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<p>The 3 schools whose alumni I have found talk the most about drinking being a collegiate fixture are Penn State, Duke and Dartmouth, so think it is a nationwide issue. At city schools, more of the drinking tends to be off campus, because city bars are regarded as cooler.</p>

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<p>We could talk about this all day - and sometimes it is a good thing to talk about! - but I’ll point out that regardless of my own personal opinions about (or the law against) college drinking, there are many kids who do like a “party” atmosphere, and that’s just the way it is. On college review sites you’ll see plenty of otherwise seemingly intelligent and nice kids who say they don’t want a campus that has “no” parties because they find them fun. I’d like to think they don’t prefer people blacking out and smashing pumpkins in their dorm bathrooms, but parties, and even drinking, isn’t purely a “negative” to lots and lots of people (parents included, I’d even say).</p>

<p>My D being kind of artsy has had to think a lot about many of her schools’ reputations for pot-smoking, or just smoking in general. We did see what we felt was too much smoking at one school (it was raining, and there were kids smoking in every available covered doorway) and definitely passed a group of kids smoking weed during one college tour, which contributed to her being turned off. Yet on CC and in other places we’ve heard many stories about kids who manage to find “their kind” at schools where smoking, as well as drinking is fairly prevalent. </p>

<p>What my D1 says about her experience compared to other people she knows is that it’s been important to her that she has lots of friends who don’t drink, but just as important that her friends who DO drink are respectful of her abstinence. Many of her friends at other schools have been pressured to drink, or certainly frowned upon if they don’t, by the majority of people they know. Also, even at places where drinking seems less of a “fixture” there can be a huge increase when they turn 21, and kids are pressured to get blitzed on their birthday. So maybe they just have respect for the law, but not for individual choice.</p>

<p>I guess everyone has to find their own way with this - I’ve heard ups and downs of “dry” campuses (people leave to party, nothing to do, a lot of drunk driving), as well as everything else. </p>

<p>I don’t think people should get turned off by schools because of storied drinking, but they should figure out enough about themselves to be sure that what they want and need is present. </p>

<p>On another thread there was a long talk about how overnight visits are often ruined by the college students’ seeming to try to “impress” the prospies with how drunk they get. We have a long way to go in this country to improve this situation in general, but it’s a shame when one experience colors someone’s impression of an entire institution.</p>

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<p>Any other B student parents have an opinion whether it is better for our students to go to a school where they will be one of the best students there? One where they will have to work to keep up? Or one where they are not distinctive (in terms of ability) one way or another? D is being courted by a couple of schools, and for at least one her stats are very high for the school plus they were impressed with her ECs. For the SUNYs , when it comes to stats/abilities (I know they are not the same) she will either be right in the middle, or a little high or low depending on which school.</p>

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<p>One issue is the possibility for merit money - being at the top of the applicant pool will increase that potential. The rest depends on the individual kid. Some will be motivated to work harder to keep up if they are a “lower” student. Others will quickly become frustrated. For some kids - being at the top of the class will be a new experience - and one that they will relish - and that will increase their academic self-confidence. But others could find themselves bored and unchallenged. So - this will really depend on the individual kid and what motivates them the most.</p>