<p>I’m a student at Clemson right now. If you have any questions or concerns about Clemson, let me know here or send me a message!</p>
<p>I agree, your son will be a person of interest to many selective schools. I would accentuate the positive (GPA, rank, ACT) and not worry too much about his SATI. (He will, however, need to take a couple of SATIIs). </p>
<p>I also agree that his ECs are fine, even for the more selectives. Depending on the school Eagle Scout can be a plus – and a “fit definer.” Even though he hasn’t continued with Scouting, participation in outdoorsy activities is also a plus at some schools. Same for academic achievement + sports. Some colleges gravitate toward more active kids who will join club teams, not necessarily varsity.</p>
<p>In similar ambience to Carleton, he should take a look at Williams, Hamilton, Middlebury, Kenyon. </p>
<p>Williams has excellent math and science departments, likes athletes and probably has more Eagle Scouts per square foot than any other college. CS department is solid-- not a destination in itself, but supportive of math and science. Middle road politically. No merit though.</p>
<p>^^I would suggest Amherst as closer social fit to Carleton than Williams… :)</p>
<p>I am surprised that you aren’t looking into these schools too:</p>
<p>Georgia Tech – great school, one of the best and close to home
Cooper Union
Rose Hulman</p>
<p>I really like RPI, I am glad that it is on your list.</p>
<p>However, Amherst is probably not a good academic fit, due to its limited selection of math, CS, and physics courses.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/mathematics/courses/1112S[/url]”>2012 Spring | Courses | Amherst College;
<a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/computer_science/courses/1112S[/url]”>2012 Spring | Courses | Amherst College;
<a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/physics/courses/1112S[/url]”>2012 Spring | Courses | Amherst College;
<p>Yes, there is the five college consortium, but does it make sense to go to Amherst in order to take math and CS courses at the relatively inexpensive state school (University of Massachusetts - Amherst) that has the strongest offerings on those subjects among the consortium members? (University of Massachusetts - Amherst does not have a particularly high reputation in general, but does have a good reputation in CS and a decent reputation in math and physics.) Might as well apply to University of Massachusetts - Amherst if the five college consortium is of interest.</p>
<p>Personally, I think the student personalities of Amherst and Williams are indistinguishable, but I’d give Williams the edge for Math/Science.</p>
<p>Might also look at Holy Cross-good diversity for a LAC, strong academics, students love the school. HC is in Worcester where WPI is located(imo Holy Cross has better campus).</p>
<p>@Osakadad - GaTech was actually the first school we visited and we were pleasantly surprised. However, I have since learned that GaTech is a sink or swim type school - large classes taught by TAs, not a whole lot of support for students, so it has gone down to the bottom of our list for now. Cooper Union is too small, and we haven’t looked at Rose Hulman yet - thanks for the suggestion. Also, we’re not entirely sure he’s going to be an engineer, so we’re a little hesitant to go entirely engineering.</p>
<p>@pierre0913 - Do you know anything about Clemson’s Honors College?</p>
<p>@bluebayou - Yes, he did take the ACT with the essay. However, he only scored a 7, which I hope will not be a deal-breaker.</p>
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<p>Looks like from [GT’s</a> schedule of classes](<a href=“https://oscar.gatech.edu/pls/bprod/bwckschd.p_disp_dyn_sched]GT’s”>Select Term or Date Range) that, for freshman and sophomore math courses, they follow the model of a large lecture led by a faculty member, broken up into smaller groups with TAs. There are smaller honors courses available, but only [by</a> invitation](<a href=“http://www.math.gatech.edu/node/977]by”>http://www.math.gatech.edu/node/977).</p>
<p>Op, what is his complete ACT breakdown? </p>
<p>Although the 7 for the essay isn’t ideal, given the strength of the rest of his application I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. The adcoms are much more interested in his GPA, rigor, and ACT scores (think they’ll barely glance at that given everything else).</p>
<p>@jkiwmom - </p>
<pre><code> 35 English
35 Math
34 Reading
36 Science
7 Essay
31 Combined English/Writing
</code></pre>
<p>Reader95 My son is in the Honors College at Clemson. He’s a Mechanical Engineering major who has taken a lot of Computer Science and Math. We’re from PA and he’s been very happy with Clemson and the Honors College. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!!</p>
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<p>SAT IIs? Not necessarily. Most colleges, including many of the most selective, will accept the ACT with writing in lieu of SAT I *and *SAT IIs. It’s only a tiny handful that require SAT IIs for those submitting the ACT: Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Franklin Olin Engineering, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, MIT, Princeton, Webb Institute, and Williams. That’s about it, as far as I know. Everywhere else he should be good to go with that terrific ACT score. </p>
<p>Some additional colleges “recommend” SAT IIs but don’t require them; for those schools, it’s a judgment call as to whether a stand-alone stellar ACT makes a stronger case than a stellar ACT accompanied by somewhat weaker SAT IIs. Double-check the admissions websites of any schools he’s interested in, though, as these things change.</p>
<p>My son plans to retake the SAT in March. I’m hoping he is able to raise his essay score (it was a mediocre 6 last spring). Given that his ACTs were so high, at what level would it be worthwhile to release his SAT scores if he’s able to do a lot better on the essay? (In other words, if he scored close to his PSATs (67/80/62 for a total of 209) or a little better, would it still be better to ignore the SATs, say if he got a 10 on the essay?)</p>
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<p>2300+. (Yes, seriously.) A 35 is outstanding, and since you are still focusing on the SAT, I’m guessing that you live on the east coast? The essay itself is just not that important. Where it matters for the SAT is the W score. And increasing from 1900 to 2300 without a LOT of practice, will be extremely difficult.</p>
<p>But, if you are concerned about the essay, I’d suggest retaking the ACT+W. btw: the essay directions for the ACT are different than they are for the SAT essay and students need to recognize that fact for maximum scoring.</p>
<p>Reader95, the Calhoun Honors College is fantastic. I’ll leave you with some links for some basic info about the college and if you have any further questions let me know!</p>
<p>[Why</a> Honors at Clemson? : Clemson University](<a href=“Apply”>Apply)
[Honors</a> Classes : Clemson University<a href=“links%20to%20other%20honors%20college%20benefits%20on%20the%20left%20side”>/url</a>
<a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/cuhonors/documents/honorsbrofall2011FINALAug18.pdf[/url]”>http://www.clemson.edu/cuhonors/documents/honorsbrofall2011FINALAug18.pdf](<a href=“Apply”>Apply)</a>
[Schedule</a> a Visit with honors staff : Clemson University](<a href=“Apply”>Apply)</p>
<p>PS: if you only apply and send your ACT score (Clemson accepts the ACT), I think you would be a great candidate for the National Scholars Program. Only 10-15 people get in every year but all expenses are taken care off, you get study abroad opportunities, close mentoring and a bunch of cool stuff. Take a look!
[More</a> Than Just a Scholarship : Clemson University](<a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/academics/programs/national-scholars/]More”>National Scholars Program)</p>
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<p>According to the official ACT-SAT concordance, a 35 composite ACT is equivalent to 1560 SAT CR+M. Based on his PSAT CR+M of 146, it seems unlikely his SAT score would match what he did on the ACT. There is a little softness in the ACT writing score, though. Again according to the official concordance, a combined ACT English + Writing of 31 is equivalent to an SAT W of 690. Adding that to his CR+M-equivalent would give him a combined SAT equivalent of 2250. That’s an awfully high score, and stronger on the CR and M portions (or their ACT equivalent) which are more important at many schools than the writing score.</p>
<p>I’d say it wouldn’t hurt to take the SAT and to re-take the ACT aiming for a higher essay score, but I wouldn’t expect miracles. The ACT score he has is terrific and will make him competitive at many schools.</p>
<p>^^ugh, correction to my post above: just read through your original post and your son probably wouldn’t get into the national scholars program because of his EC’s (and the fact he isn’t #1 in his HS). However he is still definitely a strong candidate for the Calhoun Honors College!</p>
<p>I looked through the criteria of your colleges and if you want to get him out of the southern small town environment, I’d suggest maybe looking at a school like Georgia Tech or Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh’s a great city, I visited there once and it’ll be a great experience too since it’sin the north! haha). I can attest that the areas where RPI and WPI are less than ideal locations to go to school. (I live not that far from WPI) As for this aspect, Clemson is a small town so that may be a reason not to consider it. In addition, diversity needs work at Clemson. I’m asian but most people here are white. Clemson is not a small school but it isn’t hard at all to get individual attention if you ask for it! There are tons of study abroad programs and the math/science programs are fantastic.</p>
<p>Agree with Bluebayou, don’t bother with the SAT’s retakes. He could retake the ACT after some prepping (mainly for the essay/writing portion), but I’d be happy with the scores he has. My S had a 2300 on the SAT (800cr, 790, w, 710 m). Did the math score bother him? Yes. Did he retake? No. Your son’s ACT’s are already extremely high and enough to help him with admissions to the top schools. I’d leave it be, but see what your son feels.</p>