<p>Son does great in school and our school is not considered easy by any means. Obviously he is one of these kids that doesn't do well on standardized tests. He went to the prep course and his score went down from the practice tests so that was not useful.
Do colleges eliminate him due to low SAT's and high GPA? Looking at a lot of schools with lower GPA averages but higher SAT scores and don't know how to match him now.
He is a soccer player and being recruited by about 10 schools. U. Of Rochester said they are concerned he won't get in due to SAT's.
Any suggestions?<br>
Thank you!</p>
<p>SDmom: check out the list of schools that are test optional and see if any of those are on your son’s list for recruitment for soccer…</p>
<p>[The</a> National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org%5DThe”>http://www.fairtest.org)</p>
<p>No they are not.</p>
<p>Did you pay for the score reports? This will give you the info of how he actually did on the tests…whether he “ran out of time” and which types of questions give him trouble.</p>
<p>If not, then you can go back into SAT and ACT and backorder some of these score reports.</p>
<p>Is he being recruited for a full athletic scholarship or a partial athletic scholarship? That can make a difference for affordability - if that’s an issue.</p>
<p>rochester is quite a stretch because of those scores.</p>
<p>1000 out of 2400? or 1600?</p>
<p>First test 540 Math, 490 Reading. Second test 530 Math, 470 Reading. 540 Writing.</p>
<p>He is looking at D3 schools. Merit Aid is what he hopes for. Looking at many top academic schools and some middle of the road which is where he may end up.</p>
<p>^given that ACT is 22, i’m guessing it’s out of 1600</p>
<p>Merit Aid is what he hopes for.</p>
<p>Merit aid is unlikely with those scores. </p>
<p>Merit aid isn’t based on GPA alone since many kids have high GPAs. Kids have to have high GPAs and high test scores to get merit aid. Unfortunately, your son’s test scores put him in the 62-69 percentile. </p>
<p>The way merit scholarships work is this…</p>
<p>A large pool of applicants have high GPAs
A smaller pool of applicants have high test scores
An even smaller pool of applicants have high test scores AND high GPAs - those are the kids that get merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Only some schools give merit scholarships and they are given to those whose test scores are in the upper 25% of their applicants. </p>
<p>I don’t know of any schools that will give merit scholarships for those stats since an ACT 22 or similar SAT is likely going to be in the lower 25% of students.</p>
<p>If these schools are not affordable, then you probably need to consider a different list of schools.</p>
<p>You will need to rely on the coaches to tell you if they can get him in, they know. Yes, colleges do eliminate many students on the basis of scores. GPAs mean different things at different schools, test scores round out the picture.</p>
<p>You are probably not looking at top academic schools, so focus on schools with score averages under 1200 where a coach who wants him may be able to pull him in.</p>
<p>It may also be worth trying an excellent one-on-one tutor to at least get the scores well into the 500s.</p>
<p>If the 4.1 puts him in the top 10% of his class, I’d contact the coaches at the top schools on the optional list to see if they are interested.</p>
<p>Even if he can get into these schools (maybe with coach assistance), his scores will keep him from getting scholarships. If scholarships are needed for attendance, then these schools won’t work.</p>
<p>Merit scholarships at nearly all schools are not awarded by GPA alone. Test scores are also used.</p>
<p>Thank you for the info. My oldest son only had a 3.5 and scored about the same and did get merit aid from U. of Redlands (13,500), Cal Lutheran (10,000) and Linfield (8000). I don’t think he’ll get anything from the high academic schools but I think we will look at private tutoring and take again in Sept.</p>
<p>I know a girl with 3.6 UW GPA and 1600 SAT who received $10,000 merit scholarship from the University of the Pacific and the University of San Diego (renewable each year). She also received sizeable merit scholarships from Seattle University and the University of San Francisco.</p>
<p>since only standardized tests are bringing down an otherwise great applicant, apply to some of these schools:</p>
<p>[27</a> Top Colleges Don’t Require the SAT or ACT - ABC News](<a href=“27 Top Colleges Don't Require the SAT or ACT - ABC News”>27 Top Colleges Don't Require the SAT or ACT - ABC News)</p>
<p>what is the family income? (to see if you qualify for financial aid)</p>
<p>Thank you for the info. My oldest son only had a 3.5 and scored about the same and did get merit aid from U. of Redlands (13,500), Cal Lutheran (10,000) and Linfield (8000).</p>
<p>Be sure to look at the websites to see if the scholarships are still the same. Many colleges change their scholarships every year. Because if your older son had similar M+CR SAT scores (between 1000 - 1100), Cal Lutheran will now only give $5k per year. </p>
<p>[CLU</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Financial Aid | CLU](<a href=“http://www.callutheran.edu/financial_aid/grants_scholarships/undergraduate/clu_scholarships.php]CLU”>http://www.callutheran.edu/financial_aid/grants_scholarships/undergraduate/clu_scholarships.php)</p>
<p>The amount of the annual merit scholarship needed may depend on the school’s Cost of Attendance. Is that correct?</p>
<p>How much do you want to have to pay each year?</p>
<p>CLU doesn’t follow that exact chart. My other son was between two but they gave him the largest amount. GPA qualified him for the lower amount but his ACT (25) gave him the higher amount so he got $10K per year. We were hoping to pay around $30-35K after merit.</p>
<p>Only college on the list that has been recruiting him for soccer is Muhlenberg. Going there next week. He’s a goal keeper so very specialized position.</p>
<p>Would Penn State-University Park interest your son? Or is it too big? GPA is much more important to their admissions than SAT scores:</p>
<p><a href=“http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/bubble_chart06.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.psu.edu/info/counselors/bubble_chart06.pdf</a></p>
<p>It’s about a 2.5 - 3 hour drive from Allentown to State College if you would want to visit while you’re in PA.</p>
<p>I think they are D1 and he wants a D2 or D3 school.</p>