A little advice for DD-rising senior

<p>I know there is a board for SAT/ACT but I'm hoping since I have tried to help others on this board that some parents will weigh in on this for me.
DD is a rising HS senior. My older son is a rising college middler at NEU. His application process bears no resemblance to DDs.<br>
DD wants to study elementary education. Wants California only. Current list:
Pepperdine, UoP, Santa Clara, Whittier, Cal Lutheran, U Redlands, maybe Chapman.
Took the SATs twice. Scores were pretty consistent:
best combined: CR: 660, Math 580, Writing 710, Essay 9. </p>

<p>I really felt that she wouldn't do better with a third SAT. In fact, second time around her math score was up a bit but CR was down the same amount so still a 1950. </p>

<p>She took the ACT in June. Combined score 30. English: 31, Math: 27, Reading: 31, Science: 29. Essay 9</p>

<p>I don't think she will take it again. </p>

<p>So, finally the question. Submit just the ACT, just the SAT or both? She did not submit any scores at test date because the financial is not a big consideration for us. </p>

<p>Gpa: 4.38w/3.85 uw/ Class Rank 18/263. </p>

<p>Good ECs: Dance 14 years, riding 10 years, assist weekly at Therapeutic riding center since 7th grade, works 20 hours per week...
Great recs. </p>

<p>Any CA schools I'm missing here?</p>

<p>ebeeeee - Am I missing something here? 30 ACT, high grades, high class rank -- what's not to like? I'm sure your D would be accepted at some more competitive schools than those listed, but as you have said, she marches to a different drummer.</p>

<p>PS, you might consider adding Loyola Marymount and Occidental to the list.</p>

<p>I notice that there aren't any state schools on your list- is she out of state?</p>

<p>If she is, I would add Univ of San Diego (catholic but only about 50% of students are catholic great location) and Scripps College to the list. USC?
What were SAT IIs? That is a competitive ACT score</p>

<p>Is she dancing and riding in college? That may whittle the list down fast.</p>

<p>How about University of San Francisco or Mills? Good for you daughter to be pursuing an education degree - we need really talented kids like her to do that.</p>

<p>Is your daughter very set on majoring in Elementary Education (or in any kind of education, for that matter)? That won't be possible at all of the schools listed, but I don't think it's necessarily a reason to rule them out, as some will still open up plenty of opportunities within the field. I happen to be thinking of Scripps, USC, and LMU, but I imagine the same is true about a few others.</p>

<p>Thanks all. She probably won't ride or dance in college. She is not a competitive person at all. She has been riding for all those years and has done one show.<br>
She dances because she loves it and the dance studio owner and her husband are very close friends. She also works as the receptionist for the studio.
I have been trying to add Oxy to the list..will push harder for that. I also thought of USD and LMU. I will ask her to reconsider those.<br>
She rejected Mills as too small and USF as too urban.
UCs while some are more competitive are too big for her. </p>

<p>We feel Pepperdine and Occidental might be reaches...would you send ACT or SAT scores? Both?</p>

<p>She will probably not take any SAT IIs. I expect only her English AP grades will be good.</p>

<p>According to the most recent conversion charts, your d's ACT score of 30 compares to an SAT score of 1980–2010; her SAT of 1950 compares to an ACT of 29.
Estimated</a> Relationship between ACT Composite Score and SAT CR+M+W Score</p>

<p>Her CR & M, though, often considered the most important parts of the SAT, combines to a score of 1240. Eliminating the essay portion, that corresponds to an ACT score of 27, while an ACT of 30 compares to 1330-1350.
SAT-ACT</a> Concordance Tables</p>

<p>Given this latter concordance, I'd advise sending the ACT alone. And if she's not applying to the UCs, she may be able to send the ACT in lieu of SAT IIs as well.</p>

<p>I see your point Chedva. Would it make any sense to see if any of the schools consider the writing score and send both ACT and SAT to those schools?
I think they are all matches with the exception of Redlands which is a safety but we might see some merit money.....</p>

<p>If a school considers the writing section, then I'd send both, since her writing score is so good. But in all cases, I'd send the ACT which is higher no matter how you slice it.</p>

<p>I'd definitely consider Scripps and Oxy. And given how you describe her, she might find Dominican University (San Rafael) of interest. They are well known for teacher preparation, it is a pretty suburban campus with easy access to SF and Berkeley if needed for diversions (also easy to get to airport), and it would be possible for her to continue riding or work with one or more excellent local therapeutic riding programs. She would definitely meet their admissions standards and might be in line for some merit money.</p>

<p>Had a D who also only wanted CA till we took a trip to OR (which won by a landslide). You might check out a CSU like Sonoma State which is great for education. (take a look at their Hutchins school Hutchins</a> School of Liberal Studies and education major site Welcome</a> to the School of Education ) How about St. Mary's Moraga?</p>

<p>I have noticed a trend here in the oc lately of oc kids going to sonoma state- it seems to have become popular; Chico state also has an excellent honors program she fits parameters for; calif cal states are known for excellent teacher training</p>

<p>But I think you have on your list the main privates -- some are matches some she would be in merit offer range.</p>

<p>Another vote to not send the SAT scores. An ACT score of 30 looks much, much better.</p>

<p>Warn her. Redlands is not as good as it sounds. The stats are great though.
My sister did her Masters at CSUSB, and she liked it, and I have a family friend whose daughter is at Sonoma State, and she also loves the program so far. For education, Pepperdine and UoP seem a little intense. She looks like she really cares about location. She should be happy with all of those (except Redlands, nothing but regrets there, bad air, boring town, average education)</p>

<p>Oxy's midrange ACT is 26-30 and I second St. Mary's Moraga and Sonoma State. SSU is small, rural/suburban and the campus is lovely! </p>

<p>UOP is a great school but the city of Stockton has a lot of crime.</p>

<p>If she wants to come out of 4 years of college with certification to teach elementary school, without taking supplementary courses, she needs to make sure the schools have the program. Otherwise she will need to take needed courses outside of the school. Often kids do that. Around here the state schools seem to have the courses, and it is smarter to pay for them separately rather than through a private school in a joint program because it is much less expensive that way.</p>

<p>I'm going to Sonoma this fall, and your D seems like she'd be perfect for it. It's one of the smallest CSUs and they have an excellent education program. The staff is incredible...amazingly helpful, all of them that I've met so far. And it's in a gorgeous town.</p>

<p>Just make sure you warn her that Sonoma is in a VERY small town and you need to get somewhat involved on-campus or you'll be bored out of your skull. At least, from what I've heart.</p>