Thought I would start this thread, though it seems to have been awfully quiet around here lately. My S22 (3.6 UW at a rigorous suburban public, 1400 SAT, varsity basketball, full pay) has his heart set on studying communications at NYU, with Fordham as a backup. He wants to be back in our hometown of New York, where DW and I are moving back from outside Boston after he graduates. Our D19 is there as well, finishing up at Parsons. We lived in the NYC suburbs until S22 was 8, when we moved to London. Lived there for four years, then Geneva for two until we moved to Boston two years ago. So heās had a varied experience that should serve him well as he moves into college. Hope the start of senior year and the ramping up of the college process are going well for the rest of you.
I noticed this thread is very quiet compared to the other AA class of threads 
.
My DS is a senior. For various reasons we did not do any visits during Covid or prior, so now application season is here!
He is interested in an art minor, environmental studies, study abroad. Not sure about a major yet. We are in NoCal.
Will look at Oregon, a few UCs (not Cal, too close), Howardā¦
He wants a school that is diverse. His HS is pwi. GPA3.7( I need to check weighted or un) did not take any standardized tests. Will have 3 AP Classes total at the end of this year.
ā¦and wants to run track. Has not competed recently so probably will be walk on.
@Vineyarder Hi! I grew up in NYC. 
Good luck on your search
Hi All! Thx for starting this thread. Where is everyone?
My D22 (4.21 out of 4.33 UW, superscore SAT 1580, 11 APs/3Honors/1 dual credit ,student body president at a rigorous private school, full pay) is applying to UT, UMich, Georgia Tech, Virgnia Tech, Purdue , Carnegie Mellon and the UCs for engineering but she really has her heart set on Princeton, MIT or CalTech. Sheās our only and I like the idea of a well rounded education, so Iām really pulling for Princeton. Sheās more of a moderate or large city girl so Iām not sure that geographically she is going to be happy with the location of some of her choices. Sheās definitely got the grades/scores, but Iām just worried that wonāt be enough. You would think that being a female URM would give her an edge but you just never know what the AOs are looking for. Iāll guess we just have to wait and see. Anyhow, good luck to everyone!
Good question. Yes, where is everyone?
We are deep in the process of applying for 2022. 3.89 uw. 33 ACT. The focus is Physics. As a parent, I think I would have preferred engineering, but sheās wholly focused on physics at this time. University of Michigan, UVA, University of Florida, Rice, Maryland, Penn State, Brown. I also got her to look at Howard, in particular the Karsh program.
On the EC front sheās active in stem clubs and has been lucky enough to snag an internship at our flagshipās physics department.
Another week to go and Iām wondering whether we should be applying to a few more places. Not much interest in the LACs as they tend to be small and in rural locations. Brandeis? BC? Others we should be looking at?
Hi @m87wb . @ChangeTheGame has two kids at Howard in STEM majors. He is a wealth of knowledge about the various programs at HU. Hopefully, heāll see my reference to him and chime in.
If you have any questions about the Karsh STEM Scholars or Howard, just let me know since both of my kids are āKarshiesā at Howard. The 1st class of Karsh STEM scholars graduated in May 2021 from Howard and their Grad School results were stunning!!!
Thank you. I lot of learning from the AA 2020 threadsā¦and I still go back to check it out.
Hi @ChangeTheGame. I greatly appreciate your offer to answer questions on the Karsh program. Weāre just finishing up the EA app to Howard and hope to see the application for Karsh open up November 1. Iām sure weāll have some questions about the application at that time.
One question I do have is how are they able to develop a cohesive cohort of the 30 students over nearly a dozen disciplines?
I believe that the 6 week āSummer Bridgeā Program is the key to the success of building that cohesion. During those 6 weeks, they put the students through a process that pushes the young scholars to become a surrogate family. The students are put on a grinding schedule (13 hour days) of classes, seminars, and study hall sessions that end up causing the scholars to bond. The seminars are on such topics as time management, study skills, etiquette, talks with others who have or are currently going through grad school. They are drilled to support and be there for each other as they will need each other on their paths to a PhD or MD-PhD. They will also live ātogetherā (they will always be on the same floor/hall in the dorms) for 4 years which will help. One thing that I have noticed as my kids have taken very few (maybe one class a year) where there are no other Karsh STEM Scholars in the class. They definitely stick togetherš
Wow! That sounds like a lot of time together - hopefully for the better. But if it helps build that support system, it must be a good thing.
I didnāt attend a HBCU, but for those who did, thy tend to stress two things. One, the nurturing nature of those institutions and two, the close network developed. Hopefully, Karsh enhances both.
Hi everyone, so glad to have found this thread. My daughter is at a small private all-girl Catholic HS in Miami where she is quite literally the only AA student out of 1200 kids. 3.91 GPA UW, 4.7 weighted, does Speech and Debate and is a youth group leader at our local parish. She applied ED to Stanford (interests are film, religious studies and and doesnāt even want to think about backup plans until after Decision Day on December 15th. This college application process is quite daunting! Good luck to all!
Welcome. For some reason this HS Class of 2022 thread didnāt quite gain traction. Previous yearsā threads have been quite robust. Iām guessing folks are perusing those for ideas and help.
Good luck to you and your daughter!
Hello! My son is interested in applying to the Karsh STEM Scholars at Howard. What is the GPA range and SAT/ACT scores of kids who are awarded the scholarship? Thanks!
Hey @duckydowneyā¦ I have not heard the āstatsā for the most recent cohort (K-5) but K-4ās cohort of 34 students averaged a 3.92 GPA, and 1393 SAT/30 ACT. The āstatsā had climbed each year from K-1 through K-4, but the SAT/ACT scores were optional with K-5 and optional with this yearās applicants as well.
Thank you!
My sonās also in an ED-donāt-want-to-consider-backup-plans mode. Add to that that he wants to take a gap year to travel and also study Mandarin in Taiwan and tells me āIāll apply to other schools next fall if I donāt get in this year.ā Iām pushing for him to apply this year, while everyone is in that mindset, and not have to think about it next year. Itās hard for me to imagine his applying while abroad but the internet makes things easier for sure. Good luck to your daughter!
I liked Stanford for my son bc aside from satifsying many other criteria, if he got in, weād be able to afford it. Weāre in that middle class bind where we canāt afford COA but donāt qualify for enough financial aid from most schools that meet 100% of need (except the top tiers like Stanford, which he doesnāt want to apply to). Weāve been hoping for merit (from his ED school, too) but most of those have too high a percentage of white students for my son to feel comfortable. (We live in the SF Bay Area, his K-8 years were majority students of color, his private HS is ~55% white, and even that has been an uncomfortable adjustment.)
Hi!
We are also in SF Bay Area. And my son also doesnāt want to apply to Stanford while I think he should consider it.
But is it so close to home. I can totally agree with him wanting to go to a college in a different area.