<p>Tom - My D applied to eight academic matches. The advice already provided is excellent. Eight matches is overkill statistically, as the probability of getting rejected by all eight is WAY under one percent. On the other hand, what a student wants in a college can change dramatically during the senior year. D had a different "favorite" every other month for a while! But she was accepted EA at two schools and that kept us sane. Good luck with your D.</p>
<p>I wouldn't apply to a rolling admission school that wasn't a decent match. My son didn't apply early decision to RPI, but they did give him a special application that gave him a decision by December. That meant we knew he was into his top rated safety. That's a nice feeling.</p>
<p>With regard to your comment about branching out geographically, I found that both of my Ds responded to the idea that they may change/evolve during their senior year and may want to provide for that by applying to some schools a bit further away. D1 is at that school. D2 will apply next year, and we shall see. My experience with D1 and her friends was that they went through phases of wanting to go far away and then wanted to stay very close to home. Who knows where they land in the spring!</p>
<p>cheers- her stats are- 1120 SAT 550 m 570 cr will take again in June. GPA about 4.25- all honors with 3 AP classes. Her school is an average middle class HS in NJ. Her rank is top 5% give or take. She is in NHS, editor of lit mag and newspaper. Her references should be good. Part time job, volunteer work. In state will apply to Rutgers, Ramapo and TCNJ. Also on current list is UMBC, UNC- Asheville, George Mason, Mary Washington, Goucher and McDaniel. On Naviance the 3 in state schools are a match from her high school- even though TCNJ reports higher sat scores. Mary Washington is a slight reach but her SAT scores may go up. She has some other schools but I am not sure which ones. I would like her to add U of Montana and U of Kansas. She likes what she reads about both but is not ready to consider either. Both UMBC and Mary Washington are on the NACAC list of schools.</p>
<p>corranged</p>
<p>You are right. My son put together his list so well he had 10/10 acceptances, It was daunting to arrange visits to the top 6 schools with so little time. We did it and he made a great choice, but my hubby and I were going from one campus to the next thinking, "How can he possibly turn down THIS school?". He did figure it out in the end. There was a point when I wondered whether I'd been so involved, he might not know what he was really personally looking for, But he ended up not picking my personal secret favorite, so I hope that means he owns the decision.</p>
<p>I just checked her GPA is 4.4 not 4.25. I should mention her mom was scholar athlete in college at Rutgers- her SAT's where no reflection on her classroom achievement. I scored close to 100 points higher on the SAT. My academic performance paled in comparison to both my W and D.</p>
<p>tom, I am not trying to start a frenzy where there are calm waters now but......your child is a wonderful candidate for many of the better SAT optional schools. That rank and GPA and courseload may make her competitive at schools she wouldn't have believed possible. Consider looking at schools where her lack of fantabulous test scores will not be a hindrance. </p>
<p>She has a great record and IMO could/should IF SHE WANTED TO have some stellar reachy choices added in there. Certainly many of the top 50 LAC's that are test optional would consider her. There are lots of folks on here that can fill your cart up with test optional schools, or schools where they can combine AP tests, writing samples, and some other things instead.</p>
<p>And , I know others will disagree, but try the ACT. Try it twice or three times if she wants to. Look up the "Xiggi method" of test study if she wants to try the SAT one more time.</p>
<p>Again, do what is right for your family. She should do what is right for her. All we can do is offer up some possibilities. Here are some possibilities. ;)</p>
<p>I think curmudgeon is correct. OTOH, I don't think your child should feel pressed to add reach schools into the mix.</p>
<p>My S applied EA to only match/match safety schools. Accepted to 3/3 - 2 with merit $$ awards. Eventually matriculated at one of the 2 and loved, loved, loved it. (He had applied to one reach RD; rejected; momentarily disappointed and moved right on to love the match/safe school).</p>
<p>Fast forward to when his career at the chosen school was derailed by Hurricane Katrina. Applied to and accepted for transfer to a reach school. He is there now. Doesn't like it nearly as well as the match/safe school where he started.</p>
<p>Reach is not always superior.</p>
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<p>I wholeheartedly agree. I just thought it had to be mentioned. As you know jmmom, D is quite happy at what was for her a safety school admissions-wise although it was a financial reach.;)</p>
<p>I would also vote for some schools that might be a personal reach -- not academically -- but that might stretch her comfort zone on geography, size, etc. We know kids who have left for the opposite coast at the end of the day and others who wanted to leave home, but still be close enough to escape from campus periodically. I think it's important to make sure the school has room for a kid to grow into it -- that things they don't yet realize they want will be available. That can mean travel abroad, a different major, a different social vibe, more/different people to date/befriend, work opportunties, etc.</p>
<p>DS has a varied and somewhat unexpected list, and one thing I like about it is that it ranges in size from 750 to 40,000 kids, hits both coasts, and each school offers what he wants in a slightly different way -- whether it's a LAC, research U., or engineering school. </p>
<p>Have you looked at St. Mary's College of MD? It's a state honors college. A freind's son goes there and LOVES it. Princeton Review says students are happy and the place is gorgeous. Average SAT is in the low 1200s.</p>
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I think it's important to make sure the school has room for a kid to grow into it -- that things they don't yet realize they want will be available.
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<p>I agree. See how agreeable I am today? Gee. What's up?</p>
<p>While we looked at small LAC's, D added a few larger schools and more urban schools for this very reason. In fact , UMiami may very well have ended up being her choice had things gone another way and she would have never thought that was possible as a junior.</p>
<p>My S was very similar to your d stat wise and he was accepted everywhere he applied and I suspect he would be happy at any of his final 5. For him it was all about location and fit and size. Also my S did significantly better on the ACT than the SAT so we used ACT for his college apps. His SATs were very similar to your d. I say if she wants to reach for some stretches, then she should, but if she's clear about her direction when you get to the point where you feel like the "search" and the "list" to think about is complete then you can confidently let go and let your child follow their dreams. My h and I liked U of Montana very much and while son 1 didn't bite, we've got two more to point that way.</p>
<p>P3T, applying to a safety school early action or applying for a rolling school very early can let an applicant take other safety schools off the list. My sister applied to a school she was very happy with and thought she would get into EA, was accepted, so dropped her two other safety-ish schools from her list. That way, she only applied to 4 schools instead of the 6 she had planned.</p>
<p>Again thanks everyone- my D is most interested in location- she wants to be near a city or city(light). I think some of the college towns would be a nice option- that is why I want her to look at Kansas. I bet she would love Austin. I have been on the Fairtest web site so we are aware of the optional schools. As for prep on tests- she does some but would rather spend her time doing other things ( homework). She quickly got over the sting of classmates scoring 300-500 points higher on the SAT but having a lower GPA</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is how difficult it is to get to a school that's far away. A school that requires a flight with two legs and a time zone change can take a day in one direction. This means that the child will only be able to come home a few times a year. Is the child OK with that? Is the family?</p>
<p>When our D was making her match list, 4 out of 6 schools she chose were one flight away. The schools were also significantly different from each other - small private, medium private, small public, large public, very large public. All except for one where close to a city. She decided not to apply to two schools that were the "same" (ex. two small publics).</p>
<p>Each completed application is a lot of work and very time-consuming: the application itself (typing in each class+grade, essays), recommendations, separate scholarship application, separate Honors College application, making sure the high school submitted the grades, not forgetting to send the test scores. One in-state school had 3 applications (regular, Honors, Scholarship), another had 10 short essays, plus 2 for Honors, plus one for Scholarship. For us, applying to 6 schools, actually meant about 12 applications (including Honors colleges and Scholarships). My advice is pick carefully.</p>
<p>tom-A student poster, Wolfpiper, just completed a wonderful first year at UMontana. You and your D might check out her posts about her experiences. She has been very happy. My #3 has UM on his list.</p>
<p>Tom - my D's approach was very similar to your D's. Stats were reversed - higher SATs, lower gpa/class rank. But she only had one reach (Emory - waitlisted) and no safeties. Her safety plan, which we approved of, was to look at schools that accepted late applications if and when it seemed necessary. But since she was applying to five schools (in addition to the reach) that seemed to be excellent matches, and two of them had EA options, it ultimately proved to be unnecessary. She was accepted with money at all. She had to choose from 5 great options, and it was quite difficult. I'm glad she didn't have more to consider. Also, last fall, I'm glad she didn't have more applications - it took a team effort just to organize and complete the requirements for those six (along with the merit scholarship aps).</p>
<p>The other area where she is like your D is that the schools were somewhat different from each other. She didn't know exactly what she wanted last fall, so we encouraged her to give herself choices. She had schools far away, schools closer, cold weather, warm weather, big, small, city, rural. Schools that were good at one major, or at another... Her opinions didn't solidify too much as the year went on, so we ended up "following the money." If she gets there and hates it, at least we haven't wasted as much. But she is quite a flexible, adaptable child, so we don't anticipate problems.</p>
<p>Everybody loves Ashville, the town, the school, I hear nothing but good things. Seems very different from, say, Goucher (which also sounds very good).</p>
<p>Give me the kid with the 4.0 over the test-taker every day...</p>
<p>MSUDad</p>
<p>An interesting article was written years ago by Nobel Laureate Thomas Cech (Chemistry) whose article shows how the high test taking undergraduates are being outraced by the lesser testing LAC students. It isn't a perfect scientific analysis, but shows how LAC's are great creators of science professors (his love) and that the SAT may mislead many about the future steps of the students.</p>
<p>Article is at:
<a href="http://www.collegenews.org/prebuilt/daedalus/cech_article.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegenews.org/prebuilt/daedalus/cech_article.pdf</a></p>
<p>^^^ Interesting article. Many of the same points are made in Colleges that Change Lives.</p>
<p>I'm kind of going back and forth on the broad general educ requirements of those schools (leaning toward the English model) but ...</p>
<p>One point I would add is that selectivity is, in my view, not at all a prerequisite to an outstanding small LAC program, as the author seems to presume. I am familiar with several small LACs that are not at all selective, but which churn out fantastic graduates.</p>