<p>Having a safety school on one’s list is extremely important…and probably the hardest school to pick. BUT every student needs at least ONE safety…two is better (nice to have choices in the end) where they are CERTAIN they will be accepted, and where they would be happy to attend…and where the costs are affordable for their family.</p>
<p>Any student applying to all top 50 schools could easily have had a very fine safety school on their list.</p>
<p>Regrouping with a gap year (for metalgardener) might not be a bad idea IF he doesn’t find a college on that NACAC list that notes schools that accept applications after May 1. </p>
<p>Just FYI…an SAT score of 2010 is really quite good for many, many colleges. Metalgardener, your son’s stats are really quite good too…they just didn’t align with the schools to which he applied. Heck, unless I’m misreading his stats, he would not only have been accepted at U of Alabama, but would have gotten close to a free ride.</p>
<p>I would call the waitlist schools. There’s always the possibility that a school waitlisted him to protect their yield, figuring that a kid with stats as high as yours wouldn’t really attend there if accepted. One of my D’s friends got into a number of Ivies and other top schools, but was waitlisted at a school that should have been a safety for her (a school she did not visit or show any interest in, FWIW) - we’re all assuming it was yield protection. Anyway, it may be that if that’s the case at some of the waitlist schools, they’ll accept your son once they know he really wants to attend there.</p>
<p>Well, I can understand the anger and confusion!</p>
<p>Each year, as a parent, I am more and more upset/dismayed/saddened by the increasingly competitive college admissions process. </p>
<p>As a Californian, it is outrageous to me that a student with a 4.0 GPA would be denied admission to ANY of the UC schools! These are state schools and therefore should be open to students that meet the stated requirements. </p>
<p>I’m not sure where the OP applied, but I’m just lamenting about the sad state of affairs in California. Having one more child to go through application process next year, I’m just dreading it.</p>
<p>Hi Mary,
Dartmouth again had a record number of applications and a 9.4 % admit rate this admissions cycle. Could you let us know the other schools where your son applied?</p>
<p>He may have had a top heavy list of reach schools (yes, middlebury would be a reach). </p>
<p>Did he have any match or sure bet/likely/safety schools? </p>
<p>You state your son is very smart, could you let us know his unweighted gpa?</p>
<p>In May will be a list of schools where there will be openings and still taking applications.</p>
<p>Those are very selective schools with very small classes. You can do a search on the common data set for schools that interest your son. In looking at that you can see the stats of accepted students. For example, at Dartmouth, I think the average SAT of accepted students is well over 2100 and there are many that have 800s in several areas. My point is that when applying, you want your kid to find schools where his GPA,SAT, etc is in the the top 25% of accepted students. That would mean it’s a safety school. Schools where his scores are in the middle 50% are generally matches, unless the schools are highly selective, accepting less than 30% of those that apply. All selective schools should be considered reaches even with a class rank of 1, perfect SATs, and lots of great ECs.</p>
<p>Lots of selective schools accept transfers too. So find a state school where he can do 1 year of classes and then transfer if he is not happy there long term. There are lots of great schools that are still accepting students. Also there are many that will accept students for spring semester. He could do some community college work until then to get some of the basic general education stuff completed.</p>
<p>He pulls up a bit in 12th gr year to UW GPA 3.2, all courses are highest can be. He can’t concentrate on boring/lower level courses. That’s why the large gap between W & UW GPA.
Safe schools: Conn. Coll., Gettysburg, and St. Olaf.</p>
<p>Your advice that you should look at those schools where your SAT is in the top 75th percentile doesn’t always hold true.</p>
<p>My son got a 2300, and he was waitlisted at a million places in that range.</p>
<p>I don’t think the parents out there are aware of how incredibly tough it is to get into a top school nowadays.</p>
<p>I would almost forget about applying to the Ivies, even if I were a top student, and apply in the range of schools from #15 to #50 on the US News rankings.</p>
<p>safety safety safety. Gotta have a safety or two in your selection. My son is the opposite – 8 out of 8 accepts – thinking we should have done more reaches – but he is happy with his choices and I am happy with the merit offers.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for the last two, but that’s kind of a low GPA for Conn College, which was my S’s safety - he had a 2300 and a 4.0. He gets straight A’s in honors and AP classes. The ACT score is great, but the 3.2 is low. Did he show a lot of interest there - they count on that and it would have helped a lot? My S was there a couple of times and attended the info session at his school when they visited. It’s his safety, but he really likes it too.</p>
<p>I would say wait it out - a lot of those kids who applied to those schools may not enroll.</p>
<p>If your child is in the top 25%ile at a school where the acceptance rate is in the single digits…or close to that…then all bets are off. At those schools, the VAST majority of applicants have outstanding stats. Getting accepted is, as they say, like winning the lottery. You just don’t know what will make YOUR student stand out from the pack.</p>
<p>Folks need to look at where their student’s stats lie, AND with the %age of admitted students…to find that true safety school. If the school only accepts 10% of applicants…then it would not, in my opinion, be a safety for ANYONE.</p>
<p>Mental, your son was the “victim of boring/low level classes”? If this was a reason he gave for the LOW GPA (for his ability) in essays you might just have the answer.</p>
<p>GPA determines everything?
In my humble opinion, GPA is not as objective as test scores. If the test scores can not measure, then design better test system.</p>
<p>Mary, are you instate for UMass? Was he applying for entry into a particular program (e.g. engineering, business)? Sometimes those students applying for specific majors find the competition a little more so than those applying to Arts and Sciences or undeclared. </p>
<p>To both Mary and Metal…does financial aid factor into your kids’ equations?</p>
<p>GPA actually IS looked at by many schools. Many actually recompute the GPA using the courses they choose, AND a formula that is uniform. Most schools want to see a kid achieving at close to the level of their standardized test scores. Having a lower GPA can indicate a student who is an underachiever. The reality is that the student won’t be taking the SAT again…but he WILL be expected to achieve in college…and the HS GPA shows how he did that in HS.</p>
<p>As far as “working with” the GCs, why would anyone think the GCS might be less inept and less clueless at this stage. Would the terms guidance and safety school become part of the vocabulary … now? </p>
<p>Year after year, we get to read the same sad stories. Sad, very sad, especially when they can be avoided so easily through a bit of common sense, lower expectations, and a modicum of correct information.</p>