@eandesmom, thanks for the inside (local?) scoop on Evergreen. Good information to know!
@MiamiDAP My son also chose a school that fit him best , and committed a cardinal sin around this state of declining Clemson Calhoun Honors for the Honors College at CofC.
carolinamom2boys, Good for your Son! I am sure, it will work for him. Be a proud mom of a very smart kid!
Mine had a ball at her #82 Miami U and paved the great path to her future there.
@LucieTheLakie no problem. I feel horrible saying it to be honest. For reference (if it helps) we are a mid sized public HS. Top 10 or 20 in the state but not super selective or competitive, just solid. Which one would think would be a strong applicant pool for Evergreen. The HS GC’s are big on it, as our the teachers and perhaps there is parental baggage that steer the kids away but the numbers make a pretty strong statement. It has always had this reputation mind you. It’s viewed as an alternative school here, kind of like getting a GED. It’s super sad really and not accurate but, it is what it is.
I think making the CTCL list has expanded it’s reach in really fabulous ways, it just hasn’t had the same impact in-state.
I totally get it, @eandesmom. I’m amazed at how many of my friends and neighbors refuse to consider Temple for their kids (even when many of them were eligible for those huge merit awards, which are now in jeopardy). And yet students are applying there from as far away as CA to attend a good college at a great price in the “Big City,” which seems to be the dream of so many these days.
Some of my neighbors act like Temple’s campus is located in a war zone. It’s nuts.
My stepson has a 2.8 gpa and hasn’t cracked 1000 on his SAT yet (maybe 3rd time will be the charm) - partly because he has a learning disability - but he’s a very hard worker and tends to achieve his goals.
@Irishmomof2 Try the ACT. My son did better on the ACT than SAT.
LOL @LucieTheLakie ! That’s funny given that Temple until very recently (as in Monday) was on our list. Too big and of course the merit changes as they did previously “reward” the mid stats kid. The grass is always greener, right?
@Irishmomof2 I agree with @carolinamom2boys on the ACT. My 2.97 ish stepson (I don’t know what his final HS gpa was but I don’t think he cracked the 3.0 mark) did better on it as well.
And he went to a very nice local LAC that was relatively reasonably priced (for a private) and fit him best even received small grants later one, maintained above a 3.0, graduated on time and is off pursuing his dream. Which may or may not make actual money lol.
@eandesmom, Could you possibly tell me the name of the LAC that your stepson attended ? My son has a similar gap a to your stepson but has scored 34 ACT and has ADD. We are looking for small out of state LAC’s that have a 3-2 Engineering programs.
@svcamom he went to Seattle Pacific University. Several might work with that “messy scattergram” actually, in WA there is Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound and Whitworth and then in OR I’d also look at Linfield, maybe even Willamette. I think part of it on the gpa will come down to rigor for your S. If it was a more rigorous load with a low gpa but high test score that might still work out just fine. We are dealing with ADHD as well for S17 (and apparently now S19 but that’s a new development) and while the gpa is quite a bit stronger than his stepbrothers, as is the rigor, his test scores (and general test taking ability) is really average to low.
As a general rule 3-2 is not recommended or successful for most, largely as they don’t want to leave their school but it certainly can work. I know an incredibly successful individual from HS that did the 3-2 at PLU. Went on to Cornell for the engineering, Masters at Cornell.
I am fairly sure all of these offer 3-2 programs.
Thank you @eandesmom for the information. My son is taking a very rigorous load of classes this year(Jr.), with 3
AP’s( Chem, Calc AB, and AP US History). Its’ a lot of work for both of us, him to stay focused and me to help him stay on task. His school is a public charter that is very academic and hard. This school doesn’t give out easy A’s, which I think is good ! Plus, I’m not one of those types of parents that thinks their kids need to be in every extra curricular activity to look good on their college applications. My son does club swimming and community service which I feel is more than enough ! Kids need to have down time to be teenagers ! My son is average and I think that is just fine.
@svcamom that is wonderful he has such a nice test score before junior year, he can just concentrate on classes and not even think about that aspect. The rigor will help him for sure. I (personally) think that’s an above average course load and definitely an above average test score. He should have many nice options and the gpa could still improve.
I found my ADHD kid really grew a lot his junior year in his ability to manage his time, stay on task and organized and as a result get better grades. He had a slightly less rigorous course load than yours (Pre-Calc, AP Physics, AP English Lang, Spanish 3 and Regular US History) but for him the ADHD makes reading quite painful and slow at times. Despite it being his most difficult year course load wise, he improved his gpa significantly with a 3.65 for the junior year. While it didn’t make up for the roller coaster 9th and 10th grade grades, and doesn’t offset the mediocre ACT it’s a nice trend and I’m very proud of him for that.
I agree about down time.
@eandesmom , Thanks for giving me “hope” that my son will mature a bit more this year ! 
My son is also taking Spanish 3 . His 10th grade grades were like a roller coaster last year. We took a college trip this last summer and my son saw a school that he fell in love with(Stevens Institute of Technology) and now wants to go. This is his new goal.
@svcamom do not despair if your son doesn’t “mature” this year. Give him awhile. Remember that kids gifted in spacial reasoning do badly through high school, or tend to. Schools are not aligned with taht type of thinking. They tend to be “late bloomers” as a result. Just support him emotionally and reassure him that he will bloom when he’s ready. Also remember that the frontal lobe of adolescent brains does not come fully on board until age 25. That’s the area that helps with self-control and executive functioning. Give him time. This is not a race. He can take lots of time between high school and college. College is out there waiting for him when he’s ready.
@svcamom Spanish 3 was my childs nemesis. Actually, Spanish in general, his entire GPA would be significantly better had he never taken any language classes! I feel you on the roller coaster, both 9th and 10th we had one decent semester and one not so much which averaged out to well, average He is also young for his grade which doesn’t help things. He will be fine and bloom where he is planted, as long as we plant well.
Your S will have some lovely options and the fact that he has seen a school that he loves can be quite motivational.
@eandesmom I have to totally agree with you regarding Spanish- what a pain in the rear ! We did however do something pretty smart , we held my son back in kindergarten to give him an extra year to mature. We look at it like it was his “gap year”. 
@svcamom look into Milwaukee School of Engineering if your son liked Stevens. Also smaller Engineering programs that are more LAC like include Valparaiso and Marquette. None are 3-2s so he would not need to leave his school. Sorry if they are outside your geographic parameters. I did not see what those are.
Our school has Spanish 1 and 2, and then Spanish for Native Speakers 1 and 2.
Then in Spanish 3 they are altogether. And the kids who are not native speakers participation points plummet. At least my kid’s. She said everyone talked so fast she had no idea what was going on.
@Cheeringsection Thanks so much for the suggestions to the other schools ! We live in Silicon Valley(SJ), and my son wants to go outside of California. He’s basically looking everywhere except Florida, Alaska, and Hawaii. He says he wants to experience “real” winter !