“It seems this thread did not survive as a safe space for the parents of ordinary kids for long.”
That’s the nature of CC.
Each year 3.3 million kids graduate HS. So there’s 33,000 kids in the top 1% of HS graduates, most of whom are trying to get into the same top 15 or so colleges with aggregate enrollment of about 15k.
I guess a definition for ordinary kid needs to be provided. I take ordinary to mean average.
I made the mistake of thinking my sweet girl was “ordinary” because of those dang SAT/ACT test. Then I learned it’s more about GPA and resume for the 99%ers.
Well I thought my D with her 30 ACT and 3.65gpa was pretty extraordinary* until I found this place 
Now I feel more comfortable in this thread.
*I still think she is pretty spectacular - but I have a better understanding of the competition at top colleges now.
@stlarenas My sweet girl perplexed the admissions officers with her 4.16 GPA in the IB.
@Grainraiser - I attempted to do just that back in post #226. Of course this is just an attempt to defina an academic ordinary, lol. I suspect most of us have ordinary kids on most fronts.
"Maybe we are all at odds on what defines the “average " kid, stats wise. If your kid scored over 28 on the ACT, they are not average, if your kid has a GPA higher than a 3.5 they are not average. If your kid is above 28/3.5, your kid is in the exceptional range! In fact, the national average for college bound seniors ACT is 21 (Fairtest 2015). The national average for HS GPA is 3.1 for females and 2.9 for males (NAEP 2009) We can safely assume that college bound kids have a slightly higher GPA. So, lol, the good news is… for most of us on CC, our kids are above average! Perspective is everything!”
Well it appears we have two categories. Average kids and average college kids. My definition of average college kid is the one that goes to a non-state flagship or regional university. He/she receives little if any merit aid and their dream schools would be considered safeties by the high achievers. They admire the high achievers but are happy with their lot in life. They see being a teacher is just as noble as being a doctor. I consider my kid a ordinary college kid but I salute the parents and kids who are high achievers. Job well done.
@Grainraiser The only way my sweet girl reached for her dream school was because of her teachers. We attend the same church as her 4th grade teacher and her middle school principal. The day our church celebrated our high school graduates, they learned where she would be attending school…they cried just as heard as my hubby and I did when we learned of her college acceptance.
Well said, @Grainraiser. This was my S1 to a T, although he did get a decent amount of merit aid. His degree is in journalism and he got a job right out of school - not his dream job but enough to get him off our payroll (aside from $25 here and there ;-)!) Hooray for average kids!
OP - love your post! I learn from the wealth of knowledge here on CC but try to have reasonable expectations for my somewhat ordinary kids. If the auto mechanic option does not work out plumbers do better than most recent grads.
I loved this post. I don’t think a 3.7 GPA is that ordinary - just either a) ordinary for the helicopter parents here, including myself, stressing about college, or b) not everyone presents themselves here completely honestly.
My daughter, I think, had a GPA of 3.8 3 years ago, and SATS of 2140. She got into Smith, NYU, Fordham, Clark, McGill, and UMass. She is of a racial minority that doesn’t give you any extra points, from a state that probably gives you negative points because we’re so college-population-dense (Mass.), and she is a talented and lovely person but has not rescued orphans from a burning building. So she did okay. She did not get into her 2 top choices - Barnard and Brandeis. It really is a crap shoot.
OP, I created an account specifically to tell you I love this post. I’ve been lurking here for months reading loads of very helpful advice but when I read people poo-pooing kids chances of getting in or getting merit aid with some of their stats?! (
So thanks.
I have a kid who has a 3.5 but a high ACT score (35) so I guess that evens out to average too. She has a couple of unusual EC’s that she’s been so passionate about all through school she’s had time for little else so her EC score card isn’t insane. I thought she was doing alright until I started looking around the various boards- sheesh!
Uh, no. Your kid is not average. Not even a little bit.
Seriously…a 35 ACT and that GPA…plus an unusual EC? What makes you think that is “average”? It’s way above average.
My kids both had 3.5 unweighted GPAs. DS had a CR/Math old sat score of 1380…above average. DD had a coined 1230…a tad above average but not high.
Both got into great colleges…and the ones of their choice.
Yep a 35 ACT is not even close to being average.
I have one of each. A Senior in high school daughter who applies herself academically, but didn’t want to go to this weeks High School Football game so she could do homework. My younger son barely makes the bus and has a pretty low bar for what finishing his homework means. She is introverted and he has more friends than I can count, I really enjoy both the journeys the’ve had and will lead. There is a lid for every pot.