@buuzn03 In our experience, the college counselors aren’t pushing for schools based on rank. They are usually resisting the parents/kids that are pushing in that direction. Yes, schools are proud of their matriculation lists and they (rightly, imo) want kids to reach. But they are realistic about how far to reach - it looks bad for schools to have a lot of failed ED applications, disappointed kids, disappointed parents. Numbers are reported to the board of trustees and they will get back to the school to find out what happened. So, there is a balance between stretching/pushing and being realistic with qualifications, fit, personality…
The conversations we hear regarding paying for college are MUCH different in BS from what we heard when our other child was in public school! Besides general worry and anxiety about paying, at the LPS, everyone was talking about the FASFA etc. Not so in BS. If you bring up FASFA, some parents may question why you are bothering to do that! Also, so many at LPS go to the state flagship despite getting into top ranked schools. Past years’ numbers show that is not the case at BS! It is certainly different. However, @buuzn03 , you are not the only one in the middle. Perhaps you were the only one willing put yourself out there and raise your hand about that fear.
Edited to add that I like the advice from @CTMom21 's ds’s coach.
Perhaps I will repeat that to myself a few times as I try to fall asleep.
^ This is yet another reason that prospective BS parents shouldn’t hang so much on those matriculation lists (from any school.) People buy what they can afford, so kids heading off to the honors college at their state school may have had more prestigious but less affordable options.
At our school, affordability was a big enough issue that those who could be FP felt a little embarrassed at our good fortune. There were special seminars with advisors who could help with FA issues, forms, etc.
I honestly like the schools who display acceptance lists instead of matriculation-this seems to be a more accurate reflection of what the school produces…not just in academics but also in fit.
I think this year will be a whirlwind. Hang on, everyone! And good luck to those taking PSAT…I hope there’s a NMS recipient in our bunch!
@buuzn03 , I am with you. Sure, one super whizkid could rack up a dozen really impressive acceptances, but at least it would indicate that those schools would accept someone from your BS. (At our school, the kids who get into Stanford never go there! What’s with that?!)
To all you '21 parents, as crazy as the college process is, visiting schools with my kid (in spring) and being with him as he processed what he wanted his college experience to be was an incredible joy. And our CC was fabulous. In many ways, the silver lining was bigger than the cloud. Said with hindsight!
I think Naviance shows acceptances from your school (if I am reading it correctly), though not broken out by year. I have enjoyed what we’ve done so far, but all our visits to date were over the summer when it was more fun and relaxed. Trying to squeeze visits going in several different directions will be challenging, plus DS has seen a number of small LACs and determine that “they’re all the same.”
@buuzn03 it’s pretty safe to say there won’t be a NMS coming from our household, but good luck to your son, both on PSATs and ACTs!
But don’t you have to have a Naviance account to access these lists? Or am I missing something? Either way, I think the BS process taught us about fit…so DS has a “limited list of schools based on that…he may have to expand/reassess after visits, if the physical feel doesn’t match the paper -which we all know is a reality. It will be interesting to see how this year pans out!
DS was just dropped off by the school to take the ACT. I’m so praying this will be a one and done. Is anyone out there having their child take both? Our BS said to focus on the test best for you…but I know others recommend taking both. Just wondering if there’s a consensus and/or if it really matters.
My son took the SAT in August as he’s hoping to be a recruited athlete. Did not do that well on it, so his school offers a diagnostic test to see if there’s a preference for either test that he’ll take. Will take one or the other test again in the spring.
@buuzn03 I think the answer is it just depends. DD took both. Her overall scores were comparable and I am sure taking one or the other would have been fine for admissions. HOWEVER, for her particular college, a score in one area on the SAT placed her out of a requirement and a score in a different area on the ACT placed her out of another requirement. It just so happened that her scores on the test were near the cut-offs for math and writing placements for her particular college. Who knew?? So glad DD did both!
DS took the SAT once, scored very well and that was that. No ACT for him. They have so much testing to do between SAT, ACT, AP, Subject tests as it is.
Good luck to those kids testing this morning!
@buuzn03 our school sent the kids a timed practice SAT and ACT to take at home in June before Junior year and had both scored by an independent company. If a kid did substantially better on one test vs the other, they recommended taking only that one. My kid took only the SAT (Dec of Junior year and August before Senior year). Others took both. Good luck to all y’all’s kids!
@GoatMama thats kind of what our BS did. They had a company analyze the results from the ACT and SAT taken IV spring term. They sent us the results this summer with their recommendation of which test they should take. DSs results were somewhat equivocal but his personality and test taking approach is more suited to the ACT. So he chose to take it vs the SAT.
Again, after talking to PHS parents, I start to wonder if our BS approach is novel or pretty norm. I’m trying to let the CC office direct us without my control button being pushed and me intervening. ? so far, so good but it’s still early. Lol.
Having had 2 go the BS/College process already, I would say the college advisors know the schools-- where your kid has the best chance etc-- but you know your kid. With my 1st we listened to the advisor and visited Indiana University. If we thought about it, we would have realized it was a terrible * fit for our son. He had less than zero interest in big state schools, and did not want to be in the midwest. So, absolutely let the advisor advise, but just be thinking about whether the advice really applies to *your child.
@buuzn03 what your BS is doing is very normal, for BS at least. Don’t worry what the LPS is doing. Your kid’s application is reviewed in the context of his BS, not in the context of the LPS he would have attended back home.
Your BS has got this. Your kid has got this. You’re doing the right thing, so go back to the gin and tonic. ?
@cinnamon1212 I completely agree with that. We have several amazing engineering schools in Texas that DS will likely qualify for auto-admit program for state residents but he knows he would hate a large school, so he’s not even considering it. He’s only looking at small schools in warm climates. Hey—he has to live there and be happy.
@cinnamon1212 makes a good point too (as well as @chemmchimney in another thread). When it comes to school choice you’ve got to trust your kid and your gut. The process bears similarities with the BS application/selection process you have been through, so you know what to do.
Interesting. As far as I know, my kiddo’s school did not perform any kind of comparative analysis to ascertain if kids would do better on one test versus the other. Kids were offered the opportunity to take both PSAT and pre-ACT in 10th grade. Some took one; some took both; and some took neither. My kiddo’s overall scores were pretty even on both, but they distributed differently for different tests (i.e., higher PSAT verbal but lower PSAT math than the preACT scores).
@buuzn03, my kiddo may end up taking both the ACT and SAT, but that hasn’t been decided yet. Kiddo took the ACT over the summer and did well enough that one-and-done is a possibility. We’re leaving it in DC’s hands (taking into consideration whatever advice the school’s college counselor may give) to decide how to proceed regarding testing. Kiddo’s current plan is to reassess after getting PSAT results. I suspect DC will either take the SAT or re-take the ACT to improve the single subsection score DC did not love. Either way, I do not imagine my child will want to do more than one more sitting.
My general impression is that the school is trying not to have the kids focus too much on college applications yet, while simultaneously making resources available for kids who to want to start down the road.
Choate recommended that students take each test once to determine which was a better fit and then take that test twice (if necessary) for the best superscore offset in case the student wasn’t feeling well on the first sitting or encountered any other anomaly with the first test. Anything beyond that once the averages were exceeded was a waste of time and would not be the reason any student was rejected from any college. Of course, many disagreed with this policy and went ahead and did their own thing, but the school didn’t play into that.
Also, anything above 1500 (SAT) or 33 (ACT) and you were DONE. Let’s not get crazy.
DS did diagnostics of both last spring at school and the ACT was a clear winner (though by no means very good). He took the real ACT in June; I wanted to see if he could at least replicate the score from the diagnostic on the real test, which he did. Like @cinnamon1212’s DS, he hopes to be a recruited athlete, so he needs to be done with testing by the end of the school year.
