Chance my son

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Junior. Kind of your classic, late developing underachiever, in that his grades do not reflect his intelligence. From Maine. High school one of the best in the state, small and very competive, approximately 90% go on to college. Courses, full boat, will have language up to Spanish 5, all sciences, Band etc. Has a mix of college placement and honors course, actually stepped back from some honors to regain his confidence. But, at this school, I can honestly say regular college placement is probably as difficult as honors at most schools.</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<p>Mainly sports, not a superstar but dedicted. Football, Hockey and Lacrosse. Some outside of school hockey teams too.</p>

<p>His big community service is working with an adaptive skate program with physically and emotionally disabled children. Although just one activity, it is every single Sunday morning so more of a commitment than some have with many activities. His essay will probably focus on this as it shows a commitment to giving back to something he is passionate about.</p>

<p>Stats:
GPA: About 88 unweighted, with a big improvement Junior year. Small schools look at this particularly with boys. Weighted GPA probbaly closer to 94. (I am expecting his GPA may rise a small bit by the end of the year).</p>

<p>ACT: 27 overall, Math was his highest at 30. Good solid scores there for him.</p>

<p>SAT: CR: 560. Writing 560 (8 on essay) Math 680. 1800 total.</p>

<p>He is not looking at anything highly selective obviously but is interested in the following:</p>

<p>Reach: Goucher, Hobart, Ursinus, Clark,St. Lawrence
50/50 : Susquehanna, Mcdaniel, Moravian
Safety: Hartwick, University of Maine.</p>

<p>He is from a single parent family, will need aid. Being from Maine likely to help a bit at the MD and PA schools.</p>

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<p>Oh. And in addition to his school activities, he has a job from May to October working in a lobster place. Washing dishes, food prep and the like.</p>

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<p>Bump, anyone? Or is he too average for these forums?</p>

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<p>honestly I haven't heard of the schools you mentioned. Are they LACs or colleges that change your life? Hhahaha, sorry about that.</p>

<p>Rising trend is always a good thing...look for schools that throw out freshmen GPA</p>

<p>what rank is the school on Newsweek? If your school is like...maybe top 50 in America then that should definately be an explanation for the low grades. But if it's like, maybe #70+ then being in that school won't necessarily help that much...I know because I go to Troy, #28 hahaha. (Home to the stanford scandal kid)</p>

<p>GPA is alright; your child should retake SAT and focus on englihs areas in general since math is down. Go to sparknotes study guide online, it's free.</p>

<p>As for financial aid, apply to some private institutions where they have enough money to throw financial aid at you. </p>

<p>maybe you can make comparisons to those colleges with state schools :)</p>

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<p>Definitely above average. Well, perhaps not for CC, but he is well above average if you look at the real world. And he is on an upward trajectory. Frankly, depending on his essays, possible interviews and other subjective criteria I don't think I'd negate his chances at any of these schools. The bigger question has to do with financial aid.</p>

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<p>id say for him hobart and goucher are matches-- i know people with worse stats that got in there and are from rich, white families etc</p>

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<p>Ursinus is just down the street from me so a lot of kids from my school apply there. I know of many who have gotten in with less than your son there.</p>

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<p>good ACT score, and being a male will help at small LACs.
great shot at all</p>

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<p>Reach: Goucher, Hobart, Ursinus, Clark,St. Lawrence
50/50 : Susquehanna, Mcdaniel, Moravian
Safety: Hartwick, University of Maine.</p>

<p>I am familiar with these schools and have visited Goucher, Hobart, Ursinus, Clark and McDaniel. Both my daughter and I really liked Ursinus. I know very well-rounded folks who have graduated from Clark & Susquehanna. I think that you have constructed a really strong portfolio of schools and have pretty accurately judged where your son's application will fall in the mix. I think your son will get admitted to 4-5 of these schools, giving him a range of options to choose from next spring. Good luck.</p>

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<p>As financial aid will be necessary, you might want to consider the cost of his travel back and forth. Getting from ME to MD or PA will add up. I'm a single parent, too, and daughter #1 goes to school in Ohio - flying even el cheapo Southwest dings the budget. Daughter #2 will be looking a little closer to home!</p>

<p>I'm not saying it should rule out his choices, just something to keep in mind as he travels down the college road.</p>

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<p>Yeah, the financial aid is a piece that is important, which is why we are looking at schools away from Maine. My daughter gets a little over 16k grant money from Goucher, so I would expect similar for him, especially if he ended up there. The tough part is having two in for one year, will get him higher aid, but it will be tough knowing how much to expect in the second year.</p>

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<p>Yeah. MD would be my preference for travel. $59 each way tor Maryland on AirTran. Plus, students can fly anywhere on Airtran for standby and depending on flught 59 or 89. I don't expect him to be coming home except at Thanksgiving, Christmas and possibly spring break.</p>

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<p>Consider schools in the South. They LOVE people from Maine.</p>

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<p>I actually think he has an excellent shot at all of those. I think SLU is the only slight reach.</p>

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<p>interesting choices of colleges, i've actually never heard of any of them, except for u of maine. good luck with everything though.</p>

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<p>Hate to break it to you, but Hartwick is not a safety. It's on the same level as Susquehanna, Mcdaniel, Moravian but usually competes directly with Hobart and St. Lawrence for students.</p>

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<p>Hartwick is a Safety for him. He is in the 75th percentile of ACT and SAT scores as well as the amdissions person he interviewed with virtually assured him of acceptance. I never said it was BAD school. I like it a lot. But is is a bit of a safety for him compared to ST. Lawrence, where the scores are a bit higher and the GPA is a bit higher. Perhaps you have a chip on your shoulder?</p>