<p>Hi everyone, could you chance my son for Grinnell College? He will most likely be applying EDI, if that matters. </p>
<p>GPA - Around 3.49, Increased greatly from freshman and sophomore year. School doesn't weight.
SAT - 2010 (710M, 630CR, 670WR)
ACT- 31 (29 English/Critical Reading, 33 Math, 32 Science), 8 on essay
Will retake ACT, if not both, again.
SAT II - 740 Chem, 660 Math II, 610 World History
AP - 5 chem, 3 world history.
He is taking AP Physics C, AP Calc AB, and AP Bio this year. Throughout his high school career, he has taken all of the hardest courses the school has offered and the ones he could take.
He shows great interest in chemistry and wants to major in it.
ECs - Has interned at a chemical research lab the past two months. He is going to get an excellent letter of rec from the head boss there. Has volunteered over 300 hours at a local hospital. Part of the math/science team at high school. Don't know if it's an EC or not but he helps out at our restaurant and takes care of his siblings. </p>
<p>He's going to receive his recommendation letters from his AP chem and math teacher. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>ECs are not good but he had a chance</p>
<p>Your son’s ECs are very solid. They show long term commitment and consistency (300 hours at the hospital, research in chemistry, math science team-his interest in science is very clear) AND he helps out with a family business and looking after siblings! He has nothing to apologize for on that front-and working in a family business gives him a unique perspective that Grinnell and others will value.</p>
<p>His GPA is rather low, but many LACs, including Grinnell, will overlook a weak 9th grade, especially from boys whom they know are slower to mature and tend to be a bit under-represented in the applicant pool generally. Take a look at Grinnell’s Common Data Set (google it) to see how much of a match vs. reach it is for your son based on his grades, test scores and class rank.</p>
<p>Demonstrated interest matters to Grinnell because good fit is really important at a small, rural school. If visiting is a possibility for him (and interviewing while he’s there), it’s worth some extra effort. And applying ED does help and won’t impact your financial aid package - we called the financial aid people to ask about this when S applied. </p>
<p>Our S is currently a chem major at Grinnell and loves it. Good luck to your S.</p>
<p>Thai, could you please elaborate more on your statement about his ECs not being strong? </p>
<p>M’s Mom, we are planning to visit when school starts, so he can have an overnight stay. His GPA trend is increasing, with a huge jump from sophomore to junior year. We also emailed the dean of financial aid, and it seems he will be able to get the maximum amount of financial aid. On that part, do you know if the financial aid covers just tuition or everything including room and board, books, and even possibly transportation? Also, if you don’t mind answering this question, but how did you feel about your S going to Iowa? All of my friends say that it is in the middle of nowhere, and he should go to a school closer to home (we live in MA, but he really doesn’t want to go anywhere near home). </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>