We’re waiting for a late entry: Southern Connecticut State. She applied after Christmas, and it has become her #1 choice. She’s gotten pretty friendly with some of the kids on the group chat, and it’s only about an hour and a half away.
Choice #2 is probably Plymouth State in NH.
@collegefreak999 Thank you so much for sharing your story. My S19 has similar stats (also from a rigorous school in the Bay Area) and your success gives me hope! Congratulations!!!
DS got into VCU Arts! We are very excited, as it’s the Number 2 Art school in the country, yet it’s part of a major 4-year university. We are going to visit next week. I have a feeling that this will be where DS goes, as it seems to be a perfect fit. As a bonus, it’s in-state tuition for us. Starting to feel a sense of relief!
Congrats @sbgal2011! I’m thrilled you and S have this weight off your mind and can look forward to the fun part 
DS was accepted to LSU! That was our last decision, and we are very happy about it. This was our number 2 choice, behind VCU Arts. DS has officially been accepted to all 11 colleges to which he applied.
DS will go to the accepted students day this weekend at VCU, and barring any major issues with the school, he will go there in the fall. I admit I had a soft spot for LSU, but it’s hard to beat the reputation of VCU, not to mention the instate tuition.
I started this thread to share success stories for those students who have less than a 3.0 GPA. I think it’s so important for these students to know that there are plenty of EXCELLENT options out there for them. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that your only choice is trade school or community college. Nothing wrong with those options, but they are not your only ones. If you want to go to a four-year college, you can. And BTW, you can even go OOS for the same price as instate for some colleges. Even with a 2.8 GPA!
Yay,!!!
I wish I could like your last post ,ore than once!
Bumping in hope everyone updates results.
My son was accepted to all 7 schools he applied and he received a 3 yr Army ROTC scholarship.
ACT 29, 30 superstore
GPA 2.9W, 2.7 UW
Major, Environmental or Civil Engineering
Applied EA where possible
All applications were in by Nov 2nd or earlier
Accepted into Engineering major at
Widener University
Temple
Ohio University
University of Vermont **
Hofstra
Accepted, but not into requested major
Ole Miss
Toledo
**UVM deferred from EA to regular round.
This was the only school decision still outstanding at the time AROTC scholarship was announced. AROTC was offered to the schools he listed as 1,2 and 4 on the AROTC application. UVM was listed as #1. ROTC shares the results with admissions. We believe it was a big influence in UVM offering admission.
UVM and Temple (IS) were the only schools to not offer scholarships from the university.
Hofstra and UVM gapped us with FA.
He has decided to attend UVM, although my preference was Ohio U.
Ohio University stacks scholarships and seems to really have many support pillars in place. Any future students in this GPA range reading this thread should give it consideration. My 2019 hs daughter will be applying there.
So glad everyone here shared this journey.
@Longhaul impressive results. Congrats to your son! S19 is hoping to get an ROTC scholarship next year and while we have not really researched the possibility, I hadn’t been too hopeful based on his GPA (currently around a 3.4-3.5), ACT unknown but due to test anxiety, not sure he will do as well as your son. Out of curiosity, what were the other two schools where he was awarded the AROTC scholarship?
@Longhaul congrats to your son and thank you for sharing. My sophomore son has the same GPA, hasn’t taken any standardized tests yet, but wants to major in mech or chem engineering, so this post gives me so much hope!!
@Longhaul Thank you so much for your post. I’m always reading how tough it is to get into Engineering. Your son’s story just goes to show that not having a 3.9 GPA doesn’t preclude you from a STEM major. I think many people will find your post very helpful and encouraging!!
@4kids4us , for Army ROTC, applicant can list up to 7 schools in order of preference. His top 4 were UVM, Ohio U, Widener and Hofstra. He was awarded to UVM, Ohio U and Hofstra. Widener contacted him and told him if he wished to put in for a transfer of the scholarship to Widener, they would accept it.
Feel free to PM me if you want more details. The ROTC is stressful. Still waiting on medical clearance.
I will say, Ohio U was a last minute look based on my research on CC. It is an impressive ROTC program.
@taverngirl , although son fared better than we expected, we did find many Engineering programs that would welcome students who weren’t tippy top. Most were expensive privates who offered scholarships to many applicants.
Widener program was very impressive. Wilkes also has a solid program.
We learned from our oldest, truly any ABET accredited school is good as long as the student has research, internships or coop programs to take advantage of.
Thanks @Longhaul. Do you think the ROTC helped your son with admissions?
My S17 has an UGPA of 2.87, but scored a 34 on the ACT and a 1490 on the SAT. We’ve been concerned about the GPA, but there are plenty of colleges that aren’t that fixated on a GPA. Some don’t even require it, but almost all recommend it. The website NICHE lets you know if GPA is required/recommended.
@Longhaul thanks for the feedback. I may be PM’ing you in the future with questions - thanks for the offer! S would love to go to USNA (H is a grad) but unfortunately, due to his test scores, I don’t think he’d ever get in unless he is recruited for a sport (slim chance). Out of the blue one day he told us he was interested in ROTC, so we are going to see if that is a possibility for him. Good luck with the medical clearance!
@JeanneAP how did you search NICHE for GPA requirements? I could only see the test-optional selection.
@taverngirl , I think ROTC only helped at UVM.
He was accepted to all other schools before he received the AROTC scholarship.
Aside from UVM, only Widener admissions knew of his interest in ROTC.
Another good Engineering school we found was Rowan, but he didn’t pursue it because they didn’t have ROTC on campus.