<p>@cheeseheadmike Luckily, we has advice from those that had “gone before”. We spent the better part of D’s junior year convincing her that she didn’t need AP Calc. Now, as her friends are all struggling, she is very grateful that she finally came around. She took AP Micro and Macro Econ as an independent study to fulfill her math credit. Independent study has meant that although it is still challenging, she has been able to pace it around auditions and visits. She also took AP Lit… But, like her mother, that comes easily to her. So, I second cheeseheadmike’s advice. Plan the senior schedule to allow for missed school time and senioritis. </p>
<p>These kids generally have to miss so much school in January, February and April that unless some of the AP subjects come easy you should really think about a lighter load-especially second semester. Math was never one of my D’s favorite subjects so she did personal finance which she actually found useful. One project was to set up an after college budget so she contacted some NYC friends to get realistic numbers and it really gave her an eye opener. Also if asked during the interview about dropping to a lower “math” she had her answer of taking personal finance to help prepare her for real life. She did stick with her AP English. These kids are so focused and have been juggling school, theatre and lessons for years so one easier semester or year is not going to hurt. I also can not recall any school or scholarship asking for anything but unweighted grades.</p>
<p>It really comes down to knowing your kid and weighing the pros and cons of an easier semester. Like “fit” what works for one does not necessarily work for another. It’s just the different paths we all take </p>
<p>Ditto what Cheese and Kate said. For most schools, except maybe top academic tier, admissions is really only looking at GPA/transcripts through end of junior year anyway. My S - at a performing arts HS for junior and senior years, where academics are a bit of a joke - took two “choir” classes, music tech, piano, digital art, and MT classes as a senior. The only AP/academic class that would “fit” was AP Lit. He took Physics online to fulfill his science requirement. I worried that this would not “look good” on his applications. In hindsight, it turned out for the best. He was able to do his auditions w/o missing anything"important". And he was admitted “academically” to all he applied to (at least was asked to audition at UMich so I assume he met their qualifications). By January, senioritis had definitely kicked in. Thankfully, online Physics is not very taxing and he may even finish it by the time he puts on the cap and gown (realistically, he could have finished it over winter break). For all three of my Ss (2 non-MT), we paid for private ACT/SAT/PSAT tutoring (the PSAT tutoring helped w/SAT) and each one gained a few points, moving them up the scholarship tier at their respective schools. MT S will attend WSU w/full ride b/c of PSAT Nat’l Merit. Not trying to brag, but unfortunately this is a “game”, and you really can improve the odds.</p>
<p>As I posted somewhere before, this is a double-edged sword. If you are certain that your kid can get in artistically, then you are right, going for the higher GPA is probably a better approach. But for schools where academics are ranked higher, and especially if your kids doesn’t get in artistically, the more difficult classes can be a deciding factor. I spoke with one director of admissions who said this specifically - preferred to see kids take the AP classes and success in those classes (grades and test scores) was more of an indicator to him of a potentially attractive candidate than other parts of the application (like the essay). </p>
<p>I agree that doing what you can to boost the ACT/SAT test scores is important. One financial advisor we heard advocated taking the test 3 times to improve the score (with study in between). Our D wouldn’t do that, but she did take it a second time and bumped it a point. These things will make a difference in getting the scholarship dollars. </p>
<p>Not being an MT parent, I can’t know if UAlabama’s MT program is desirable, but they have amazing scholarships for NMF(full-ride 1st year and after that full tuition + $3500/yr +ipad and research money), NMSF, and also for various levels of GPA/test score combination. They DO accept weighted GPA for the scholarships if it is on the transcript. If you are NMF, the GPA doesn’t matter. Otherwise, 32/3.5 gets full OOS tuition and there are lesser awards for lower combinations.</p>
<p>Funny story about this…when D was in the depths (or heights?) of audition season and missing so much school the HS sent a truancy letter home. I had a “conversation” with the dean of students (Nurse Ratchet) about what was going on and she said “I am deeply concerned about her Anatomy grade.” All I could say was “it’s a good thing she’s not going into med school, eh?”</p>
<p>I have a question about the schools with a sliding scale of merit aid. Just as an example, say when S applies to a school he has a 3.8 GPA and so qualifies for $9000 in merit aid, and receives a letter from a school stating that he will be given that amount per year. But what happens if the final GPA that is calculated in June falls a little below that, say 3.74, which would put him in a lower tier, say $5000 in aid. Does the merit award automatically fall, or does it only matter what the GPA is when the school makes the calculation? Or do you think it depends on the school? This is just a hypothetical - S is only a junior - but as we choose classes for next year knowing that he is going to be missing a lot of school for college auditions, I can see that his GPA second semester might suffer. I know cheeseheadmike has said his D may have left some merit money on the table because she took a very hard class load, pushing up her weighted GPA but pushing down her unweighted GPA, and I just wondered if you could also lose it after it’s awarded!</p>
<p>That depends on the school and you can always call for details if it isn’t explained properly on their scholarship pages. And best to get written confirmation if there is the possibility of GPA drop.</p>
<p>Many schools consider only 9-11 grades for scholarships. That’s good if you are slacking off senior year, but the flip side is that raising GPA senior year won’t bump up your scholarship. Also common is that test scores from fall of senior year can be submitted to get placed in higher scholarship category. </p>
<p>I think every school we applied and were accepted to required that a final high school transcript be submitted. it is unlikely a school would rescind an offer unless there was a significant drop in gpa. But they do get your grades. I would read scholarship offers carefully. Most require you maintain a certain gpa in college but I don’t know if they require you maintain your high school gpa. Nonetheless, it is important to try to keep your grades consistent with or improved in those last semesters. And I agree with @cheeseheadmike – unless you are applying to Northwestern or Ivy League schools, I would worry less about taking a rigorous course load and more about taking something easy to manage in a busy year.</p>
<p>My daughter is in a middle college program where many of her classes are being completed at the local community college. Because of that her grades for those classes are weighted as an AP class would be, plus if the college she ultimately attends grants transfer units she might be able to get college credit for certain courses as well. I’m hoping that it will all be helpful in the final analysis. She is taking many performing arts and music classes at the college which even if they don’t transfer should help prepare her for her auditions and college program.</p>
<p>Obviously very few people would enter into a degree with the intention of leaving it, however what happens to scholarships if you find out your program isn’t suited to you, and you want to transfer? Do you have to pay the scholarships back to your school? Is there a general rule, or does it depend on the university?</p>
<p>I believe that in most, if not all, cases you do not need to repay scholarships, whether they are for merit or talent. Would be a good thing to ask your school, but that’s how I’ve seen them listed. </p>
<p>MTdreamer14 - I’ve never heard of anyone having to pay back a scholarship. The school is not issuing you a check for the money; they’re simply charging you less tuition. There’s nothing to “pay back” - you just went there at a reduced rate. If you decide you want to transfer in the middle of the year, or even after a few weeks, you don’t then owe the college the full tuition amount - you just leave the school.</p>
<p>Of course, loans will follow you to your next school…and maybe for the rest of your life!</p>
<p>Oldest D has excellent Muhlenberg merit aid also, but the other factor is that Muhlenberg has kept it’s overall costs on the low <a href=“mailto:side-@54k”>side-@54k</a>. She also had gotten 15k from University of Rochester, but U of R’s total cost was over 61k. </p>
<p>Isn’t it amazing to think of 54K as “On the low side” of colleges!!. As Charlie Brown might say… Oh Good Grief!! What a crazy world we live in. When my D 1st started looking at schools her dad said, “let’s keep this reasonable- no school where tuition is over $30k”…well, the school list got REALLY short, and included VERY few of her top choices…so eventually dad lightened up. D ended up with some merit aide at every school where she was accepted- which made programs more doable. Dad’s toughest moment- her grades/scores/legacy status qualified her for full tuition to mom and dad’s alma mater- but they had no bfa program… :(</p>