<p>I think my post 17 is confusing (a nice little birdie told me). I meant to say that I use the 75th%-tile as the benchmark for un-hooked applicants. A 34 is one heck of a benchmark. :eek: I wouldn't have said that at many schools.</p>
<p>No interest in Cleveland.
Stanford ERD, Columbia FU, Cornell, Georgia Tech, Wash U, Purdue, UT, A&M, Rice and Univ of Oklahoma because they offered her a four year tuition waiver plus $52,000 (that is what her scores + class rank get her automatically).</p>
<p>I suggested Penn and JH but she is all apped out and tired of tests. She has already been admitted to the TX schools which are really not bad safety schools. She is not sure about Georgia Tech - hears too many of the students actually use their pocket protectors (has friends whose brothers go there). What she liked about Stanford, Columbia, Cornell and Wash U was that the students seemed to be diverse and have diverse interests.</p>
<p>Where did your daughter end up? </p>
<p>If she gets into Stanford, Columbia or Cornell I will have to go back to work full time and put off retirement until I am 75. She will probably receive merit money at other schools. We can swing the tuition instate.</p>
<p>
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A 34 is at or above the 75th percentile for every college in the nation. That is where an un-hooked kid needs to be IMO. It is the benchmark I use.
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</p>
<p>That's the way that I look at chances-maximizing also. Of course, there are many other things to think about when applying to a highly selective university besides test scores, </p>
<p>as the participants in this thread are well aware.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore Bio and Chem Major at Rhodes College in Memphis. She likes LAC's and is doing well there. ;)</p>
<p>
[quote]
I meant to say that I use the 75th%-tile as the benchmark for un-hooked applicants.
[/quote]
By that logic, 75% of all students at all colleges are "hooked". I supposed it depends on how you define a "hook" -- (are good grades a "hook"?) -- but there is a reason that the colleges release mid-range scores, and that is because most of their admitted students fall into that range, hooked or not. </p>
<p>Obviously if the goal is to get merit aid, then having top range SAT scores help. </p>
<p>But I feel kind of sorry for any kid who does not apply to a college because their test scores are merely average for that school.</p>
<p>CalMom - If you look at the College Board profiles on each of the schools they tell you what percentage of their class falls in the midrange they have reported. My daughter found that a more instructive guide. She is a realist (Engineering Major) and only applied to one school that she thought was an extreme reach. That was Stanford. Cornell, Columbia and Rice, although they are reach schools for everyone are moderate reaches by comparison. The remainder of her list are match and safety schools. She applied to three schools that she would get a quick yes so she would have them in the bag so to speak. Also, UT Engineering is not an automatic acceptance. We have the Top 10% rule in Texas that gives all students in the Top 10% automatic admission. If you are in the Top 5% they will admit you within 24 hours of receiving your application.</p>
<p>The application process for many of these schools is cumbersome and difficult. When you have to write up to three or four separate essays for each school, write more essays for scholarships (yes it requires spending more hours to write essays to get Merit $$ if you missed the NMF by a point or two) and shoulder a 7 AP/ Honors class course load, continue with your other ECs and perhaps hold down a part time job or look for summer internships.</p>
<p>The computer applications, while great for the institutions, have created havoc for my daughter whose computer software is too new. We have been stuck e-mailing all of her essays to another computer we have that runs Windows 97 or the cut and paste does not work properly. The PDF fill in paper applications are much easier.</p>
<p>UnivMom: Has she visited Wash U? It is very difficult (but not impossible) to get in there without visiting and demonstrating major interest. My daughter was accepted to Harvard and Columbia but waitlisted at Wash U where she did not visit. She did not remain on the waitlist.</p>
<p>Your daughter's ACT score, plus her other credentials, certainly make her a viable applicant for Cornell, Columbia, and Rice Engineering.</p>
<p>Did she do equally well on the SAT Subject Tests? They're an important part of the admissions package too, for some of the schools on her list.</p>
<p>After being bombarded by mail from Wash U (4 pieces a day for 5 months), she decided to visit. She stayed over night with a student and attended classes with a friend that was a freshman in the BioMed program. </p>
<p>Math II 2C=800 Chem 700.</p>
<p>Once again, UnivMom, your D is a great student with a set of way above "normal" stats. Like many have said here, she is qualified to go into any one of the schools. </p>
<p>As you may already know, my D is also in the application process. She is applying to almost the same set of schools as your D with almost identical stats.</p>
<p>Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Cornell, WashU, Vanderbilt, and State U. Other than State U, everone of others are reach schools. </p>
<p>Please continue to share your D's progress and Good luck.</p>
<p>"Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Cornell, WashU, Vanderbilt, and State U. Other than State U, everone of others are reach schools. "</p>
<p>DADII,
My son 2 years ago was very much like your D and Cur's D- top student, stats etc, but we did insist that he have some true safeties on his list. Is your D going to be HAPPY to go to state U if she doesn't get into any of the other colleges on her list? I shudder to see only those colleges, because it is so competative this year, and lightening could strike. It's not too late to add a college like USC, which wants top students. She sounds like she would be eligible for a 1/2 or full tuition scholarship from USC [ is she a NMerit Finalist?], but only if she gets her application in by DEC 10. And yes, she can apply early to USC, despite applying SCEA to Stanford, because the Dec 10 submission is required for scholarship consideration. Just a thought.</p>
<p>MPM^^ thanks.</p>
<p>Yes, DD will be o.k. with State U. which has an excellent honor program and she is a NMSF for now. </p>
<p>For the past ten years or so, Duke and Vanderbilt have taken every from D's HS that have similar stats. Also, for each of the past couple years, someone from this city has earned a full ride at Duke. We have our fingers crossed.</p>
<p>DadII - I agree. Being admitted to a safety school takes a lot of stress out of the process.</p>
<p>My daughter had to apply to the state schools before October 31 for some of the scholarships. A completed application was part of the process. At many colleges December 1 is the application deadline to be considered for Merit scholarships.</p>
<p>UnivMom, with a daughter interested in engineering, make sure to discard the composite number for gender admissions, and only look at the admission numbers for women. It's an understatement to state that it is an entirely different story. </p>
<p>Fwiw, you may want to take a quick look at Harvey Mudd:</p>
<p>HMC</a> Merit-based Awards</p>
<p>Also, you may find out that private schools that are able to combine need and merit based aid might very well be cheaper than the local state universities. </p>
<p>Lastly, the time invested in battling the various applications and writing scholarship essays represent the best effort/reward ratio. Most people regret not having spent more time on polishing applications and essays, especially when realizing that statistics and test scores only carry one ... that far. While there are many more qualified students than available spots, the number of qualified students who also present a compelling and not Stepford child-like application is a mere fraction of the first number.</p>
<p>I'm pretty normal, and I got into a few "top 20s."</p>
<p>I have received stats from the recruiters. I have tried to convince my husband of this fact.</p>
<p>UnivMom:</p>
<p>In my opinion a student with the sketchy description u gave of what a "normal" kld is, more reflects an exceptional child versus what I think u mean as average. A high school senior with top 1% -5% class rank, top 98%-99% SATs and great ec's etc can potentially get into any school depending on the school's needs for that year. From my two years viewing CC it does not reflect postings from students who are average or the parents of average students. I think a review of a desired college or university's website will give basic statistical admission data. The more well-rounded the student's interests and background the depth of their involvements and things such a geography, race,economic status and gender all play significant rolls. The moral of the story is if the kid meets the statistical median of a school's admissions statistics and the student really wants to go to that school he/she should apply. Always be aware that for the top schools the admissions rates are between 9% and 25% so have a good supply of match and safety shools. </p>
<p>My D who goes to Wesleyan got rejected at Amherst, Williams and waitlisted at Middlebury. She was a Nat'l Merit Fianalist, top 2% of her class, 3.99uw gpa,AP scholar,2200 SATs, 4yr varsity athelete,prize winning playwriter, etc. So one ever knows who will get in where. From my experience all of my D's peers love the schools they go to and so will your kid.</p>
<p>Dana's Dad</p>
<p>They leave for the same reason my nephew left. Someone else offers them more money to go to school and their parents are in the middle class no-man's land in terms of receiving need based financial aid. They go to the schools that give NMFs a full ride, plus computers, books and incidental cash.</p>
<p>The OU recruiter at our high school told my daughter that she will automatically get a 4 year tuition waiver, plus $32,000 and she is trying to get her an additional $20,000 and that is before she applies for the engineering scholarships.</p>
<p>OU gives NMFs $82,000 over 4 years plus a tuition waiver, a computer and this money can be used to study abroad.</p>
<p>Baylor University gives a full tuition scholarship to all NMFs.</p>
<p>The lists are endless</p>
<p>DanaLynne - My Ds ECs are very average. This is very normal high school volunteer stuff. </p>
<p>Debate team 4 years doesn't compete enough to get awards. She prefers to do the team research, maintain tubs and write the aff & neg arguments. She prepares mommy and daddy judges for tournaments and this year is also in charge of the training the freshman Congress team. She used to be in CX. (I recommend debate for any student that has a team at their HS. They will learn more about research and writing impromptu arguments aff or neg in one year than all of the HS writing courses put together very good for AP, SAT and ACT writing).</p>
<p>Elected class officer for 3 of the 4 years in HS. She transfered and obviously didn't know anyone the first year, but volunteered to work with the Class Council that year. At her HS it is only a popularity contest in senior year because everyone wants Class Council Officer, STUCO Officer or NHS Officer for their college apps. The teacher-advisor made sure she would be on the council this last year - they really needed someone who can plan, organize, manage and run volunteer events, knows how to approach businesses for contributions and write thank you letter.</p>
<p>Religious institution youth group. Local officer since 8th grade and now is on the regional board for three states. Very time intensive. She loves planning events. This is her social outlet.
She has a couple of other things she does, but there are only so many hours in a day or week.</p>
<p>She is not an athlete. A crime in Texas.</p>