Great kid, good grades and scores, NOT a superstar

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi, I've searched many pages looking for a thread already addressing something like this but haven't been successful.</p>

<p>My daughter (DD??) is finishing up her junior year in a large highly regarded suburban public HS in the suburbs of Chicago. She has a 32 on her ACT which I believe translates to qbout 1420 or so on SAT. We are quite satisfied with this, don't think she'll go much higher, though she's had 34s on individual sections in math and english in different testings). She's been in honors/AP classes with mostly As and a couple of Bs, her weighted GPA is 4.4 on a 4 point scale. No class ranks. She works hard and has straight As this year. </p>

<p>She's got a VERY difficult younger brother with longtime undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder and lots of issues so she's quite independent and extremely self-sufficient, but she's still just 17. Not enjoying my "interference" in her planning!</p>

<p>She's not very social, has some friends but not a large group of friends, not really interested in a Greek life environment but not really aware of what a heavy frat/sorority life is like either. She's in some clubs, but isn't tremendous in school ECs/leadership but she's done 9 years as a mentor of special needs kids, a leadership council was created because of her, I think it gives her a story.</p>

<p>She's held a part-time job all year, and does still babysit on weekends.</p>

<p>She's good at Math/Sci AND Engl/Soc Studies/Language so somewhat undecided on future path...could be engineering, could be foreign relations, could be neuropsychology. She wants a large urban school away from Chicago. We want the best possible place where she'll be challenged, she wants the highest ranked school she can get into (rolling eyes here, she's way more impressed with the big names than her dad and I are). Will need some sort of merit aid as we won't qualify for needs-based (even though we sure FEEL like we should!!) but obviously the chances of getting money at stretch schools is slim. Does NOT want to attend a religious affiliated school (Georgetown is the only exception).</p>

<p>So we've done some visits, seen Wash U, Tufts and Emory, she didn't care for those. LOVED Vanderbilt, Penn, Brown (did their summer program in '10). This summer we're planning to visit GW/American and Georgetown in DC, NYU and Columbia in NYC, and BU/Northeastern in Boston. I was also thinking of U of Miami in FL and Tulane since I've heard they give money too. My friends on the east coast tell me these schools on our visit list are widely different types of places, and we're just having a hard time discerning from here, when maybe 1 or 2 kids in the area attend the far-flung schools, what would be a good fit where she'd have a successful college career.</p>

<p>Guidance? Suggestions? College counselors we've talked to don't feel like they're adding a whole lot of value to the process. School's college counselor is all Big 10 all the time. And honestly, virtually ALL of these college websites are so professionally done and seem geared to make their school appeal to everyone, we're struggling to find the step below where she'd feel like she's accomplished something to get there and still able to get some money.</p>

<p>Sorry for rambling, hopefully someone read all the way through. LOL TIA</p>

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<p>Have you used a book like the Fiske Guide to Colleges? I am a big fan, it gives descriptions beyond the statistics. It also provides info on the strongest majors and overlap schools. We found D1’s current college (which she loves) through it, had never heard of it until we saw it there.</p>

<p>Fiske does mention whether merit aid is available, but it is also necessary to look at a school’s website for details, and the individual CC threads on each school are also a good source of information on merit aid.</p>

3

<p>Since you mention merit money, I ditto the UMiami and the Tulane suggestions…</p>

<p>Not sure about merit at GW (how good it is?)…</p>

<p>Vanderbilt has some great merit awards but they tend to be for the superstars as you call them…</p>

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<p>Would you categorize your daughter as more interested in college as preparation for a career or is she more of a learning-for-learning’s sake type?</p>

<p>How large does the school need to be?</p>

<p>Many large urban schools are public universities, of course…</p>

5

<p>She is considering some terrific schools, but I think she needs good academic and financial safety schools as well. Some of the schools on her list are very difficult to get into, and some (including all the Ivy League schools, such as Penn, Brown, and Columbia) do not give merit aid.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>Don’t underestimate the value of this one. At the very least, it could make an attention-getting essay.</p>

7

<p>Some other urban schools to consider:</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon
Johns Hopkins
USC (Southern California)
Rice</p>

<p>Case Western and Pitt might not be high enough on her prestige scale, but give money and are likely to be match or safety for her.</p>

8

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Some of these might work for her. If you don’t mind doing the research yourselves, two threads with good merit-finding techniques are:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You will be well ahead of the game if you and your husband can come to agreement on just exactly how much you are willing to pay, and how you feel about your daughter taking on student loans. If your daughter can have this number in mind, it will help her frame her college search.</p>

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<p>She sounds like a good fit for NYU, but I wouldn’t expect any merit aid.</p>

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<p>Any interest in women’s colleges? Barnard is the obvious one if she’s sure she wants urban, but most of the other top ones are in consortiums. And she might have a better chance at merit aid.</p>

11

<p>How are her teacher recs? How is her writing?</p>

<p>A lot will depend on how she jumps out in her application as the wonderful young woman that she clearly is.</p>

<p>Do not underestimate the importance of her great grades. From what we’ve seen these are often overlooked and matter so much. She should really think very hard about her teacher recs.</p>

<p>I think her application is about coming off as a truly wonderful citizen within the classroom, the persona that could also be expressed within the family somehow. This is a young lady who has kept her balance thru a lot of family difficulty. I think schools with give this weight if handled and expressed well. Not heavy handed. She has to find that sweet spot of expressing her own unique challenges and how she’s functioned so smoothly and well within them. Her essays, her recommendations — those have to be really carefully done. The scores are just fine. jmho</p>

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<p>She has a strong foundation for a great application. Do not make the mistake of aiming too low. Too many people do that, especially when they come here on CC and hear about how tough it is to get in to college. If she wants to, then do not discourage her from taking the ACT or SAT again. Scores do improve just with normal maturation, even if there is no additional prep. I also agree with others- her 9 years as a special needs mentor is a huge EC.- not something that can be manufactured for college apps.</p>

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<p>Find a safety that she loves and you can afford FIRST. Then starting looking at the rest.</p>

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<p>Only in a highly competitive suburban high school would a kid with a 4.4 gpa, 32 act, 9 years of an EC with leadership etc. NOT be considered a superstar!! She sounds pretty super to me and especially if she wants to get away from Chicago she’ll have great options. She should apply wherever she likes-- she will get into BU and Northeastern I’m sure, as well as NYU ($$$ are scarce at these though). UPenn? Tulane for sure… it’s tough for a girl like this these days but she clearly deserves a great education and I suspect she’ll get one.</p>

15

<p>Your daughter sounds like a superstar in all the important ways and her scores and GPA are just fine. She will get into some great schools…just pay careful attention to the details in the applications and suggest that she spend a fair amount of time crafting a great essay. Schools like kids like your daughter.</p>

<p>She has mentored in a special needs students for several years…that counts for alot. She sounds like a great kid!</p>

16

<p>*She has a 32 on her ACT which I believe translates to qbout 1420 or so on SAT. *</p>

<p>1440–1470 out of 1600 (math and critical reading scores only)</p>

<p>2160–2210 out of 2400</p>

<p>Will need some sort of merit aid as we won’t qualify for needs-based (even though we sure FEEL like we should!!) but obviously the chances of getting money at stretch schools is slim. Does NOT want to attend a religious affiliated school (Georgetown is the only exception).</p>

<p>First you need to determine how much merit money you need. How much can you afford to pay each year. Many of these schools don’t give ANY merit money or they don’t give much or they only give for super high scores. For instance, WashU St Louis often targets its merit scholarships for very high stats, URMs, and/or students from unusual states. </p>

<p>Tulane will likely give your D about $25k per year. However, the school costs over $55k per year, so you’d have to pay about $30k per year. Is that ok? </p>

<p>If you determine that you can pay - say $15k per year - then that means that the schools MUST give full tuition scholarships for stats, so that your portion can pay for room, board, fees, books, travel, etc. </p>

<p>The problem with chasing merit money is when a LOT is needed. If you can contribute a lot more per year - say $25k per year - then you’ll have more options. </p>

<p>What is your situation? How much can you pay each year? That answer will largely determine where your child should apply and where she’ll end up going.</p>

<p>Once you know how much you can pay each year, tell your D. She needs to know NOW what the limits are. Right now, many of her schools will NOT likely work out.</p>

<p>Your D will likely get accepted to many schools…however, if paying for these schools will be a problem, then having a bunch of acceptances will only lead to an unhappy spring.</p>

17

<p>*This summer we’re planning to visit GW/American and Georgetown in DC, NYU and Columbia in NYC, *</p>

<p>Yikes…I would stop this tour bus unless I was more certain about affording these schools. Many of these schools don’t give merit or don’t give much.</p>

<p>I see a serious danger in having your D fall in love with schools that you can’t pay for (unless you’re willing to pay full freight).</p>

18

<p>I second what many are saying in this thread. First, you need to decide if you are willing/able to pay full freight at some of the schools on her list. Many offer no merit, so if you need merit aid, it could be very disappointing to your daughter to gain acceptance to a top choice, then not be able to attend due to finances. If you feel you can swing it, then let her go for it. Admissions can be random, and she has a shot based on what you said, especially if she writes a compelling essay. If you can, visit as many merit schools as you can. Many times they do consider interest. There is a lot of money out there at some really great schools. Good luck to you all!</p>

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<p>I would try Harvard and Stanford for top schools, in addition to safety schools.</p>

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<p>I would recommend you looking at University of Alabama. My son had similar stats, though not as good, as your daughter’s, but he is a special kid, too. While other schools ignored him, Bama treated him like a king. He was admitted into their computer based honors program and was granted a phone interview for the highly competitive university fellows program. Don’t be afraid of the big football school experience. Son was definitely not interested in this. He also wanted an urban school as well. Bama’s proximity to Birmingham, an hour away, gives him the access to travel home quickly by plane that he was looking for. If Bama continues to give the good scholarships it has, she will get close to a full ride, plus some help with housing if she majors in engineering. I would encourage her to apply and keep it as a safety, and apply for the computer based honors and university fellows programs. In the qualifying process for these programs, she’ll learn even more about the school and its unique opportunities it offers to hard working kids. I don’t know what area of the country you’re in, but it is an easy flight into Birmingham and less than an hour away by car. The admissions people are great and will bend over backwards to give you a great visit experience if you want to make the trip.</p>

<p>Good luck to your daughter. She sounds like a great kid!</p>