<p>My daughter goes to a very small christian school in a small Minnesota town. I love the school but no one on staff is driven to help kids get into college. There are 14 kids in her sophmore class but might only be 6 or 7 by the time she is a senior (kids leave to do PSEO). For some reason the school grades a little differnt; A's are 94 and up, B's are 88-94 and so forth. My daughter has mainly A's and B's but would be all A's at local public. The few kids that go to college go to one of two small Christian colleges that we can not afford due to making too much money to qualify for any grants or finicial aide. The school is teaching my daughter values that are outside straight academic class regiments. All the kids have to do community service and are required to two missions trips doing high school. I don't want to take her out of the school because socially she is doing great and I love the kids she hangs out with.</p>
<p>She wants to eventually enter the world of publishing. If she goes to a state school and gets good grades do you think she will able to get into a graduate school back east. I'm worried that if she goes to a state school this will hurt her chances in the long run.</p>
Do not worry about this. Cream rises to the top. If she does well in college (pretty much any accredited college) she’ll be able to get into a grad school.</p>
<p>OP appears to be in Minnesota if that helps the discussion. I agree with Erin’s Dad, the important thing is to do well where ever she goes for undergrad.</p>
<p>She will be fine. Have her focus on staying in the top 5-10% and start now to prep for the ACT. I think Spark Notes online had some free test prep and there are quite a few youtube videos with ACT tips/strategies. Just 15 minutes a day can make a difference.</p>
<p>My son received a fabulous merit scholarship from U of Minn (I think our annual out of pocket is about $2000) At least your D can attend PSOE courses. Our small Catholic school did not allow it. </p>
<p>Also - take a look at Drake University in DesMoines. I have heard they have a great publishing program and because Better Homes & Garden is in the area, internships are plentiful. (2 years ago they gave out some hefty merit scholarships, but I do not know about today)</p>
<p>You need to be become her college counselor. Don’t worry about the grade scale, the colleges will convert it to a 4.0 scale if that’s what they use. But inform yourself on what she needs to accomplish to go the colleges she wants to apply to and then make that happen with or without the school’s assistance. If the school doesn’t offer AP courses, that will not be used against your daughter, she just needs to take the most rigorous track they offer.</p>
<p>If she can become a National Merit Finalist she will get lots of offers for merit scholarships - including from U of Minn. :)</p>
<p>Our school doesn’t offer different courses, everyone takes the same classes. I can never get an answer to wether the classes are considered AP or not. The school just says that they have a good rep with the colleges. To me that means they have a good rep with Bethel and Northwestern (two small Christian colleges in the area). These two schools are out of our finacial range. </p>
<p>She took the PSAT this fall and due to math score was not national merit. Her math teacher thinks she can retake the test next year as a junior?</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouragement. The next daughter is so much easier, she wants to go to University Minnesota at Duluth and keeps her gpa around 3.8. She also wants to become a police officer so its easy to find classes for her.</p>
<p>newfaith - Your D’s school is what it is. And yes, she will be fine coming out of college. So your job is to provide requisite guidance to get her INTO college … a college you can afford. Since your school is small and not a competitive academic, your D’s ACT score will be the primary stat colleges have to evaluate her readiness. It’s not too early to (a) get a baseline score by taking a couple practice ACT tests; and (b) beginning prep work to improve those ACT scores.</p>
<p>Thanks UCBALUMNUS. We only moved here two years ago from Texas and I don’t know the quality of the schools here. We visited UMD and I loved it but she hated it. We’re going to visit the Fargo/Moorehead area in the fall and see the schools there. Moorehead state has a publishing cert. she could get along with a English MA. The only thing that concerns me about that school is the low percentage of kids that graduate. She would really like to go to Concordia unseen but I told her its outside our budget. Being an Army vet I told her she could do ROTC and go to almost any school but she is 100% against this idea (her lost)! To me North Dakota State and University both look good. Also University Wiscosin at Riverfalls, Eau Claire, Stout, ect… are good choices but so far she isn’t interested. University Minnesota at the twin cities would be big reach unless she improves her gpa.</p>
<p>Concordia Moorhead or Concordia St. Paul? Based on my kids friends, $15,000 is about the max you could get at either in merit money with a high ACT score. We have neighbor kids/friends at ND State for engineering, UND for Aviation and Concordia Moorhead. All are happy (and cold)</p>
<p>Your D can self study for AP tests. Just Google it and you will find the subjects and tests dates. Your HS counselor can order in the test for you - Unless your school covers the cost they run about $60. </p>
<p>Many Christian high schools are not eager to see their students go to state universities which they see as spiritual minefields with coed dorms, loose supervision and courses with Evolutionary content. For your dauhgter go to a state university you are going to have to be your own GC.</p>
<p>newfaith, I believe the school will send a report along with the guidance counselor recommendation that will detail its offerings, grading policy, etc. Colleges ask for these so that they can (a) become familiar with schools they may not know and (b) put each application in context (i.e. no APs on child’s report card because the school doesn’t offer APs or no APs because student chose not to take any of the 22 different AP classes offered).</p>
<p>Meanwhile, if your D is interested in publishing, may I suggest that (if she’s not already doing so) she begin writing her head off immediately? Anything and everything from church bulletins to school newsletter to local newspaper to a blog … anything that will get her a byline, experience in the field and the beginnings of a portfolio. Given the changing nature of the business, some computer skills and digital photography could also be a plus.</p>
<p>She wouldn’t have qualified as a sophomore in any case. The junior year PSAT is the one that counts for National Merit Scholar competition. She should definitely take it her junior year. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Lemaitre - I believe you left out “support for LGBT students.” But you’re right about the rest of your post, so I’m inclined to forgive you. (jk!)</p>
<p>The level of courses she ends up taking, the grades in them and her SAT/ACT scores are what are going to determine whether she is accepted to the state schools. You can tell if the courses are AP by asking the GC if any of the kids take the AP test at the end of the year after taking the courses and what the scores tend to be on them. Find out how many take the AP exams and the score breakdowns. I would be surprised if a small Christian school has a lot of AP courses. Possible, but I don’t know many, that do.</p>
<p>If her grades are pretty good, top scores on the tests are usually what bring the merit scholarships around. However, with a few exceptions, a flagship state school offers far more challeging courses to prepare a student in most disciplines than small Christian colleges. Again, there are exceptions, and those might be some schools to check out. If her stats are high, don’t eliminate private schools. We are not eligible for financial aid, yet each of my kids have gotten some very nice merit awards from private colleges that made them less expensive than some state options.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info. Did not know about the PSAT and junior year, neither did her teacher at school. The school is not bad its just that it’s focus is not on college rather much more on living in “Christ”. The kids are really encouraged to become youth pastors and/or go to college to become missionaries. Its great if this is in your heart but for my daughter her heart has always been to write and to read. I’m really glad I’ve found this site. There are so many school I’ve learned about that I never heard of before. Out-of-state schools that look good are Bowling Green and Flagger to mention two. I use to worry that she wouldn’t go to any schools but thanks to this site and research I realize there are so many good colleges that its just a matter of finding the one that fits the best.
Thanks for all the help.</p>
<p>Newfaith - Lots of good advice here for you. My kids also graduated from a Christian high school, although not nearly as small as your daughter’s! I do think that Christian high school often like to support local Christian colleges by encouraging kids to go that route. We have a very good Christian college in our area (Calvin College) and a lot of kids from our high school end up there, which is fine. Our son, however, is a freshman at our state flagship university and is doing just fine. He is rooming with a nice young man of a completely different faith, and that is a good experience for him as well.</p>
<p>I would also like to suggest that she study for the ACT and take it and retake it. A good ACT score can be a valuable indication of success to colleges that may not be familiar with your high school.</p>
<p>She took the PSAT this fall and due to math score was not national merit. Her math teacher thinks she can retake the test next year as a junior?</p>
<p>ONLY the junior year PSAT counts for NMF. Soph year PSAT is just practice, doesn’t count for ANYTHING. </p>
<p>So, have her take PSAT in the fall and practice for it. </p>
<p>You might want to have her take the May or June SAT this spring as an extra practice for the fall PSAT.</p>
<p>Just wanted to throw in another vote for putting a lot of effort into standardized tests (either SAT or ACT). The whole point of the tests (well, in theory anyway) is to level the playing field for students like your daughter, whose high school may be less challenging, offer fewer AP type courses, etc. Colleges out of your area won’t know how to treat her grades since they know nothing about the rigor at her school. Quality test scores can bring her not only admission but more aid. </p>
<p>She’s got plenty of time to get prepared. The summer between sophomore and junior year is actually a fabulous time to devote to test prep. She won’t have the demands of the school year, and if she’s unhappy with her scores she’s got ample time to re-test. I’d encourage her to take full length, timed versions of both the ACT and SAT (you can download a free one from the ACT website and from the College Board site). She’ll probably prefer one over the other from that experience. Then just prep for that one test! I tell my students that doing both is usually a waste of time and effort (and money if you’re investing in tutoring or classes). </p>
<p>And don’t spend a lot of brain power over the PSAT and National Merit. The chances of winning one are tiny, and in most circumstances the money is hardly worth the angst. I won one, and all that happened was that they deducted it from the grant portion of my financial aid. Granted some of the National Merit scholarships are better than others, but in the world of merit aid, they’re hardly a drop in the bucket. There’s a whole world of other scholarships out there to apply for, so don’t stress over it.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM (private message) me if I can help you think through the testing. Good luck!</p>
<p>Bethel is considered a good regional LAC. If she has her eyes on that school she will do just fine. I know several people that have graduated from Bethel and they all have master’s degrees. There are several publishing companies in the Twin Cities and she would have ample opportunities for internships and jobs. It also might be in her best interest NOT to go right to grad school and work for a year or so because many companies will pay for her masters degree for her. Northwestern doesn’t have as good of a reputation (assuming you mean Northwestern in St. Paul). Another school to consider is Northwestern in Orange City, IA. Also, the LAC in MN are very generous with aid. I would not prevent her from applying at these schools because of the initial price tag.</p>
<p>Many of the public schools in MN have a bottom of 94 for an A so the LAC are used to seeing that grading scale. If she has a 3.5 or above (so B+ average or better) and can get 26-28+ on her ACT, she can expect some generous merit aid at pretty much all of the LAC’s. Look on their websites for the financial aid pages and see what the various levels for merit scholarships are.</p>