A 1423 on the new SAT is a fine score. This just two sections, right…CR and Math.
@thumper1 This is her score for all sections.
Could you please give the breakdown of her scores by section?
What is her current GPA?
@thumper1
Reading: 470
Math: 500
Writing: 440
Total: 1410, I made a mistake on my other post about her school. Sorry.
Her GPA is a 2.9
What sorts of colleges is she targeting?
@thrumper1
So she would love to go to Wesleyan, although that is a reach I think it is test optional. We were also looking into Wake Forest, American, and our local state school UMASS. What schools do you think would be a target or shoe in for her? We are having trouble finding schools we know she would get into.
@ElleLakes, Keene State College across the border in NH might be a target school – a medium sized (4200 students) residential public liberal arts college with a pretty nice campus.
Keene State is an excellent suggestion. What about UMass Dartmouth? I think UMass Amherst is a reach for her right now.
Wesleyan and Wake Forest are reaches for her…test optional isn’t going to help her much with a GPA below 3.0. I think American isn’t a slam dunk either.
You might want to get a copy of the book Colleges That Change Lives. Your daughter might get accepted at some of them.
@ElleLakes - with your daughter’s GPA & test scores, she is not competitive for highly selective colleges. She should focus on less selective regional colleges or universities, starting with the schools in your own state. She’s not likely to get much in the way of merit aid either – I just don’t see it happening for a student with a 2.9 GPA - and retaking the SAT isn’t going to help much, because I think the test scores you reported are pretty much in line with her GPA.
That is one more reason to focus on a regional state college. It’s common for those types of colleges to have rolling admission, and some will pretty much accept all comers. Some of their applications are very cursory as well --they may not even require essays.
What state are you in?
There’s also no shame in going to a local community college for two years and then transferring to a 4-year university. That really can be a better option for student who has not been highly motivated and/or has struggled in high school.
I think that you might be getting the wrong idea about the difficulty of college admissions from this forum, because so much of the posts are focused around competitive admissions at highly selective & prestigious schools.
Please don’t assume that my post is meant to be condescending. I have a son who got his undergrad degree from a California state U. (75%+ of all applicants admitted), and a daughter with a degree from a near-Ivy. Both got jobs right away when they graduated; both worked for several years and went on to get the same types of graduate degrees, one from a well-respected state U., the other from a pricey and well-respected private U. Both are now employed at good jobs.
You can’t make your daughter become something that she is not. You can help her and support her to get the type of education that fits her own personal interests and goals. It doesn’t have to happen in a straight, 4-year trajectory immediately out of high school.
The OP is in Massachusetts. That is why I suggested UMass Dartmouth. Another poster suggested Keene State. Both good ideas.
@ElleLakes are finances a consideration? Or can you pay the full cost of attendance at any college?
Not only are calmom and thumper absolutely correct, but she will most likely be applying to colleges that make their decisions based on numbers. So whether she does crew or running or whatever is going to be of no importance and she should choose those things based upon personal interest, not any belief that they will make up for test scores / GPA.
With those stats she should also be looking at the MA state universities (formerly colleges): Westfield State, Worcester State, Framingham State, etc. She will not get into UMass Amherst, maybe she can get into UMass Dartmouth.
@thumper1 Finances were a consideration but at this point they are not. Her scores and GPA are just too low to cut the college costs. We can make do without it but it may be a bit hard. We will just have to cut back on our spending. We are on the border between being able to pay and needing loans.
@calmon Don’t worry! Your best was not mean at all! It was VERY helpful! We are looking into community colleges right now. Salem state might be a good choice. Pine Manor as well. She seems to be a bit ashamed to go to community colleges. I guess we will have to look into other options. Although, community college may be cheaper.
She seems to really like Pine Manor as an option. It has a 96% acceptance rate and the scores are in her range. The campus is very nice and close to us. This sounds like a great option.
What does she want to study?
I have one niece who attended Westfield State U and graduated 8 years ago, and another niece who attended Framingham State U and graduated last year. They both had very good experiences at the schools and are both gainfully employed. The older one has recently returned to Westfield State to pursue a Master’s degree. Neither were academic superstars in HS, and both struggled with Math a bit. They were both motivated college students who were willing to work hard to do well. You do not have to be an academic superstar in HS to succeed in college, as long as it is a good fit:)
Starting out at a community college is a good idea also, if all goes well she can transfer into a 4 year down the road.
If you can afford to consider private colleges, check out Bay Path University in Western MA (Longmeadow, a very nice suburb of Springfield) http://www.baypath.edu/ . It is a Women’s college, if that is ok with your D, about 1500 students, and your daughters stats are about average for admitted students (25-75%ile SAT is 1250-1620). Tuition, R + B is approx. $45K/year, and they state on website that 100% of students receive a merit award of some kind, so there is a discount for all students.
- I agree with what others are saying that as a high school senior, your D is not a good candidate for selective schools.
- I would encourage her, work with her, and support her, to finish high school with an improving gpa and to try to enhance her core reading, writing, and math skills. I might even consider getting her some tutoring on them and have her retake the SAT. It is true that she may end up in the same school either way, but by developing the discipline to study more effectively for her courses, and bolstering her core academic skills, she can really improve her odds of being successful in college.
- If you have some idea of what her future interests may be, that can be helpful in considering a college too. You want to be sure that the college she attends has all of the majors she is potentially interested in.
My kid didn’t start her college applications until mid September, so I don’t see any reason for panic.
Quite frankly, if my kid were so unmotivated I wouldn’t be willing to pay private college tuition. I’d send her to community college or a lower tier state U and see how things go.