<p>I don’t think her PSAT scores are low at all. They are about what the higher ranking students in our HS get. With her stats, she should have plenty of options.</p>
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<p>remember that the student will also have living expenses. Many schools require freshmen to live on campus. You might want to look at the total cost of attendance including room/board and tuition/fees…not just at the tuition costs alone. Depending on where your child enrolls…the costs of housing also vary.</p>
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<p>Thank you! That’s in my mind too, and it’s why it’s hard to choose. Honestly, the Ivy crosses my mind couple of times, but I don’t think her profile is competitive for them. Probably it’s better to spend time and effort on schools that within her reach.</p>
<p>If you think you can afford not getting need-based financial aid, HYPSM and Brown all have terrific math departments. There is no reason for her not to consider them. From what I can see, only her PSAT math is a bit low, but that won’t be held against her if she can bring her SAT Math a bit higher. I’m told that it is the easiest thing to bring up using the Xiggi method. But I also think that she has a good chance at good merit money at a variety of other great schools, too. </p>
<p>I wish more women went into math! So do colleges.</p>
<p>marite, I was surprised at her math score. She’s maxed out HS math this year. Hopefully, with reviewing, she’ll get a little better.</p>
<p>jvtDad, your D may want to try taking the ACT as well. Some students do better on the ACT than on the SAT, and all colleges will consider either for admissions. It’s easy enough to get an ACT sample test and try it out and see how the score compares to the SAT score.</p>
<p>jvtdad:</p>
<p>Maybe that’s the explanation. She was beyond what was required to excel on the SAT-math which covers only algebra and, if I’m not mistaken, a bit of trig. Nothing that a little review cannot correct! With that in mind, and the appropriate number and types of SAT subject tests (depending on the schools), she should be very competitive anywhere! With that in mind, do consider issues of size, location, distance, social scene, ECs, as you and she work on her list. If she can articulate her desiderata a bit more clearly, we can make more suggestions.</p>
<p>As for her list of schools, don’t dismiss the Ivies, if she is interested. Since she is top 3 in her class, in a high school that sends 1 or 2 each to HYPSM each year, and she has a 70+ on all sections of the PSAT…she is a competive candidate for just about any school. Increasing her SAT scores will help — but there are plenty of students at the Ivy League schools with scores in the low 700’s.</p>
<p>Most important will be her complete application - including essay and recommendations. Perhaps one of her interests stands out above the others and she can make that come through in her application.</p>
<p>I am overwhelmed by all the responses. Hopefully we’ll come up with something for the Spring break trip. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>jvtDad,</p>
<p>I know your daughter is interested in getting out of the south, and I don’t know which state you live in, but I’ll just throw out Vanderbilt. It is similar in size to WashU, urban (but not in a NYC way), and has a music school, Blair, that I think (?) allows non-majors some access to performance groups.</p>
<p>I am mentioning it mostly because her record, particularly if she brings up the SAT a bit from the PSAT, may make her a candidate for a merit scholarship. Since you expect to be full-pay, you may find that to be a good incentive to at least visit and look around.</p>
<p>I don’t know a whole lot about the math department. Certainly, especially at the graduate level, it does not compare with some of the top departments. My son is a dual computer science/math major and it has proved fine for his purposes–but he is a math major only because of his interest in cs/artificial intelligence. He uses math, but he doesn’t “live” it.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Definitely consider the Ivies- use the other schools as probable choices IF she doesn’t get into the most elite schools. Remember that not all Ivies have the same depth and breadth of courses, therefore do a computer search before deciding which to consider visiting. A spring break trip to the east coast would be geographically doable, you could fly into Boston for example and rent a car to visit many other cities in the region. You could use summer vacation time for further flung places when the weather is good and then senior year visit/revisit places she applies to to see if winter would be a deal breaker. Good way for the whole family to see the country is to visit colleges along with the tourist sites on summer road trips.</p>
<p>Penn, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, Hopkins, Brandeis, Cornell are all excellent and MIT is tops in Math</p>
<p>As you can see there are many good suggestions- you will have to find reasons to pare the list down to a manageable number! Don’t worry if she eliminates some schools for quirky seeming reasons, she can only attend one school and will have to eliminate many so as not to be overwhelmed with choices. Remember she will be there for her education and not just training in her major- there can be as much good learning outside as well as inside the classroom.</p>
<p>Both of Wis75’s posts offer excellent advice. Try to visit when colleges are in session to see the student body. The most efficient trip will be Spring Break from Boston to Philadelphia or Hopkins</p>
<p>Yes, we’re looking forward to going to New England this coming spring break.</p>