<p>I just have to interject that I strongly disagree with this:</p>
<p>//Their high SAT scores were based mostly on genetics and their ability to take a test. That’s it.//</p>
<p>Maybe I’m particularly sensitive to this because my son, in his self-flagellating moods, is wont to dismiss his test scores in exactly these terms. As someone who was once a high SAT/high GPA kid (but at a very easy high school–not bad, just easy) and who has watched his high SAT/middling GPA kid grow, I know how misleading it is.</p>
<p>What is “ability to take a test,” anyway? Well, part of it is simply confidence. But a lot of it comes from the fact that the very format of the test mimics what you’ve been doing, and loving to do, all your life–asking questions and using your intuitive mental abilities to choose among possible answers. What makes you a good test-taker is curiosity, and the early and eager habit of satisfying that curiosity through reading and other mental exercise. I didn’t pop out of the womb with a high verbal test score; I got there by reading obsessively my whole childhood–to the point where my camp counselor wrote home to tell my parents that I was a nice kid and all, but could they drop me a hint to show up for instructional swim instead of spending the hour in my cabin with a book?</p>
<p>In short, there is work, as well as innate ability, that goes into the making of a good test-taker–not work that somebody else has asked you to do, but work that your own spirit has asked you to do. </p>
<p>Of course you have to learn how to do the other kind of work to survive and prosper, in college or anywhere else, so it’s appropriate that colleges look at measures of both kinds. But my hackles are raised by the suggestion that good test-takers with bad grades are lazy or unmotivated. In my own experience, both as a child and a parent, those kids are often very hard workers. The deficiency lies in their ability to be practical and goal-oriented in their choices about what to work on. We absolutely need to help them develop that ability, but this is not an ethical or character issue, and framing it in those terms is an unhelpful red herring. It’s more like learning to wear a raincoat when it’s pouring outside.</p>
<p>nightchef, I have no doubt that what you have said of your experience and your childs is absolutely true. </p>
<p>Yet I also know my own kid. In his case, yes, it was lazy to stop doing his homework. He had other things going on his life and that’s the power struggle he latched onto. In otherwords, he already knew about proper use of a raincoat, chose not to put one but was disgusted that he was still getting wet. Why couldn’t his t-shirt keep him dry?! </p>
<p>Also, it took until my 20s to realize that I am smarter than my standardized tests show as I was a terrible test taker. I was fortunate enough in my 20s to take a course and read some books on the subject. If you looked at just the standardized test scores, the only explanation is that I had a brain transplant or that I finally mastered my anxiety. Sadly, no brain transplants for me (yet!)</p>
<p>With my S, people who knew what to look for were encouraging us to have him tested as a toddler (we did not, it seemed odd to focus on his academic future when pooping in the potty remained so elustive), so while he was not born with a high verbal test score he was born with the ability to do what many children do in terms of reading and so on, yet not study one minute for the SAT or ACT and wind up with stellar scores. </p>
<p>I have nothing but admiration for students who drive up their test scores through sheer will power and work ethic. I was happy for my son when his scores came, I wept with joy when a close friends child finally broke through the score needed for a very generous scholarship by studying for hours upon hours. </p>
<p>For differnet reasons, both my son and I both need to really know that we are not our standardized test scores. For those who work for those scores, they deserve to feel very proud indeed.</p>
<p>"/Their high SAT scores were based mostly on genetics and their ability to take a test. That’s it.//
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<p>From what I’ve seen on the critical reading part of the SAT, having a high verbal score also reflects having a high general base of knowledge, allowing one to make correct inferences fro the reading material. Having a high general base of knowledge can reflect intelligence, being an extensive reader, and coming from a sophisticated environment.</p>
<p>//For differnet reasons, both my son and I both need to really know that we are not our standardized test scores. For those who work for those scores, they deserve to feel very proud indeed.//</p>
<p>pmk, nobody should feel that they are their scores–that’s either giving oneself too much or too little credit. But those who achieve high scores should not be made to feel that those scores are just unearned evidence of random genetic good fortune, either–and this applies not just to those who’ve engaged in overt studying to raise their scores, but also to those who didn’t need to do that in large part because they’ve been (unwittingly) “studying” for those tests their whole life. </p>
<p>And by the way, I loved this–it pretty much sums up our approach too:</p>
<p>//everyone in our family has a job and we all do ours to the best of our ability. Sometimes “our best” is pretty darn terrible but we slog through it.//</p>
<p>To the OP: Your post basically asked for school suggestions, right? You sure got a lot more than you bargained for given all the “advice” you received.</p>
<p>( Anyway, that is why I simply tried to respond to your request. Some of the posts really went off the track and didn’t offer any school suggestions at all.)</p>
<p>“Treed/lovely environment; he’d like to be an author” Maybe we need a bit more to go on - areas of the country of interest, size, possible courses of study and outside activities he is interested in. Would make school suggestions a whole lot easier. My own S was similar, attended a school many ccers would overlook, was more or less at the top of his classes but found a stimulating environment among the other top students and great faculty support.</p>
<p>Both Hampshire and Evergreen have been mentioned, and they’re worthy of some real consideration. The thing with both, though, is that the students need to be really self-directed to make those kinds of programs work. A developed internal motivation is a big element of student success at both schools.</p>
<p>My kid, for example, is a disiplined worker and a strong student, but he works best in a more structured environment where the expectations of him are clear, and where there is a predictable structure to his days, his semesters, his progression through the college years. I think for students who are still “figuring out what they want to do” places like Hampshire and Evergreen are often not the best choices. They seem to really work great, though, for focused students who know what they want to do, and who want to do it on their own terms… with a minimum of hoop-jumping and doing things the way other people insist they be done.</p>
<p>Sorry, I think I am one of the posters that you are referring to. However, the main reason I posted was in response to someone saying that the large state schools would likely take your son and I haven’t found that to be necessarily true. It depends on the state you live in. Also, that might not be the best choice for your S. A smaller school might be a better fit and there are a lot of them out there.</p>
<p>If it hasn’t already been recommended, you might want to speak to someone at S’s school guidance office. They might know of some schools in your state/geographic area that would be a good fit. It is likely that they have worked with other students who are similar.</p>
<p>Upon further consideration, I think I owe the OP an apology for giving unasked for advice. I know from experience how frustrating the situation can be, and I’m sure she’s doing the best she can.</p>
<p>Thank you, EMM1 and the parents who agreed with me but felt that saying so here would expose them to pain (I received several pm’s to that effect). </p>
<p>Evergreen is actually in our town (Olympia, WA) and it is an excellent school. My son did the campus tour and it was ok but didn’t grab his heart. He really liked a day he spent at Whitman, but he does not have the grades for Whitman. Reality check: a student really does not have their senior year to fix things. Applications are done in the fall and maybe, maybe, fall semester grades are included – but fall semester senior year is a frantically busy time – many seniors ride a strong junior year into the application process and that’s not what is happening here. </p>
<p>I appreciate nightchef’s comment about the abilities a strong test taker shows. It shows, in a pinch, that one can produce. To me (but clearly not to all parents here) that means we need to find a situation where that ability is drawn out – and repetitive assignments ain’t it. </p>
<p>Lastly, our school gc is . . . shades of useless. I know a ton more about the college hunt/application process than she does. She has 350 students to track and many of them need close supervision to get to graduation. It can be painful to read about other schools where real services are available. Bummer!</p>
<p>CC should be for everyone who is interested in attending college or supporting someone interested in college. Sometimes we do need a reality check – but sometimes we need words of experience, not words of condemnation.</p>
<p>He’s not that into a hot climate (attended a Boy Scout jamboree one August in VA. I think it was 104 and humid for four days straight). I suspect (but do not know for sure) that he loves the Pacific NW more than he knows. I doubt he would be happy in the middle of a big burg. He likes the idea of Kenyon (me too!) but that wilting GPA . . .</p>
<p>Even though Reed College has been getting more press, I would still look.
My D was accepted with a generous aid package with 3.3 GPA and average SATs ( but great reqs and essays)
Providing he likes to work his tail off and when he isn’t- he is complaining about it.
[Trees!](<a href=“Trees of Reed”>Trees of Reed)</p>
<p>Olymom–I empathize with you as my son is driving me bat**** crazy right now, but fortunately his GPA is decent so he is off to survive in a big ol’ state school and he will either sink or swim.</p>
<p>I identify with your son because I was there once–but being a girl not as many people made allowances for me. I had a GREAT experience at the University of Oregon and my college GPA was over a point higher than my HS GPA. The big schools don’t mess with busy work–you take a midterm and a final and in the liberal arts classes you have one big paper. That’s it. If you know the material and you are a good writer you do really well because face it–most freshmen are terrible writers, and most college students would rather take a bullet than write a paper. </p>
<p>Lots of trees, great liberal arts, great campus, big enough for big picture thinkers but small enough he will get attention if he wants it. And the GPA requirement is really doable for boys who may not be so great at grade-grubbing.</p>
<p>Olymom, hang in there and do not be discouraged (given your strength with your own situation, I am sure that is unlikely). I was a rebellious high schooler whose grades did not match my SATs and, once I was in college, my GPA soared because I was away from busy work and HS teachers who hated being asked challenging questions. You seem concerned about your son’s desire to be a writer given his low writing scores. Perhaps he has not yet accepted some of the rules of writing which can get him marked down, such as word usage, etc? My suggestion is to look for schools which feature small classes and nurturing professors who will inspire him more than his HS teachers. The Colleges That Change Lives website is a good start. Note, too, that if he is willing to come to the Northeast/Midatlantic, he will find lots of trees, lots of excellent schools of all sizes, no 104 degree heat–and schools where his geographic diversity increases his chances.</p>
<p>SAT Writing can be relatively low if a student is an excellent and very creative writer and doesn’t bother to write in the boring format that gains high SAT writing scores.</p>