<p>My son is a rising HS senior and is trying to form a list of 4 yr residential colleges to research for application next FAll. We would like any input from this community on what to consider when developing this list; also, if you can thrown in some schools to get him schools to seriously examine, that would be helpful.</p>
<p>Should he only look for colleges where his ACT score is equal to or greater than the 25th pct ile of the last freshman class? </p>
<p>How should he fold in his academic performance in making the search list? </p>
<p>How should he handle the fact that his ACT is currently a 28 (about the 91st pct-ile nationally) but his GPA/rank is about 4.6 (on a 4.0), 98 pctile taking the hardest curriclum possible (at a pretty good sub public HS) with about 7 or so AP classes of 5 scores).</p>
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<li><p>He is not sure of the importance of being far away or closer to home , which is chicago (as a factor); but he did say that he did not want a hot climate.</p></li>
<li><p>He said he was not sure of what he wants to major in college, but seems to be leaning to something in math/science (but not bio) / computers .</p></li>
<li><p>One of the few things that he mentioned as being important to him was that he would be more comfortable, more productive in learning, in classes with smaller class size. He also said that he would prefer classes taught by professors -vs TA grad students.</p></li>
<li><p>I asked him why he wants to go to college - what he expected from college - and he said to further his education and prepare him for a job.</p></li>
<li><p>He said that he wanted to go to a school where studiousness is not an exeption or is more marginalized - vs partying, for example. He does not want to go to a place where he would be an oddball for wanting to study instead of partying, I think.</p></li>
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<p>He also said that he would like a college where intramural sports are <em>played</em> alot (say, more than <em>watching</em> the bigtime players on teams).</p>
<p>he does not have extraordinary ECs, but he'll probably get extraordinary recommendations from his HS teachers (from indications of conferences we have attended).</p>
<p>It is the end of June and all we have is the state flagship as a school to consider, UIUC. And for this university, since it is a university, the college would probably be LAS since he was not exactly sure about what he wanted to go into - wd this be the correct college to apply to in his case?</p>
<p>Sounds like your son is a good candidate for the LACs (liberal arts colleges) unless he’s into engineering, which most of them don’t offer. Despite the name, top LACs have strong science, computer and math programs and produce a high percent of PhD students, so he’s at no disadvantage-in fact, the small class sizes and lack of grad students mean lots of faculty attention, a focus on teaching, and superior mentoring for students who are serious about their work.</p>
<p>If you look at the Common Data Set for each school you are considering, you will get a good picture of whether he is likely to be a serious candidate for admission. If he falls below the 25 percentile on any measure (grades, test scores, class rank), his chances for admission are very small unless he has some off-setting, highly desirable characteristic.</p>
<p>He should probably retake his ACT or try the SAT. The 28 isn’t consistent with his grades and is easy to improve with some practice. </p>
<p>If he can get the ACT up a bit, consider the midwestern LACs (Grinnell, Oberlin, and Macalester). Others that he might like are Haverford (near Philidelphia), and Bowdoin and Bates (both SAT/ACT optional). Other midwesterns to consider: Beloit, Lawrence, St. Olafs</p>
<p>He sounds like a great kid! I agree that he should at least try to get his ACT score up and/or try the SAT. (if for no other reason than to increase the chances for a merit scholarship).</p>
<p>One of the criteria we had was ease of travel to and from the school. Do you have a price point?</p>
<p>My older son’s stats were lower than yours. He chose Carthage in Kenosha and there seem to be quite a few Chicago kids there. (He chose it because he wanted to play non D3 hockey. - they have a club team that plays against the Kenosha men’s league - perfect!)</p>
<p>There are lots of LACs that your son might be interested in. My son, too, had a hard time trying to figure out where to apply. One thing that helped him was a good college guide. We used Fisk. What I liked about it is that the descriptions really give you a flavor for the school. In addition, it will give you a list of similar schools. If he is willing to browse the book, it may give him a starting place and then he can work from there.</p>
<p>Use the Collegematch program on this site and see what it comes up with.</p>
<p>The classic advice is to apply to 3 reach schools, 3 match schools, and 2 safety schools, any one of which you would be happy to attend. But given how squirrelly admissions have become the last couple of years, it is hard to figure out what is a reach and what is a match.</p>
<p>I might suggest a road trip to Minnesota for a Macalester/St. Olaf/Carleton/Grinnell (IA) circuit. Even though they are all LACs, they have very different feels. But it would help his admissions odds if he could get those ACT scores north of 30 to correspond better with his GPA.</p>
<p>Seem like a prospect with many solid options.</p>
<p>In addition to the college search tool on this site, you can also use tools that apply more detailed criteria to determine a match. Try myUsearch.com or petersons.com for this. Good luck!</p>
<p>My rule of thumb: If your son is in the top 25%ile in terms of grades, test scores and class rank, and the school admits more than 25 of its applicants (so not HPYS which are reaches for everyone), then it’s an academic safety. (It’s not a financial safety unless you can afford it.) If he is solidly in the 50-75%ile on these criteria, then he’s a match. Anything less is a reach. </p>
<p>As you can see, it’s more a sliding scale since his grades might make he a match at one school, but he test scores make it more of a reach. Also, at most LACs, his academic record will be given considerably more weight than his test scores, especially if he shows continuous improvement. Many schools discount 9th grades, especially for boys. LACs tend also to be a bit more holistic in their review process-that means things besides numbers count for more: letters of rec, interesting life experiences, essays, etc…Large publics tend to be more numbers driven because they just don’t have the time and resources for a holisitic review, and building a class isn’t quite the art it has to be at a LAC, where because of the size, they are looking for fit and diversity.</p>
<p>You’ve received some excellent advice so far! I concur that he should retake the ACT or take the SAT because his grades indicate his capabilities are higher than his standardized tests scores reflect. The ACT is next offered in September, and the SAT, in October. Neither date would be too late.</p>
<p>Your son seems similar to my daughter in many ways (her first SAT was disappointing, given her grades, but she raised her scores through practice and retaking both the SAT and ACT). The colleges we’re investigating are in a warmer climate, though, because we live in a warmer climate (NC). </p>
<p>If NC weather is not too hot for your son, the college on my daughter’s list that comes to mind for your son is Wake Forest, a college with an excellent reputation where standardized test scores are optional but considered if submitted. The middle 50% of admitted students had scores between 27 and 31.</p>
<p>Other sources for college selection, in addition to those listed above: the College Board’s search function, the book “Choosing the Right College,” and your son’s guidance counselor.</p>