<p>National Honor Society, Football, Baseball, Key Club, Ambassadors Club, Alternative Spring Break. Works hard but has never done well on standardized tests. All college prep classes, no fluff. Senior year he is taking pre-calc, physics, brit lit, environmental science. mechanical engineering. </p>
<p>He really wants to go to MSU. He has taken the ACT twice and a review course. Having him apply early and hope for the best.</p>
<p>There’s really no way to tell. That GPA is on the lower end of the middle 50% and the ACT is in the bottom 25%. Based on that, he very well might be disappointed. He will probably be deferred and they will ask for senior grades. If he does very well, he might get in :). </p>
<p>Has he tried taking the SAT? If he is strong in math, the SAT might be a better fit because math is weighted more than on the ACT (1/2-1/3 of the score vs 1/4 of the score). It might be worth his while to take the SAT and have that sent to MSU. If he can get a 1150+ on the SAT, I would say he is a solid match. </p>
<p>Thanks for your advice, just confirmed what I suspected. I will let you know the outcome. I took him to CMU on Friday and he really liked it, but not as much as State. We will be attending Green and White Day on the 29th. Wondering if that will help at all. Does anyone know if they keep track of these visits?</p>
<p>yeah i agree with romani. No, unfortunately enthusiasm for MSU/being able to visit does not help in admissions at all. But a solid essay/personal statement and a strong supplemental recommendation (optional for MSU’s application) will. Good luck!</p>
<p>One more question. How does intended major affect admissions chances? My son is leaning toward some type of science but really is undecided. Should he apply as undecided or science?</p>
<p>well, one of my best friends got into State for Fall 2011 with a 3.5 GPA and a 21 on her ACT. I got deferred with a 3.3 GPA and a 28 on my ACT (I was later admitted) and another one of my friends got deferred with a 3.3 and a 30 ACT (he never got in). I think State puts a greater emphasis on GPA than ACT. However, they usually defer people with less than a 23. My friend was in an underrepresented county though so I think that was her “hook.” </p>
<p>If your son ends up getting deferred, which might happen, I’m warning you it was a crazy process. I did well my senior year - a 4.6 GPA - and they STILL gave me a hard time about getting in. My admissions counselor seemed very dense and she’d lead me to believe I’d know my decision by March, but I didn’t know until mid-May. My advice is that you get to know your admissions counselor if that ends up happening. Call the office and ask what you can do besides do well in school, like send in letters of recommendation. Make sure your counselor KNOWS your name. Tell them that Michigan State is the only place you want to be. They’ll say “have a backup” but insist that nothing is comparable. Exaggerate if you have to. I had to pretty much convince my counselor over the phone & email on multiple occasions that I would succeed despite my lower than average GPA. It was a pain in the butt, but it’s worth it once you finally get your acceptance letter in the mail.</p>
<p>I agree. Have him take the SAT. My D did not do well on the ACT, and did better on the SAT, especially with math. She was a great student with great EC’s but math/test anxiety. This was 4 years ago and her dream was FSU not MSU but similar story.</p>
<p>Fast forward, she got in, has done well, just took the GRE and surprised herself on the math!!</p>
<p>The problem with taking the SAT is that it is not until October and results aren’t available to the end of October and everyone says that you need to apply to State in September to better your chances of getting in. The other I didn’t mention was that my son goes to a private school with a very strict grading scale. I hope that is taken into account also. I definately think my son has test anxiety!</p>
<p>From looking at his stats, I would say he will either be accepted or deferred, but not flat out rejected. MSU does have a record number of freshman this year and might be looking to accept less students next year. If he can get his ACT up to a 25 (which is very do-able) I think he will be in for sure. Also, MSU has an portion of the application which you could use to talk about his test anxiety if you’re concerned about that.</p>
<p>Convinced him to take the ACT again and he is going to hit the books the next month to try and increase his score. One of the degrees my son is looking at it geology or environmental science. His highest subscore on the ACT was science.</p>
<p>Good! I took the act twice and my score went up by 2 points he second time. I didn’t really study though, I was just a bit more relaxed. I will be a freshman this fall studying geology (but im sure my username gave that away) My highest subscore was English haha. Best of luck to you! Just make sure he keeps up the good grades this year. Senior year grades really are important.</p>
<p>I don’t think he should apply early(THE ACT SCORE) instead have him do the ACT on the two earliest dates(last chances before applications) and then pursue it and if he can break the 25 barrier he has good chances. That 21 will be his downfall if he’s denied. If he does well enough on the first ACT score he might still make the early-application barrier.</p>
<p>I am the original poster. My son was deferred for seventh semester grades. He ended up with a 3.5 and retook the ACT and received a 23. He was accepted yesterday for the fall. He is thrilled.</p>
<p>Congrats! I graduated from MSU many moons ago and LOVED every minute of college. I’m still bitter that I couldn’t convince my kids to even apply :-)</p>
<p>My son is seriously considering MSU. We live in California and he has visited the campus once. I’m a little concerned about the 90% in state population and how that will feel for an OOS student. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated. I want him to stretch himself but not feel like a fish out of water. He is also strongly considering KU and is majoring in Political Science. Also very interested in school spirit and the Greek system if that makes a difference. Thanks.</p>
<p>woah… bring up the ACT. I got in with a scholarship with a 1900 SAT. my best friend got in the other day with a 3.1 GPA and 29 ACT and he had basically no extra curriculars. so bring up the ACT and he’s good!</p>
(but im sure my username gave that away) My highest subscore was English haha. Best of luck to you! Just make sure he keeps up the good grades this year. Senior year grades really are important.</p>