<p>Maybe I’m missing something but my son with his 3.3UW (I looked it up, thought it was a 3.2 as I reported earlier) 3.8WA and a 31 ACT wasn’t considered a slacker by any means by anyone in his school. Maybe it was because he went to an very rigorous private school, that runs about 1 year academically ahead of the local public schools but teachers, GC, other students all considered him to be a very good student and very bright. Yes, there were better students in his class but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a good student. He made honor roll almost every semester. His grades dipped in 10th grade due to a family situation but he pulled out of it. Taking 7 AP classes is huge at our school because they have stringent requirements in order to be able to take a AP class. Could he have worked harder - absolutely without a doubt but I won’t call him a slacker. Seriously, when the ‘average’ is a 2.0-2.5 (or at least it should be), a 3.1 or 3.3 isn’t too shabby. And many, many colleges consider kids in this range academically talented and will offer merit aid. </p>
<p>I’m not sure how Dadtimesthree’s son got labeled a ‘slacker’ but that definitely doesn’t seem to be an apt description.</p>
<p>Dadtimesthree - your son will have lots of good school choices next year. My son wasn’t totally sure of what he was looking for (well, he wanted to be at a school with Div I football but not too big and definitely not too small and wants a liberal arts education to boot - his seemingly contrary requirements drove me crazy.). He ended applying to a wide variety of schools and found one that met all his criteria. It will all worked out in the end. Your son will be fine. Just make sure he has a few safeties, matches and reaches. Once admission decisions come in, he can decide what fits him best.</p>