She can put a note in Additional Information that she took the ACT again on Dec 9 and she will be sending those scores. Don’t miss any application or scholarship deadlines because of the scores. Also, personally I would not mention the accommodations.
Oops, I guess I didn’t read closely enough. I didn’t know she’d be missing deadlines if she waits for the new scores.
@Emsmom1, she isn’t missing deadlines at every school, just a few.
And honestly she looks ok with current scores at many schools. Although, she could get a boost in merit aid if her score is a little higher.
I need to probably talk to the financial aid office at some of the schools and see if they would revisit when they got new scores. Particularly the ones that we applied early action.
Many schools aren’t going to look at the app right away. They have so many, and lots don’t have all scores or transcripts in. Just tell them in that section, and you should be fine. I guess you need to talk to the FA office for NPC discussions, but I wouldn’t be trying to get a preread everyplace. Just do the paperwork, make sure your situation is clear.
And the FA offices mostly don’t care about her scores – that is admissions. The merit awards are often made jointly between the two departments.
If a score comes in on January 2nd, or shortly thereafter, that will definitely be taken into account for schools that have a January 1st deadline - don’t miss getting a couple more “meet 100% of demonstrated need” school applications submitted because if she bumps her score some Macalaster could be a choice, Oberlin could another, as could Kenyon and Franklin and Marshall, amongst others - they are all top-40 LAC’s!
Haverford is a great option but like Carleton it would be a reach.
Carleton and Haverford are more of a reach than Grinnell so heading in the wrong direction IMHO.
“Carleton and Haverford are more of a reach than Grinnell so heading in the wrong direction IMHO.”
I’m not sure that’s true. Carleton has an average ACT of 31; Grinnell and Haverford are at 32.
The 2017 acceptance rate for Carleton was 21%; for Grinnell, it was 18%, and for Haverford, it was 19%.
Grinnell’s stats have improved quite a bit in the past few years, and it is getting more difficult to get into.
@Grinnellhopeful - when my D and S applied to college, we lived in Kansas. Large, urban school with 70% free and reduced lunch. For those who graduated from high school and went to college, it was either to an in-state school, community college, or tech school.
I worked at a university and could get 50% off tuition for my children. I was shocked to discover that with our low EFC it was less expensive for them to attend an expensive private school than to stay home.
When I received a mailing about QuestBridge, I asked the high school about it and they told me it was probably a scam. I did some research on my own and decided it wasn’t.
Our school network/system caused all sorts of problems with teacher recommendations, guidance counselor uploads, etc. so they had to submit everything by paper since their system wouldn’t permit uploads to the Common Application.
We had a happy ending for our kids, but it wasn’t without sacrifices. Neither kid ever came home for Thanksgiving. They both had jobs all four years of college. Even though they attended schools that met full need, we had difficulty funding our portion and they did take the Stafford Loan most (but not all) years.
Both have since graduated from top private LACs and are thankful for their life-changing educational opportunities.
Best wishes to you!
@college_query Thank you for replying. It sounds like you can you really relate. I’d love to hear more about where they ended up. I’m on the fence right now about submitting anymore applications because I believe we can only do 10 in the commonapp, and the thought of trying to get the school to get anything else in another system is daunting. (it was so hard it was to walk them through the common-app). I really think her ACT score is going to be drastically different, and if it is, this list would change.
I do feel like the decision to go private LAC is a good one for us. I just wish I would have started earlier. My Youngest D is a sophomore. She’s paying close attention and as soon as we find a place for this D, you can believe I’m going to start working aggressively for my youngest.
It went MUCH smoother for my younger child, since we learned so much with the older one.
@Grinnellhopeful I think the limit is 20, not 10. (Someone please correct me asap if I’m wrong.)
My recollection is that the FAFSA has a 10-school limit, but you can submit for the first ten, then add more later. (Again, someone please correct me if I’m wrong.)
Not saying your daughter should apply to a gazillion (or even 20) schools. 10 is a good goal. But you can add a few more to round things out, especially since you need to maximize financial aid opportunities.
Common App limit, if there is one, is not 10, for sure. D used it for 15. FAFSA has a limit of 10 but as porcupine said, there’s a way to submit more you just have to do it in batches of 10.
My nephew applied to 12 colleges using the Common App
Common App limit is definitely 20 – not 10.
@Grinnellhopeful, since the Common App allows 20 schools and given there are some “meet 100% of demonstrated need” highly selective schools that don’t have extensive or any supplemental essays at all, its mostly a “drop in cart and send” Common App exercise that could yield a very powerful outcome.
I feel like we should wait for new rest scores? Because I can’t get them removed from her high school transcript. And I got a very interesting email from Grinnell today. You can tell me if I’m wrong but I think with even just a few points higher on her ACT she will stand a better chance at the schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need, as they tend to be highly selective. Scores are released a week from today.
Carleton is need aware. Realistically, unhooked students who need significant financial aid should have a 33 or higher ACT to stand a chance.
For potential “meet 95-100% of demonstrated need” schools that don’t require any additional work, Colby, Connecticut College, Kenyon, and Skidmore jump out. For those that have an additional essay, Franklin and Marshall, Macalaster, Oberlin and St. Olaf - understanding that a higher ACT will be needed at Colby, Kenyon, Macalaster and Oberlin.
And for those that will realistically require a higher ACT and don’t have an additional essay such as Colby and Kenyon, you can just put them in the Common App cart and wait to send after the new results come in!.
@Grinnellhopeful - What does the Grinnell email say? I know you said that their rejection letter indicated that they don’t accept appeals, but perhaps if there is a significant uptick in her ACT score and a compelling appeal letter they might (there’s certainly nothing to lose). For the record, back when Seth Allen was Dean of Admissions (he’s now at Pomona, I believe) Grinnell used to entertain appeals, according to this article in US News:
“Grinnell College in Iowa also doesn’t encourage appeals but will consider them from very persuasive students (not their families). “The student has to be the appealer. It is what the student has to say that changes our minds,” says Seth Allen, Grinnell’s dean of admissions and financial aid.”
In the article, they talk about hard vs. soft rejections. Maybe your email was indicative of the latter?
And, yes, her ACT score – while perhaps above average at her school – fell far short of that which is expected at some the more competitive schools.