<p>Thank you all. I will take a close look at Ohio and Alabama. </p>
<p>BTW Haystack: I hope I don’t sound disappointed with his choices. I think he would do well at any of those schools. I have spent several months looking at CC, especially on the SAT Forum. It is very disconcerting. You start to get the impression that someone with my DS’s credentials is below the bar. I would love to see his CR SAT score come up, but we thought he did well and was a strong candidate…until reading these forums. It has been somehat of a reality check. I never considered him a B student but after reading the schools for B students and 3.3 to 3.6 GPA thread, I start to wonder just where he fits in? We have friends whose stats are similiar who are applying to more reach schools in the top 50. Boston College, Wash U, UNC, U Mich, etc. I get the impression from these threads that they are being unrealistic. But then you hear, don’t believe everything you read. The Mid 50% ranges are inflated by the 2300 SAT kids. Apply to more reach schools etc. </p>
<p>That is why I wonder if I should be adding other schools to the list and why I posted so much info on DS. I was wondering what others have experienced?</p>
<p>Another thought, have you considered expanding your search to regional/national universities that play D1 basketball? In many cases, they are less expensive than the private big name national universities but have a ton of students similar in qualifications to your son. </p>
<p>Gonzaga, Butler, Drake, Creighton, Marquette, St Louis Univ, U of Dayton(merit avaiable). Use US News to get a idea.</p>
<p>As an example, at St Louis U, your son’s math score would be in the top 25% but his CR score would not be. It is certainly not a reach school but he certainly would not be the cream of the crop there either. Same with Creighton, where he would barely be in the top 25% for math score and not in CR.</p>
<p>Take a close look at Miami University in Oxford, OH. If your S can get a 30 on the ACT, he will qualify for merit aid. Beautiful campus, near Cincinnati (and Dayton), good academics, Div I (although a mid-major), reasonable tuition for OOS.</p>
<p>* Indiana will give him merit and honors merit most likely, but that will still leave a huge amount… wonderful school and beautiful campus though.*</p>
<p>If Indiana will use weighted GPA, then he’d get $4k per year. A 3.8 GPA is needed on a 4.0 scale, so that appears to use unweighted. </p>
<p>Parent56, your experience with your son was with much higher stats.</p>
<p>He wouldn’t get into Indiana’s Honors College without higher stats.</p>
<p>By Invitation: For Fall 2012, students admitted to IU-Bloomington will be automatically invited if they meet one of the following sets of criteria: </p>
<p>31 ACT or 1350-1380 SAT and 3.95 or top 5% class rank </p>
<p>32-33 ACT or 1390-1460 SAT and 3.90 GPA or top 7.5% class rank </p>
<p>34-36 ACT or 1470+ SAT and 3.85 GPA or top 10% class rank </p>
<p>If Clemson’s on list, then look at USC also. Clemson is good science/tech but USC has a Journalism school, which clemson does not. I also think USC gives more merit aid. Pre-dental is like premed…courses available at most schools. Lots of Florida kids here.</p>
<p>Remember, as long as you take required courses (and volunteer work etc), it doesn’t matter what actual major is for premed or predental…so you could possibly be J-school major and still take what you need to get in dental.</p>
<p>Is your issue that you won’t qualify for any aid at privates, and you have a top budget of about $40k? If so, then many privates won’t work. They’ll expect you to pay the full $55k+.</p>
<p>I think your son’s UW GPA will keep him out of some of the top flagships. Some of those schools are getting brutal about that. </p>
<p>Frankly, I wonder if your goals are at cross-purposes. If he wants to possibly be pre-Dental, then getting the highest GPA in college is super-important. Putting him in a school where his stats are very average is NOT a good idea. He likely wouldn’t emerge with a 3.7+ BCMP GPA which is so important for med/dental/Vet admissions for non-URM males. (I have a pre-med son who is applying to med schools this summer. He has a 4.0 BCMP and a 3.9X cum (because of an A- in a Spanish class. Ugh…lol).</p>
<p>Those pre-reqs are weeder classes and filled with kids whose stats are tippy top.</p>
<p>thanks m2ck… i thought i remembered the act cutoff for honors being 30 (op’s stats) but of course that was a few years ago so they may have raised it. think S2 got their top merit to oos and it was 13K then</p>
<p>670 M, 590 CR (1260) …since merit is typically based on M+CR score, hopefully your son can increase this combo. Right now, that’s equivalent to an ACT 28. </p>
<p>He might get some merit at a few schools with Big spirited Div I sports, but not much. So, if merit is desired, he needs to raise his scores. Also have him take the ACT. </p>
<p>His UW GPA is also going to hurt him for merit. Schools like Indiana use unweighted for merit consideration and some require at least a 3.75 UW or more. Also, some schools only use GPA from grades 9-11, so his GPA is set now for merit. Even if a school will include Senior 1st semester grades, one semester out of 7 semesters isn’t going to bump the GPA much. </p>
<p>you need to look at schools that use Weighted GPA or don’t require a high UW GPA for merit …along with better test scores. he can’t do much to change his GPA at this point, but he can improve his test scores. </p>
<p>Texaspg is right. GPA is important for admissions to big state schools, but test scores (and GPA) are important for merit.</p>
<p>Indiana family here, I would be cautious about calliing Bloomington a safety-- average unweighted GPA is 3.6 (stunning to me, I know). It is not generally a holistic admissions, but rather numbers driven-- GPA and test scores. I think there is an option to request holistic review, including teacher recs. </p>
<p>Univ of Iowa uses a straight formula, the RAI, which you can complete online to see if student will be admitted and if they meet threshold for OOS merit money (brining tuition down from about 26k to about 21k.</p>
<p>OP’s S would qualify for merit at Miami-Ohio with current stats. Miami-Oh uses whichever gpa the high school provides (Weighted would be used). </p>
<p>Let me know if you have any questions about Clemson! Probably not to go for Broadcasting but we have a great science program if she is looking into pre-dental</p>
<p>Momof2- you raise some very good points. I have also considered just how competitive an environment is best for him. FSU is a great fit instate in all respects except they don’t have a broadcast program:( He is a 100% match on Naviance </p>
<p>Midwestmom- I only listed Indiana as a safety as on Naviance he is also a 100% match and is a good amount above the average accepted at his school. If the info is reliable then it should be a safety?</p>
<p>Pierre - If I remember correctly, Clemson has a great journalism program. There are several news anchors at State and National level who started in Clemson.</p>
<p>Take the SAT again in October. Tell him to breathe, relax and go in confident. He can improve another 40 points and make a huge difference.</p>
<p>And put Fordham University on your list. Bronx…main campus at Rose Hill. </p>
<p>Its an AWESOME school. There are many Floridians at Fordham. Outstanding education (academics and street smarts), and very good athletics…where student-athletes excel…and they emphasize academics.</p>
<p>Fordham has an amazing communications major and an award winning (WFUV) radio station. Many many Fordham alumni PRESENTLY work for ABC, NBC, FoxNews, Madison Square Garden Productions, CBS Sports, ESPN etc. Producer of Good Morning America is a Fordham alumnus and brought U2 to Fordham for a free concert in 2009.</p>
<p>On Bloomington, I am not familiar with how reliable Naviance would be. In my mind, I think of a match as a place where student fits in the range and a safety where student is in top 10-25% of admitted student stats. I would expect that your son would get into IU Bloomington. At the same time, here in-state, we have families reeling from the sudden discovery in late 11th/early 12th that they have good students seriously at risk of getting denied. In state, Bloomington is a safety for students in unweighted 3.75 plus range. Those middle kids, 3.4-3.6. are just not as easy to predict. </p>
<p>An early application will get you an early decision. Most kids here apply in late Aug or Setember and get a decision within about 4 weeks. The application is quite simple, with transcript and test scores needing to be sent. There might also be a counsellor form, I just cannot recall. </p>
<p>Good luck, this is an exciting, sometimes overwhelming time.</p>
<p>*And put Fordham University on your list. Bronx…main campus at Rose Hill. *</p>
<p>Fordham could be a very good choice IF the family is willing to pay full freight…about $55k per year. From the OP’s posts, it doesn’t sound like that’s do-able. </p>
<p>Right…a safety is a school with a high admit rate and stats are well in the top 25%. Being a “Naviance match” doesn’t make a school a safety. Plus, a safety has to be affordable as well. :)</p>
<p>*And put Fordham University on your list. Bronx…main campus at Rose Hill. *</p>
<p>Fordham could be a very good choice IF the family is willing to pay full freight…about $55k per year. From the OP’s posts, it doesn’t sound like that’s do-able. </p>
<p>Right…a safety is a school with a high admit rate and stats are well in the top 25%. Being a “Naviance match” doesn’t make a school a safety. Plus, a safety has to be affordable as well. :)</p>