<p>He should get the big public applications in very early, like by end September since many are rolling.</p>
<p>also, just thought of George Mason in VA, and College of Charleston in SC for publics…am I to assume that a school like UCF in central Florida is too far?</p>
<p>and before I HAVE to go to the supermarket, not sure if UDel was on your original list…a little easier admissions lately than UMaryland…</p>
<p>northeast: hi…OP has similar problem to my daughter; no AP’s allowed without A’s in previous course…so AP’s will not be an option open to him…</p>
<p>i’d have him take the ACT again as his score may indeed be higher on the next sitting.</p>
<p>i agree with my3sons that he may like ku, missouri, and oklahoma. he might also be sure to check out univ. of nebraska and oklahoma state. baylor is another one to look at as well.</p>
<p>be sure that he notes his high school sports in his applications as i think schools understand the significant time commitment it takes to participate in varsity athletics. </p>
<p>how did he do on the psat? did he receive national merit recognition?</p>
<p>I think it is important to figure out why he only has a 3.2 GPA. Is it that he is so bored in his classes that he doesn’t pay attention and doesn’t do the work or could it be something else? With the test scores he has, he should have a much higher GPA. Has he had a downward trend recently or has his GPA been a consistent 3.2? The problem I see here is that he may not know how to (or want to) study, which will only pose more problems in college. He also seems very busy after school, between the varsity team, officer of a club and part-time job. It is probably too late now to bring up his GPA if he is a junior, but if he puts in the effort, he may be able to get the end of year grades up a bit. The schools he is applying to will want to see his senior grades as well. Best of luck to your son!</p>
<p>I think you have two different issues-
1- your kids college list and application strategy
2- how to execute the strategy</p>
<p>I think you are being poorly served by the private counselor in both areas. Your son sounds great, and fortunately, there are dozens of schools that would meet his criteria (unless you throw something unusual into the mix, like wanting to double major in Japanese and Ethnomusicology.) I sympathize- having a GC who is either unavailable or disinterested in what makes your kid special does seem to suggest that you need a private counselor-- but since this one seems like a poor fit, I think you’re better off without one.</p>
<p>Condor makes a great suggestion- start by working with your son to make a “mega list” of schools where his current stats put him within the 50-75% admissions range. He can then cull through the list and decide which ones are more exciting for him than others.</p>
<p>Best of luck. He sounds like a great kid.</p>
<p>
He would have about a 35% chance according to their Likelihood of Admission chart:
<a href=“http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/images/UW_FreshmanExpectations.pdf[/url]”>http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/images/UW_FreshmanExpectations.pdf</a></p>
<p>I don’t know why people are suggesting more standardized testing! A SAT score of1450/2080 is more than enough! I would see if he can get into a few honor classes as senior, if he is barred from an AP class. Also, see if he is getting an A-/B+ in a subject whether a teacher might be able to recommend one AP for him as a senior. I don’t know if that is allowed. </p>
<p>I don’t know why you all think a 3.2 is so low! It really depends upon the individual high school. </p>
<p>I would not be as concerned with getting into a school with a 3.2 as making sure he has the skills to “stay in” and succeed once there. College has so many distractions for students!</p>
<p>Hi, Rodney!</p>
<p>blossom has a nice comment about the private counselor…“poorly served” is a good way of putting it.</p>
<p>readytoroll…i think that there will be many, many public 4 year colleges that will have available admissions spots. what’s happening is that due to the tougher economic times, some students are delaying college, reducing their hours taken, or going the community college route. </p>
<p>this is one of those situations where applying to 10 to 14 schools is not unreasonable.</p>
<p>he might want to check into the intramurals at the schools as well…and at some schools…intramurals is a big deal.</p>
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<p>i know a number of public colleges where that already happened last year – economy tanked in time for many more to accept for this past fall than they could ever have predicted – which in turn definitely affected admissions for applications this year (ie for next fall). </p>
<p>a big part of the problem is even the admissions officers will admit that they are having a huge problem predicting what happen in terms of yield this year. </p>
<p>in general, i think the uncertainty of the economy and its effects on public college admissions will continue into next year – but it may not be easy to predict exactly what that will mean in terms of admissions criteria. a lot may depend on whether (1) publics “got it right” this year (ie get the yield they want), or (2) they were too cautious in light of the flood of applicants (and have to draw more from the waitlist than they thought), or (3) still ended up with more kids than they expected (in which case admissions will get still tougher next year). </p>
<p>if you can revisit schools this summer, it might be a good time to really grill them on how admissions went this year (for next fall) and what they reasonably expect for next year.</p>
<p>I am puzzled by your counselor. My son played 4 years of football also, it is an enormous time commitment, not to mention the physical toll it takes on your body. Trying to focus and study with so many aches and pains is very challenging! Putting in the time and commitment to a team shows great character and speaks well for your son. His SAT scores are solid, he can write an essay about what he has learned about academic commitment, i.e. focusing more on his studies and I think he will be fine. BYW, football playing son was accepted (with merit scholarships) to 5 large public schools as well as 4 privates. (Ohio State, Penn State, Miami University, Ohio University and Penn State UP). His SATs were lower than your son’s and he is not playing football in college.</p>
<p>Unless he has his heart set on an ivy or the same 25 colleges everyone else wants to go to, I think he has a shot at many excellent schools. The D3 football idea is interesting though. My older son played only one year of FB and he had several calls from coaches at LACs offering him a chance to play D3. It is something to think about, because it puts you in the short stack of applicants for some LACs.</p>
<p>A few more schools he might want to consider–Ohio University, University of Kansas, University of Iowa–all big with a rah-rah atmosphere and solida academics.</p>
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<p>^^I agree with this. I think the counselor is low-balling your son so that you will be thrilled with the result when she helps to get him into a better school than you had come to expect.</p>
<p>It’s the same strategy Scottie always used with Capt. Kirk – Tell him it will take two hours to get the warp drive back on line so that he would be regarded as a genius and a hero when he ended up getting it fixed in 30 minutes.</p>
<p>I don’t get the concern. Sounds to me like this bright kid just is maturing a little later than some - an opportunity in college. </p>
<p>His grades and scores clearly will land him in a school the quality of a Purdue/Virginia Tech and the like. You can have a lifetime of opportunity at these places. </p>
<p>So the question is not where he can get in (he can get in good schools) but whether on his own step up and mature and get far better grades with more focus than he has put in high school. </p>
<p>The original poster knows her kid better than anyone. I would suggest projecting to reality and really asking if when he is living in a dorm, etc. he is prepared to mentally put academics first and foremost, time and time again.</p>
<p>Ready - First of all, I just have to say it: I LOVE YOUR SON !! A really well rounded, well-grounded kid who knows what he wants in a school? Fabulous. Enthusiastically attends a meeting with a “professional” who supposed to help him achieve his ambitions. Perfect. Gets angry when the “professional” is unsupportive? My kind of guy, definitely!</p>
<p>The job here isn’t to change the kid – the kid’s fine. Yes it would be beneficial to revisit (lightly!) how your S got to that 3.2 GPA. And yes, it appears you will need to be feeding the HS GC info about your S for inclusion in her recommendation. And yes, it would be great if your S could do a college-level course this summer (please try). But job #1 is to let your S know how proud you are of him. And job #2 IMHO is to find a different college counselor.</p>
<p>Agree with everyone and people (especially in the east) get so focused on weighted GPAs that they forget what those GPAs can be when unweighted. If his lower grades are in any non-academic classes U of M will drop those anyway when they calculate GPA. If the 3.2 is unweighted then it might be a tad low for U of M but his ACT score is excellent. He must, must, must apply early to U of M! What about Michigan State? It’s not the same Michigan State it was 20 or 30 years ago! Everyone is giving you good ideas and I hope your son can move out of the funk caused by this counselor. I think he will have a nice list to apply to come fall.</p>
<p>RtR- agree with others who say your son is great. Sometimes it is tough when they hear things like this that get in the way of their dreams.</p>
<p>I think you have posted on the B+ thread, but I suggest you do another pass through it from the beginning, and maybe a new choice will catch your eye. I am also reminded of JerseyShoreMom’s D who didn’t have the best numbers on paper who was accepted to a few florida schools. Specialized major, but maybe someplace to consider. Also the schools with rolling admissions will allow you to adjust your list/expectations as you go.</p>
<p>What you need to ask point blank and get a straight answer from the GC or the paid counselor (if you still plan to employ her) is big publics which weight scores above GPA or which show matrices like mentioned above to predict chances. Many of the non-flagships mentioned here are great choices to add to your list.</p>
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<p>Not doing work that he is capable of doing in school for the past 3 years landed him a 3.2 GPA. Actions have consequences. Why should we kill the messenger (the admissions counselor) who brings truth into the light?</p>
<p>^ Well, because what rational parent will pay a counselor who steers a student away from where s/he wants to go? especially when the goal is reasonable?</p>
<p>I don’t think RtR has said her son was a big slacker in school. At some schools getting an A, even in a non-honors, non-AP class can be tough. This was said to be one of the top publics in CT, which is an affluent and I assume competitive state. Which is why I asked about his rank. Since the school doesn’t rank, what do they provide as part of the profile for grade distributions? Is it GPA or individual class distributions? Using this info, where do you think he stands (ballpark, like top 25%, top half, etc) in relation to his class? What does the GC provide in this area in the absence of an explicit rank?</p>
<p>Sounds like your son would do better with more challenging classes. My son blows off repetitive homework. Doing 30 of the same type of problems is not something he needs to do to get an A on the test, and he’s willing to take the hit on his grade in the class to do something more meaningful.</p>
<p>There are online AP classes your son could take during the summer (or the school year) if he so wanted; he doesn’t need to take a butt-in-seat class to demonstrate that he is capable of challenging work. Some of these, especially math/computer science courses, are “work at your own pace” courses, so he could move through them as quickly, or as slowly, as he’d like. CTY offers some, and there are many other sources for online classes.</p>