<p>USC or Notre Dame or NUY or Northeastern or many LAC’s like Reed, Whitman, Occidental, Bushnell, Hamilton, etc could have been considered “matches”</p>
<p>But the absence of a safety that he is sure that he likes is a more important omission than not having any matches.</p>
<p>I would not put USC (SoCal) and Notre Dame as a match for a 3.7 UW GPA / 1 AP/ No leadership kid. </p>
<p>what ucbalumnus said is very true!!
For all future applicants- please remember to FIRST- find a safety that you can afford AND that you would be happy to go to, should all else fail. A safety is the single most important college on any list!</p>
<p>’ I would not put USC (SoCal) and Notre Dame as a match for a 3.7 UW GPA / 1 AP/ No leadership kid."
His SAT scores would have given him a second look at USC, at the very least ,as they are still trying to attract top stat kids. </p>
<p>It seems a lot of people want to denigrate my son based on a 3.7 GPA. As was pointed out it was at a (very competitive) magnet school. As for AP, he took the 1 AP the school offered. And who said he had “no leadership”? What does that even mean? He was a two year wrestling captain (and team Outstanding Wrestler) and an officer in his schools rotc battalion. Also, he was waitlisted at UChicago and Dartmouth, so how does he not fit USC or Notre Dame? I sense a sort of antipathy towards a kid with very high boards and imperfect gpa. Why is that? Because he is extremely smart but not a perfect student?</p>
<p>I live in NJ. I understand how most NJ kids want to go “anywhere but Rutgers.” That said, with the choices available to him, I still suggest Rutgers over an unplanned and unwise gap year. Your son’s college list was unfortunate, but what’s done is done. He now has to play the hand he got dealt. </p>
<p>When I went away to college a zillion years ago, I promised myself that I’d never live in NJ again. I stayed away for ~15 years, but lo and behold I’ve been back for 30 years and I like it.</p>
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<p>No one is suggesting that he is not a good student. But most people are trying to state the reality of college admissions today at the schools in his application list, as well as the reality that good students can do well at Rutgers.</p>
<p>For super-selective schools, one likely needs top-notch academics (3.7 is probably on the low side of the GPA range that they are looking for), top-notch test scores, and something in addition. That something in addition, if it is not a “hook” like being a recruited athlete, would be some very high level achievement, award, or recognition – probably state or national level. Being the outstanding wrestler on the high school team is great, but probably quite ordinary among applicants to super-selective schools; being the state champion wrestler would be more likely to attract favorable attention at such schools.</p>
<p>There is no antipathy toward your son. The reality is that it is so crazy with admissions these days that all kids need to have a good list of schools they would be happy to attend when they are making up their list of where to apply.</p>
<p>You got that right. If he was NJ state champion he could have picked between Stanford, Harvard and Princeton! He still can be a good student and wrestler at UChicago, which he loved, and hopefully that works out. I think we and he thought (evidently wrongly) that his board scores would carry more weight. Also, remember, he did have a GC, and was not told he was looking at a bunch of longshots. Live and painfully learn.</p>
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<p>I’m confused. techfall is married to mlfkoenig?</p>
<p>You are getting this feedback from parents who have been through this and follow the admission trends more closely than you have (unfortunately). Elite-school applications are completely out of control at this point. Too many people “hedging their bets” by applying to many of them, without anything unique or special to offer. All that does is make it harder for qualified students to get noticed unless they have some remarkable “hook.”</p>
<p>Your list for your son might have worked 10 years ago, but not anymore. He had NO matches and only one safety. </p>
<p>I’d probably look to see what colleges have openings after May 1. You might be surprised to find some that would appeal to your son. He would certainly appeal to them.</p>
<p>Sounds like he’s a good wrestler, but not good enough to capture the attention of D1 coaches. </p>
<p>Another option now presents itself: Have you considered a gap year solely for the purpose of him working on wrestling? This will permit him to advance his skills to get the attention of Ivy/selective college coaches. I imagine if he spent the entire year working on fitness and practicing, his skills would advance incredibly. His SAT and grades seem more than adequate for a recruited athlete.</p>
<p>If he gets into Chicago, that’s it - he would wrestle there and be a great fit. The only way to use wrestling otherwise would be by taking a PG year and doing well in the prep nationals.</p>
<p>I have no antipathy to this student. He sounds like a great kid, and your pride and joy.</p>
<p>I have a lot of antipathy to his incompetent bungler of a GC. She should have taken one look at his list and said, “So you want to go to Rutgers, then?” because with his stats and his list, he had only a tiny tiny chance of getting in to any of the other schools. He is not up to the impossibly high standards of those schools, and she should have known that. His admission results are not surprising in the least. </p>
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<p>He wouldn’t have been in the top 25% in GPA for any of the schools he was rejected from. He would have been in the bottom 25% for at least some of them, and that bottom 25% normally is disproportionately recruited athletes, first generation in college students, and underrepresented minorities.</p>
<p>To know what OP’s son GPA indicates, we’d have to know how it compared to that of other students in his school. Otherwise, it is pretty meaningless. For all we know, 3.7 puts him in the top few percent of his class.</p>
<p>True, apprenticeprof. But that list is a bad list for any student who doesn’t have an outstanding hook. It would be OK if the kid was trying to decide which school to take his Olympic medal to, or if he were Governor Christie’s son, or if his parents just put up a building on one of those campuses. But otherwise, no student should apply to a bunch of lottery schools and a safety he doesn’t want to go to.</p>
<p>" But otherwise, no student should apply to a bunch of lottery schools and a safety he doesn’t want to go to."
Truer words were never said </p>
<p>And I sense we are being "played " here by this new poster techfall, who does not sound like OP. And if “techfall” is the OP, she is ignoring CC rules by posting under a new user name. Its time to close this thread. </p>
<p>I am not a parent. In fact, I graduated from both high school and university AND had a gap year! I want to suggest a link to read about some very successful gap year experiences: <a href=“http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Education/2014/04/06/Taking-productive-breaks-Delving-into-her-psyche-From-dog-owner-to-certified-groomer-An-experience/”>http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Education/2014/04/06/Taking-productive-breaks-Delving-into-her-psyche-From-dog-owner-to-certified-groomer-An-experience/</a></p>
<p>The pressure on kids today to go directly to university is tremendous. Many 17-18 year olds are not really sure what they even want to study. You. the parent, are making a huge investment in an education. Wouldn’t it make sense to give your student a chance to explore the real world for a year? The options are not so limited! I remember the frustration of not knowing what I wanted to study. I remember feeling out of control, with no parents around and parties every night. I remember being bored with the general ed classes that I had to take my first year.</p>
<p>Even if your young adult does not study at all, he will have the chance to understand what it means to take on some responsibility, to learn to pay bills, and hopefully to realize that a minimum wage job is not a comfortable road to travel! </p>
<p>Better yet, if you do some research specifically about gap years your young adult could take the trip of a lifetime, like I did. I bought tickets around the world and went from the US to Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, England, and Spain. I found jobs along the way, met truly inspiring people, and learned so much that to this day, I never stop thinking about my gap experience. If structure is important, try to set up an internship through an organization that does this. </p>
<p>I read an article two weeks ago that Tufts University is beginning a pilot program specifically including a gap year experience and even helping to finance it!! </p>
<p>Perhaps the most important point I would like to make is: What does your child want? I had moderately supportive parents in pursuing my gap year. When I came back, I was stimulated, motivated, and a lot more focused about what I wanted to do with my life. </p>
<p>Going directly to university, when one is uncertain of their path can be a great success, a mild success, or a huge expense with major changes and more than 4 years of study. To me, a gap year is an ideal way to explore in a safe environment. It is a time to mature, to gain valuable life experience, and hopefully to be a year that will never, ever be forgotten. </p>
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<p>For most high school graduates, economic reality is that gap year activities must be primarily paid work, not world travel that require generous parental support to help with the costs.</p>