<p>I'm posting on here instead of the general SAT board because I've been reading these posts long enough to think there is more sound advice here than on some of the other more general boards :-) This is going to be long so I apologize in advance.</p>
<p>My D has finished all 15 (!) of her applications and, I thought until yesterday at least, was pretty pleased with where she sits with scores, stats, etc. She applied to Yale, Harvard, Stanford - mainly because she wanted to see if she could get in, not because she really wants to go there, we haven't even visited though schools. She took the SAT Subject tests earlier this month and got her scores back yesterday and is now freaking out because her scores aren't high enough to assure her admission to those schools (which, I keep telling her, NO ONE is assured admission to those elite schools!). Her SAT score is 2150-one sitting with no prep class or extra study, (CR690,M790,W670) and subject scores are 690USHistory, 680Physics,760MathI, (of course she took the subject tests right in the middle of her maximum stress over applications and essays so did nothing to study for those either). Her ACT composite score was 32 (35Math, don't have the other breakdowns). She wants to retake the SAT test in December (deadline to sign up is 11/1). I am concerned that she will not do as well the next time because she is so stressed out about everything right now. Since all scores go to those elite schools, I think worse scores won't help her case at all. I am not trying to "crush her dreams," as she states, but I want her to be realistic.</p>
<p>She has a 3.81 UW GPA/4.33 W GPA, is in the top 2% of her huge class (over 1300 students!), NM Commended, National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction and will have 11 AP classes by the time she graduates. She is in all AP classes this year. She has a ton of ECs (both at school and through church) with a huge number of volunteer hours specifically related to working with special needs kids. She also has a job being the after-school care provider for a Down Syndrome child. I think her LORs should be very good to excellent.</p>
<p>We are stuck in that middle ground of not being poor enough to qualify for much FA at all but not rich enough to pay alot either. She has applied to several other excellent schools in California (where she deeply desires to go - USC is her #1 choice) but, without merit scholarships, those aren't going to be within our financial reach. She is going to take a tour at Arizona State and Barrett Honors College next month which I thought she was excited about but now appears she isn't. We live in Texas and she has applied to UT Austin and Baylor (and is attending Invitation to Excellence next month as well) but those are her choices of last resort! Right now she thinks she wants to attend medical or graduate school and I think it is important that she complete undergraduate without debt if at all possible. </p>
<p>How do I get my daughter to be proud of her accomplishments and be thankful for all the choices of great schools she does have instead of focusing on the possibility of not being admitted to a few elite schools or not being able to afford full sticker price colleges?? Anybody else have a Type A high-achieving student who is about make the whole household crazy over all this college application/admissions stress??? And, who the heck said senior year is supposed to be fun???? </p>
<p>(I do feel somewhat better just by getting this off my chest - thanks for reading!)</p>