<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/767966-where-did-your-3-0-3-3-gpa-child-get.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/767966-where-did-your-3-0-3-3-gpa-child-get.html</a></p>
<p>SodiumFree - thanks for the link.</p>
<p>That’s funny, warriorboy. Your poor son! Didn’t you get the hard copy in the mail? </p>
<p>My son had 32 also, but math was his high score. Isn’t it odd that 32-36 are all 99 percentile?? Just seems strange to me.</p>
<p>Seenitall -</p>
<p>My son liked Salisbury & York. He also liked Lynchburg – pretty, well-maintained campus and the city is larger and has more to do (and shopping) than we expected. I’d say the Lynchburg campus was significantly more attractive than York’s. Although we liked all the people we dealt with at both schools.</p>
<p>Just as a basis for comparison, my son did not like Towson (unattractive campus and not great tour).</p>
<p>yabeyabe2, I don’t think I have had any experience with not submitting the SATs to SAT Optional schools. Our applicants have always wanted to submit them to supplement their transcript. If your applicant might be eligible for merit aid, the school usually wants those SAT/ACT scores in order to give out merit aid, at least, that has been what we have always encountered. If you feel your family isn’t eligible for need-based aid, then it is probably in your child’s best interests to submit SAT/ACT for merit aid consideration. </p>
<p>Does anyone know of a school who gives out merit aid based on Transcript/GPA alone? I am rather curious about this, now that I have brought it up! LOL …</p>
<p>Allthisisnewtome - We did get the paper score, but I didn’t look at it because I had already checked online. Our GC said that the number of kids getting a 32-36 is relatively small and makes up the top 1%. Now I know my son should have better grades… Does your son fit in this thread? What is his GPA? </p>
<p>Now, the big decision is whether to go to the F&M Open House. The GC originally said that his test scores weren’t high enough. His GPA is still low but he really wants to visit.</p>
<p>I think that a kid visiting a school that is a something of reach that he falls in love with could be a powerful motivating tool to improve the GPA.</p>
<p>As long as your son knows that his chances are not very good (acceptance rate is only 37%) I think it would be okay. If I were you, I would really concentrate on more match and safeties then reaches if possible. I mean that in a kind way- there are many stories on this site of kids that are forced to go to schools they didn’t really like because they didn’t get into the ones that were reaches.</p>
<p>kathiep - my plan for the fall was to visit schools that he had a decent shot of getting into. My dh thinks that the visit might be a strong motivator. (as delamer suggests) Plus we’re looking for an excuse to go to Sheetz again.</p>
<p>I can’t remember what other schools are near by that we could drive through. I assume that Dickinson would also be a long shot… We’ve never had anyone in our local school apply to either of these schools. Did anyone with a 3.1 get in?</p>
<p>Our GC said that not applying for FA could also help. If the school was closer to $30,000, that might be more reasonable, but $50,000 just wouldn’t work.</p>
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<p>I’m trying to figure this one out. Most schools we have looked at don’t seem to ask on their application if you will be applying for aid, and the ones that do claim that they are “need blind”. Is your GC saying that even if a school claims they are “need blind”, that they aren’t? </p>
<p>Our EFC is going to be higher than the tuition at most schools, but I thought we should file the FAFSA anyway in case we want our S to take out loans. So, that would mean that we have to answer the “are you applying for need-based aid” in the affirmative…but since we won’t get any “straight money” based on need anyway, we could just as soon not file the FAFSA if it would really help. But again…I can’t see how it would help unless schools aren’t telling the truth…</p>
<p>warriorboy648 -</p>
<p>No one from my son’s school with a GPA less than 4.0 (weighted) got into Franklin & Marshall or Dickinson. My GUESS is that means no less than around a 3.5 unweighted. Average ACT scores for accepted students were a couple points lower than your son’s score.</p>
<p>However, the fact that your son is at a high school where no one has applied before could work in his favor. I’ve forgotten if you mentioned this – were your son’s grades all around a B or did he have A’s in some areas and C’s in others?</p>
<p>Over 20 kids from our high school have applied to F&M with GPAs ranging from 3.0 to 4.0 weighted. All but two got in. No one with SATs over 1400/1600 were rejected.</p>
<p>At Dickinson, everyone with an SAT above 1300 got in, even with GPAs below 3.0.</p>
<p>Both F&M and DIckinson STRONGLY encourage ED applications and have very high ED acceptance rates…unless you break that out of your naviances, it is difficult to determine safety/match/reach from any particular school…</p>
<p>From where we sit here, we also have had success from 3.0 on up for both schools (and F&M is test optional so who knows…)</p>
<p>One more thing, Dickinson had 7% lower enrollment this year than last; yield was horrendous apparently…may impact the % they accept this year for both ED and RD</p>
<p>RtoR - I would have to ask the GC for more info. (Probably have to wait a couple of weeks) She told us that she had kids with lower stats that were full pay get in over kids that needed aid. The kids who were admitted didn’t have any kind of hook so she believes it was the $$$.</p>
<p>delamer - my son’s grades are all over the place. He was (hopefully in the past) dealing with a chronic illness. Sophomore year was really bad and he missed over 40 days of school. His grades plumetted and he received a D in English (this is my biggest concern). Things were better this year, but he struggled with AP chem and ended up with a C. He hasn’t been sick in months and we’re all hoping that he’ll have a great year. (He’s taking 4 AP’s) This is definitely more info than you needed, but the hope is that the GC can do a good job at showing the schools that this is a bright kid who continued to take tough classes when it would have been easier to take an easier load.</p>
<p>My son believes that he should go for it. If he’s rejected, it’ll be the same affect as not applying. (I don’t handle rejection as well) Ultimately, it’s his decision. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any Naviance on Furman. That’s another of his top choices. This school would definitely be a great fit.</p>
<p>I’ve heard a few admission people say that the people that do the admissions have nothing at all to do with the aid. We know that we can’t afford to pay full tuition at most schools but also know we don’t qualify for any aid according to FAFSA. We will still be filling it out and hoping for merit aid.</p>
<p>RtoR - do you have ACT data from Naviance? I looked at a conversion chart and it says that a 32 would be equal to around a 2130 on the SAT. I’m not sure if that is an accurate correlation.</p>
<p>warriorboy…we do have ACT data, but of course that assumes that the students took the ACT. If they didn’t, then their data point won’t exist and way more students take the SAT.</p>
<p>I think that, in general, it’s best to look at the conversion for Math/Verbal rather than Total SAT score, since most colleges don’t look at writing. So, a 32 ACT is equal to about a 1420 M/V SAT, according to the official College Board chart:</p>
<p><a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/act-sat-concordance-tables.pdf[/url]”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board;
<p>There is a separate table which provides concordance for the ACT writing score to the SAT writing score.</p>
<p>Warriorboy - if you guys are going to apply to Dickinson then you should do some reading about Benjamin Rush. He was the schools founder and the required essay is based on him.</p>
<p>We toured Dickinson this summer for my 11th grade son, but it was the older one with the 2.8 GPA that fell in love with it. Isn’t that just ducky? The campus is stunning and the curriculum is great. My hubby is an alum and just loved the whole experience.</p>
<p>oops I forgot - at the info meeting for Dickinson they said that they accept 65% of the ED’s.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, our GC has consistently said that being full pay will help a little, even at schools that are nominally need-blind. </p>
<p>Warriorboy, LOL re sheetz. During our roadtrip it was a running joke-- a chain with an obscene name, although we stopped there a bunch of times!</p>