<p>Martina, are we talking about hard science, or engineering? </p>
<p>Alfred has an excellent ceramic engineering program, but that’s a specialized field.</p>
<p>McGill is hard to get in, I think. It’s an elite Canadian school.</p>
<p>Yabebe, cardinal,</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions.</p>
<p>I mentioned URI to him, he was not big on it because he heard it was a party school. I may ask him to revisit that opinion.</p>
<p>I think Stony Brook would be a reach for him, also, he is trending more toward city schools (UM Amherst was a city unto itself)</p>
<p>I am not sure if he is sure whether to go hard science or engineering. I think he says engineering because he’s been told it would be better job wise. But I think he’d be better in the hard sciences. He is looking at chemistry/biochemistry or chem E/bio chem/pharma E.</p>
<p>It’s been frustrating through high school because he just did not care about grades. He seems more focused now. I’d like to find a decent school that will accept him. It would be great to find a place that would give him merit. I’m happy that he has a strong interest in something and has something to work for now.</p>
<p>Masshysteria - THANKS for your feedback on St Joe’s!! And it’s great to hear your son is happy there. Can’t wait to visit.</p>
<p>Hey kids, this 7-person Bike Tour at Alfred University looks fun! Even saw it in the New York Times. My daughter said it is very popular! Scroll down & then play. </p>
<p>[Alfred</a> University : Future Students](<a href=“http://www.alfred.edu/admissions/visit_us.cfm]Alfred”>http://www.alfred.edu/admissions/visit_us.cfm)</p>
<p>Quick question: Is a B-B+ average in AP and honors classes considered a “B” student (tough private high school)? I don’t really know where I fit…I feel like I am on the border between B and B+…I haven’t taken the SAT (I am a junior), but I got in the 180s on the psat as a sophomore…I will have seven APs and a smattering of honors by the time I graduate…Thoughts?</p>
<p>juniormints, given weighting, I suspect you are a “B+/A-” student
There is also a B+ students thread, although not as active as this one–and you will find many of the same schools discussed on both, although the safety/match/reach labels may change</p>
<p>Good luck on the SATs</p>
<p>Hi guys…I do feel it’s premature for me to post much here since DS is just a 9th grader but I wanted to pop in and say howdy. </p>
<p>Are any of your kids lopsided students like my boy who excell or do quite well in humanities classes and struggle in Math? Is he the only kid with a parent on CC who is taking algebra as a frosh and who is dreading having to take it for two more years at least? Just looking for partners in worry.</p>
<p>Welcome to the thread historymom! Taking algebra as a freshman is the “standard” track, so while you may not find bunches of folks on CC whose kids are doing it, it’s not exactly below standard! (My 3.0 to 3.3 kid is a strong math student but not as strong an English student so I guess it’s the reverse.)</p>
<p>I have a friend whose daughter also started with Algebra in 9th grade. She decided to take geometry over the summer so that she could do Algebra II as a sophomore, although in the end she needn’t have done that since she didn’t end up taking calculus as a senior anyway. (She took elective type maths (i.e. prob/stats and discreete math) as a senior.) She is a happy psychology major at UMass now.</p>
<p>historymom, yes, that is my child you are talking about. She took Algebra in 8th and did OK, but then she struggled with Algebra II in 10th and ended up repeating it in 11th to improve on her C. Her teachers were on board with the second round of A. II; they didn’t want to simply "let math happen.‘’ She is now in Pre-Calc and doing pretty well, fingers crossed. Her standardized test score are similar, with verbal always eclipsing math.</p>
<p>For those of you whose kids are on the low end of this range (like mine at a 2.9), I have spent the day contacting ad coms at the schools my son has applied to, and one great thing i have found out as a SAFETY is that University of kansas will automatically admit a 2.5 OOS applicant. I have done a lot of research about this school, since we are from Southern California - Kansas is definitely not a common choice for kids at my son’s school - and it offers everything a large university should - great academic programs, a strong Greek system, easy access from large airports, and, most importantly to my son, excellent sports teams. Just a thought… for those of you looking for a safe bet.</p>
<p>Elizabethh, To my great shock when I just read my daughter your message about Kansas I did not get the reaction I thought I would. When she gets home later we are going to look into this further. Any other suggestions for our kids?</p>
<p>elizabeth and peg: There is a thread on college search forum that lists a lot of options for kids who want big sports but don’t have the stats for the more selective schools. My S is likely to also want a school where he can cheer for an excellent sports team and there were some really good suggestions there. Kansas was on that list so thanks for reiterating it! search for something like “Big football and basketball for the 3.3 student.”</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcomes and reassurances all.</p>
<p>Other schools to look at, for kids who are hovering at the 3.0 mark:</p>
<p>University of Arizona (they don’t use standardized test scores for admission, only for scholarship and honors college consideration - I learned this today also)
Oregon State
University of Nebraska - a little bit tougher but definitely doable. They do use test scores.
University of hawaii, Manoa - besides being in Hawaii, which is quite a distance for most of the US, their minimum required gpa is 2.8
Any of the 2nd tier state universities: for example University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, or Cal State Northridge, (though I am staying away from Cali schools, even though we live here, too many $$$ problems).
Ohio University in Athens, Ohio (not many OOS students, though)</p>
<p>My main concern with most schools that admit kids with lower gpas that are large state schools is the low amount of out of state students that attend.</p>
<p>A good resource is PrincetonReview.com, where you can enter your student’s stats for any school and it will tell you percentage-wise what the chances are for admission. For example my son was a 100% match at Northern Arizona and he was admitted there this week. </p>
<p>I thought it was stressful with my daughter, who had a 3.8 weighted - and was out of the running for many of the schools she was interested in - but this is even tougher!</p>
<p>Just to clarify about Arizona State, they will ask for test scores if they are on the fence about a student. Found this out today as well.</p>
<p>Yes, but I was also told that test scores can only help, not hurt, which is good to know too!</p>
<p>Those of you that like the University of Kansas (my S is a VERY happy soph!) should check out the University of Missouri and the University of Oklahoma. All 3 are state flagships that have great academic programs and nationally ranked sports teams, tons of school spirit, beautiful campuses and are located in quintessential college towns. Admissions to many midwestern publics is strictly by the numbers and the requirements for automatic admission for these 3 are listed below. My S is an OOS student from the northeast and has felt very welcome and comfortable at KU.</p>
<p>[KU:</a> Office of Admissions and Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ku.edu/requirements/freshmen.shtml]KU:”>http://www.admissions.ku.edu/requirements/freshmen.shtml)
[Requirements</a> - Mizzou Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.missouri.edu/howtoapply/freshman/requirements.php]Requirements”>http://admissions.missouri.edu/howtoapply/freshman/requirements.php)
<a href=“http://www.ou.edu/admissions/home/requirements/undergraduate/freshman_admission.html[/url]”>http://www.ou.edu/admissions/home/requirements/undergraduate/freshman_admission.html</a></p>
<p>West Virginia University, big on sports, has a Greek Life, not so competitive for admission.</p>
<p>While I don’t know the percentages, I believe there are lots of out of staters at KU. My niece graduated from there (and she was from OOS) and she loved it. I know that there are lots of midwesterners (though she was a southerner).</p>
<p>I had to share that my son has finished his common app. His English teacher said that although his essay was short, it was strong!!! Hope he’s right. Now he just has to do the individual supplements. I’m amazed at how easy some of them are and how involved others are. </p>
<p>We’re revisiting the school that’s a serious contender for ED. He has to interview and he is going to attend a class or two. We should also have a rough idea of FA before the due date. For me, it will ruin all of the fun of having revisit days!! (Yeah, I know it’s not about me…)</p>
<p>My son’s GC thinks that his 3rd choice will offer some decent $$$ because of his test score. It’s an “up and coming” school that is working really hard to improve it’s stats.</p>
<p>I am actually starting to breathe a sigh of relief. My son informed me that most of the kids that he knows haven’t visited colleges or thought about where to apply!!! He was the first kid to have an application done for his GC and one of only 3 kids that asked for letters of rec. I think he’s starting to appreciate my pushiness and the friends at CC. He wanted to know what everyone thought about the fact that he was thinking about applying ED. He’s actaully been listening to me!!!</p>