New score=new options?

College Search & Selection
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<p>When I first posted here to get some help picking schools for son, he didn't want to leave our home state of California. We got the best advice on this forum and with help here, we put together a good list of safety, match, reach and high reach schools and thought we had a good plan. Then, we realized that money isn't going to work out the way we thought it would (see 529 saga plus no counting on CalGrants and had a salary cut) so he is now open to looking any and everywhere feeling that he might be able to reach into some higher tier schools. He also read that the top schools give the top money so now he is motivated to find out.</p>

<p>He just got his ACT score and it's a 35 (retake from 33) so he is thinking maybe he has some more options and might look at schools that give better money. He has a 4.0/4.67 weighted GPA but not sure if he is ranked 1,2 or 3 of 300ish now. It's one of those, and also just got his SAT 2 scores back: US Hist 800 and Bio 780. He had one AP test in Euro History and got a 5 last year and is waiting on the scores for US, Calc and Env Science from this year but feels confident in good scores. Next year, he'll take 4 more AP classes, Lit, Physics, Stats and Econ/Gov. He has some more ecs than I originally posted but still not top notch so that will be his downfall and he has no "challenges" in his life except I (mom) had cancer (but am not dying!). He has 2 leadership positions in clubs at school but they are the writing club and travel so not anything prestigious. His most interesting and time consuming ec is his rock band. They play at community events for their community service hours they need to graduate. He also writes the songs and is considered the "leader" maybe because they are always at my house! He is an excellent writer so his essays will be great and his teachers love him and will write great recommendations. (He also has a few community college classes on record but some are from 6th grade so we don't know how they will even fit in.)</p>

<p>If this was you (or your child) where else would you be looking to apply? Do you think we should look at some Ivy League schools or is that far-fetched? He isn't sure what he wants to do but is sensible enough to pick a major that will lead to a job and likes the idea of engineering or math/physics directions.</p>

<p>How many kids get a 35 or 36 anyway? I know the scores don't determine admissions but have read that a high score might get the schools to at least look at the application.</p>

<p>Can you help me again to make up a new list of safety, match, reach and high reach schools for him to apply to? We have NO idea and have read so many "chance" and "stats" threads that we are dizzy! (I did find the U of Alabama Huntsville post about a free ride if he has over a 34 or something and it looks like a good engineering program but I don't know if that would be "selling him short" if he has other options available.)</p>

<p>Thanks in Advance!!</p>

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<p>The “top” schools only give the top need-based aid. If you’re looking for merit aid, that’s not the place to look.</p>

3

<p>I am definitely NOT that knowledgeable about admissions (yet!) but I think your son’s stats are high enough that it would not be unreasonable to apply just about anywhere. Others will chime in here, but it’s my understanding that HYPS are very generous when determining what your “need” might be as well.</p>

<p>I usually don’t post in these threads but your son sounds like a pretty interesting kid.</p>

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<p>Thanks dogersmom. I understand the needs based issue and apparently our income is low enough to have quite a low bill at some of the selective colleges IF he has any chance of getting in, and that’s the big IF. When I do the Net Price Calculators for the top schools, it shows we would pay somewhere under 8K which is why I asked if son’s stats are good enough to pursue those options. I’ve read that many of the top schools have policies in place where there is no efc for incomes under $60K or around that. Since DH just got the salary cut, we don’t know exactly what his new income will be but it’s pretty low, maybe even under the 60K limit that Harvard says there would be no efc at all. It looks like most of the top schools have similar policies in place like Stanford, Princeton, etc…</p>

<p>I don’t know if it’s worth taking a shot for him to apply or not and at this point, I am more than worried about how we are going to pay for college-yikes! When I do the search for colleges on here, it keeps bringing up those schools. I guess just based on scores? It even says Harvard is only 93% “match” because his act is higher than the 32 average listed on here. That’s part of why it’s so confusing! </p>

<p>Any ideas of making a “realistic” list of colleges would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.</p>

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<p>Sounds like you need a mix of “full need” schools AND financial safeties. </p>

<p>Vandy gives great aid to low income people and no loans in pkgs.</p>

<p>Also USC</p>

<p>As for ivies, some aren’t really known for engineering…but try Cornell and Columbia. </p>

<p>MIT, Harvey Mudd, WashU</p>

<p>Avoid publics unless they give large merit scholarships.</p>

<p>As you mentioned, UAH will give him a full ride. It’s a very good engineering program since it’s located in Cummings Research Park (second largest research park in the nation) and there are lots of co-op and internships there… He certainly will get challenged, BUT he may not like that there are few OOS kids there and he may feel lonely on weekends/nights since many commute or are suitcase kids. The area has a LOT of high achieving kids because the parents are employed in STEM careers because of Cummings Research Park. </p>

<p>However, there are other schools that would give him a lot of merit money…assured.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-3.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Your sons stats are very good and make top schools possible but those are always crapshoots. For those schools the GPA/Scores are almost the preliminary requirement and after that it comes down to everything else - ECs, recs, essays, etc.</p>

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<p>"It even says Harvard is only 93% “match” because his act is higher than the 32 average listed on here. That’s part of why it’s so confusing! "</p>

<p>As you’ve likely figured out, when a school has a very low acceptance rate it can’t be viewed as a match, even with perfect stats. Those “college search” engines seem to only consider scores for determining reaches and matches, but they don’t take into acct that those TOP schools don’t just use stats for “down-selecting”. Top schools are high reaches/crapshoots for everyone except someone with very needed/unusual hooks.</p>

<p>Along with what Erin’s Dad said, High ACT and GPA might only mean that the app might get past initial down-selecting, but ECs, special achievements, recs, essays, regional diversity, ethnic diversity, ranking, economic hardship, SAT IIs, and hooks then come heavily into play.</p>

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<p>suzy, thanks for your post. I didn’t see it when I answered dodgermom but I do appreciate it. Yes, he is an interesting kid. Everything seems to come to him too easy so that’s a worry but a blessing as well. He NEVER once studied or did a practice test for any of it and I was so annoyed. For Bio, he had that class 2 full years ago and it drove me crazy that he wouldn’t do any review but he did okay. I think he could pull off a great application if he put in some work. </p>

<p>Erin’s Dad, thanks for your post, too. Yes, I agree with your thoughts, at least from what I’ve read here. A high score and grades might get the look but the rest is what matters most. I guess he DOES have the scores to apply but it’s a crap shoot for anyone and if he wants to do the work on the applications, I’ll pay the fees because the payoff would be so great. The odds are so so low for everyone but someone has to get in. Once he starts to write things down, he looks better and better on paper-lol. He is missing a sport though and that concerns me but he does have the creative down in both the writing and the music so that might help fill in the blanks. </p>

<p>I really wonder though after all the spots for legacies, recruits, URM, etc. are filled, are there really ANY spots for unhooked applicants? That’s the real question that no one can answer, I guess. </p>

<p>mom2collegekids, You always have such good information and such good posts. Thanks so much! Thanks for the interesting link too. I will read that and research more and more!! I guess son has NO hooks but if he can make them cry with his essays, who knows, he might just do it. I have seen so many kids applying to a ton of schools and not getting in anywhere and my heart just breaks for them so thank goodness I found this forum so we will know better. </p>

<p>I’m so glad you mentioned the “commuter” status of UAH. That would not be a good experience for ds and that didn’t pop up in any of the research I was doing. These school websites are really slick and I find myself getting so drawn in. Heck, at one point I thought about moving there myself-lol! </p>

<p>I think ds should apply to all of the Ivys as a crapshoot and see what comes of it, like playing the lottery and knowing full well that the odds are so slim, it won’t be a big deal to get rejected. If the school doesn’t have engineering, he can pick and choose from what they do have since he doesn’t know what he wants anyway. There’s always grad school too-lol!</p>

<p>So those can be his HIGH reaches. MIT too, right-very hard to get into as well as Caltech on our side of the country. Son really liked Caltech and asked me to schedule a tour next month. I was reluctant to do it but now his score has improved, things are looking up!</p>

<p>Low Reach USC (probably can get in but needs to win a competitive scholarship for the money to go, have to look more carefully at the finaid stuff but I had trouble finding the common data set that tells about grants, loans, etc.)</p>

<p>Should Vandy be a safety? WashU? a financial safety? One we think he will get in and get enough money to go, not just loans. It seems as though I don’t really need to find a “match” as much as safety?</p>

<p>This was our list the forum helped me make when he wanted to just stay in CA and had the lower score and we thought we’d have the sure thing of the $20K per year to spend (which we still might have for him in the 529 with the catch.)
High Reach-Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Harvey Mudd?
Low Reach-UCSD,
Match-UCSB, UCI, Santa Clara (probably not enough $?)
Safeties-UCSC, CalPoly</p>

<p>Now that I see this list, we really don’t have any “financial” safety schools. The UCs are possibly going to be hit hard if Brown’s measure doesn’t pass in Nov. If that happens, the 17K grant the UCs put in the financial calculators for us would be dramatically reduced. I would be worried that it might pass this time but next year, it would be something else so I don’t trust them AT ALL! I’m going to do more research and try to find more safeties and come back and run it by all of you. Now that I write it all out, there will be waaay too many high reaches and not much of anything else-ACK! If any of you can think of some more financial safety schools, let me know.</p>

<p>Thanks again for all the wonderful help!</p>