New to this...first child attending college....HELP! (please )How realistic is it to

Applying to College
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After pouring through all the college handbooks and falling in love with the images of the top LAC’s (Kenyon, Bard, Vassar, Skidmore,Wesleyan…at least on paper)…

I’d love to know if our heads are in the clouds or if she should visit and consider applying with this criteria:

SAT V750 M490

strong transcript w/ APs and honors but a failed Math regents exam this year( she will retake )

No EC’s except p/t job and art school.

Her HS guidance counselor is not much help…Can anyone suggest more appropriate schools (safeties) with a good English Dept?

Thanks in advance…nice to know your out there and were not alone in figuring this out.

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<p>Wow, that's really unbalanced, but for sure, Luliztee, you and your daughter are not alone. I'd concentrate on showcasing her strengths and don't stress over what she can't control. </p>

<p>Let's ask some questions. </p>

<p>Would her artistic talent and accomplishments be considered a "hook"? Can she prepare a strong portfolio? </p>

<p>Will she have at least two excellent academic recommendations? </p>

<p>Will she write a compelling essay? Top 10%of her class? Good overall GPA? Scores on SATIIs?</p>

<p>Any diversity points -- such as minority status, first in her family to go to college, unrepresented geographic area?</p>

<p>If the answer is yes to many of these questions, then she CAN overcome her poor showing in math. She will however need some more safeties. And definitely get some tips on improving her math SAT score for next time.</p>

<p>Don't despair; you'll get plenty of good advice on CC, the first being why don't you post on the Parents board?</p>

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<p>This sounds like a likely LD. Have you had this looked into?</p>

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<p>thank you for your quick reply.</p>

<p>She is waiting for her SATII results (US HISTORY) should be any day and expect a high mark as this was an AP course she excelled in as well.</p>

<p>She will take SATII Literature in fall which corresponds with her AP Lit class in fall as well.</p>

<p>She will put together an art potfolio then as well( although she does not want to major in art ) She loves photography and has been told her photos are quality work. Do you think she should list these and include photos and slides of her work even though she is not applying to the art dept.?</p>

<p>Her reccomendation letters should be fine, her teachers are supportive.</p>

<p>We have no minority factors or outstanding circumstances in her background and our EFC is high...........I guess this does not help either.</p>

<p>That and the fact that she has minimal EC.</p>

<p>Thanks for the tip about the parents board....I will post there too.</p>

<p>Thanks again for answering.</p>

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<p>what is a likely LD?</p>

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<p>Probably not a shot at Wesleyan</p>

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<p>

It depends. If you need supplemental money to be able to afford a private LAC then yes, having a high EFC is a problem. You will need to think about a list of financial safeties as well. If you mean you plan cover the cost of tuition without supplemental aid, then it's just the opposite of a problem. It's a strength.</p>

<p>Another thought on her math scores: How are her math grades? Are they equally weak or is it just in testing that she stumbles? If you seek to understand the reason for the underlying problem I think you could figure out how to compensate for it. All of the colleges that are on your daughter's list admit lopsided kids, it's just a matter of degree. If she can bring that score up to the 600 area then she'll be in the ballpark for all the schools on her list except maybe Wesleyan which would be a reach. In the 500 area, she'll need some kind of explanation.</p>

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<p>As was already indicated, I would NOT say that her EC's are deficient. Do not think of EC's as being the number of clubs that she is in. Colleges do not want a laundry list of clubs with little commitment to any of them. Her interest in art and photography are a great EC.</p>

<p>LAC's will take the time to see your D as a person. It is her job to let them get to know her through the application. Contact the schools directly and ask questions. Colleges like to have applicants show interest in the school.</p>

<p>One obvious thing here. She needs to retake the SAT to try to get a higher SAT I Math. I know that some people think they are math-phobic, but at that level of math, being math-phobic means anxiety and/or a lack of interest. There are a lot of tricks to score higher on the SAT I Math and she should get one of the study guides. If she probably won't study the guide by herself, then she might consider a prep class.</p>

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<p>No one's asked: why are the SAT scores so lopsided? Would a bit of studying boost that math score? As it is, a 490 will (essentially) keep your daughter out of most of the schools you listed.</p>

<p>I'd suggest a copy of "10 Real SATs." SAT math is NOT hard, it's just tricky -- and once you learn the tricks, it's really not so bad!</p>

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<p>some schools like Mt Holyoke don't require SAT you might look at those or have her take the ACT</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I know that some people think they are math-phobic, but at that level of math, being math-phobic means anxiety and/or a lack of interest.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Oh boy. I'm not even going to say anything: re:lack of interest. I'm just going to go: @@</p>

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<p>
[quote]
what is a likely LD?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I think he or she meant learning disability.</p>

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<p>If LD means learning disability, that remark was way out of line. </p>

<p>The problem with applying to the extremely selective schools is that you start out having to be perfect. If you are perfect in every way, a non-URM, non-legacy, non-athletic has about a one in five chance at any individual school. As dents in the armor develop, everyone tries to guess what effect they will have. A 480 on the SAT I Math (although an average score among the entire US population) is a pretty big dent. I would recommend that she work on that over the summer and retake. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, the SAT I Math exam is kinda stupid at times. As a former math major, I like the questions; but the best way to get a high score is to learn testing techniques. The test will ask a question and have multiple choice answers. It would seem that you have to solve the problem, but the best way is to plug in each of the multiple choice answers and see which one works. The best way to study for the Math portion is to learn the special testing techniques and take practice tests.</p>

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<p>why would asking about a math disability be out of line?
My daughter has a math disability and her math score is significantly lower than verbal ( 570 math 780 verbal) However it didn't preclude her admission to a science major in a top school.
Still a math score of less than 500 is a big red flag
I suggest you at least take a look at these schools that place less emphasis on testing
<a href="http://www.fairtest.org/univ/optional.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fairtest.org/univ/optional.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>As a mathematician, I'm not sure what a math disability is. The same part of the brain that does language also does the math functions. Typically a math phobic person is just afraid of math, is not interested in math, or hasn't learned to think abstractly. Anyway, someone who has an average or above average score on a standardized test doesn't seem to have a learning disability.</p>

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<p>learning disabilities have little to do with intelligence
my daughter has been tested to have overall a 160 iq however on testing that is broken down by subsections she was shown to have areas that were below average- this is an indication of a disability.
LD isn't about performance but when there is an indication of unevenness as with her SAT that is something that should be looked at further.
My daughter has taken calculus at Reed college and is majoring in biology with an emphasis on biochem, but she has difficulty with memory.
Just as dyslexia is a common disability that deals with reading, dyscalculia is a disability that interferes with simple computation.
My younger daughter had visual tracking problems, she could do math problems in her head but couldn't on paper.</p>

<p>Further evaluation may be helpful.</p>

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<p>Sorry, but i'm with dufus on this one. It seems improbable and almost impossible. You can be worse at it - i'm worse at writing and have quite a disparty there...but an actual "disability" seems far fetched.</p>

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<p>Either that or............she didn't finish.</p>

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<p>Are you kidding, over 15% of children have a learning disability. We all know about dyslexia, and there are many others. I'm no expert, but as Emeraldkitty said, this kind of uneveness in a hard working, bright child is a huge red flag.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
As a mathematician, I'm not sure what a math disability is. The same part of the brain that does language also does the math functions. Typically a math phobic person is just afraid of math, is not interested in math, or hasn't learned to think abstractly. Anyway, someone who has an average or above average score on a standardized test doesn't seem to have a learning disability.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I can see why your sn is dufus. :)</p>