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Check this out. Other than some free test-prep classes the high school provided, Kevin didnt do anything to game the system. He decided to live or die with who he was. Statistically speaking, that meant a 3.6 grade-point average, a class rank in the top 20 percent, a score of 1950 out of a possible 2400 on the SAT...
The kind of college that wants Kevin to change himself into some model what kind of college is that? Ms. Robinson asked rhetorically. Dont they want someone who thinks for himself?
<p>hes taken AP's,hes a jazz musician and classical guitarist,hes held p/t jobs responsibly,he comes from a competitive HS.
the article doesnt say what he would've done if he hadn't been accepted to GW,it didnt mention any "safety" for him.And it doesn't discuss money matters.Hope his family is ready to pay through the nose for GW.I see lots of loans in this kids future.</p>
<p>I think some of the larger points were--no prepping, no tutoring, was willing to take a class that was a stretch and get a C, and he's coming from a middle class family willing to work with their EFC. </p>
<p>The incredulous writing style of the article was silly, as if many students aren't like him (it makes a big deal about no college counseling, then mentions that that is actuall true of 90% of his class.) I woudln't be surprised if there was an instate safety that the author didn't know or mention, but regardless, I found the subject refreshing--a kid who eschewed all the purportedly get-ahead nonsense like test prepping, and a family who eschewed the "middle class kids can't afford to go to competitive schools" mantra. Maybe they can because they didn't spend money on prepping, private HS, etc.</p>
<p>Good luck in paying the bill. GWU meets 91% of need according to the Collegeboard website. Since the school costs well over 50K, I would have some sleepless nights if my son were attending.</p>
<p>I did the same thing. I never took a class I didn't want to take, I never studied for the SATs or take a prep course (I actually didn't know what day it was until my parents woke me up one morning and handed my breakfast), and when I got my SAT score (1520/1600) I said, screw it I'm not going to another one, the score is good enough for me. I also never did any community service work (I don't like it), and my only EC's were sports. I wasn't exactly the quinticential applicant.</p>
<p>It's not uncommon, it's just uncommon for people striving to go to the elite colleges, where it sometimes appears you have to have national level awards, insane EC's, and the best GPA/SAT to get in anywhere.</p>
<p>Now this is an article which resonates with our son's hs experience and attitude, ie. this is who I am-take it or leave it.</p>
<p>Our son too did not prep for the SAT's(1450), had a similar gpa(but higher ranking @ 6%), took a few(2) more AP's and paritcipated in activities that interested him, resume be damned.</p>
<p>But he was a happy, well adjusted, fun loving hs student who valued spending time hanging with friend rather than filling his time with club meetings or resume driven volunteering. And like the student in the article he didn't write about saving the world or surviving a personal tragedy in his college essay but cobbled together a humorous, self-deprication tale about his less than perfect teeth, citing JTaylor's Sun on the Moon opening lyric.</p>
<p>And because he entered into the college admissions process "underprepped", his college experience thus far has also been less stressful and result driven.</p>
<p>oog--same here. My boys took the SAT once, in the summer of junior year. They only kept the activities they liked, and didn't do any of the prepping for SAT/APs etc....We let the chips fall as they may. Both are extremely happy at school, due in part because they did not waste a lot of time trying to be something they weren't. It worked for us. I suppose there are plenty of stories where it worked for kids who did prep and cultivate themselves, too. I just don't find the "come as you are" student that rare.</p>
<p>"Good luck in paying the bill. GWU meets 91% of need according to the Collegeboard website."</p>
<p>Actually, it is 93%, and when merit aid is added in, it is well over 100%, far more generous than any of the so-called "need-blind, 100%-of-need" schools, including the Ivies.</p>
<p>Hmmm...we must be at the right price point for our income, because our 100% need based schools were more than generous, and have continued to be so each year. We found those that did not claim to meet 100% need had more loans and even some gapping in their packages. Granted, I have only seen packages from 15 schools, so I don't have the largest data base to work with, but we fared much better with the need-based schools.</p>
LOL, I did that very thing to my younger son last weekend. I woke him up, fed him, jammed two number twos into his hands and pushed him out the door to take an SATII on standby.</p>
<p>He is a sophomore and we completely forgot that you should take the SAT II right after you finish the AP class. He didn't even know what SAT IIs were.</p>