Parents Disagree With My College Choices

Parents Forum
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<p>@intparent I understand what you mean. I sure have got a lot of problems to sort through. Thanks a lot for your help!</p>

<p>@CCDD14 I only speak 2 languages fluently (Somali/English) and I can fully understand/write in Arabic (working on the speaking part). I also know a bit of French and Spanish from school, I did speak Danish fluently but I’ve completely forgotten it now, unfortunately. </p>

<p>Okay, thanks for the advice. I don’t know why I never thought to put GWU on my list seeing as I’ve got legacy status there (my dad did his masters there) plus I’ve heard they give out great aid. I’ll possibly consider Yale but IF i were allowed to attend an ivy league school I’d want to go to either Harvard or Brown. . </p>

<p>Thanks for the suggestions/advice. I really appreciate it. </p>

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<p>Post 71 suggested Harvard. </p>

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<p>Brown is a cool place but they may hit you with up to 5K loan on top of parent’s and student’s contribution. GWU may not give you enough money to fit $20K/y budget so it is not a financial safety but you can try. You hope should be that if you get into one of these top universities where your father will be asked to pay just 10% of his yearly income - he may change his mind. Study hard and good luck.</p>

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<p>@pink997‌ I think legacy status only applies if a parent/grandparents did undergrad at the school, but I might be wrong about that.
Okay, you asked about my schools:
So my safety schools (which are instate/have full tuition merit scholarships) are Rutgers and Temple. Rutgers has a HUGE Muslim population, and Temple is really close to Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania, and all three have Muslim events all the time. Plus, Temple covers full tuition if you have like a 1450 M+CR and a 3.7 GPA. Rutgers doesn’t guarantee the full-ride scholarship, but if you have the stats you have a shot at getting one. I looked at BU for a while, but decided I didn’t wanna write the honors college essays haha. I also don’t know anything about the BU community.
I’m not very into match schools, but it looks like I might apply to Johns Hopkins (which is a very high match lol). I have a few friends that go there, and the area is generally racially diverse.
I’m applying to a lot of Ivy League schools, too. I’m trying to play the diversity card, but unlike you, I’m not a URM (I’m South Asian), so it probably won’t work too well for me :smiley: but I have friends at Princeton and Yale (side note: I live like 10 min away from Princeton, but I’d dorm anyway bc Princeton requires it) and I know that their MSAs are pretty active, even though they might not be huge.
If you want an idea of my stats, I have a chance me thread that you could look at.</p>

<p>If I were you, I’d look at places that’ll give you a merit full-ride, and places that’ll give you financial aid.
Also, to the dude who was confused earlier: burka =/= headscarf lol.</p>

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<p>@marshmallowpop Thanks for the info! Yah, I’ll look at the threads that give out merit aid. </p>

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<p>Re: Whether I qualify as an Instate applicant</p>

<p>I emailed W&M a couple of weeks ago and they told me about whether I qualify. The guy that works at the domicile office there quoted ‘‘a domiciliary of Virginia can take temporary leaves of absences from the Commonwealth and still retain their Virginia domicile as long as they do not establish domicile anywhere else and their intent is to remain in the Commonwealth indefinitely’’. That’s what my dad mean’t by Virginia is our permanent domicile (I referred to it as ‘‘permanent residence’’ which is what caused the confusion). </p>

<p>Could you help me out picking out colleges? I’ll be taking the ACT is April. I’ve decided to take the ACT since it’s easier + the only reason I wasn’t considering taking it before is because there weren’t any test centres in the city I live in, now that I’ve found a test centre I’m going to take the ACT in lieu of SAT. Got a 33 composite on my first practice test (32 E/34 M/35 R/30 S)</p>

<p>In case you’re wondering, my Term 1 grades are as follows (IB Diploma): </p>

<p>Economics HL - 7
Biology HL - 7
Psychology - 7
Maths - 6 (could have done better!)
English Lit - 6
Spanish - 7 </p>

<p><em>You can’t convert these grades into the letter grade system as the IBO has their only grading scale. (7= highest, 1 is lowest. But as reference, counselor said 7/6 = A</em>/A, 5=B etc) </p>

<p>For my other stats (9th/10th grades etc, extracurriculars etc check my most recent what are my chances thread). To all of you that keep suggesting that I should apply to Harvard EA, do you really think I can get in? My extracurriculars aren’t on par with my grades (IMO) so I doubt I’ve got any chance what so ever. Keep in mind when reading my extracurriculars that I only listed what I’m involved in (as in the title of the activity), I am in fact heavily involved and have a lot to write about for my college apps. I’m also the head of the artist committee now and I’m organizes an ongoing charity thing with some friends where we collect bottle caps for wheelchairs (will be given to the disabled people’s centre in my city). </p>

<p>I’m also considering majoring in either economics or finance now. Doubt I’m going to go with accounting. So that opens up a lot of options. However, I’m definitely sticking to something in the business field, I’m 99% sure I’m not going to change my mind about that. My list so far includes:</p>

<p>(Safeties)
-UMN - Twin Cities
-George Mason</p>

<p>Others
-UVA
-College of W&M
-Georgetown
-Wellesley </p>

<p>Any other suggestions? Don’t forget my location constraints (Boston area, Washington D.C, Virginia, Minneapolis) but my dad has now allowed me to apply to colleges that aren’t in those areas. He said apply wherever I want and we’ll discuss whether he’ll allow me to attend after I receive my acceptances. My preferences: Near or in large city (most important to me as I hate small towns/rural areas), don’t really care about size of the school, don’t mind liberal arts colleges (I’m an all-rounder), offers the majors i’m interested in. </p>

<p>Will need financial aid for colleges that cost more than 20-30K (my dad is willing to contribute that much/year). </p>

<p>Thanks for the help! </p>

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<p>Bryn Mawr and Barnard (good economics and math, partnership with other colleges, respectively Haverford and Penn, and Columbia); UMaryland College Park (a metrorail ride to DC)? Obviously UChicago; Definitely Macalester (in a cool Twin Cities neighborhood - Carleton and St Olaf may be too far from the Cities for you, about 45mn is considered “not far” in the US but depending on where you live may not qualify, they’re both in the same college town.)</p>

<p>Note that the American grade scale is different from the British scale (Cambridge CIIE is something like)
A*=A+
A=A
B= A-/B+
C= B
D=C+/B-
E=C/C-
F= D
G and U= F</p>

<p>Beware, the ACT has become harder in the past few years, especially Reading and Science, so that you should expect -2 on your actual results compared to practice tests. You need to be faster on those sections.</p>

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<p>@MYOS1634 Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve thought over applying to women’s colleges and I’ve decided against it so I’m not applying to Wellesley or the other women colleges you’ve suggestion. I’ll have lived 15 years in a segregated country so going to a women college for 4 years is not the best idea if you understand what I mean. Plus, there is the fact that my parents think single sex schools aren’t a good idea…doesn’t make sense to me but whatever, I wouldn’t attend anyways. I seriously considered adding UChicago to my list but the core curriculum doesn’t appeal to me. </p>

<p>Is my current list balanced? </p>

<ol>
<li> Georgetown University </li>
<li> University of Virginia<br></li>
<li> Boston College</li>
<li> College of William & Mary</li>
<li> Macalester College </li>
<li> University of Minnesota – Twin Cities<br></li>
<li> George Mason University<br></li>
</ol>

<p>And no, I’m not interested in applying to more reach schools, Georgetown is the only reach school I’d be interested in attending if I got in. </p>

<p>Btw I made a typo when I listed my first semester grades. I got a 5 in literature not a 6 and I didn’t specify my higher/standard level subjects. So I’ll list it again:</p>

<p>Economics HL - 7
Biology HL - 7
Psychology HL - 7
Maths SL - 6
English Lit SL - 5
Spanish Ab initio SL - 7</p>

<p>So a total of 39/42 points (without the three bonus points). Hope I’m on the right path, the Georgetown representative that came to my school said they’re looking for 38-45 points (with bonus). </p>

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<p>Our family rule is that my wife and I can each add one college to where D applies but otherwise she is free to apply to whichever college she wants. Money is a legitimate reason to limit where you apply but more often than not financial aid will offset perceived differences in cost for middle income families. At some point you are going to live your own life and if not now, when?</p>

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<p>@Wje9164be My parents honestly don’t care about the specific colleges I apply to, they only request that the colleges I apply to are near relatives. The only college my dad told me to add to my list is GMU and he told me to consider applying to Ivys but I told him I’m not interested in ivy league colleges and he’s got no problem with it. I also should have mentioned that my dad is more flexible about the idea of living in dorms - the other day I was discussing college of william and mary with him and he asked dorms and whatnot. He realizes that I’ll have to live in dorms if I choose to attend colleges that are close to relatives but I won’t be able to commute to. Showing him that the colleges I’m applying to have muslim societys and what not helped. </p>

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<p>I was wondering how reliable naviance is? Because the SAT scores of admitted students from my school of the colleges I’m considering are ridiculously low compared to what I’m told I need to get on CC to get accepted. For example, the 2 people that applied and got into UVA had SAT scores of 1890 and 1920, the person with the 1890 SAT score also got into College of William and Mary. Am I missing something? </p>

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<p>You have no idea what else was going on with their application. They may be hooked in some way that isn’t obvious to you (example: one of the boys in D2’s class had a Samoan grandparent – this made him a URM, but was not obvious to most people). Or some special skill or something the college wants. Or a legacy in the family tree. Or are full pay. Or had some EC you are not aware of (you would be surprised at what some of your classmates do in the summer or off time). </p>

<p>Also, sometimes data doesn’t make its way into Naviance. It is only as good as what is reported to the GC and what their office enters in. If a student retakes the SAT late, they may not give those scores to their GC, and they may never make their way into Naviance.</p>

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<p>What is the safety on the list? Is there a school on that list that is a slam dunk admit that will also end up affordable for the family?</p>

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<p>@intparent I’m obviously aware that a lot more is taken into consideration for admission but the SAT scores on naviance - which btw are correct, asked my guidance counselor - are quite a bit lower than the median/average SAT scores of admitted students. The examples I gave are are merely just examples, I’ve looked at the SAT scores of students from my school that have been accepted to the ivies, top 20s, top LAC etc, and majority of the scores are low. Another example: the student that got into Brown had an SAT score of 1770. I highly doubt all those people are URMs or have significant hooks. With that being said they did have high IB predicted grades in the range of 37-42 points (out of 42). </p>

<p>But anyways, I was just looking at those stats to gauge my chances.</p>

<p>@CardinalFang University of Minnesota? George Mason? University of Minnesota is an academic/financial safety (without any merit aid). However, George Mason is only an academic safety - if I get merit aid then will it only be a financial safety. Also, if I get in state tuition then its definitely a financial safety - however, I’m not sure that is going to happen as I will be considered an instate applicant for admission purpose but I’m not sure that means I’ll get in-state tuition. </p>

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<p>OP- of course the guidance counselor said the scores are correct. He/she doesn’t get paid to input obsolete data, or to admit that students who take the December SAT don’t end up reporting the most recent test scores (which could be 200 points higher than their June scores) or that the guidance office can’t keep up with the flood of acceptance/rejection information in April since that’s when college meetings begin for the junior class.</p>

<p>At our local HS kids (and parents) get irritated when the Naviance doesn’t get updated to reflect kids who get in off the wait list. And then they discover that the data is riddled with other inaccuracies.</p>

<p>Like anything else- has to be taken with a grain of salt. </p>

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<p>I don’t know if this was mentioned already, but be aware that Georgetown requires three SAT subject tests for admission.</p>

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<p>@ReadyToRoll I’m aware. </p>

<p>@blossom I know that that might be possible but seeing as my school is small, around 70 people in my class of which around 20-30 apply to American universities, that is unlikely. But I know I shouldn’t only use the stats on naviance to gauge my chances. </p>

<p>Btw I got my dad to run the NPC’s of the private colleges I’m applying to. My family’s contribution came out as around $7000 for all of them, less than my dad is willing to pay so that’s great! And yes, it probably doesn’t make any sense as I said my dad would be willing to contribute around 20K (which he is since he’s company will pay around 70-75% of fees) and that his income is around 100K. I converted incorrectly between currencies and it turns out my dad’s income is a lot lower (70K to be exact) so that’s why my family isn’t expected to pay a lot. </p>

<p>Thanks to all of you that have helped me out on this thread!</p>

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In need of some advice:

So after contacting the Muslim Student Association at Georgetown, my dad is still very hesitant about letting me live in dorms and what not. Have you guys got any other advice on this situation?

I read over my original post and have realised how immature I was back then. I’ve come back down to earth and now know that I don’t need to attend prestigious university to have a good career. I actually wouldn’t mind attending GMU or UMN-TC, the two schools I previously refused to go to. Plus, I’m absolutely sure that I will major in accounting (I’ve read over my dad’s college accounting textbooks) so going to a prestigious university won’t make any difference as the big4 firms recruit at both those schools.

With that being said, I’ve narrowed my list down to Georgetown, UMN and GMU as my mother doesn’t want me to go to college in Boston and there is no point in applying to UVA as there is a 50^% chance that I might not get into McIntire after sophomore year. So my next question is, should I bother applying to Georgetown? My counselor said I’ve got a decent chance if I do well on my ACT and SAT II subject tests. I’d be happy to attend UMN. I’d be in debt (around 20K) if I go to Georgetown (won’t be if I go to UMN). Plus, not applying would mean I don’t have to take SAT II subject tests - that would allow me to focus on doing really well on the ACT to get into the honors program at UMN and GMU and to focus on getting the highest possible score on my IB diploma.

What do you think I should do?

*Note that getting above 30 points out of 45 points in my IB diploma will mean I’ll get sophomore standing at UMN. I know I can get that as I got 39 points out of 42 last semester.

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Have you visited the Twin Cities or D.C.? The Twin Cities is not very diverse. There is a large Somali population, but that’s almost the entire extent of its diversity. I used to live there. My children are half - non-white. We moved in large part because of the lack of diversity. My kids just did not fit in -after living there for 7 years. I would make sure to visit the universities under consideration before making any decision.

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@bouders I am Somali American so diversity in that case isn’t my concern - I know I’ll fit in w/the Somali community there. My dad laughed when I asked him if we could visit colleges during the summer (even after I told him about the merit of visiting colleges, oh well!), so that won’t be possible. With that being said, I’ve visited D.C and NoVA a couple of times so I know what the environment there is like. Tons of my relatives live in Minneapolis so I’ll ask them about their opinion on UMN and the surrounding area. That is the best I can do.