<p>Dizzimom: Many colleges think very highly of a gap year. For example, if you check the Princeton site you'll find that it is in the course of developing a recommended gap year for freshman and is studying whether to award finaid, and if so, how much for a gap year.</p>
<p>Change of topic :), but I think students and parents (me) lose sight of what constitutes a good score on SAT IIs and APs. I was just on the admissions site for Rice U, looking at the admissions statistics for the class of 2007. Many of the subject test averages were in the upper 600s; actually my d's gc told us that SAT II score above 650 was good, so I shouldn't be surprised. </p>
<p>Ex.:</p>
<p>Bio E - average score 686 </p>
<p>Lit - average score 684 </p>
<p>Math I - average score 671 </p>
<p>For some reason, looking at this reminded me to take a deep breath and remember that it is truly a process of students and colleges working together (ahh, optimism) to hopefully find a good fit. (And a reminder that while 800s are always a good thing, less than 800 is okay too.)</p>
<p>A good reminder for us all. Thanks, ignatius.</p>
<p>Yes, thanks ignatius. And in return, I promise to post anything I find that enables me to take a deep breath. ;)</p>
<p>Ignatius-- where did you find the info on the average SAT II scores at Rice?
I looked at the stats for the class of '07, but I didn't find the SAT II score averages. I have been looking for this for a number of the schools that S is considering, but haven't found the info anywhere.</p>
<p>^^^
1. Admissions ...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Undergraduate Admission ...</p></li>
<li><p>About Rice ...</p></li>
<li><p>Admission Statistics (Subject Test Averages - 2007 - are at the bottom of the page.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Remember also that many (many) schools don't require SAT IIs at all, so of course have no need to list stats. I believe that Rice is the only school that d is applying to that requires SAT IIs.</p>
<p>Thanks! I had been clicking on a button on the left side of the screen about the statistics of the next class and the information on that page wasn't nearly as detailed. S will be applying to Rice, and to a few other schools that require SAT IIs. He's taken 3 so far. I am very pleased to see those averages. S's CR and Writing scores are in range for Rice, but his math is low. His 3 SAT IIs (lit, WH and USH) are higher than the average, so that makes me feel better. Maybe they will cut him a little slack on the math since everything else is in range.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Just curious, but I thought he wanted to go away for college. Isn't Rice within the "home" range?</p>
<p>Yep, you are right. He wants to go to a UC or U of Miami. I am strongly urging him to consider Rice for several reasons. First, it is an awesome school, and he has friends that are in the next class. Secondly, I want him to have a close-to-home option, just in case he decides that he doesn't want to be thousands of miles away from home. I have heard that sometimes kids think they want to go far, far way, but when the reality of it hits them, they end up staying close to home.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that I love Rice's residential college system. I think the residential college system is perfect for S. Luckily, U of Miami, UCSC and UCSD all have them.</p>
<p>My S is class of 2009. We live overseas so we had to cram in our college visits and my head is still spinning...He is interested in med-small LAC and so far Claremont McKenna is his first choice but we were both very impressed with Davidson. He is focused on Div III swimming but the Davidson coach took the time to meet with him impromptu and was encouraging. Everything was so personal there. Also thinking about Wake, W & M and probably will apply to Duke and UVA...Family is on the east coast but he has a SoCal mindset--I am getting a little nervous about his criteria: where is the most fun to be had?!</p>
<p>Welcome, klenn! I read somewhere that swimmers have the highest GPA's of all NCAA athletes, so at least he'll be in good company when he's having all that fun! ;)</p>
<p>welcome klenn. My D added Claremont Mckenna to her list after spending a week there at soccer camp. Her criteria...big dorms, good food, and close proximity to the field ;) . Anyway, glad to have you here</p>
<p>cpq1x... I am a UCSC alum and loved it! You do have a small college feel at UCSC eventhough the campus itself is much larger you form bonds with your college-mates and do much of your socializing esp. first year with that group. My brother is also an alum and he and my SIL are both employed by the university now. I would be happy to answer any question you or he have, just PM me.</p>
<p>"I am getting a little nervous about his criteria: where is the most fun to be had?!"</p>
<p>klenn--son has voiced this to me too. UIUC has the top 4 computer science program in the country---but, as son noted (gleefully), it also ranks in the top 4 of 'party schools.' Trying to ignore these comments....</p>
<p>Jolynne Smith, you could hand him an application to ... say BYU, Wheaton (IL) or U.S. Coast Guard -- just to see what he thinks. They are ranked as the top 3 Stone-Cold Sober Schools.</p>
<p>Thanks, Historymom. We are visiting UCSC (and UCSD) mid-August. I'm sure we'll have some questions for you after our visit.</p>
<p>momreads--oh we've talked about that...we have several friends who are devout Christian families--their (very nice) kids are going to Grove City and Cedarville...I ran that by son & he was: "um...no way. I need to explore life." I'm not sure exactly what he fully means by that statement and I'm not sure I want to...</p>
<p>UIUC may be a party school, but if your son wants to get his degree in CS there he'll have to limit the partying. A lot.</p>
<p>klenn (Post 551) -- you know that Wake doesn't have a swim team, right? D will be a junior there, and absolutely loves it. She had the option of diving at a couple of DI schools, but chose Wake for the academics. We were surprised, though, when we first discovered that Wake didn't have swimming/diving -- for some reason we just assumed most schools did.</p>