<p>This thread is great! I have been reading through and appreciate all the information. DS fits right in-- overall GPA is 3.4 but that counts Band, PE, etc where he always gets an A. On core courses GPA is 3.3. He just got ACT back and not great-- 25. Is taking SAT in April and he thinks he will do better on that. I hope he is right. His HS doesn’t have a weighted GPA</p>
<p>We just got back from a spring break college tour trip to the Nashville area. He visited Belmont, Middle Tennessee State U and then Evansville (in IN) He really liked all of them, and from what I heard from admissions he has a chance of being admitted to Belmont and Evansville, and will definitely be admitted to Middle Tennessee. He thinks he is interested in Music Business/Music Industry, so that is why we looked at those schools. We were going to visit Murray State as well, but they weren’t running any tours/info sessions that week so we skipped it</p>
<p>If anyone wants to hear more about the visits I would be happy to post more. Or if others have info on these schools please share!</p>
<p>Remaining on his list to visit later (the Nashville area schools were the farthest away for us so we chose those for the spring break) are Puget Sound, U of Pacific in CA, Cal State Northridge, U of Colorado Denver, Denver University. </p>
<p>My guess is that Puget Sound and U of Pacific will be a reach, Denver maybe a match and the other 2 a safety? Any info appreciated</p>
<p>jrrussell4, Good luck with your road trip! Looks like a lot of interesting colleges and knowing kids on campus at two of them will be really helpful. I hope you don’t mind me mentioning this, but since you are posting on the “B” parents thread, I’m hoping you have some safeties on your list. The schools you’ve mentioned on your post look pretty reachy for a B student.</p>
<p>And speaking of reachy… Reeinaz, I noticed you asking about Lehigh vs. Lafayette on the 2012 thread. My understanding is that Lafayette is only slightly easier then Lehigh. Not impossible for a B student, but that would have to be a strong B student with a rigorous schedule and very good standardized test scores. The kids I know locally that go to Lafayette are in the top quartile of our HS.</p>
<p>Probably worth mentioning that a B student who is a boy and a B student who is a girl will have different acceptance rates to a lot of colleges. There are simply more high-stat girls applying to college now, and that makes it harder for them and easier for boys.</p>
<p>We are going on our first college visits during spring break next week - one of our state directionals and a neighboring state flagship. I probably would not have scheduled the second one otherwise, but S got an exceptionally good first quarter progress report - I think it was his best ever - and if he can keep up those grades, that school won’t be as much of a reach. These grades won’t go on his record, but the grades themselves and the teacher comments clearly show a significant upward trend. I am not sure what to attribute this to, but S is happy and I think proud of it, and it certainly more than makes up for the really disappointing year he’s had with his EC’s. Fingers crossed that we’ve turned a corner. Don’t want to be read too much into it, but I am enjoying the (unusual) feeling of cautious optimism.</p>
<p>kathiep, yeah, I know Lafayette is a reach. Honestly, his list is going to be reach heavy simply because we have such great need. Merit simply won’t be enough, so we’re aiming for a lot of 100% need schools and schools that average meeting 90% and above. We already have the safeties in place. He’s a boy and a URM so I’m hoping that will work to his advantage somewhere.</p>
<p>Someone a few pages back asked about an IT school? The SUNY IT school is pretty good and not as expensive as some. A friend of my D’s (who also went to a special STEM public school program, without stellar grades) went there (class of 2011) and is happy. SUNYs are a great deal if you are in state- even though they do not give merit to students with the stats for this thread.</p>
<p>My D was a 2011 grad (with these kinds of stats from a grade deflated public school program) and got into Hampshire (with merit). If anyone is considering Hampshire, I would be glad to answer any questions. It has a very different program and requires a student to be self directed to a greater extent than lecture based classes- but also does not have tests so is good for those that want a discussion/writing based learning experience.</p>
<p>idahomom, take a look at Capital University in Columbus, OH. Well regarded music conservatory and music industry/tech programs.</p>
<p>reeinaz, there are not reachy schools that are generous especially with kids that are above average for them. A lot of the CTCL schools, Adrian College in MI (meets 100% of need albeit with loans), Capital U especially with music scholarships.</p>
<p>I looked at Adrian It doesn’t have a CS major
Right now, he’s leaning towards some type of computer major (more CS than the typical IT major offers but wants to learn practical skills too over primarily theory). But he also wants a nice selection of creative writing and literature classes because his passion is writing. Some type of film minor would also be nice.
All I know is that I’m glad I started researching colleges a while back.</p>
<p>@Kinderny, my D1 is very interested in Hampshire. Did your D earn merit for her test scores somehow or some type of community involvement? I wasn’t aware that Hampshire would offer merit to a student with a 3.0-3.3 GPA, so you are giving me some hope. Hampshire is actually very similar to her High School --a magnet school outside of DC that specializes in the arts and the students are self-directed. We are planning to visit soon. Is your D happy with her choice to attend Hampshire? Is she taking advantage of the consortium yet? My D likes that she has a shuttle available to take Japanese at Mt. Holyoke or UMA (she already looked up the courses and schedule). She plans to double major in Japanese and Studio art. Hampshire seems to have strong art dept. faculty. If your D has any personal experience within the art dept., I’d love to hear your thoughts on that too. thanks! Pm me if you’d rather.</p>
<p>JRussell best of luck on your ambitious trip. You might wish to encourage your child to tape record their thoughts on each school immediatley after the visit, lest they all blend together.<br>
One of the challenges for parents visiting out of state schools is how many their child can absorb in a short time without tuning out. Many kids can only deal with 1 per day, while others are more into the process.</p>
<p>I actually had posted a question, and it turned out to be a very helpful thread - especially for those beginning the college search. I know that I could have used the information back then. </p>
<p>This link was originally contributed by another parent.</p>
I think she got it for a combination of the library/archive work and that she came from a collaborative learning environment- not sure. She went to a specialized STEM public school program (with grade deflation) and was project based learning. She got medium/high test scores (ACT 29 composite but lopsided scores varying from 33 to 23). She also created and maintained the school library (it was a new school) and went to Rome first semester senior year (instead of classes) and volunteered in an international archive for a religious order. The merit levels are not particularly high though ($16K for the highest- Bellringer- level. Mostly it is below 10K per year I think.)
She likes Hampshire a lot because she is so self directed- she wants to do what she wants to do and does not want to take a bunch of classes in which she is not interested. She had enough in high school of that and wants to be a librarian, so what she studies UG is pretty much immaterial. So Hampshire’s concentration approach is good so far.</p>
<p>The first year class has a significant number of students who are there to party (pot, alcohol, pills and hallucinogenics), so she gets tired of that a bit. But by second year that should mellow out she hopes. She is a lot more moderate (socially and politically) than the most vocal students, but she doesn’t mind pointing out “The Emperor has no clothes” so it is not a major source of conflict (more of humor) for her. While she can’t really imagine herself any place else, she does see its imperfections (especially the dining hall food).
D is much more crafty that arty. She will say that at Hampshire you can always find someone who can do something (whether it is designing a dress, cutting a piece of silver jewelry in half and creating two pendants, designing a light show art installation). Unlikely she will take an art class, but I think she has made use of the studio facilities upon occasion.</p>
<p>reeinaz - What does D plan to major in? Great question. You’d think we would have somewhat figured out before we started this process. You’d be wrong. D’s interests had been “kind of” science-based, but now are turning to “kind of” writing-based. “Kind of” because I really don’t think she knows where to turn at all. I’m “kind of” hoping that seeing what goes on at college campuses might start to bring some of this into focus. Given these uncertainties, what we really want is a place where D can switch gears with lots of options during her four undergrad years.</p>
<p>kathiep - we do intend to have several safeties as we continue the process. I was surprised that the counselor suggested Connecticut and Bard, but for now my feeling is why rule them out. Maybe a visit will provide further motivation. Personally, I would love to look at Wooster, but sadly I’m not going back to college.</p>
<p>yabeyabe2 - taping thoughts is a great suggestions. I’ll tell D to get into the car and give her five minutes do do that before we leave each school. I know she would be too embarrassed to tape her thoughts in front of me. At least it will give her a contemporaneous record as we go through this.</p>
<p>Thank you all. I love lurking on this site, this thread particularly!</p>
<p>@kinderny, thanks so much for sharing your D experience at Hampshire. I can understand now as to why she earned the merit award. I don’t think my D has a shot at merit, but it’s staying on her list for now. We are doing several more visits soon. Looking at Warren Wilson in about a week and plan to see Hampshire in late April. thanks again!</p>
<p>jrussell4 - I totally get what you say regarding your D’s interests. My son’s stated interests are writing, multimedia design, computer science, and biotechnology. The biotech one seems to be the outlier to me since he can combine the his other 3 interests more easily. But who knows. Like you, I’d like him to go someplace where he can sample what he thinks he likes and make a change if he wants without having to transfer.</p>
<p>Sooo, even though my son has only taken the SAT in 10th grade so far, based on that score and his 11th grade PSAT, I’ve come up with a list of safeties: Temple University, West Chester, and Kutztown, which are all state schools. Even with his B average, I’m certain he will get into those 3 schools and his school’s Naviance agrees. And they are somewhat affordable. Temple and West Chester are commuting options. Temple is the most expensive but also gives more merit than the other 2. But if it’s only a couple thousand $$ difference between commuting to Temple and residing at Kutztown or WC, I’ll let him live on campus.</p>
<p>Reeinaz, Those are all good choices and probably my favorite of our State colleges. I would suggest having your child live on campus if at all possible. Have you considered Ursinus? I realize it’s sticker price is high, but the majority of students do receive good financial aid - [College</a> Navigator - Ursinus College](<a href=“College Navigator - Ursinus College”>College Navigator - Ursinus College) and they have the majors you are looking for. [Courses</a> of Study - Academics - Ursinus](<a href=“http://ursinus.edu/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=286]Courses”>http://ursinus.edu/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=286) When we looked at colleges that I thought might not be affordable, I would remind them of the amount we were contributing and they knew that they would have to take out loans for the difference.</p>
<p>Thank goodness for this thread. I no longer feel so alone and worried. My son is actually not even a 3.0! That’s a stretch! His overall GPA is 2.9, and even though he always promises to do better in the future, in the moment, he defends his minimal efforts as “good enough.” I often wonder if he is ADD, ADHD, or has learning issues. I know that he is a slow processor and has never read a book for pleasure, etc. so his skills are weak.Mostly I feel that he is just not that interested in school. But he does fairly well in a fairly rigorous high school. I have taken him to several colleges and he can see himself as a college student. The adventure and the independence intrigues him. His sister is at a selective LAC and he loved a weekend there, but has no shot at acceptance. However, as a male and a URM, I believe he WILL get into a college someplace. We just need to find a place that wants to educate him. We live in NYC and are looking at schools within a 500 mile radius, including the CTCL schools.</p>
<p>Welcome NPRmom. I hear you! Worse yet, I have a daughter with a 2.6! She has been diagnosed with ADHD and now on meds, which means that 2.6 is on a steady upswing (please!) Her SAT’s might be strong too. Although it’s expensive, it might be worth having him evaluated just so you know where you stand. My D will be looking at small LAC’s but I also research how much LD support they provide. You will need documentation is some cases to access those services. Having documentation for the SAT is also essential, (as she gets extra time due to processing issues). NYU or ChildMind or Hallowell do a full work-up that can be time-consuming but will answer those processing issues. Mt Sinai has a narrower focused evaluation, but is less costly and will tackle the ADHD. BTW, did you see the NYTimes article today on learning to drive and ADHD? Something to keep in mind if he attends a school where he’ll need a car!</p>
<p>Our son has an unweighted 3.3 (our school does not weight). He did really well on the most recent SAT’s, 1880 (at least I think that is a good score), but I am not sure that is enough to get him money. He really would like to go to school in DC, & I think he could get into CU, but the money part is a big issue. His ADHD & anxiety have been a big block & I think he did so well on the SAT’s b/c he could always take them again - thus less pressure. We are going to look at SUNY’s, but their campuses will pale in comparison to what we saw in MD & DC. We probably shouldn’t have taken him on that trip since they are SO expensive. Then we talked $$ last night :(. He knows we do not have a lot, but didin’t realize how it could really impact him. He has worked SO hard to get the grades he gets - no social life b/c it takes him hours to do his work. </p>
<p>Do colleges or FAFSA take in account cost of living? I mean earning $75000 in Westchester County, NY probably does not go as far as earning $75,000 in another state.</p>
It doesn’t have a CS major 