<p>hudsonvalley - that 1450 was out of 2400. I’m not disputing at all that WC might be harder to get into than it seems. My son’s school shows 36% acceptance rate. AVG admitted gpa was 3.21, 978/1445 SAT scores. But then his school is in Philly. Maybe that makes a difference?</p>
<p>Reeinaz, from what I know of WC, and from what I know of your DS, I don’t see any trouble getting in there.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC</p>
<p>Wow! I’d say that a 1450/2400 2.0 student at West Chester may even be rarer than a 1450/1600 2.0 student.</p>
<p>It is surprising sometimes what colleges, even reputedly highly selective ones, determine in the privacy of the admissions conference suite. There is a local kid who was admitted a couple years ago to SUNY Geneseo who had a very weak GPA and rigor of curriculum, along with 1200 (out of 1600) SATs. He had several Ds on his transcript and had failed a non-Regents level math class. Another young man with average test scores, a sub-3.0 GPA and Fs on multiple NYS Regents exams got a deferred admission to Binghamton. </p>
<p>Bottom line, I guess, is that you really never know for sure until you apply.</p>
<p>Reizaz: What’s AA? African American or Asian American?</p>
<p>Mom0809 - African-American</p>
<p>HeavyLidded - My son’s first interest was film 
So for CA, I’d say Loyola Marymount, Chapman, and Occidental. The Seattle area is also a hotspot for film so he might want to consider some pacific northwest schools also. That area is hot and heavy for diversity, especially AA males. I really liked Univ of Seattle. It’s a Jesuit school. I didn’t look too much in that area though since my S has an aversion to rain. My son is slowly becoming more interested. He’s been reading the essay book I got for him and actually talking to me about the things he’s reading. And yesterday, I gave him some material about Beloit, and he said it reminded him of Kenyon which he loves. “Yes! Yes, sweetie. Kenyon and Beloit are very similar. Tell me what made you draw that conclusion” Prior to that most of his communication about college happened in grunts and defensive body language that basically old me to back off…lol</p>
<p>Reeinaz: A friend’s son is at Ithaca doing film studies. He really loves it there. As an AA, I think your DS would be interested, and probably would have a good chance getting in with financial aid.
We are Asian /American/Caribbean (that’s why I asked), and DS had similar stats to yours. GPA 3.1-3.2 his entire HS career. We targeted mostly LAC’s that seemed to lack diversity in the Asian American ‘department.’ He was very successful in his college acceptances, most with good merit and financial aid. I think that it’s good and wise that you’re throwing a wide ‘geographic’ net.
If you have any specific questons, you can PM me.</p>
<p>Kinderny - yes the plan is to have the guidance counselor adress the impact her medical problems have had on her grades. It was a really tough year. She was having to leave the classroom regularly and was hospitalized twice - once for a lengthy stay. I am hoping to convey, that under those circumstances, her grades are pretty respectable. I hope a smaller school and one that looks at the “whole” student will take the time to hear her story. </p>
<p>Thank you for the school suggestions. I thought we were so ahead of the game and visited a number of schools this year, but now most of them (including Gettysburg, Muhlenberg and Dickinson) seem out of reach. I feel as if we are starting from scratch.</p>
<p>Joisymom - I wouldn’t rule out those schools just yet. If her transcripts were ok before and if she is able to do well the beginning of 12th grade, the colleges may overlook that blip if explained well. You might want to save those applications for when she has the 1st set of grades to submit with them so the admissions people aren’t left to guess if her grades will improve or not. But certainly to be on the safe side, try and find a few more schools that match her current stats.</p>
<p>Mom0809 - I followed you a bit on the 2012 thread which is where I got the idea of really targeting his applications. Thanks I hope his results are as fruitful as your son’s were.</p>
<p>Hudsonvalley, we’re headed your way next week We love upstate NY, my father in law grew up in the Albany area. What do you think of Hamilton, Hartwick and Marist as choices for a kid a 3.3ish GPA (UW) and 2080 on SAT? We went to Union at the end of May and My DS loved it but I think that might be too much of a reach (and they were very discouraging about Fin Aid). Any other small liberal arts schools we should see while we are in NY? As of now, DS wants to study economics.</p>
<p>@Rubytuesday… I’m a mom from the 2012 thread. My S really liked the upstate NY schools too… he loves being in bucolic locations. We are from So Cal interestingly enough. I hate to say it but Hamilton is a definite high reach for your S. It is pretty selective with no hooks and my DS with a 3.6, 2200 SAT 1500 volunteer hours was denied. He was really a perfect fit and I thought his So Cal residence would be a plus, but sadly… no. </p>
<p>Anyway, have your DS take a look at Hobart and Smith and St. Lawrence. My S was accepted at both and will be attending SLU after a gap year. He LOVED SLU. Outstanding school and absolutely AMAZING alumni network. Perfect for the outdoorsy, athletic, bright kid who really likes to be involved with tons of stuff. Both SLU and Hobart gave my S a 20,000 a year merit scholarship and met the rest of our need. He really liked Hobart as well, and it was a close call, but in the end felt that Hobart was too preppy/jock boys for him.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice 5boys, much appreciated. Hobart and Smith was on the list but I had crossed it off because H&S had accepted 2 kids from DS’s high school with average SAT scores of 2010, so I thought it would be a high reach. Hamilton had accepted 1 kid with an SAT score of 1670 and a weighted GPA of 3.5 (DS has a weighted GPA of 3.6). I’m very surprised your son did not get into Hamilton, shows you what a crap shoot it is. H & S is back on the list but my DS doesn’t like jock boys either-wouldn’t even look at BC even though his father went to grad school there. I’m going to check out SLU now. Were there any other small liberal art schools you and your son loved/hated?</p>
<p>This is my first post. I have really been encouraged for the b+ student. I have a ds entering his sophomore year. Our school is overly honors and AP driven. Level 2 is not really given any attention. My son had honors alg. 1, going to take honors alg. 2 and geometry to catch up on his math, didn’t have high math in 8th grd. My question is our school offers an original credit geometry class that is 4 days a week for 6 hours a day. A little nervous of the load any thoughts are appreciated.</p>
<p>@Ruby Tuesday. I can pretty much bet that 1 kid who was accepted into Hamilton with the 1670 and 3.5 must have been an athlete or had some other hook… I think Hamilton’s acceptance rate was under 20% this year… or at least close. That is pretty much a school for tippy top kids. I just thought my DS had a chance because our HS had accepted a lot of kids with his stats before and he was such a good fit. I just think that this year was CRAZY admissions wise, and was hard to predict. My DS had schools all over the spectrum, but his main criteria was that it was a small LAC near the mountains where he could major in ES and do pre-med… he wants to become a wilderness ER Dr. Hobart had the best program for that… as they have a high acceptance rate into med school and some great early assurance programs.</p>
<p>We also needed a lot of FA, so I think this hurt my S at the more selective LAC"s that were need aware. His favorite was Colorado College… but he applied ED and was deferred than rejected… hugest shock. He went 50/50… rejected at schools above the top 30, and accepted with tons of merit at schools below that. He received over 500,000 of merit( for all 4 years). </p>
<p>We live in CA, so he really liked a lot of the PNW schools, i.e. Reed, Whitman, Lewis&Clark, and University of Puget Sound. But, on the east his favorites were, Colby, Bates, Bowdoin and Hamilton. He fell in love with Vermont, so applied to UVM, was accepted, but decided it was too big. </p>
<p>I know this is the 3.0-3.3 thread but I do want to say that my S had around a 3.2-3.3 at application time, and for some reason did extremely well Senior year. He also had a D in algebra freshman year, and a C+ in AP Econ… the rest of his grades were B+'s for the most part. </p>
<p>I think your S will really like SLU… check it out. My S said he would pick it over any of his other schools now. I also think your S should get into Hobart.</p>
<p>RubyTuesday – Hope you enjoy your return visit to Upstate next week. This really is a great time to visit this part of NYS and it only gets better as summer wanes and the leaves begin to turn. I’m afraid I’ve got to agree with 5boys regarding Hamilton. It has become extremely selective in the past five years or so. I attended the wedding of a Hamilton '08 grad a couple of weeks ago and he said there is no way they would admit him today. In fact, his younger sister was denied admission a couple of years ago and she was a stronger student in most areas than her brother. </p>
<p>Both Marist and Hartwick would be happy to land a B+ student with SAT scores as high as your son’s. I’m not sure how competitive Marist will be with financial aid, however. Hartwick can be quite generous if they really want a student. So too, frankly, can Union. I’m a little surprised the admissions rep was discouraging since local students who have been admitted with 3.5-ish GPAs have not cracked the 2000 barrier on the 3-part SAT. </p>
<p>Have you considered St. Lawrence University? I think it is probably an academic match for your son.</p>
<p>^^Oops. I should know by now to read all of the follow-up messages before answering around here. I see there is already a recommendation for St. Lawrence from 5boys (and a very astute recommendation it is).</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice hudson and 5boys. DS put Hamilton on his list because the Rep at Union mentioned that it competed with H for students and other students on the tour mentioned they were checking it out too. He has Gettysburg, Lafayette, Dickinson, and Franklin and Marshall on his list too, any thoughts on those? He’s never been south of New England except for a school trip to DC. My husband is taking him on a college/fly fishing
tour 
later this summer. He’s definitley applying to St Mike’s in VT, my niece went there and loved it, also their admin rep came to a college fair at his HS; he was such a great guy, he got my son very excited about it.<br>
5boys-my son also thought UVM was too big, they sound a lot alike.</p>
<p>Ruby Tuesday - We have visited both Gettysburg and Dickinson and I would highly recommend both. My impression was that the Gettysburg students were more driven and more athletic while the vibe at Dickinson was somewhat…can’t find the word…“gentler?” However, my laid back daughter preferred Gettysburg over Dickinson - so there you go! </p>
<p>Gettysburg offers the historic surroundings and the town has a lot to offer. Interviews are important and they do offer them around the country so you might want to look into that. </p>
<p>Dickinson’s campus was especially beautiful and although the adjacent town of Carlilse is very small, it offered enough. I did get the impression that students have sometimes had a somewhat contentious relationship with residents. A world focus (foreign language studies, study abroad) is a key part of the experience there. Dickinson stressed that the most important element in being accepted is demonstrating a passion for Dickinson. </p>
<p>Lafayette is quite selective in accepting students from my d’s high school. The lowest accepted GPA on Naviance is a 3.7. Don’t know how this compares to your school but clearly out of reach for my d!</p>
<p>A better to way to state my comparison of Gettysburg and Dickinson would be to use the old competitive vs. collaborative scale. I would place Gettysburg more on the competitive end and Dickinson closer to collaborative. However, that is just my opinion from our visits; it is not based on any factual data.</p>