<p>We have Naviance…but I still waiting to get our access codes :/</p>
<p>Is it a useful tool?? I don’t know much about it.</p>
<p>I find it fascinating, but I’m a data geek and just plain nosy.</p>
<p>The most talked-about feature is the scattergrams that allow you to see where your student falls in relation to others from your school who have applied to a particular college. Say, your kid is interested in Notre Dame. The scattergram puts an open red circle at the intersection of his/her GPA (Y axis) and SAT score (X axis). Also on the scattergram are plotted points for every other kid from your school who has applied to ND. Some will be red Xs, which mean they didn’t get in. Some will be green diamonds, which mean they were accepted. There are symbols for waitlisted and deferred. Anyway, it’s an indication of whether you’re in the ballpark for that particular school. There also are two lines that meet that indicate the average GPA and SAT score of those accepted.</p>
<p>Beyond the scattergram, it’s just an easy, one-stop place for lots of good college info.</p>
<p>WOW!!! Thanks for the heads up! I can tell you that I can’t wait to use it now :)</p>
<p>Mothers/daughters: My oldest (D1) and I struggled throughout junior high and high school, and I am very thankful my other two are boys (especially when it comes to school dances), although I have to admit, despite the struggles I am much closer to her than the boys. And, I have also apologized profusely to my own mother!!</p>
<p>Our school does not have Naviance, but I know it is like something I would really like. I have looked at other schools Naviance data and found it fascinating.</p>
<p>The reason it’s cool is because it indicates your kids’ chances in relation to others from your school so that geography as a hook would come into play and how your school is regarded at that college. Of course, it’s still subjective. You don’t know whether that green diamond outlier is because the kid was a recruited athlete, a URM, a legacy, etc. Or if that red X with great stats is because he/she didn’t indicate enough interest at a school that tracks that or applied for the most selective program at that college and so got a no. But it’s still interesting to note trends. And it’s a great reality check for some kids (“Yes, I’ll be able to get in somewhere!” along with “Yeah, not going not hold my breath for that one.”)</p>
<p>The data I looked at was from a school with completely different demographics from the school my kids attend. What was interesting was that kids with seemingly lower stats than mine got into schools that rejected my son, but then other kids with better stats than my son were rejected by some schools my son was admitted to. Which is what makes the data so valuable for the kids that attend that school.</p>
<p>For those without access to Naviance…don’t panic. Seek out the more experienced counselors because they are very accurate in guessing where kids will get in…they know the colleges that really like the school’s students. They also know very important inside info. I remember my son’s counselor (30 years at the school, now retired) said “it is unlikely any of our applicants will get into Brown this year since last year two students got in and turned Brown down for Harvard”…she was sooo right…it took 3 years before Brown “forgave” us and took a student…kids were getting into the other ivies but Brown seemed to be pretty reluctant to take a chance on our students for a while…</p>
<p>The counselors can tell you, for example, that even one C is the kiss of death for our state flagship but is not necessarily a deal breaker for William and Mary which seems to care in which class the C was earned. You can’t see that with the naviance at all and a good guidance counselor will know a lot about the local and popular schools. The data is fun and gives the kids a good reality check but I am counting on the counselor to help us with the match/safeties.</p>
<p>:( We do not have Naviance and do not have sufficient support from counselors. That is why I am here. I have heard students are pretty much on their own at our school.</p>
<p>nellie, find an experienced parent at your school to mentor you.</p>
<p>My son’s school is only 6 years old. His will be the 4th graduating class, so not much prior experience available in my case. Now’s not the time for second guessing, but in a do over, I think I would’ve picked a more etablished school for him. This kid is gonna be a wild card.</p>
<p>I think the best thing about the Naviance scattergrams is that it really helps you understand that for the most selective schools, having scores within the 25-75 (or above) range is absolutely no guarantee of acceptance. When you see a lot of rejections and waitlists in the same region along with the acceptances, it drives that point home a lot better than just looking at the 25-75 numbers. You have to consider how many students with GPAs/scores within range are rejected. </p>
<p>For my D’s HS, I’ve found that some schools, such as the various area public schools are pretty predictable, and acceptance odds are quite good with GPA/SAT scores above a certain point. There are a few outlier acceptances, with lower GPA/scores, which one can assume are hooked applicants, but relatively few outlier rejections. On the other hand, a lot of the Top 20-50ish LACs have tended to be very unpredictable, with the rejections, waitlists, and acceptances all equally likely within some range of stats.</p>
<p>This post on another thread is perhaps of interest to this group:
</p>
<p>The important points:
</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with Naviance, but am also a data geek, so would love to take a look. How would I go about doing that? Is it a website? Does our school have to participate - or do I need a code - to access any data, or can I narrow it to our geographical region another way? I highly doubt our public school is signed up with it. If my DS is a junior this year, can I put it in his current stats and compare to others who are applying now? Thanks for any information for this newbie!</p>
<p>Naviance was the single most important tool that we used in D1’s search. It definitely is an indicator of your child’s chances of getting into a particular school…with the exception of the top 20…I still consider those wildcards…if your kid has achieved something on a national level and has the academics/test scores to accompany that then you get what I call a “lottery ticket” i.e. a chance at the top20. Otherwise Naviance is a great indicator of where your kid will be likely accepted…but there are no guarantees.</p>
<p>Our public HS does not use Naviance, but I doubt it would be that helpful for my kids. 90% of the graduates of our HS go to in-state public colleges. Very few even apply to out of state schools or LACs that my kids are interested in. I don’t think that any data for those schools would be statistically significant. So…we just apply and take our chances. D1 got accepted academically everywhere she applied except for Northwestern which was a quadruple legacy!</p>
<p>Hi All! Just checking in; I thought I’d be better keeping up with things once I had the iPhone but apparently I haven’t looked at anything on CC in over a week. hard to keep up!</p>
<p>Someone asked about “No Shave November.” I know it’s something the boys in HS do here (which is often vastly amusing because so many of them really don’t need to shave yet anyway!)</p>
<p>No shave November is done here as well. So funny to see those uneven patches of fur. Teachers often participate as well.</p>
<p>No naviance here.
I’m a data junkie as well…really jealous of those of you who have it. Guess I will just have to be happy with the cds that colleges provide.</p>
<p>D’s fh team is district champ! Regional play begins on Monday. If they win Monday, they have to go through the only team that beat them to get to the regional final. Daunting task, but they hope to win and get another shot at them and the regional title!</p>
<p>D was able to perform in the fall orchestra concert and sat as concert mistress for the first time. She is in a music magnet and performs with many talented muscians, so this was a very big and long awaited honor for her. She also had great success with all the AP testing this week. It has been a very stressful week for her and a few tears have been shed, but she is all smiles now.
Next week, it all begins again…</p>
<p>Visiting D today at her IB boarding school and seeing how much she loves the casual atmosphere and closeness of the faculty and student body gives me some sense of what she will be looking for in a college. She says she wants to stay west. Any ideas of small, western liberal arts colleges strong in Chinese with an international student body and a casual attitude? I have been intrigued by Soka University but I’m not sure it would be challenging enough for a kid with a SAT CR 800 and Math 650. To add to the challenge: we make middle class wages and have been frugal savers but D is #2 of 6 so we will be looking for merit/financial aid.</p>
<p>@RobD You haven’t downloaded the CC app yet? That one is truly a productivity killer for me. Worse than Angry Birds…lol</p>