<p>Hi. Excuse my error. I mistakenly posted this in Parents Cafe. Meant to post in Parents Forum. New to CC--sorry. </p>
<p>I found the 3.0 to 3.3 GPA Parents HS class of 2013 to be really helpful, but because my D is not graduating until next year, I thought it might be fun to have a thread for HS junior parents.</p>
<p>I'm a new member to CC, and have found the info on many of the threads to be helpful and enlightening, but also a bit non-relevant for my D who is NOT an over-achieving top 10% kid. Her GPA is higher than this thread (3.6UW), but she's not in the same level of rigorous classes many CC kids are in. D's in Algebra 2 and takes one AP + one honors class per semester. Needless to say, ivies and elite colleges are not on our radar. Her SAT/ACT test scores are in the 60% range and hoping to go up with retesting in June.</p>
<p>I'm looking to connect with parents with great kids who are looking at a different "level" of school. If this is something that interests you, join me as we take an interesting journey over the next year +.</p>
<p>Hi! My son is in this range. His test scores are pretty high, but his GPA is around 3.4. He has ADHD and not the best study habits. He is taking 2 honors classes now, bringing his total to 3, and planning 2 more next year I think. He is leaning towards big schools, although we need to tour some smaller ones for him to compare. Sings in an excellent choir and leaning towards a music major.</p>
<p>I’m going to grab a bowl of popcorn & watch from the sidelines, as I only have my D15 in the college game. I thoroughly enjoyed all the 3.0-3.3 threads , and since we’re not looking for the HYPSM or top 20-40. I think I will feel more at home in this thread. D has a 3.5 unweighted GPA & school does not weight at all for honors or AP courses. </p>
<p>Although D is class of 2015, we already have 3 financial/GPA safety OOS medium sized U’s investigated, and filed in the “college” box. So, we know she’s going to college. </p>
<p>CTCL type schools are more our speed with Mount Holyoke, Grinnell, & Wellesley the only top 40 schools on her HMFR list. They all accept about 40% of applicants.</p>
<p>Our D is a “go big, or go home” gal. She wants to go to a big school in a small college town.
Schools that are on her short list include:</p>
<p>Oregon State (toured and loved, also a safety with a 3.5 GPA)
Univ. of Oregon (toured and didn’t love)
Washington State (financial in-state safety)
Wisconsin (dream reach school with 4x legacy)
U of Ill. (another big reach)</p>
<p>Going to visit in August:
Indiana University
Purdue University (Grandma is bursting with Boilermaker class of '56 pride)
Syracuse University</p>
<p>Also in the running:
U of Arizona
U of Colorado</p>
<p>I’ve been lurking a bit on the '13 thread too. S14 is in the 3.3 vicinity at a challenging school, and will take his first SAT on Saturday.</p>
<p>He also toured Oregon State and liked it. He knows what he wants to major in (BSCS with some gaming option/courses) and is just beginning to explore what other features he likes in a college.</p>
<p>This is the right thread for me too - S has a 3.26 average at the moment at a local private school and is taking a couple of AP courses this year, a couple more next. Also has ADHD. He’s taking the SAT for the first time in May and although he’s taking a test prep course he doesn’t seem to be doing much else…grrrr</p>
<p>We’re heading down to PA in March to look at 10 schools in 5 days (I’m crazy right?). I guess my thought is that we’ll drive up to some of them and he’ll say no way. He’s interested in neuroscience so that’s made his GC’s list of 43(!!!) schools easier to narrow down. He also wants to stay local which in our case is the NE and maybe the DC/VA area. We’re going to U Scranton, Bucknell, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, UDel, Ursinus, Muhlenberg, Lehigh, Lafayette and Drew. A couple of super reaches, reaches, targets and safeties according to the GC. Pitt is in the mix in PA as well but we’ll go another time I think.</p>
<p>Does anyone else have a completely disinterested uninvolved kid? I tried to talk to him about planning out SAT and SAT subject tests (for May/June and the fall) and his response? Mom, college is 18 months away! Really?! I’m all about the planning but alas his age and his horrible executive functioning skills are overpowering. The end result is that I’ve been doing a lot of research and data collection (I love spreadsheets) and am basically just waiting for him to come around. And I’m learning to keep my mouth shut (or ask him in advance for a few minutes of his time) Sigh</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post - guess I needed to vent :)</p>
<p>Tracy… he may come around after the visits… My DS12 was TOTALLY uninterested in the whole college thing until he went to visit his first college… it happened to be a really good fit for him, and he was all in after that.</p>
<p>This was a front runner for my d until she changed her major and OSU didn’t have it. She is going to the Universtiy of AZ. We were impressed with both schools, but we all LOVED OSU. Good luck to your d.</p>
<p>Sweetjam: Would love to hear more about your D’s experience at Arizona. I’m sure my D would LOVE the weather in Tuscson (vs. midwest or east coast), but I’m really not familiar with the school.</p>
<p>I am no longer involved in the “Hunt” but have sent four children to college, and am quite knowledgeable about financial aid. This was one of my favorite threads for my son, HS Class of 2010.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure we’re in this group unless my youngest really surprises me with his SAT on Saturday.</p>
<p>He’s only recently started to actively look at college websites. He’d love to head south (FL, HI) to study tropical Biology types of things and has located Palm Beach Atlantic (a Christian U) and Eckerd (secular), but I honestly don’t know that we’ll be able to afford either. He also would potentially consider Baylor, but I’m pretty sure that one will be unaffordable as my high stat kid was accepted there with their top merit aid, but it still wasn’t his least expensive option.</p>
<p>In state ¶ he’s looking at Juniata (a CTCL school) and Dickinson (a reach, but would be affordable). He doesn’t really care for any of our state schools and those aren’t terribly inexpensive anyway so I’m not pushing it.</p>
<p>Out of country he briefly looked at the University of Guam, but didn’t like that it was mostly a commuter school. It’s certainly more affordable, but quite a distance away.</p>
<p>He used to like the University of Hawaii at Manoa, but wasn’t sure about it since he’s not an islander (same potential issue with Guam).</p>
<p>Our school doesn’t offer AP, so that’s not an issue here. Kiddo is a A and B student, but the academic bar at our school is really low. Add to that that we just received a letter stating that his English teacher didn’t like his signing up for the highest level class next year. She thinks he should drop down a level due to his writing skills. That took us by surprise as he got an A- in the top level this year as a junior.</p>
<p>And that’s where we’re at as of today. We’ll see what happens Saturday.</p>
<p>Creekland: Tropical biology. If I had to do college all over again, that would probably be the major I’d do today. I cried when I saw keel-billed toucans and howler monkeys in the wild in Costa Rica. Like Disneyland…only real.</p>
<p>Hello, I guess I belong here. My '14 has a 3.65. and at her school, that isn’t even high enough to make NHS! We are visiting U of Arkansas soon, but I fear it will be too cold for her. She would also love to be where it’s always warm. I’ve also looked into Eckerd. A couple of the Florida state schools look nice, but they strip out all the non-core classes when calculating GPA, so then the GPA goes down more. </p>
<p>Our in state options are not great.</p>
<p>And, although we’ve saved money for college, do NOT have 45-55K per year to spend.</p>
<p>momofwon, Costa Rica is the prettiest place I’ve ever visited, and I’ve traveled quite a bit.</p>
<p>Right now, D doesn’t even know the size of school. I think she would be well suited for an urban campus, but doesn’t like cold weather, so that rules out lots of possibilities.</p>
<p>Creekland–you commented that Dickinson is affordable. Why is that? I assumed it was just another small LAC in PA. Am probably revealing my ignorance in that statement…but would be interested in learning, as Dickinson is on our April visit list. </p>
<p>I have heard of two fairly high stats students (3.7-3.8 UW GPA from a school w/o grade inflation) from our H.S. who ended up at Dickinson after being rejected from the schools they had hoped to attend. They are now very happy at Dickinson and were also pleasantly surprised by merit awards.</p>
<p>USNWR has ranked Stetson University (FL) a Best Value School, for the applicants who want someplace warm. USNWR’s Best Value or USNWR’s Great Schools Great Prices and Fiske Best Buy are also worth looking into.</p>
<p>University of AZ is a much more traditional school in feeling and brick and mortar then you would think. It is pretty compact in size. It has a lot to offer in terms of sports, greek system, and a large university feel to it. Tucson is a smallish town and the weather is really nice- except when school starts it can be super HOT. I would visit the school.</p>
<p>Do you mind if I join in? DD’s stats are higher but I love the other thread and the Jewish 3.0 thread because everyone is so friendly and helpful. Plus, I’ve discovered so many interesting schools I never knew existed. </p>
<p>You all in the middle and the east coast have so many schools to choose from compared to us in the wild west. Also, has anyone read the 2012 Ghost From Parent Past update from a mom whose son struggled and is now doing great in college? She has some wonderful advice.</p>