<p>“My DD '14 (3.2, 1780 SATs, 27 ACT, taking both again) is looking at LACs (psych/women’s and gender studies combo) with D3 swimming, a liberal vibe, active choral groups, good study abroad options, and a location that isn’t too isolated. So many LACs are in small, rural towns which won’t likely suit her. An active Jewish population and racial/ethnic diversity are big plusses.”</p>
<p>LisaK216:
The school my D will attend in the fall, Mills College, sounds it may be a good fit for your D. If she’s not sure about a women’s college (mine wasn’t at first) maybe you could visit one near you or when visiting others. In the end, she was trying to choose between Goucher and two women’s schools, Agnes Scott and Mills. She also wanted to be near a city. The SF Bay area won out in the end. The women’s colleges we visited (MHC and Smith too) seemed very diverse compared to some of the coed LACs.</p>
<p>@Wintriest…Mills was one the first schools DD was interested in! She has cooled a bit on women’s colleges, but I think she would love Mills. I went to MHC which has an exchange program with Mills. I visited one year when I was in SF over spring break. That was some time ago, but I was impressed.</p>
<p>What is your daughter planning to study there? And what sealed the deal for her with Mills? Congrats to you both!</p>
<p>@LisaK216
I’m a MHC alum, too! Thanks for the congrats. I’m feeling very happy for my D now that she’s decided and is so excited about Mills. She’s interested in creative writing and psych, so she was attracted to Mills’ English w/CW major (they also have a MFA in CW at the grad level), and 5-year MA in Infant Mental Health. She applied EA and was accepted by Thanksgiving, a nice surprise. We visited in Feb (the weekend of the big snowstorm in the NE) and were charmed by the Mills campus, the students (very diverse, smart, friendly), the city of Oakland. D loves the idea of spending four or five years in the Bay Area. Mills has some cross-registration with other colleges in the area, including UC Berkeley, which should give her more course selection than if she was limited to only Mills.</p>
<p>@Wintriest…no way! That’s amazing. Class of '88 here…big reunion coming up in 2 weeks! </p>
<p>Back to Mills My daughter is also very interested in the Bay area. DH is not warm to the idea of her being across the country, but I’m open to it if that’s what’s best. What part of the country are you from? We’re in CT.</p>
<p>I also like it when schools have cross-registration programs. It opens up so many possibilities academically and socially. What is the area around the college like these days? I didn’t see much when I was there. I remember thinking that the campus was like a west coast version of MHC – palms instead of pines :)</p>
<p>My DS is taking the SAT tomorrow. Fingers crossed!! I would be very happy if he could do well enough to not need to take the test again in the Fall, but the practice test results have been less than stellar. He will be applying and auditioning for Musical Theatre and better test results may yield academic merit money.</p>
<p>@LisaK216:
You’re a spring chicken; I’m class of '78, so I also have a big reunion (but can’t attend) this year. D is my youngest–I went through this process the first time around in '07-'08, but very different kids; S was a STEM-type and majored in math. He looked at big U’s as well as LACs. We’re in NJ and he ended up in Philly, so D is a trailblazer.
Back to Mills. Oakland is having a kind of renaissance these days. The downtown, waterfront, and area around Lake Merritt are very lively. Rockridge and Piedmont (closer to Berkeley) are upscale and family friendly (think of Park Slope in Brooklyn). Unfortunately, Mills is not in a nicer part of the city for students. The area across from the campus is a fairly boring residential neighborhood, and the closest commercial area, with coffee shops and a few hang outs, also has bars on the doors and windows, so maybe not where students would want to be at night. The campus itself is lovely (more eucalyptus than palms, though) and very safe. They have a shuttle service to BART stations and to Berkeley, which we used when we visited. Many students also have cars, but D will not, so we wanted to see how public transportation worked. Flew to SFO and took BART to Oakland–very easy to our downtown hotel. To get to Mills when the shuttle isn’t convenient, D will either take a taxi from the closest BART station or the bus. All students get a transit pass that they can use all over the Bay area.</p>
<p>My son is taking the SAT tomorrow for the first time and I hope the last! He did well on the PSAT - 204 - so I am hoping for the same on the SAT. He never studies or reviews- if he did probably get closer to 2400. But he is who he is -as frustrating as it is for me - I have to let him be who he is…trust me I am always trying to get him to study. His GPA is 90 and in Maine that is considered a B average. I am not sure how colleges will consider his average. He takes honors and AP classes. Sorry for the rambling…</p>
<p>onlyonemom… welcome… and also welcome to the " frustrated moms of smart, lazy boys club";). I should write a book. I am now finally to a place of acceptance, because, I hate to say it, most boys don’t get it together till college… the problem now, is that it is just get harder and harder for these, smart but only want to work hard enough to be B’s, to get in to college… and I learned the hard way that unfortunately high test scores do not compensate for a lower GPA. The good news is that you are on the right thread, and he will find a college that is a great fit.</p>
<p>5boys- thank you for the support!my son only seems to care about his SAT sores- he informed me last night that if he gets less than 2300 -he will retake the exam- what’s the point - the schools you are looking at don’t need the high SAT scores. His reply? I don’t care what schools want - I think he is missing the point of the test. To him it is a measure of how smart he is…hopefully he will connect the dots at some point…good luck to all the testers today!</p>
<p>Onlyonemom- But very likely higher SAT scores will net your S more merit aid (along with the GPA) at the schools he’s considering. If you look at some of their websites, you should be able get an estimate of how much.</p>
<p>onlyonemom, I suspect that viewing the test as a personal challenge, rather than an ordeal that colleges are using to judge him, may be more relaxing and lead to a better experience… and a better score.</p>
<p>wintriest and seattle-mom… I agree, good for onlyone’s son for viewing it as a personal challenge rather than someone else’s measurement. It will probably improve his result.</p>
<p>Wintriest I’m interested in your comment… do you believe that if our kids apply to schools that are matches from a GPA standpoint, but they exceed the range on test scores, they will have a chance at more merit $? </p>
<p>This is something I’m only now trying to figure out. Do certain schools or situations value the test scores more highly than others? (i.e. in state vs. out of state, public vs private)?
For me this question pertains to merit aid only - would love to hear everyone’s thoughts.</p>
<p>My S is also one of those whose test scores put him in a higher percentile than his GPA when looking at most of the college stats.</p>
<p>Thank you ladies for your insight! I was only focusing on the test as a means to the end. I did notice that some college websites indicate that they look “heavily” at test scores and other websites indicate that they focus on GPA and make test scores optional. I need to go back and look at what’s what…Son’s GC indicated that if he scores over 2000 on his SAT’s he will get into Conn. Coll. but Brandies would be a reach. He really likes Brandies but he also really likes University of New England (UNE). He spent 3 weeks last summer at UNE in an early college Neuroscience program and loved it - they have merit money and it would be a safety school for him. a lot to think about! Thank you</p>
<p>KMurph and Onlyone-
I have to admit that I didn’t really do my HW about merit aid before D applied to her schools last fall. We knew we were basically full pay and didn’t think that D would get merit money at any of her schools. Her SAT scores were all in the 600s (math closer to 700), what her GC said was needed to get acceptances at the schools on her list, so she didn’t retake them. If I’d looked on each college’s website, I would have seen that many had charts or included merit scholarships in their estimated cost calculators, so it wouldn’t have been such a (pleasant) surprise when she was awarded merit money. The schools were all small, less competitve private LACs, many CTCL-types- some geographically far away from us (which I think helped). D had some leadership ECs and interviews very well. Also (and I’ve been accused of being too cynical about this) I think being able to pay full freight (due to years of saving in 529 plans) also motivated some schools to up their merit offers after we’d filed the FAFSA (which we did to qualify for a Fed loan). I would definitely advise looking up all the information you can online.</p>
<p>This afternoon when I arrived at our high school to pick up my daughter from her SAT exam, there was the usual assortment of parents waiting for their kids. This time, however, I saw something new. Waiting right out in front of the exit doors was a very enthusiastic mother holding a bouquet of flowers and along with her was her husband holding balloons. They were waiting to surprise their daughter after the exam. That poor girl looked mortified when she walked out of the school with her friends to be greeted like that. I have been picking up my kids from SAT and ACT exams for years, this was a first.</p>
<p>Wintriest, thanks for all the info on Mills. I think we may be headed out that way before long. DD has never been to the west coast and has something of an idealized view of it. I don’t want the “fantasy” of what’s out there to cloud her thinking toward schools she has seen which would “be perfect if only it was in CA.” </p>
<p>Sorry you’ll miss Reunion! I enjoyed your spring chicken comment as I sure feel old with this process, lol. I suspect we’ll be talking more. Great to meet an MHC alum here!</p>
<p>BobbyCT, I think my DD would die if I showed up with gifts like that.</p>
<p>wintriest - thanks for your insight! I’ve been figuring that we’ll get very little merit, but S did score a 30 on the ACT (yay!) so now I’m wondering what’s possible. We will not be applying for financial aid either, but that’s interesting that you think the offers improved after you filed the FAFSA. I wasn’t even sure I was going to file it, although I think I remember one or two schools saying you had to file it even to be considered for merit. </p>
<p>We are also looking at a few schools outside of our typical northeast geography as several have recommended on this thread, and I think you are right that they will end up being our best bets financially. </p>
<p>I’ve read some debate about how checking the “not applying for financial aid” box may be an advantage in getting in to some LAC’s… there doesn’t seem to be a final answer on this, just speculation, as the colleges won’t ever admit this practice.</p>
<p>Yes… high test scores will get you in the running for merit aid at many schools in this GPA range. My 2012 S had a 2200 SAT and 3.4 GPA. He also had some extraordinary EC’s. He ended up with over $600,000 of merit aid offer over 4 years combined, from quite a few schools. I also think if you are a full pay, kids in this range will get into schools that will surprise you. There is a trick to finding schools that want what your kid has to offer.</p>
My daughter is also very interested in the Bay area. DH is not warm to the idea of her being across the country, but I’m open to it if that’s what’s best. What part of the country are you from? We’re in CT.</p>