<p>Thanks 5boys - I sure hope it clicks in soon. He’s on his second snow day in a row and instead of doing any sat prep I just saw he tweeted that he’d be watching the second season of Revenge!!! Deep breaths :)</p>
<p>Welcome to our thread agentninetynine. I posted this thread to give parents whose 2014 kids are not necessarily academically the most gifted, but have other talents and traits that make them just as great. The 3.0-3.3 GPA is really a guideline. Some will have higher GPAs and low test scores (my D), others will fall in the category of low GPA, but higher test scores. </p>
<p>As I tell my D all the time–some of the most successful people in this world are not among the smartest. EQ usually trumps IQ. Our kids can be successful if they are committed and passionate. </p>
<p>My goal is for this thread to be a welcoming place for parents who are possibly looking for alternatives to the top 100 “best rated schools” or just want to connect with other parents of similar kids.</p>
<p>haha Tracy! We do want them to enjoy life, though, right? ;)</p>
<p>My S is also scheduled for Saturday and says the test prep teacher told them not to practice any more for the test. Possibly this is his take on what she said… :)</p>
<p>Good luck to your S on Sat - alas my S is not scheduled to take it until MAY 
I let it go though - I think venting here helps haha</p>
<p>Yay, I’ve found a home! My son is in the 3.4 range. His first foray in the Honors world ended last October. He took Honor’s English. His teacher was also the Dept. Head. His grades varied between A and F, like a roller coaster. His teacher said he brought class discussion to a new level, and so she was quite perplexed by his course work. By October it was clear he should move down to Academic English, where he is doing well. His new teacher wrote to me after his first month in class and said she thought he should be in Honor’s English, but if he was more comfortable at the Academic level, that was fine, LOL. Made me wonder if the two teachers ever communicated. He is a bright kid who is much more interested in all things performance, drama and instrumental. I am hoping he has what it takes to get into a BFA program because his heart is not in pure academics. He begins tutoring for the SAT on Sunday and I have my fingers crossed. I want him to have choices.</p>
<p>Hi. I will take some time later to read through all of your posts, but wanted to jump right in and introduce myself (and my S2). I’ve followed, and posted some, on the 2013 thread, but we are class of 2014. My S falls below the GPA of this thread, but since there isn’t a 2.5-3.0 thread, this is as close as we’re going to get, beyond the “should a C student go to college” thread. Not an option.</p>
<p>My B/C student works hard, has ADD and Dyslexia and finds school hard (the memorizing and test taking…does great on presentations). At home, he’s been a high scorer on the ACT (30+ on all of his practice tests), but when it came time to take the real thing in Dec, he scored mid-20s…so frustrating because I know he can do it. He retook it in Feb, and are still waiting for his scores. Since I know he can get a 30 on practice tests, I’ve pretty much told him he’s going to keep taking it until he hits that mark…he has to counter his low GPA.</p>
<p>We have several visits planned for the 3rd week in March…Western Michigan, DePaul and Bradley. We need a school like Western as a safety, and although the others are reaches, they do take students w/ GPAs below a 3.0, and he is coming from a competitive, well-respected high school.</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to going through this process with you. It will be a lot different from my first time around w/ a high achieving S1 who graduated hs in 2011.</p>
<p>entertainersmom… we are going to be fast friends on here. My S14 sounds A LOT like your S… so much that it made me chuckle… His grades are all over the place. He is very bright( scored in the 98% on the SAT last month, but he gives me heart attacks every day with his grades. How he can get an A+ in science but scrambling to pull up C’s in others is beyond me. I can totally relate to the story about the teachers comments. Both of my boys( DS12 and DS14) had teachers say the same things. I really don’t know what the deal is, but I know that they will both be fine in life. My DS is also thinking of applying to BFA programs as acting and singing are his passions…along with writing. It is going to be a long ride I think…so have you frequented the theater forum yet… you should if you haven’t … A LOT of information we will need to know for next year.</p>
<p>Oh, and my DS14’s GPA is a liitle higher than this forum but I just like it better here… and I promise, I am NOT a bragger. He is has his issues, and we will most likely not be looking at the top schools regardless… most of the BFA"s are in lower ranked schools. My DS12 was in this GPA range so I did a TON Of research on schools he could get into with merit. He will happily be matriculating to St. Lawrence University in the Fall( he is on a gap year right now) with almost a full COA…merit+ FA. So it WILL all work out. We live in CA.</p>
<p>5boys - Yes, I am following the Musical Theatre forum religiously! For my son, his cognitive scores are “superior”, but his processing speed is slow as molasses! His concept of time is non-existent. Progress reports came out this morning and the grades looked like a scattergram. His first semester gave me palpitations, but he came out OK. He is a great kid who is absolutely hilarious, and will definitely make it in some form or fashion.</p>
<p>Grades all over the place here too. He doesn’t stay on top of his workload all the time, and big projects just kill him. No concept of time for him either. He about drove me nuts this morning–lumbering around the house in slow motion, convincing me he’d never get out to the SAT in time. </p>
<p>We just did schedules for next year. He decided to take physics, non-honors. He’s heard the honors teacher is really tough. And he wasn’t sure he even wanted to take physics but decided it would be better to take it. Taking 2 honors classes, including world history. That one surprised me, but the teacher is really good–and doesn’t give a lot of stupid busywork. He still needs a PE credit to graduate, so he’ll have that and his choir classes for some non-stress in his schedule.</p>
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<p>They are a 100% meets need school. If your EFC is affordable, the school is very likely to be affordable - if you can get in. If your EFC is not affordable, then it becomes like every other school. I’m really not sure my guy would get in. We definitely do not bring any geographical diversity to the school as they are within an hour of home. It is a VERY nice school though IMO.</p>
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<p>Will check this one out later today - thanks for the suggestion! Many of these schools (outside our area) I just haven’t heard of, but I suspect one will end up as “the” school and we’ll all be in love.</p>
<p>I wanted S to talk with his English teacher yesterday. He didn’t. We only have until Wed to decide which class to put him in and I’d rather he take ownership of his education rather than me being a helicopter mom. I really do wonder why an A- in the junior level top class doesn’t mean he should take the top level senior class. There seems to be a mismatch with it all. But… our school just got the results of the state Keystone tests in. Maybe he didn’t do well on that. I’d like to know…</p>
<p>Hi everyone,
elated with this thread, my D is a 3.0-3.2 student. She took an honors class last year and two AP’s this year and hopes to take 2 more next year. I don’t know if it’ll help her at all to get into any schools except the State schools in CA.
Her test taking abilities is her weak link, she has high anxiety levels when stressed - it shows on her test scores. She is also extremely shy. All things she is working on.</p>
<p>The culture in our public school district is to attend an UC somewhere in CA. (Of course UC Berkeley or UCLA is the golden ticket) I never understood why when there are so many great private schools in the nation. My oldest S is now at UCSD, and I honestly think it was a mistake, but that’s a whole different thread and story.</p>
<p>Wondering if anyone can recommend a school that might be a good fit for her. I’m looking at a lot of the college that saves lives schools as well - but I’m concerned her GPA and test scores might be too low. Any advice and suggestions are appreciated!</p>
<p>tkpasq, what are her interests (major, ECs, school size)?</p>
<p>Now this is fortunate…one of my best friends is an upper level high school math teacher and has offered to tutor D at 1/2 her normal price ($25/hour vs. $50/hour) now through the next SAT test in June. She’s going to help D assess what went wrong on the previous test and help her with new strategies to increase the score next time. D is only in Algebra 2, so she has a lot of catching up to do to be competitive on the SAT math test. She’s also thrilled that someone she knows and likes is going to help her. A win-win.</p>
<p>Lucky you, momofwon. Just signed my son up for ACT tutoring in that his Feb test scores where nowhere near where we hoped they would be. At least he’s compliant about the process so far…not necessarily putting in the effort, but going through the motions. A tutor should help keep him more honest.</p>
<p>Tracy…you asked about disinterested kids? My S is in denial that he will be going away to college in less than a year and a half. All of the research and contemplating have been done by me. We’re going to visit a few colleges in another couple of weeks, and that is a chore that he is forced to go along w/. He approached the few that we have visited so far the same way, although we did find one that he really liked (but not necessarily one that he can get into).</p>
<p>I love the idea of University of Arizona, and wanted my son to look at it, but he really doesn’t want to go that far from home. They are also supposed to have a great program for students with learning issues (SALT), but not going to happen for us.</p>
<p>That book sounds interesting, Agent99…I’m definitely going to check in to it.</p>
<p>Is anyone familiar w/ Alfred University? I think I first learned of it on the class of 2013 thread, and it sounds like it could be a good fit for my son. Don’t know if we’ll have a chance to visit, though prior to when he would apply in the fall.</p>
<p>momofwon, that’s good news. I don’t believe your D will require any math beyond Algebra 2 for the SAT. In fact, it is probably good that it is fresh in her mind.</p>
<p>D had 2nd SAT tutoring lesson with math teacher today and she also reassured D that Algebra 2 is all she needs to do well on the test. They went over D’s PSAT math problems/answers and discovered what went wrong and what strategies she can use to avoid the same mistakes. D is feeling much more optimistic about the next test she’ll take in June. Happy D = happy mom.</p>
<p>Also, D asked me today what is the difference between early decision, early action, deferred, and wait-listed. Good question–looks D and I will need to investigate differences. Opinions and explanations welcomed. Thanks!</p>
<p>momofwon… regarding ED/EA, deferred, waitlisted… my DS12 dealt with every one of these so here I go. ED… you apply ( usually their # 1 favorite by far, can’t imagine going anywhere else), by an ED deadline which is usually the beginning of November, and they will give you a decision usually by the end of the year. If you are accepted, you have to go. You will have to sign a ED binding contract when you apply. EA, you apply early, but it is not binding, you can wait till all other decisions are out in March/April and then decide. Not all schools have this option, and some very tippy top schools have a single choice EA, it is not binding, and you can wait to decide, but you aren’t allowed to apply to any other ED or EA schools. I personally really like the schools that offer EA, because you can find out early, and if it is good news, may be able to cut some lower interest schools off the list at that point… and you can have a less stressed Dec-March. If it is bad news… which it was in my DS’s case, he added a lot more safety schools to his list. </p>
<p>A wait-list is when the school doesn’t admit you, doesn’t deny you, and makes you wait until they “maybe” have a spot at a later time, can be as long as the end of summer. </p>
<p>A deferral happens in the EA/ED round and basically they want to consider your application again with the rest of the RD applicants, which at that time, may admit you, deny you or wait-list you.</p>
<p>Isn’t this fun…</p>
<p>5boys: Thanks for the explanation. Obviously, there’s a lot to consider. Here’s another question–</p>
<p>Your child decides he/she must go to dream school X and applies ED. What happens if school x says “You’re in and we’re going to give you $2,500 (yikes!) in merit aid to attend our fancy private $55,000/year school”. Your family is looking for $15K+ in merit aid (vs. loans you have to pay back). Does your child have to go (sounds like it’s binding from your description)? What options does a family have if the financial aid package is not going to cut it?</p>
<p>Rule of thumb… on here anyway, is that you should never apply ED if you need to consider FA or merit aid. ED is truthfully, IMHO, for the full pay applicants. I have heard conflicting opinions about this though, and have heard that if the ED school you apply to doesn’t give you enough $ you can decline… I mean they can’t force the $ out of you.</p>
<p>Hmmm…interesting and scary at the same time. As first (and only) time for us…this will be quite an adventure financially and emotionally. We’ll have visited 7 of D’s top 10 schools by Sept. 1, so hopefully she’ll have a better idea if her dream school on paper really is a perfect fit in person. It’s the only private on her list, so that makes it all the more scary…</p>