<p>Thanks @crowlady and @onlyonemom, when we did the math and pointed it out to her it made sense to go to FSU, plus she is not 100% sure of her major, if she wanted to be an engineer than I would find the money for Rose Hulman but she doesn’t want to be one, she only knows that she is good in math…time will tell</p>
<p>@katvis your daughter is really above the gpa range for the forum</p>
<p>^my mistake ignore my posts then and I will not post here again, sorry </p>
<p>^^^Anyone can post here…this is a forum for those of us that have a S &D that are not looking to go IVY or to a top tier school. My S’s GPA is about the range 3.4 -3.5 ish and I found advice here very helpful. I am very grateful to the OP for starting this thread. </p>
<p>I agree with @onlyonemom – please do feel free to continue posting here, @Katvis, if you think this is a community that will help you.</p>
<p>Everyone is welcome here regardless of GPA! My D has a 3.6 UW GPA and I STARTED THIS THREAD because she is NOT a high stats kid. Her test scores are in the 75% range and GPA is based on mostly non AP classes. We were looking at a different level of schools than many who post on CC. </p>
<p>Congrats to all! This journey has been amazing and I’m excited to see what’s next for all of our kids, high stats or not.</p>
<p>The choice is made…it’s Goucher! Thrilled and relieved. Congrats to everyone! Also. I agree, all are welcome here if they find the discussion helpful :)</p>
<p>On that front, I know there are quite a few lurkers on this thread with younger kids. So I was thinking about posting about our visits to Kalamazoo and Beloit over spring break for those folks when I have a chance. They’re both really interesting schools IMO for this group.</p>
<p>Just checking in here after nearly a month. I’m weaning myself from the CC habit now that D is finishing freshman year, but she was in this grade range last year, and I like to see how the '14’s are doing. So satisfying to see our kids finding colleges to thrive in!<br>
@ Lisa: Congratulations! I envy how close to home your D will be. Goucher was in the running for mine until the very end. She loved the writing class she sat in on there. It’s a lovely school.</p>
<p>Congratulations Lisa!
Wintriest - I need to start weaning myself to…lots to do…S needs to find a summer job - His first real job! I need to find a new job ! ugh…basically there a lot of loose ends…</p>
<p>@LisaK216 My DS15 is above the GPA range, but is very interested in Goucher and Beloit. I would love to hear about your visit to Beloit and the thought process that went into selecting Goucher. Congrats on Goucher!</p>
<p>@LisaK216. I’m such a lurker. I would love to hear about your visits to Kalamazoo and Beloit. I just suggested Kalamazoo to D.</p>
<p>FWIW, I have a 15 child who now may be slightly above the GPA (3.4), but last year her grades could have gone either way. Anyway, with her test scores and grades, I find colleges listed here more appropriate than HYPS, or Tufts et al. </p>
<p>As promised…</p>
<p>We visited Kalamazoo and Beloit over the recent spring break for their Accepted Students events. Both schools impressed us on paper – small, attentive schools with excellent academics and many students going on to earn advanced degrees. They were both the most generous with merit scholarships. I was really impressed with all the communications we received from Beloit after he acceptance. Everything was purposeful, no glossy brochures. Their communication was excellent.</p>
<p>On to the visits…Beloit’s event was unfortunately marred by heavy rain, snow and freezing temps. Not great as we had no coats and I was revering from pneumonia! We would have loved to spend more time outside. Students, faculty and staff were warm and welcoming. The campus was charming and pretty, but we only saw a portion due to the cold. We really enjoyed the enthusiasm of the music professor we spoke to, and our D had a great time at a campus improv event for prospectives. She found the students to be artsy and liberal which she loved. The info for parents was clear and honest which I appreciated. They even told us how to request additional aid if we needed it. As for philosophy, students are treated like adults and expected to act accordingly. There aren’t lots of rules…prospective could attend any classes they wished without signing up.</p>
<p>The downside for us…the music program (very important to D) was being totally revamped with a new curriculum. She really wanted something more established. The biggest drawback was the location. We can usually find charm and fun anywhere, but we couldn’t find anyplace to eat or hang out other than Applebee’s. D gets restless and there wasn’t much off campus for a college student.</p>
<p>Kalamazoo had a really beautiful campus. Very New England look to the buildings. The facilities are incredible with many recently updated buildings. There were lovely performance spaces for music and theater and to die for tennis courts. We were very impressed! They had a great panel of current parents which was very helpful. The admissions staff helped us find places to eat dinner which are numerous in downtown Kalamazoo which is walking distance from campus. We also really liked the city…dated in spots but clearly on the upswing with an arts presence, great restaurants and breweries. D found the students to be very friendly but a bit more mainstream, not quite artsy types like her. There’re was a personal touch that we really like, and the parent panel confirmed this. The K Plan is also exciting, and lots of students study aboard. Students we saw seemed happy to be there.</p>
<p>D really wanted to like this school. So much to love, but she just didn’t feel the vibe she hoped. The only kids she saw that were more alternative sorts were part of a circus group that was rehearsing for a show on the green. They didn’t seem to be accomplishing anything and seemed out of place among the other students. The school is trying to increase diversity, but from what we saw it’s not quite there yet.</p>
<p>Goucher really hit all the high points for D – near a city, artsy, good music program, active Jewish population, and solid liberal arts. The new president is a professional jazz musician which doesn’t hurt! But I would definitely recommend Beloit or Kalamazoo. For the right student, these schools are gems.</p>
<p>Hope this helps the parents of '15 and beyond!</p>
<p>Long day, sorry for the typos above! </p>
<p>My Son just finally decided today between Kalamazoo and the University of Michigan and although he chose Michigan, I was really impressed with Kalamazoo too. I also have a cousin who went to K who had a great experience there. LisaK- we may have been at the same visit day. We were there on 4/18. I loved the personal attention and the panels. I especially loved the faculty open house where the kids could meet and talk with the department heads of each department! My son asked each one what type of research was being down there. His primary concern was that, since the school is so small, there are only a few professors in the department he’s interested in. He thought if he didn’t like one of them, he’d be stuck taking several classes from them anyway. Their financial aid package was not great either. I think K College would be fantastic for someone who isn’t super confident or if you had concerns about them navigating things on their own. They seemed very nurturing and caring for their students. My S would have enjoyed the “hand holding” but at the same time, kind of recognized that he would rely on that and not grow as much as he would if he had to learn to navigate everything on his own. That’s the kind of kid he is. He will take the easy route if allowed to but is able to realize that he needs to push himself to get out of his comfort zone. </p>
<p>I’ll remain a big advocate of K. </p>
<p>@2016BarnardMom …yes, we were there on 4/18, too! Wondering if by chance your S was the young man interested in the 3-2 engineering program that we toured with?</p>
<p>Really great school. My H was sad to leave! He was hoping D would choose K, but he’s happy with Goucher. Interesting to note how many kids we met who said their choice was between Michigan and K. The size alone is a huge difference! Michigan is a great school! Best of luck to your son!</p>
<p>No, he’s not an engineering student. He’s interested in poly sci and psychology and sociology and statistics and was looking for a mix of them- probably in a public policy type program. In seeking a poly sci degree, it’s good to have a wide variety of professors and opinions. K has a minor in public policy, but not a major. The major he will do at Michigan is Social Theory and Practice which is in their Residential College- a lliving/learning community that will help make Michigan a much smaller school. </p>
<p>Essentially, those are the two best schools in the state- K and Michigan- best private and best public so I’m not surprised those were the two options for many although they ARE very different schools. </p>
<p>Hi there–this question concerns my nephew. He has a 3.1 or 3.2 average average as a rising senior. However, he tests very poorly after repeated SAT and ACT sittings (don’t know exactly what his scores are but his mom said he didn’t break 1000 on the SAT–I assume he did not take the writing), and is not likely to take a prep course beyond what he has already done. He attends a well-regarded private HS. He has a very unusual circus arts skill which he has been paid to perform, and also is a very skilled athlete in an extreme adventure sport (which he also has been paid to do). He’d like to attend College of Charleston, but knows that’s probably a reach. His brother went there–any ideas on what his chances are?</p>
<p>Did not mean to hijack this thread…just wanted to get a sense of how important–in your experience–the test scores would be given his GPA and ECs.</p>
<p>ExpatSon will be attending Dalhousie University. In part, 'cause of programs like this:
<a href=“Environment, Sustainability and Society Program - College of Sustainability - Dalhousie University”>http://www.dal.ca/faculty/sustainability/programs/ess.html</a>
And I’m delighted with his choice, mostly because it was his choice.</p>
<p>Congrats, @expatCanuk – that looks like a great program!</p>
<p>I’m in this thread even though my S14 is above the grade range, because he’s probably fallen into it this year. My S16 is below this grade range and I was hoping he’d pull himself up into it this year. Alas, that doesn’t look like it is happening :-(</p>
<p>I read this opinion piece yesterday <a href=“A Link Between Fidgety Boys and a Sputtering Economy - The New York Times”>http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/29/upshot/a-link-between-fidgety-boys-and-a-sputtering-economy.html</a> . I’ve consoled myself that even though many boys don’t seem to do as well in school, somehow men end up running the world (along with a few women who have beaten the odds). So something kicks into gear at some point, and I’m trying not to be as pessimistic as this piece is. I am heartened to see how successful students in this thread have been at getting into great colleges. </p>
<p>@milestone3 This thread doesn’t really deal with “chancing” – your best bet is to go find the stats for the schools and see if he falls within the 25-75th percentiles. There are so many factors that go into admissions that nobody can tell you how your student will be judged. With his circus skills I would recommend looking at Hampshire College – there’s apparently a distinct “circus” social scene there. </p>