<p>With a newly minted Junior, I realized it's time we start a discussion for our 2016 3.0 to 3.3 kids.</p>
<p>I was very active in the 2013 thread, and found the support and friendliness to be the best on College Confidential. I hope we can once again build the same sense of community, and help each other get through the stress of SATs, ACTs, class selection, choosing colleges, waiting for decisions, high school social life, and physically packing them off. It was fun for me to go back at the end of the process on the 2013 thread and read through the changes of direction D took!</p>
<p>As a guideline, this is not a chance thread for students. It is for parents of kids roughly in the B to B+ range with any range of test scores. Of course, all parents are welcome, but it is not meant for the top of the line, applying to Ivies sorts of dilemmas. Advice from parents of other years is definitely appreciated!</p>
<p>So, pour another cup of coffee, bookmark this thread, and start posting!</p>
<p>My sophomore will become a junior next week. Ack! I feel like she’s now in the chute. It’s all turned real and concrete - test prep, grades, etc. While she’s an A-student now, her new school for next year will be more rigorous and I’m anticipating the grades will take a hit. Time will tell. Off work today, and thinking about how to set up her summer “home school” schedule so she can build skills. She’s awaiting news on a summer job, too. - Time for the second skim latte of the day. 
</p>
<p>Our plan for the summer is one practice test for the SAT, one for the ACT, and getting a head start on Algebra II with an online program. He normally does pretty well on standardized tests, but we missed the PSAT last year, so I’m not sure what to expect. </p>
<p>I’m glad that you started this thread. Right now I am concentrating on S15, but am starting to think about S16 as well. I browsed the other 2016 thread and it was definitely not the right home for S16s journey. </p>
<p>I’ll be participating in this group…like planner03 I’m deep in the getting '15 launch.
My S is a bird on to his own. He definitely marches to his own drum!!! He will make this search harder than D because he likes what he likes…,</p>
<p>I’ve followed some of these threads from earlier years and am happy to be a part of this one. My daughter finished this year with a 3.5, but as I understand it most schools disregard art grades ? When calculated without art, it’s 3.3 :-). Looking forward to the next 2 years here. </p>
<p>Bit of background on my S - 3.06 Freshman year, 3.44 Sophomore year = 3.25 cumulative. Mix of pre-AP and College Bound level classes, “regular” math classes (will take Algebra II next year). Not weighted yet - only Dual Enrollment and AP classes are weighted at his school. He is in the German honor society, archery team, computer science club, amateur radio club (has ham license), and has passed the first part of the A+ computer technician certification (should take 2nd half this summer). He’s interested in majoring in network administration or cybersecurity - would find traditional computer science programs too math intensive and theoretical. Current top college choices: RIT, Syracuse, Pitt, George Mason (in state). My husband is a college professor, and S will be competing for tuition exchange scholarships at the first three (guaranteed $$ at Syracuse if he gets accepted).</p>
<p>We live in a WUE state, so we’ll be looking at those schools, plus we’ll attend our local CTCL fair when it’s here this summer. One of those schools is local to us, and she may apply for early admission, if she likes it after a summer program she’s doing this June.</p>
<p>My S16 completed his sophomore year with a 3.21 cumulative GPA. His first year ended with a 3.28 but he dipped little 10th grade year. However, he has remained in the 3.2 area so I think this is likely where he will end up. I’m a little worried because we live in Virginia. Most of the colleges are competitive here. Most of the colleges that he is looking at want a 3.5 and above. I’m hoping that recommendations,volunteer hours, and participation in travel/high school soccer will help him. He would love to play soccer in college.</p>
<p>S16 sophomore year was a BUST his accumulate to a dive he now is a 3.4 from a 3.6 so yeah this year could be Very rocky. He shows no interest in prepping for ACT or SAT and summer reading…well lets just say the books look good on our bookshelves!</p>
<p>@allboyz, I live in Virginia too. What schools do you think your S will look at? My D13 was in this range - very competitive high school. I was pretty freaked out, esp. considering her rank. I might be able to give you suggestions.</p>
<p>S took the practice ACT this week. I was looking for a free onine one, and the one at College Board kept crashing. He took the McGraw HIll, then afterwords I read some comments here on CC that it’s not very accurate. I wonder if it’s less accurate at the upper ranges where many CC students dwell. Does anyone have experience with it?</p>
<p>@mamaduck, I’m a HS2015 mom but I check in here once in a while. A very generous HS2015 parent gave me some practice ACT exams. I’d like to pay it forward. PM me if you want access to my Google Drive where I store the exams.</p>
<p>Mamaduck,
He intends to major in Graphic Design (and minor or double major in Computer Science). The schools that we are considering are Christopher Newport University, Longwood University and University of Mary Washington. Christopher Newport is his top pick at this point. However, I’m not sure if his grades are strong enough for CNU or UMW. I think they are good enough for Longwood University. He was looking into George Mason but I do not think his grades are strong enough. He likes ODU but he does not like the surrounding area at all. My oldest son attends ODU so he has spent some time there. However, he has decided that it is not the right environment for him. He also does not care for VCU’s non traditional campus. We attended a college prep last night with the director of his soccer club. He selected some private colleges for us to look at. He told us not to worry about the cost of tuition yet. He said many give a lot of academic scholarships that will bring down the cost significantly. So we will start looking into some of those colleges.</p>
<p>@allboyz I actually think you’re probably okay for CNU, UMW, and GMU - esp. if his test scores are okay. </p>
<p>I looked up the Common Data Set for the three schools and found that at CNU 25% had a GPA of 3.0-3.49 and most had SAT scores in the 500s (per section). GMU had 30% with GPAs of 3.0-3.49 and also 500s in each SAT section. MWU had almost 40% with GPAs in the 3.0-3.49 range, and slightly more forgiving SAT ranges. I didn’t look up Longwood, but I think it would be a safety.</p>
<p>I do think a key with these schools is applying early fall, since they’re all rolling admissions. I think they’ll also know if your kid is coming from a strong school (all those great NoVa districts, Roanoke County, etc) since they see so many applications from these schools. Also remember that they’re reporting accepted students (not just enrolled students), which includes many with very high stats using them as safety schools. </p>
<p>I am taking my son to an event at George Mason next week specifically designed for rising juniors. I’ll pass along anything I learn.</p>
<p>Could I get access to the ACT practice exams. </p>
<p><a href="mailto:fflmaster@aol.com">fflmaster@aol.com</a></p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Thank you mamaduck!</p>
<p>Hello all, I have a rising junior also. She is attending a high school in northern New York, we don’t have a normal GPA scale, she ended her sophmore year with a 90 average. She is looking at several public schools in Texas; UTSA, UTA, Texas State, UNT, and Texas Women’s University and her top choic of Baylor. Living in New York, we won’t have the ability to visit the schools during the school year. We did take a trip this summer to do a few campus tours. UTSA is a great fit for her with UNT or Texas State being a great fit for graduate school. </p>
<p>I would also love to have access to the ACT practice tests. Thanks!</p>
<p>Just sent D’s June ACT score to colleges on her list. One small task down.</p>
<p>@allboyz Visited George Mason today. We were so impressed! It’s now S’s first choice. The summary of what the director of admissions said: they look first and foremost at what classes are chosen by the student. They would rather see an A or B in a regular class than an AP class. They’d rather see a class load that reflects interests than a schedule packed with AP classes. They “read” the transcript for As and Bs (occasional C okay) rather than a particular GPA, as the weighting is so different from school to school. Rank was never mentioned. Standardized test scores are considered, but not as much as class schedule and GPA. Take the SAT/ACT in junior year and don’t plan on taking it Senior year unless it’s really bad. The “optional” personal statement is not really optional. Write it. </p>
<p>Mamaduck, Thank you so much for the information. I feel better about GMU as an option now. We will head up there soon. Thank you very much for the update! I really appreciate it! </p>