<p>So I think we’re finally ready to start thinking about colleges for S16 to apply to and I could use some advice if anybody has experience with an underachiever. My son will be lucky to bring his GPA up to 3.0 with a very good junior year (he is trying hard). Yet his scores will be quite strong and he considers himself pretty intellectual. He has just finally given in to do the work he needs to do. </p>
<p>What colleges will have strengths in computer science, biology, philosophy, creative writing, and maybe linguistics, and will have the intellectual atmosphere he craves, but which (and this is the hard part) will let him in? I can’t decide if liberal arts or university will be better. I suspect that he might like a more urban setting, not too cold (Boston is ok). Our flagship in-state school is U Maryland, College Park and he’ll apply but may not get in. </p>
<p>Thanks, @mamaduck , I’ll put that on the list to consider. I saw that you may have a child at RIT? That’s where my S14 is and so far he’s loving it (though we’ll see if he passes the first year writing seminar!)</p>
<p>Start with getting him to think about what he’s looking for: big/small, urban/suburban/small town, Greek/not, heavy on school spirit, alternative-friendly, private or public? What about financial constraints? Does it need to be near family or an airport? Across country or instate? How is his GPA headed and does he have test scores yet? If you get answers to all those then you can start to form a working list of schools for him to narrow down.</p>
<p>We’ve done all that @petrichor11 and I listed the factors that are currently most important. I do have a working list and we are discussing it, but am looking for more ideas based more on “vibe” and experience of other posters. To complete the inventory (including what I said before) Big/Small – probably bigger rather than smaller but I don’t think this alone is a big factor, urban rather than small town, not Greek, not heavy on school spirit, alternative-friendly would be great but probably not an absolute requirement, public/private not really important, financial constraints will play a role in that we’d rather not do full pay at a school that is worse than better schools he gets into, near family/airport not a big consideration, anywhere is ok as long as it is not too cold, GPA is low (if he works hard this year, in the range of this forum) and test scores high (fingers crossed for NMSF cutoffs consistent with previous years). He loves learning and intellectual discussions.</p>
<p>Having been through this before with S14, we have already visited a bunch of schools, some of which might work, but given this one’s interest in both science (comp sci, biology) and humanities (writing, linguistics), and the urban bent, AND the bigger mismatch between GPA and scores, it is a little more challenging. </p>
<p>Sorry @crowlady-- I assumed that “finally ready to start thinking about” had you not as far along as you seem to be, then.
Have you looked at Syracuse or American U? Syracuse isn’t exactly urban but it’s not a tiny hamlet, either, and it’s been mentioned elsewhere recently as a good option for B students with good scores.</p>
<p>Well, what I really meant is, my S16 is finally ready to start thinking. I, of course, obsess.
I’ll look at both of those suggestions. We’ve visited Syracuse (well, we visited SUNY ESF which is adjacent to it) and it is interesting to know they might be willing to look past his grades. Thanks for your thoughts.</p>
<p>Oh, I know that combination well! Good luck with the search. Thus far, mine are still being dragged into it, albeit with slightly less kicking and screaming as time goes on.</p>
<p>I’m a parent of a B-student who is now a senior and just got into some great colleges. When my child was a junior I started following all the different forums for help in finding colleges. After reading some of college confidential’s broader range threads (mistake on my part), we were terrified our child wasn’t going to get in anywhere. Boy were we wrong! But early on, those threads – which included many ivy-bound students – were the reason for many, many sleepless nights. Therefore, I provide this information below in the hopes that it might provide help/hope to some other anxiety-filled parent to realize early on that you might have many more choices than you think. </p>
<p>Some Quick Stats:
3.2 W GPA
ACT: 28
ECs: Peer leader, mock trial, President/Founder of a professionals club, track, business internship and 2 jobs
Issues: ADD child which we divulged on application (which was a real debate but in the end we felt it showed the reason for the discrepancy between the ACT to the GPA which might otherwise have been viewed as a smart slacker)</p>
<p>Our focus was on Northeast public schools so as not to be too far from home as well as issue of affordability</p>
<p>Current Acceptances:
Rutgers New Brunswick
University of Pittsburgh
Temple (with $$$)
SUNY Albany (with $$$)
Towson</p>
<p>Still Waiting on:
SUNY Binghamton
UMass
UDel
UConn</p>
<p>A friend of mine who has a child with similar stats (not as many ECs but instead has a very interesting “story”) looked for smaller liberal arts colleges and got into: Beloite, Earlham, and Ohio Weslyian thus far.</p>
<p>Here are the lessons I’ve learned through this process:
Our B students are great kids and many schools are happy to accept them so try not to “overstress” and “overthink” (which is easy for me to say now!)
As a B student, you have more options than you may realize.
Get tutoring and take the ACT/SAT as many times as you have to in order for your student to get the score they think they can achieve (4th time was the charm for us)
The strength of their ECs and essay do matter … which is good news because this is the area where your student has the most control right now.</p>
<p>I hope this helps those of you researching schools for your own B student. From what I’ve read on other B-student forums and experienced myself, it is likely that most B students will get in to someplace with which they will be happy!</p>
Hi everyone, i am a high school class of 2015 student, who fits these descriptions quite well.
I am a 3.12 GPA student not counting senior year.
1790 SAT
good essay etc.
Applied for computer science. (A tough field)
I was extremely worried about getting in ANYWHERE. Now I realize I will have a multitude of options.
So far:
Pitt main- denied, (reconsider with mid term grades)
Pitt branch- accept with $$$
Indiana bloomington-accept
Purdue- accept
James Madison- accept
Case western- denied
Waiting from
Dayton
Miami oh
Syracuse
Binghamton
Stony brook
Virginia tech
Shippensburg
Allegheny
Rochester
Rochester institute of technology
I would be happy to talk to parents about anything.
I know this process WELL!
How is everyone doing? We have a three day weekend but S16 must spend it catching up on assignments for the end of the quarter. Goal is to try to get A’s in 2 of the courses he got B’s in last time that he really shouldn’t have. Always seem to be in this last minute situation, always seem to be counting on the average over all quarters, and hoping to get the cumulative GPA over 3.0. And I’ve agreed not to bug him about studying for the SAT until after the end of the term.
@SStephen2015 Congrats on the acceptances and good luck with the others. My other son is a freshman at RIT and so far he loves it.
@crowlady I look everyday to see a post from this group…I am a '15 who loves this grade range but very few on this forum. The other group '16 for me is too intense. S did well this semester but tends to only do well in the classes he likes the teachers…5 A and a B-; can you tell which class.
He still not interested in college looking, claiming he will go wherever his sister goes. D’15 has it narrowed down to 4. Problem with one, is that it is an all female school.
Hope the SAT goes well he takes it on his 17th Birthday this coming weekend!
Happy birthday and hope the test went well!
D’s report card from first semester wasn’t awful, but it was definitely a “you could be doing better”. Two Cs, two Bs, 3 As. The As of course were in art, drama, and art. This semester definitely sealed her decision to apply to art programs rather than anything science-y, since one of the Cs was in Chem.
Both Cs were one point away from being Bs, and would have been if…oh, I don’t know…she’d have actually done all her homework?
:facepalm:
Oh well. The art teacher adores her. And the world needs artists, right?
My son plans to major in art with an emphasis on Graphic Design. He is actually very creative. I have asked him to consider having a computer related minor or double major as a backup. He loves computers and is great at trouble shooting/ fixing problems.He is the go-to person when his friends have issues with their computers. LOL We always thought he would end up majoring in computer science. However, he loves graphic design.
Just wanted to get some thoughts. DS is a Junior. He has a 2.95 uw (3.7 w) and going into second semester of his Jr. Year. He’s is a very difficult small charter school, with no grade inflation, all honors and no electives. At the end they will have 4 English, 4 history, 4 lab science, including 2 years of physics, 4 language, 1 economic s, and some poetry, drama, music and studio art. He got a 29 on ACT, 750 math, 700 reading, 500 writing. I’m getting a tutor for writing and he’ll take both tests again at least once. Here’s the list we’ve compiled so far. Main criterion, decent financial aid–will qualify for some need–no CAD (wealthy dad who won’t help–long story), good academics. Son geared toward science, although thinking of French minor. Wants study abroad options, both semester long or winter/spring term.
Allegheny College
Eckerd College
University of Puget Sound
Willamette
Evergreen State
Western Washington
University of AZ
Truman State
Hendrix
Earlham
Any others you can think of? I had Clark and Gouchet, but they were CDS. What about Syracuse?
@ethanj610 I’m in the East and don’t know western colleges as well. Which ones are your safeties? Are you sure they are safeties, particularly financial safeties? Did you mean Goucher? I have heard good things about it, would be easier to get in than Clark but Clark may be better for sciences. What do you mean by CDS? Syracuse was also suggested to us for a low GPA/high score kid.
I’m not sure what you mean by CAD but if the ‘wealthy Dad’ isn’t even willing to fill out the FAFSA you may be in for a lot of trauma. Don’t want to stir things up but threads I’ve read suggest that you can’t get aid unless both parents reveal finances. Do you have good in-state options?
@allboyz I agree keeping up the computer stuff would be a good idea!
D, a current senior with similar stats to those on this thread, has been accepted at Ithaca, Wells, Wooster and Alfred Univ, all with nice merit awards. Is still waiting on a few more decisions. We visited every school that she applied to, some 2x. Some of the factors in her success IMO have been: getting her apps in early, showing a lot of demonstrated interest, excellent recs from her teachers (even though she is not a straight A student she is very engaged in the life of her h.s.), going to open houses on campuses and introducing herself to admissions staff members, and getting some statewide recognition in one of her ECs.
My takeaway from the experience has been that there are a lot of great opportunities for “B to B+” students - more than one might expect when reading the ivy threads, or the chance me’s, for example. But it requires doing a decent amount of research (such as reading the common data sets), making visits, and attending classes & doing overnights when possible. Just one example - we hadn’t realized until D’s interview at Earlham that they are trying to expand their class size by 50 per year over the next few years. It’s this type of thing that presents a genuine opportunity for students in this segment.
@mamaduck I second your recommendation to check out Roanoke College. My D is currently a freshman there and absolutely loves it. From day one all of her professor’s have been actively involved in guiding and helping her. She also rec’d a nice scholarship package. Definitely a place to check.
