We are still waiting for final grades. Also, her May SAT scores haven’t come in yet for some reason. Everyone else seems to have gotten them.
@eandesmom As you probably know, a 3.5ish gpa will make most of the UCs an uphill (though not impossible) climb. Why the hesitance about Cal State schools altogether?
Anyone here looking at early actions? (The non binding ones.) I wasn’t too concerned about it since a) UC & Cal State only have one deadline b) my son’s stats weren’t solid enough. (I personally don’t consider binding Early decision good for any student.) But OSU has an Early Notification Round (apply by Nov 1 hear by Dec 15th) that according to them has the same standards as their “priority” round (due Feb 1st). Does anyone know of any disadvantage to applying this early. I suppose if one waits the fall grades would be considered and if those grades continue to rise DS GPA would be better.
There are a couple of schools on our list where EA gets you priority consideration for merit (at least that’s what it looks like from their websites), but other than that, I think we need to wait until fall term grades are in and hope for a bit of a boost (won’t amount to much of a change in GPA, but higher grades will hopefully look good). We were told explicitly at the info session at our state flagship (D17’s first choice) that if your GPA is “iffy” then don’t do EA. She’s slightly under their average (based on the way they calculate GPA), so we’re going go the RD route.
@klinska lol. Yep, right thread, especially with a 24 ACT. Our kids have very similar stats on the GPA side. Poor kid is not a strong test taker at all. Humboldt is actually on his list although honestly I really really don’t want it on there for a variety of reasons. My H went to San Diego State/San Jose State (undergrad) and Cal State LB (masters) and wants Humboldt off even more than I do. Sigh. It is however the one school on his list where he is in the 75th quartile. Sigh. I would like him to consider UC Santa Cruz though and may force another look. I think that is tolerable sun. It’s a reach but not out of the question. Seems to be the only one though that is a solid fit, at least in my opinion.
Chico has sun ( I remember it as being rather hot, dry, miserable and in the middle of nowhere) but even if not, that is definitely not his scene. They are solid grades for this year for sure but his 9th and 10th grades 1st semester grades were rough so we are at a 3.4 UW cumulative with an ok trend. 2nd semester jr year is down from first but it appears it will be acceptably so (3.67 1st to 3.57 2nd if things hold). Not spectacular but solid. Kind of a bummer though as if he had not broken the wrist he may not have dropped. PreCalc final was definitely harder as were several essay tests. Not to mention the fact I am not sure how legible all that left handed writing was! At least now that he is in the short cast, todays USH final should be slightly easier but it’s still easier in many ways to write with the left hand.
We do not weight though but that is somewhere in the 3.56-3.66 range depending on how it is calculated (core only, versus “all”). For the California calculation I am unclear if that caps at the 15 courses (a-g) or if it includes all courses that are a-g even if it is more than 15. I think his Cal Gpa is in the 3.64-3.79 range depending, although the calculators don’t seem to weight the honors/ap classes the same way it is stated on the literature and I am assuming his honors classes will not count, only the AP’s given that the are OOS.
He did get his UW grade today (University of Washington) for precalc as it was a “college in the classroom” class. He officially has 5 college credits and a 3.0. It won’t count everywhere but I will take it where it does!
@NCalRent his UC Gpa is higher (3.64-3.79 ish). That said, I agree, most are out of range and most aren’t places he wants anyway. Santa Cruz is the only one that is a possibility that meets his needs and it would be a reach. I would need to convince him to consider it though. Not a high reach but still a reach. As far as the Cal State programs go, ones that offer his area of interest program wise are either in locations he is not interested in (sun) or are more commuter schools than desireable for going OOS. In general he doesn’t want California as a state lol. As mentioned above, Humboldt is on the list (and the only Cal school, state or private) but we are really not crazy about it at all for a variety of reasons. If he goes the engineering route (versus not) and it is the best financial option for that route (which it may be) we will possibly (reluctantly) live with it but if not engineering I don’t see the point other than the redwoods being cool in S’s opinion.
@curiositycat333 we have 5 schools that offer EA and I hope that S17 will apply to all by those dates. That assumes of course all 5 are still on the list. He will also apply early in general as that increases his chances for merit. There is one school that has an outside chance of ED but I do not think it is in our best interest financially. I am hoping that school decides to offer EA, it’s been hinted at. I don’t see his fall senior year as being substantially better gpa wise and due to our late start, first quarter for us ends after the EA dates so we wouldn’t have a progress report to even show. As it is, we barely will for schools with 12/1 deadlines. I like EA simply for having some answers known.
@eandsmom You are out of state for UC/Cal State? That’s why schools I’m thinking of are fits according to Naviance when S17 has a lower GPA but higher SAT. And why I consider UCSB a possibility, and Davis a reasonable reach. I’m trying to get DS to look at Chico, but he’s not interested because it’s crazy HOT there for 4 months of the year. Nor is he interested in Arizona for that reason.
I don’t know if fall semester DS will do better. He’s on a slightly upward trend. (GPA… actually more A’s as a sophmore) As he gets more into classes he likes and he gains confidence his grades have gone up. AP Physics & AP Computer Science next year hold a promise for good grades. But I really am temped to suggest finishing those college App’s early, getting some answers early so hopeful the stress of the college acceptance season doesn’t affect him too much. OSU says they don’t hold the Early Students to a higher standards, but I know some school do.
Didn’t realize you were OOS - it is tough to justify OOS tuition for CSUs and UCs - though some participate in WUE, which changes that significantly. That said, Cal State Monterrey and Channel Islands may be perfect climates - they are both working hard to build their on-campus housing. I know Monterrey just opened new dorms - i have heard CI did as well, but, haven’t actually seen them. Sonoma State gets it’s share of coastal fog too - and is quite residential. If you grew up in CA, schools like Sonoma and Chico aren’t the schools you remember - (though hot summers in Chico can still be expected.) All of those schools participate in WUE so, if you are West of the Rockies, they’d be worth consideration.
If you aren’t familiar, here is some info on the program.
http://wiche.edu/wue/students
From what I’ve been seeing (only on CC), there is no merit for UC or CSU schools next year (not sure what FAFSA aid there might be, but all the “chance me” threads that include UCs from students that are OOS inevitably include a reply to the effect of “Are your parents prepared to pay $55K+/year for you to attend a UC?” CSU is cheaper at ~$36K per year.
Our GPA trend is not good (dropped from 3.71 to 3.53 from freshman-junior year). D really needs to show she can do the work her senior fall term.
@curiositycat333 yes, we are in WA. OSU will look at the 3 year grades. I can tell that for our HS, in naviance the acceptance rates are significantly higher for EA, and the GPA/Test scores a tad lower. Interestingly enough the “lowest” accepted GPA, SAT ACT’s are all in RD which makes me wonder if that one was a recruited athlete as it’s quite a bit lower. Of course you can’t assume that all of those data points are the same kid but it is likely.
@klinska I am not sure about EA being a higher standard, but do suspect it depends on the school. It also depends on yield protection for some. I know that at many, ED is not always a higher standard. SD14 was a touch under the average for her school (though it’s hard to tell as I did not bother to figure out her Cal Poly gpa which is different from what her HS transcript would have shown).
I was also confused about the number thing. I think it’s confusing this year because for most of the kids the age and grad year were the same! Someone corrected me when I talked about D23 (meaning age) and was clearly talking about an older kid, not a class of '23!
D will definitely apply EA at all schools where it’s available (about half of her schools). I don’t know if it will give an advantage, but she has time this summer to get ready and it will be nice to get as many decisions as we can early on. She’s kind of started on her essay. I need to start putting on some more pressure to work on the essay and brag sheet and do ACT/SAT prep as well. She felt pretty good about the June SAT (second time taking), so I’m looking forward to seeing those scores. Her ACT (first sitting) was stronger than expected based on the practice tests. I’m a mean mom and she will take one more SAT and two more ACT’s this fall. The scores tend to go up with three testings and the higher the better.
@klinska, It sounds like a pretty strong finish for your D. I visited Goucher with my oldest D and we really liked it. She was looking for a double major in biology and dance. When we were wandering around the biology building a professor stopped to talk to us and ended up talking to D for about 15-20 minutes in her office about D’s interests and the school. The atmosphere was very warm and welcoming. She also got nice enough merit to afford it, but by that time she’d decided she preferred the dance department at her safety. (Nothing wrong with their dance department – just didn’t have the focus she wanted).
@eandesmom, Sounds like a good finish for your S as well. Good luck on those last grades! I’m impressed with the five college credits.
@NCalRent Humboldt is WUE which makes it a financial safety for us. I’d likely push hard to pull it off the list if it were not. Believe it or not, tuition at many of the UC/CSU schools still comes in quite a bit lower than privates with merit so they aren’t out of the question if they make sense which is why I may ask S to relook at Santa Cruz. SD14 is at Cal Poly so we are pretty familiar with the costs lol.
Unfortunately none of the other WUE options in CA are appealing to S.
@snoozn thanks on the college credits. It only really helps at state schools, none of the LAC’s will take it though some may take it as a placement test (APCalc AB should override that though). However it does look like it will be worth one glass and a gen ed requirement at most of the state schools on his list. It wasn’t free but I figure if I am doing my math right and the transfer equivalences correct…that could save us between $500 and $3000 which does help at those OOS schools. It does make me glad I paid for it although in theory transferring in a 3.0 may or may not be ideal. I suppose we will need to weigh that when the time comes.
@eandesmom @klinska, We are in the upper Midwest, Great Lakes, IL.
D applied to:
Ohio U in Athens OH; Southern IL U- Carbondale; ad Ball State U in IN.
Enough merit at Ohio to waive all OOS fees and would have paid in-state tuition, which I think is around 11k/yr.
SIU-C gave 6k/yr which was about 1/2 off tuition and fees. (we are in-state)
Ball was 1/2 off OOS tuition with Midwest Student Exchange rate (but need a 3.0 and a minimal test score…) but they awarded D a couple more on top of that per yr, so will pay close to in-state tuition.
We looked at other schools where she would have received similar or better merit awards - IL State, UW-OshKosh, Bowling Green State in OH, etc.
We looked at schools, mainly, where D would be in top 1/4 or top ten percent of incoming frosh for test scores, at least.
D had a 3.4 uw/4.2 w and 31 ACT, if that helps.
I just want others to understand that less than 3.5 can still bring some decent merit money if the right schools are targeted, and your kid is okay with going to someplace less prestigious, or someplace not famous for their sports teams, :).
As for test scores, with many of these smaller state schools, a 27-28 is considered very good… some merit awards start at 24 or 25…
We looked at a huge number of Midwestern state schools - some give awards based solely on test scores with a minimum gpa; some have a graph, like Truman State in MO. Some are holistic, like Ball State and Ohio…
So it’s worthwhile, if your kid is good at taking ACT/SATs to have them take it again and improve their score.
Oh, a lot of the smaller state schools will “superscore” as well.
edited to add: This scenario likely not confined to Midwestern states; so wherever you live, check out the smaller state schools. But reading the posts here, seems like that’s the case with some…
@BeeDAre yes, a 31 at the right school will get you some money to be sure. It does vary and if you are able to target that top quartile in either gpa or test scores the chances anywhere goes up quite a bit. Most of the schools on our list are a graph where that information is available.
WWU offers the following
6k per year 3.6 GPA and a 24 ACT or 1650 SAT
8K per year. 3.8 GPA and a 28 ACT or 1250 SAT
8K per year Western Exchange 3.9 GPA and a 30 ACT or 1340 SAT
Ohio is actually on our list. S will qualify for something there but the range is $1,000-7,000 so who knows! If it is on the higher end it will become competitive with our instate options.
@endsmom I’m not sure we have enough scatter points for OSU to show EA differences. Hadn’t realized it showed that will go take a look. It just occurred to me that Naviance numbers are based for S17’s H.S. the last 4 years, and UC’s have been getting more competitive by year, so the lower GPA might be from 4 years ago. Wish we could see more points, like maybe all of them for the entire District. There aren’t enough points to see a graph on some schools like Chico, U of Colorado Fort Collins.
I assume that lowish outliers for acceptances on Naviance are athletes and don’t really look at those grades.
Wow. Just noticed Naviance has my son’s SAT’s in incorrectly. He only has a “new” SAT score and it’s in the system as his 2400 score. (His good score looks terrible that way…) Hmm… may have to get back to the school about that. Wonder if that is Naviance or how the school reported it. They finally updated his scores. I’ve ‘converted’ his SAT by the concordance tables and that is what I’ve been using.
@curiositycat333 I hear you there on not enough data points, I have similar issues with the UC and Cal State schools. OSU has a fair amount of data for us, we use a 3 year pull, 52 kids applied during that time. It is self reporting though outside of applied and enrolled so it’s only as good as the data entered which is annoying. Colorado State isn’t as good but 13 applications does at least give a better sense than say…zero or 2!
If it helps on Colorado State, the accepted average (8 out of 13) for our HS is 3.23 and an ACT of 21. The SAT scores are wonky, I never know quite how to interpret the single score/combined score/1600/2400 especially when the 1600 wasn’t offered for the years in question! So you should be fine there I would think with an UW 3.2 if that is for all 3 years. I will say our Colorado State accepted averages are definitely lower than their stated averages whereas OSU comes in pretty close and test scores higher.
One more grade to go. Amazingly he pulled up AP Lang to an A with the final essay and held on to the A- in US History. All that is left to deal with is good old Spanish. Allegedly the extra credit for having his final published should bump him to a B+ but for some reason it is not showing full credit for the extra credit. It has been uploaded as a final grade though so I doubt it will change and really, he should be incredibly grateful he got it to where he did.
Net result looks like about a 3.64 for the semester, UW 3.45 for the year and that means that he actually has a chance of finishing senior year with a 3.5 now. He’d have to pull off a 3.85 first semester to get it there for merit consideration (report cards will be out after all his apps are due) and I really hope it can as it’s a breakpoint at a lot of places.
Now I just get to stress about S19’s grades which are abysmal and not updated!
@eandesmom Bummed. Just figured out that S17 won’t be able to get an official tour of UCSC this summer. All the tours our booked through mid August. I wonder what the chances are if you just show up?? I haven’t done any official UC tours yet. We hadn’t figured out details until the last few days, and since booking extremely early had been unnecessary for our spring trip I hadn’t worried about it. I attended UCSC so I may end up adding in a few days vacation so I can take him and give him a personal tour rather than his grandparents taking him. SIGH…
@curiositycat333 that’s a huge bummer. Would you still take him in the summer? Fall tours are always better if you can make that work.
@endesmom Probably still take him in the summer. He will be staying with his grandparents who aren’t very far away. I can probably just take him on a personal tour, and then wait to see if he gets in. And if he gets in then have him take the formal tour. I just looked around they do have a wait list for the tour but it’s only if you show up early & someone cancels. They use busses because the campus is so spread out and can’t accommodate any extra people.
Fall is tricky as my S17 in marching band and it really leaves very little time for doing school tours in the fall. Life is really quite crazy from mid-August through November. Plus most of his college apps need to be worked on during that time.