Parents of the HS Class of 2018 - 3.0 to 3.4 GPA

Parents Forum
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DS2018 – attends competitive private school - not really sure of GPA (some B/B+/A-)- not computed & they do not rank. Will work on ACT prep (currently a 31) and SAT subject tests - starting to wake up and smell the coffee but alas his high school record is nearly complete. Some APs this year (AP Lang, AP Latin, AP Physics 1 - no idea h exams will go) & Honors math (will end with AB Calc I think). Starting to look at schools - Tulane & Emory visited so far - liked both. NYU today (with dad who is a law alum ). DS2018 seems interested in business but not sure - think a private university on smaller side vs. LAC would be best for him. Prefers rather urban - he thinks!!

DS2017 is a strong student with high GPA & stats on tests and some nice ECs & awards - very different interests - EE & CS - has several good options already - where he ends up could influence us a bit regarding DS2018 - prefer not to have them both far away and hard to visit or get them home etc.

So we are on journey similar to @MotherOfDragons & others with DCs of 2017 & 2018! @eandesmom – thanks so much dor your 2017 thread - very helpful indeed!

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Appreciate this thread, my kiddo has a weighted GPA of about 3.8, but his unweighted isn’t great (lots of C’s in 9th and 10th grade) so I doubt his UW is even a 3.0 yet, although it should be after this year.

SAT on first try in December was 1400. I worry that colleges will look at his GPA compared to his SAT score and conclude that he’s smart but lazy (fair enough!) ECs are fairly average.

We have visited a few schools: Franklin & Marshall (kiddo hated it), Villanova (kiddo hated it), University of Maryland (kiddo loved it, loved it, loved it- but yikes it’s hard to get into). Have visits planned to University of Delaware and Pitt as he seems to want larger schools with lots of activity.

Kiddo is unsure on major. The Comp Sci program at UMD scared him off. Kiddo feels like the only 11th grader who doesn’t already have a “plan”, which is sad to me…what happened to exploring in college? The friend group are all decided - Engineering/PreMed/Biology/STEM and all have careers all picked out.

So, that’s where we stand! :slight_smile:

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@STF4717 , Don’t feel bad my son has about the same stats as yours. His friends at school have all decided on the same majors as your son’s- it must be a trend. We are now trying to help him figure out what he wants to do. It will definitely have something to do with computers.

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Hi,

Wanted to thank @MotherOfDragons for the tip on creating a Sunday night college chat and for mentioning Cappex, which I like better than Naviance and Niche. The student reviews seem, somehow, more genuine. Perhaps they’re simply in an easier-to-follow format.

@MACmiracle Our daughters seem to have much in common (neuroscience, AFROTC interest and limited finances)!

I think we have a decent list of about 25 schools. I doubt we could afford any of them if my father weren’t stepping in to help. We definitely couldn’t do aviation. It was never planned – at least for my husband – that dd would end up attending in the States when she could go to school in her home country for a few hundred a year. Unfortunately, she hates it there, had bad experiences in their school system, and wouldn’t qualify anymore since she opted not to do the full IB diploma. I still hold out some hope that she would choose another European country but, yeah, without that IB Diploma she has pretty much shot herself in the foot. It’s funny because most countries will accept a US diploma + 5 APs, but none has thought of US diploma + IB certificates (I’ve asked a few). I asked a rep from a Dutch uni and she said dd would have to explain why she opted out of full IB. I don’t think “I wanted to preserve my childhood” is going to fly!

I do have a question about big state schools vs. small privates: Is it really a good idea to apply despite the costs being waaay out of our league? My main criteria for all the schools on our list is that they are all under $20,000 for OOS (Gosh, how I wish we were in-state somewhere!. When we thought dd would go AFROTC we were considering Oklahoma because they offer in-state to ROTC…alas, that dream is over). Seriously, I’m not even sure how much my husband will be willing to pay for application fees! He just does not understand, coming from his nice socialist background! We are already struggling through paying off a house back home and being forced to have both our girls in private schools Anyway, is it really possible to get the costs down significantly at private schools? The only reason we might consider one is if she decides on pre-med/neuroscience. And, no, we don’t qualify for need-based FA, I don’t think (still have to file FAFSA…btw, at what point do people submit that?).

The June SAT was cancelled here, so now I’m scrambling to get dd to register for May.

Another concern I have these days is how to find a suitable activity for her during the summer. It is really, really unusual for families at our school to have the financial concerns we have (isn’t that a nice way of putting it?), so there isn’t an abundance of information for people like us – but, also, we are not in the States (obviously!). I just don’t know how to find her an experience that can make her stand out on her app. I would love to send her on a $2000 medical volunteering trip or to summer school at Oxford. But we simply can’t. It seems so unfair because she would love to have some kind of medical training/shadowing experience over the summer. If she can make it through selection she will be trying out for pilot training through the military in one of her citizenship countries. I’m not sure she can make it as she’s slightly underweight. Plus, it’s only two weeks. Anyway, I’m rambling. If anyone has any ideas about inexpensive ways to gain some interesting experience in the medical or aviation fields, let me know! :slight_smile:

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@STF4717 There’s a thread around where parents discuss where their 3.0-3.4 got accepted. I was reading through it earlier and saw several mentions of University of Delaware. It’s a good thread because you see where kids like your ds got in (they do just fine).

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@Kardinalschnitt wrote

My opinion is that you don’t let your kids apply to a school you can’t afford to pay for.

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@Kardinalschnitt, we have had some of the same issues that you have had, esp with the moving around, multiple citizenships, less than perfect academics and no in-state options :slight_smile: so, a few thoughts/comments:

-> Peruse the requirements for your country on the Trinity College Dublin site, and if the combinations don’t match what your daughter has, contact them directly and discuss it with them- they have been known to be flexible. TCD is a good student experience, and their sciences are strong.

-> If your daughter tests well, consider having her self-study and take 3 SAT subject tests (Math 2, Bio and Chem or Physics if she wants to apply for a science course and has done those courses in school) and apply to UK unis that will accept that (she could also self-study APs, but you might be able to get more SAT test dates, as APs are only in May, and are only during the week). For example, [url=<a href=“http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/international/country/americas/united-states-of-america%5DEdinburgh%5B/url”>http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/international/country/americas/united-states-of-america]Edinburgh[/url] will take 3 SAT subject tests at 650+ from US students. Check the uni websites to see if they will accept SAT subject test scores in principal. UCAS gives you 5 apps for L24, so it’s low risk, and at least some of the UK unis seem willing to roll with whatever qualifications you apply with (I know UK kids who have applied to UK unis with US qualifications and been accepted).

-> also, if your daughter tests well, have her look at the public universities that do automatic scholarships (university of alabama pops a lot on this front- but there are lists here on CC of the usual suspects).

-> If your daughter wants a small private, and you don’t think that the meets-need money will be sufficient (you have run those numbers to see what the EFC would be, yes?), then she needs to look at the small privates where her stats- esp test scores!- are way at the top of the range of admitted students. Then look at the common data set to see what sort of merit aid the school gives to see if the EFC + typical merit aid for that school looks remotely reasonable. If it isn’t even plausible, I agree with @MotherOfDragons: don’t apply to things that aren’t affordable.

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@Kardinalschnitt

Do check out the results thread on the 2017 3.0-3.4 thread. As the one who is compiling it, I can tell you that I do not believe there is any student on the thread who has received an offer that brings the total COA to under 20k for an OOS or private school. Very very very few in state schools are under 20k as it is and often if they are, it is due to merit awards on top of low in state tuition. In my state for example, there are no 4 year schools under 20k and merit awards do not bring them below that number.

There are certainly schools in this stat range, OOS public and private that can come in under 30k but it’s not the majority and they will be in less popular areas, geographically and less selective schools. 20k though is a tall order. I don’t mean to be a wet blanket but I’ve seen a lot of results first hand at this point. Don’t apply to schools that aren’t affordable.

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Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the input.

No, I do not plan on allowing dd to apply to anything we can’t afford. Even with my father offering to help – and he seems willing to pay quite a bit since he is aware of how much flight fees are and is basically offering to either give or loan free-of-interest what she needs – I don’t plan on having dd apply to any schools we wouldn’t be able to afford ourselves (outside of flight fees).

By “under 20,000 OOS” I meant tuition only. Sorry about that. I’ll have to get used to talking in terms of COA.

My question about privates had little to do with any preference of dd’s. I have just seen so many private schools mentioned, especially on the @eandesmom thread, where it seems almost everyone ends up at a private; it seems like I keep reading that privates sometimes offer better aid than publics, so I wanted to ask if privates really can end up costing less than publics. I’m just trying to cover all the bases in terms of getting the best deal, even though I don’t think privates are the way to go with dd.

@collegemom3717 Thanks for all those tips – very helpful. Right now dd is into living the whole US college experience at a state school with a football team, lots of spirit, etc. She hasn’t spent much time in the States and is romanticizing the whole thing a bit, I think – though she is a very down-to-earth and reasonable kid. I think she’ll get the culture shock of her life at a big party school. I’m looking at some smaller schools in the midwest. Personally, I think she would love a school like South Dakota School of Mines & Tech for the geek-out factor, but that’s only if she chooses a science major. Dublin sounds like a very good idea. We lived near London for a year; she absolutely adores London itself (only London!) and still has friends (mainly in Cambridge), but UK schools are getting pricey. Scotland would be a much better deal for us. I’ll check out the Ireland idea, though.

If dd would just pass this whole military-sponsored pilot training selection this summer we’ll be off the hook for this whole college expense – and that would be very nice!

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Trinity Dublin requires a 3.3 GPA. Ooh, it frustrates us when her friends at top-tier 6th Form colleges in Cambridge are getting As with a 56% – and will, therefore, probably all make it into Cambridge! Perhaps Trinity will be lenient considering her grades since 9th grade and her transition difficulties, – and the fact that one does not obtain an A with anything near a 56% !

In any case, being a Math Studies student really places her at a disadvantage at UK/Irish/EU schools. Trying to inquire about taking SAT Subject tests to make up for it. I might also nudge her towards a foundation course. We’ll see! I think I’ve done enough for the moment.

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I think private schools may end up about the same price as an OOS public, and then you have to look at the possible merit/FA offered by each school - and that’s where the separations start. Many public schools (all of California) don’t have a lot of need based aid for OOS, and some have little merit. I have one child OOS public, and COA is very low (Wyoming). and the merit fairly decent. Other child is at a private school (Florida Tech, which offers aviation and all the sciences), and it has big merit, good aid, yellow ribbon for military. It has Army ROTC. I just read an article yesterday about how 4 women are graduating from ROTC with the highest honors, and one is becoming an aviator and hopes to be an astronaut. Aviation does cost about $15-20k extra per year and I don’t think there is much FA from the school to cover those extra costs.

I’ve never heard of ROTC (or any government program) requiring a US citizen to give up citizenship from another country. I have a daughter born in another country, and it was that country that revoked citizenship, not the USA.

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Hi @twoinanddone

I hadn’t heard of the ROTC thing either until I saw someone on a discussion forum mentioning how he hadn’t been able to become a military pilot due to his dual citizenship. I hadn’t fully read the eligibility reqs on the AFROTC as dd wasn’t going to apply till spring. But here it is from https://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/eligibility: “Also, if you receive a scholarship and possess dual citizenship, you cannot activate a scholarship or be contracted until you renounce your non-U.S. citizenship.” There is just no way dd could give up her main EU citizenship (she could give up the other) and lose access to an entire continent, her family/heritage/birthplace, etc.

I’m excited to see you have a student at Wyoming. We’re interested if dd wants to do neuroscience or pre-med reqs. I think it looks like a lovely place. How is it going for your student?

Florida Tech sounds very good. We’ve sort of avoided Florida as an area for the silly reason of the humidity. I know all about aviation’s extra fees, which scare the bejeezus out of me, but my father has offered so I’m not going to say no. Dd has been flying in various ways since 8th grade. It’s pretty much all she thinks about besides neuroscience.

Now if I can just get her to concentrate on the here and now! She missed a bunch of classes due to wisdom teeth extraction and has work piling up yet she told me she used her free block yesterday to read neuroscience articles in The New England Journal of Medicine. I don’t think admissions will be impressed!

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@Kardinalschnitt wrote:

We have a D16 launched and an S18 on deck, and so far we’re learned that while cost matters, it doesn’t always shake out the way you might expect. Parents should sit down separately to run some Net Price Calculators at a variety of types of schools (big/small, public/private, reach/safety) so they have a realistic understanding of what the costs are going to be. (Parents might prefer to suffer the sticker shock in private with a bottle of wine rather than letting the kids know how deep the water is right off the bat.) Then provide the student with some real guidelines on resources and walk through a couple NPC examples that will illustrate the possibilities and boundaries. Best to show how these are arrived at early to avoid unnecessary drama later.

BTW, the NPC is a wonderful thing that made our selection process go much easier. They are frequently very accurate, and even if you only round to the nearest $25k you can hand over enough family finance info to allow your child to police herself and knock schools off well before you even hear about them.

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Florida is not a pleasant place in the summer, but usually students aren’t there in the summer so miss the worst of it. August needs to be endured. Being there two weeks ago when most of the US was a big frozen block of ice was pretty nice.

Wyoming is a big frozen (and windy) tundra a good part of the school year, but gorgeous in the summer.

Take you pick.

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This is just my opinion. CC can be overwhelming, I just take it with a grain of salt. I have been following the 2017 threads and I have learned a lot. Wow, so many Universities that I have never heard of or not given much thought too.

We live in Texas and my son is only looking at state schools, so far. Most of his class mates will go to schools in Texas or surrounding states. We might just be in a bubble but it is our bubble and we love it.
I asked my son the other day about what other schools he would like to look at, he stated SEC all the way. (He was just joking with a side of pride) UGH! We are planning on a trip to Alabama, going to see Auburn and UA. His great grandfather and grandfather and other family members on my husbands side went to Auburn. He has been a big fan of Alabama’s football since 3rd grade and if he could raise his SAT Alabama would be a option. We will see what he thinks after the visits.

We will only let him apply to schools that I know that we will be able to afford, I could see a few exceptions just to see what kind of aid he might get. We will not get any need based aid soooo… It breaks my heart to see kids/parents upset because S/D got into XYZ but can not afford it. So many great schools across the nation that might not be this “top tier” that I think some loose sight .

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Most college students live at home and commute to college. The next ring go to an in-state school. It doesn’t just seem that way, it is that way.

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I am in the same position as texas1820 but for Florida schools . My D will only apply to Florida state schools and I’m all for it. We have Florida prepaid plan with dorms covered. She loves the big school feel and all have a great balance with high academic performance with athletics. Just finished a tour of the best ones and we would be happy wherever she ends up. (Although I’m really hoping for UF but who knows).

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I think part of the reason you see a lot of privates on the 2017 thread is:

  1. Depending on the state, the mid stats kid might not be able to get into some of their better in state options.
  2. Mid tier privates can be generous with merit making the cost comparable to out of state public.
  3. Many kids in this stat range are drawn to the smaller privates or their parents think they will do better there, versus a large state school. Or they don't wan the whole rah rah sports culture or for other reasons.
  4. Kids just apply to a LOT of schools these days to hedge their bets. It will be interesting when all is said and done to see how many really end up at private versus public.

I can tell you for us, after merit offers, privates ended up being both the most and least expensive, after our in state option.

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@eandesmom - I think you have summarized that very well, makes a lot sense. It has been such an eye opener reading the 2017 threads. Gives me great hope that my S18 will find his “tribe” at the right University that is within a budget that we have set.

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@eandesmom Thanks for that summary. I’ve run a couple of NPC and have found that some small privates are comparable to some state schools that are expensive for OOS.

@twoinanddone Is your Wyoming student happy at the school?

D18 suddenly got more specific about location – somewhere warm and urban. I’m not sure it’s going to fly as most of the truly cheap options are in places like SD/ND or rural MO! But there are some decent options that aren’t quite that inexpensive. Till now she was gung-ho for Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, etc. Not exactly warm. It got very warm here and she realized how happy she feels. She loves snow, though. Oh goodness, these kids! Anyway, I don’t think she’s going to be able to be picky – and she won’t be, in the end, I’m sure.

Something I’ve been looking at is the concept of cross-registration. She doesn’t have the stats to go to the big-time neuroscience/pre-med schools but she can get into a less competitive school that has cross-registration. More bang for the buck, right?

I’m thinking D24 will be the commuter child – or at least she’ll be in our home country if we’re not there ourselves by then.