Congrats, carolinamom. I’m always impressed with the dedication it takes to be an Eagle Scout or Gold Award. I recently found out that my daughter’s boyfriend is an Eagle and it raised him up a few pegs.
@carolinamom2boys - Congrats!!! S19 and S20 are both Eagle Scouts so I am well aware of the incredible amount of determination and work that is involved! Very exciting for your whole family!
My DS16 is also an Eagle. So gald that he was home this summer and able to share it with his brother .
@carolinamom2boys What a great accomplishment - congrats to your son!
See, it’s for things like this that CC needs more reaction buttons than just “like” and “helpful”. Many congratulations.
@carolinamom2boys Congratulations!! What a fabulous accomplishment.
@carolinamom2boys so happy your son got his eagle! He must feel great to have achieved that goal!
Visiting here from HS Class of 2018 - 3.0 to 3.4 and having recently gone through the process, I am following along here not only to see how we could have done things differently, but also as I have a D22 coming up the ranks who will likely fall in this range.
Just a note on cancelling out schools that don’t have the major your child is interested in. If the school fits in every other way, I would keep it on the list.
S18 applied to mostly land grant schools as his ‘Intended’ major was within each schools College of Agriculture. Final decision was made based on the schools program, among other criteria. The day before orientation last month, out of nowhere, son decided he had no desire to pursue an agricultural major, had no idea why he thought that would interest him way back when he was making a list of schools and decided he wanted to major in business instead.
Thankfully at his school it was a non-issue and with one click of a button at orientation check in, poof, he was a business major. However, who kids are and what they think they are interested in as a junior can change dramatically before college (and beyond)!
Hello there! I have been following this thread for months from over on the 2019 parents thread. But I have not posted. My S19 has a 3.9 weighted and 93 unweighted. So, he’s outside the GPA range. However, another poster suggested I join in the fun over here. And that poster did not have to tell me twice. I’ve often felt more comfortable with this thread.
My kid is in honors English/history and regular ol’ math/science. He took what will be his only AP ever this past year, APUSH. Got a 4. And he does quite well in regular ol’ math/science. So not the typical CC powerhouse, super rigorous student. But a solid student who plays to his strengths and interests.
He just got his SAT score from the June test. 600s for EBRW and 500s for math. Under 1200. I don’t expect that math score to come up much more but he is retaking in August. This recent score is 70 points down from his last PSAT. We were not really prepared for that.
Anyway, we are targeting similar schools to the ones I’ve seen you all discuss here. Perhaps you’ll let me stick around. 
And congrats to the Eagle Scouts! Such an accomplishment.
Congrats @carolinamom2boys - that is an amazing accomplishment!
Thanks everyone. @InfiniteWaves maybe consider the ACT. DS19 had similar SAT scores, but did better on the ACT
@InfiniteWaves I, too, was going to suggest looking at the ACT. Get “The Real ACT”…about $18 on Amazon or at Barnes and Nobel. Take a test, score it, and see what your son thinks. Good luck!
@infintewaves - I sent you a message about the ACT as well. I wold be careful using the Real ACT book as a page for the math test though. We worked with an ACT tutor and she said that on the actual test the questions are arranged easier to harder. In the book they use real math questions from old exams but it is a composite of questions from several years and they are not arranged easier to harder so that can throw your practice score off, especially for kids who have the hardest time in math like my D19. I did find official old exams online at prep scholar - just google official ACT practice tests and you can find them.
My S19’s later practice tests and scores were spot on with pretty much any ACT book. Early on we used previously released tests so he could become familiar with test. At that point, his scores were between 28-31. We then moved onto the red book and his practice scores went up to about where he eventually landed. Same for the Cracking the ACT and the Barron’s book. He always had practice scores in the 34/35 range and scored a 34 twice.
Congrats on being an Eagle Scout mom, @carolinamom2boys – quite an accomplishment for your sons.
@InfiniteWaves Seconding (or thirding?) the ACT suggestion. Both my daughters scored in the high 1200s on the ST, and in the 30s on the ACT. Some kids are just naturally inclined to do better on one or the other.
Thanks @JenJenJenJen
Did anyone see the report about June SAT scores being graded on a scale making kids scores lower on the June test? My son didn’t take the June test but I know a few who did whose parents were surprised they didn’t have better scores. Now there is an explanation.
Forgot to add, congrats to your son @carolinamom2boys That is quite an achievement!
Thanks @4kids4us
@4kids4us My S19 took the June SAT. It was his first time taking it. His score was 70 points lower than his last PSAT. And his PSAT was in the lower 1200s. The hope was maybe he’d stay around the same on the actual test. We were not at all prepared for the drop.
Thanks for all of the ACT suggestions. He is mulling it over. 