@redfraggle Colorado Springs is supposed to be one of the best cities for pollen suffers. And, the Air Force Academy has great aid. 
@thedreamydaisy Same here! Just got his ACT score back and it was a 21. He has been taking an ACT Prep class and scored 24 on the last practice exam so he will be super disappointed ?.
Anyway, I feel your pain. S also has a 3.7 and has been doing so well this year - after a rough sophomore year with a few bad teachers, he is currently sitting at all Aās this semester though most of them are A minuses so hoping they hold through the end of the semester.
He just is not a great test taker and I think the speed needed to get thru all the questions is the problem. He may need to focus on test optional schools. Luckily, he has decided he doesnāt want a big school so likely wonāt be applying to the UCs or most of the Cal State schools.
@Lemonlee sorry to hear your son will be disappointed also by his ACT score. We are focusing on the SAT now (S is taking it in a week). Then if his score is not great, I will have him study over the summer and re-take it in August. He will not re-take the ACT and we have not reported the scores anywhere (thank goodness). His last PSAT was an 1140 (with zero prep), so hoping he can at least get into the 1200-1300 range on the actual SAT.
Sās GPA was good his first semester this year but he is struggling this semester (sitting at a 3.0) right now. Heās also had a couple of not so great teachers, and I especially dislike those that only grade one or two things a month because each thing has such a large impact on his grade in the class. His Math grade just dropped from a B to a C because of one assignmentā¦ugh! We have talked long and hard about trying to just finish out the next 6 weeks strong because this semester really is one of the most important.
S does want a larger school and prefers to stay in the west closer to home, so he does need a decent SAT. He is mostly focused on Cal states (not the most competitive ones) and possibly UC Merced as a reach. He has also expressed interest recently in University of Nevada, Reno and maybe NAU and ASU in Arizona. We also still have Oregon State on the list and Saint Maryās College. So weāll see how he does on his 5/4 SAT.
Iām almost relieved that my middle child will not be doing this in a couple of years (he has autism and is in special ed getting a high school certificate of completion instead of a diploma). Obviously he comes with his own challenges, but getting into college isnāt one of them My last child is in 7th grade right now, so I have a breather until her turn!
Just got S20ās ACT scores and heās VERY happy. He is insisting on going through with the SAT in June, but then testing should be done. Heās looking at majoring in Poli Sci so his 36 in English and Reading should help him with that (other scores: 30M, 35Sci, and 33STEM-didnāt even know they tested that. Composite-34). Essay score isnāt back, but I donāt think it matters in the long run. He really needed good test scores after last yearās grades. He has a 2.9 after Soph year, but has the chance to have straight Aās at the end of this year which should pull him up to a 3.3ish? I think?
Also got Senior portrait info for him today! YIKES!
Now to convince him to come up with a couple schools to form a list or visit. It has been like pulling teeth to get him to come up with any schools.
I liked reading about Roanoke! Also going to check out Arizona and some Colorado schools. Air Force Academy is out due to the time he spent in-patient (suicidal-heās good now, but my understanding is military is out for him), however, my husband loves Colorado and is all for visiting!
@redfraggle congrats to your son! That is an amazing score! My S20 takes the SAT for the first time next week. Iām hoping for something north of 1300.
We are also going to look at Colorado schools-Boulder and U of Denver. I think heāll like Boulder but not Denver because they donāt have football or basketball. I love Denver. It was my dsughtersā safety school. They had much higher stats than my son and both really liked the school.
Denver has a basketball team. They donāt have football but overall their athletics are more successful than Coloradoās. Their hockey team was just in the frozen four and has won several championshipsl and their lacrosse team won the national championship a couple of years ago.
@Johnny523 thank you! I didnāt know DU has a basketball team. Maybe that will make the school more appealing. Their athletic complex is amazing!
For those interested in small Virginia co-ed schools, you might want to give Randolph College in Lynchburg a good look. Very small, but beautiful campus with amazing personalized opportunities. I get their Facebook feed and I canāt believe what experiences and outcomes their students have found. Kind of overlooked because of sizeāused to be Randolph Womenās College, but went coed over a decade ago. They give amazing financial aidāand maybe reducing tuition upfront next year. I think these small schools are really motivated to attract students. Worth a look if wanting a small school!
Oh, forgot to mentionāLynchburg is a charming town on the James river with a revitalized downtown. Thinking of retiring there when the time comes!
Putting Randolph on the list for D20 to look at if going/moving south, thanks!
Visited Marist (Pougkeepsie, NY) today for their Psychology program (also featured education, criminal justice, and social work programs). 1st visit for D20 but 2nd visit for me as S19 visited/applied/accepted (attending College of Charleston in favor of a warm southern school 
)
Will post in the other 2020 section as well.
Positives:
- This school is SO beautiful - many buildings show view of the river. Stone architecture, lots of grass, hills (great for sledding in winter). School was quiet (probably because students were still sleeping at 10 am) but did see students walking around.
- Academics, especially for psychology (her interest) very good and well-represented. Especially liked that psych and the other majors must do an internship to graduate. Iāve seen this stressed in other majors, but not really for psychology. I appreciated this.
- Tour guide was awesome. Knowledgeable, spoke well, etc. Biomedical major. Said hi to friends/passers-by (I always look for this as a good thing for friendly population)
- Info session given by the dean who runs these majors. Gave lots of great facts about professor longevity, combo of FT faculty and PT professors currently practicing in professions (judges, policemen, psychologists, etc. etc.)
- About 4800 students. Entering class this year is 1200
- Great, established study abroad programs to Florence and Dublin (which my kid will never do. Just going to college will be a feat
). I did like the two week intensive option to go to several places. Teachers get to go to Hawaii for 6 weeks and study. - Liked the focus on community service.
- Liked the under Route 9 tunnel so they can cross the busy street safely and access other things (Rite aid, food, etc.)
- Everything needed available on campus. Cheap tickets to broadway and other stuff. Seemed active student body. Free laundry.
- New fitness center to open 2020 year (yey). Looked BIG and will offer area for D1 sports to work out separate from regular workout people (smart).
Negatives:
- D20 thought it was too big (whhaaaa?) Remember this is coming from a social anxiety kid. I think it was her perception because there was grass between the buildings ha ha. Iāll have to talk to her more about that. I think sheās just overwhelmed at the thought of navigating college in general. That being said, I am going to keep an eye on this for future visits to gauge if this is a pattern. Which means I will have to add more 2500 or less colleges.
- Price could be a factor as her SATs will not be that high so most likely not much merit. Off the table if no merit for our budget.
Other miscellaneous:
- No car until 60 credits earned. Looks like parking could be a problem.
- Dorms were standard doubles. Juniors/seniors live in townhomes and all get singles (adding this to positives). Housing guaranteed Fresh/Soph but anyone who wants to live on campus can. Many also choose to live off campus at that point.
- Social work major graduates with enough credits/stuff so that if pursue a masters can apply for advanced standing and only need 1 year for masters (they do not offer the masters program at Marist).
- Interesting walking bridge a couple miles away.
- Good/Quick email response from adviser/admissions when S19 applied.
- Test optional school. If do well in school, merit will still be given and no difference in amt. However, sending a low SATs could actually reduce merit (but help raise merit if good SAT).
- 1 dining hall (excellent allergy free area/vegan options), 2 starbucks, a sandwich place. Restaurants across the street.
Have to chat with D20 but pretty sure she will apply.
HTH! (hope this helps!)
1 Like
Thank you @cakeisgreat for such a detailed, helpful review! I lurk here as I have a D22 in this GPA range and Marist is very much on our radar. So glad you found many positive things to say about the school and hopefully your D will warm up to the idea of a mid sized college.
S20 got his SAT score today - 1350 Itās 100 points higher than we were thinking heād get. If he can finish strong and nudge his GPA over 3.25 (heās right on the cusp), heād get $15k a year from Arizona, which is his top choice right now. It might even make it affordable
(first time poster, sorry for just barging in but I got excited with recent mention of the University of Denver here!)
If at all helpful to anyone the 2019 Fridays@DU prospective students presentation with Fall 2018 accepted stats is at https://www.du.edu/sites/g/files/lmucqz251/files/2019-01/information_session.pdf We all love DU (and their Learning Effectiveness Program - S20 is 2E) although also low end of this GPA range yet 1430 SAT. Weāre only starting to get our toes in the water of learning about the college scene because until this turnaround year (4.0 right now) we assumed local community college/transfer was the path ahead! 
@cakeisgreat Our D20 really liked Marist as well. She thought it was a great size, I thought it might be too big for her both socially & physically (she has a slight disablity from an ankle surgery). But she leaned over to me at one point during the tour and whispered ācould I actually get in here?ā So I know she really liked it . The campus is really spectacular. The views are amazing
and she is a kid who is really into aesthetics in her college search so that was important. Poughkeepsie was interesting to say the least but she was happy that they have a couple places to walk to and there is a mall and chain restaurants/stores nearby. Also a great diner that we went to for dinner. I think it is a match based on her stats but her ECās are weak so weāll see.
@johnny523 Such great news! I have a similar son aiming to increase his 1290. Congrats!
I love U of Denver. Both of my Dās applied there. My S20 wonāt consider it though because he wants big football and basketball. DU has a beautiful campus, close to downtown and I thinned would be great for my son. But so far heās not buying it.
S20 took the SAT on Saturday - said the Math was hard, English was OK and he did the essay which he thought went OK. He didnāt do much prep (just a bit of the Khan online). We already signed him up to take it again in August and he will do some more study (hopefully) over the summer.
Iāll be so glad when he is done with the standardized testing!
Glad to see people are getting improved test scores. I signed DS to retake ACT in June but I think that may have been a mistake, with exams I donāt think he will take much time to prep. His scores are still low 1210 on SAT and 25 on ACT. Testing is really a problem for him, this worries me about college in general.
So ā diagnostic test results backā¦D20 officially diagnosed with Dyscalculia (math LD). Which was a no brainer based on historical grades and latest SAT/ACT scores.
1190 SAT: Math 520, Reading/Writing: 670
26 ACT: Math 17, Science 25, English 32, Reading 31 (just got them in the mail today!)
She has only taken the SAT and ACT once, but retook SAT in May (still waiting for scores) and scheduled to retake SAT again in June. Iām still debating on whether to have her retake the ACT.
Question ā based on her first test scores in SAT/ACT ā which test scores are better? If I look at the comparison chart online it says a 26 ACT = 1240 SATā¦so this makes me think her ACT score is better.
But most schools she is looking at super score the SAT so we are hoping to get her math SAT score up with more prep work. I donāt think anybody super scores the ACT though.
Would love some opinions from the pros out there!
Also, we will likely be disclosing the Dyscalculia in some way which will help explain the low math scores.