@scoutmom2002 I’m right there with you about overachievers. I have a great kid. I think it’s pretty good to have a GPA between 3.0 and 3.4. I mean, seriously, that’s above average. She has a 3.5 and is ranked 100th out of 654 kids. Not bad, especially considering we usually have about 20 or so kids make NMF. She has a ADHD diagnosis and is slow to finish work but never had accommodations because every school she’s attended has teachers who have been great at giving assignments far enough ahead of time and/or giving kids time to finish. I’m trying to convince her to try AP classes and hopefully pass the tests to alleviate some of the pressure in college. I know there is no way she is going to be able to handle 15 or 16 hours each semester. She’ll get frustrated and have a breakdown.
@MACmiracle ds can take tests in a quiet room and can have more time if he needs it. He goes to a parochial school so they’re not required to offer an IEP/504. We are visiting Rowan this spring - do they accept a lot of kids in this gpa range?
BTW, my daughter was not a super motivated kid - she did pretty well without trying very hard. She’s a freshman now and doing well (better than high school). She said once she got to college her motivation kicked in because she could take classes that interested her. She chalks some of it up to maturity as well. So there are lots of happy endings for these types of students.
You and your daughter just gave me a world of hope.
@taverngirl I checked collegedata. About 33 percent are in the range 3.0 to 3.49 at Rowan. 51 percent are above that.
I’d like to join this thread. S20 has a 3.5 gpa so it’s close to the range here. Hoping he can keep that this semester. But first semester was a 3.17 so if he gets that again, it’ll go down. He got a 1230 on the psat and is now studying for the SAT. He’s hoping for 1350.
Older sisters had much higher stats. One is at a top women’s college and the other at a top 25 university. So we’re definitely looking at different schools for him.
We live in CA but he’s open to looking all over except doesn’t want the south. His top criteria is that he wants a big sports school, most importantly football.
U Washington is his dream school but that’s a super reach. So trying to come up with a list of similar schools that are realistic for him.
Looking forward to going through this journey with you all!
I’m back!
@cakeisgreat – I only recently learned about dyscalculia too. But it is very real and she is getting officially tested for it in March so that it is documented. Due to her math grades over the years her GPA is now 2.7. If it were not for her math grades she would have closer to 3.0-3.4 GPA for sure. It’s pretty clear that it is a math disability that she has when all her other grades are As/Bs and then you see a D or F in math.
I know there is debate about whether to disclose a disability on college apps but we feel that disclosing this specific disability (dyscalculia) will definitely help explain her poor math grades as well as her low math SAT scores. We are also struggling with Algebra 2 – she had to WF from it last year; taking Computer Science math this year but again doing very poorly. They are offering a new Algebra, Functions and Data Analysis course which she will take this coming Senior year in order to gain the math credit needed for graduation. We are going to try again to take Algebra 2 this summer to see if she can pass so that at least it shows she took the course as most colleges require Algebra 2. It would also show that at least she tried to take it again.
But putting math aside, D20 is doing well in all her other classes and just selected her Senior year courses which include Teachers for Tomorrow (new course offering at her school), Leadership Training (which she had to apply for), Speech Communications/Debate (mom’s choice!) and Fashion Marketing (not totally happy with this choice and pushing for her to consider changing to AP Psychology…we’ll see). She is considering a teaching degree and I think based on all her other electives (she took Early Childhood Ed this year), taking AP Psychology would look better on her transcript than Fashion Marketing. And I think she could handle AP Psychology. Stay tuned…
@scoutmom2002 I think AP Psychology would definitely be doable for your D if she is getting As and Bs in all her other classes. My son is taking AP Psych (his first AP class) and he managed to eke out an A- the first semester - just barely, but we will take it!. He feels pressure to take another AP class next year, so it will likely be AP Environmental Science.
Welcome to all the newcomers on this thread! Looking forward to going through this journey with you all!
@scoutmom2002 Thank you for all the information about dyscalculia. I am very interested to follow your D’s journey! Please keep us updated as much as you would like to share about her college journey. Totally excited to see how it all works.
I agree with @lemonlee about AP Psych. My D is taking the dual enrollment Psych and so far definitely doable. Writing papers and regular tests. Also, though, D20 wants to major in Psychology, so it interests her.
Also @lemonlee cool about AP Enviro Sci. That sounds interesting. D20 is also wanting to try an AP class in senior year, so she is going to do AP Art. She’s pretty good at art.
Speaking of math - D got a 97 on her math quiz. This never happens. Seriously I have no idea what is going on around here :-h
Hello all! I am glad to have found this thread. My S20 is a second child and not as motivated as his older sister, so the college search is a little different this time. My son is 3.6 UW right now but I expect that may come down. He is taking all honors but one 1 AP each year, I just didn’t feel like stressing this child out. His scores are marginal so far, 1200 SAT, he will take the ACT again next week in school but that doesn’t seem to be the best test for him.
We are in NC and I would like to keep him here. So far we have looked at UNC-Wilmington and Appalachian State. We will tour NCSU and UNC-Charlotte soon. I feel like he needs something smaller, some place where teachers will know him and make him accountable - but maybe I just baby him…
@ITBgirl - what did you think of UNC-Wilmington and Appalachian State? AS is on our list of potential OOS schools… Just looking at a few OOS schools…by comparison, even if paying OOS tuition AS is only $7K more than some in-state, mainly because Virginia has much higher Room & Board and other fees.
I’d like my D20 and S20 to at least visit/consider a few OOS. We are also going to check out College of Charleston.
@scoutmom2002 You should definitely look at both of them. App is first on my son’s list, he loved the feeling of the campus. It seems to go one way or the other with people, I took my daughter there and she literally said she hated it on hour into the tour. It is a nice size, with a great laid back student feeling, and a beautiful campus. And somehow one of the cheapest state schools in NC.
Wilmington is just a little bit larger than App but still felt like a great size to me. I thought the business school and the nursing school presented very well, and they have a 2+2 program with NCSU for engineering students. My son did not love it as much as I did, felt too preppy, but we may go back for an Open House, we did a tour (on a hot August day) and I think it was boring compared to Open House at App.
I love College of Charleston too, great location, lots of kids from Raleigh go there too.
New to these forums with my first child getting ready for college. S20 actually has a little higher GPA than this group at 3.72 UW but doesn’t seem to really fit within the other forum. He is taking his first and only AP class this year (AP English Language) and will take the AP exam in May. Got an 1140 on his PSAT last October with no prep at all (that was up from 1070 in his Sophomore year). Taking ACT in April and SAT in May (hoping to get closer to 1300 on SAT after prep with KAHN). Ran JV Cross Country this year and volunteers/mentors through our church.
He is quite a procrastinator and tends to cram last minute for things, could probably do better academically with more effort put in, but does stress out fairly easily. A bit shy/reserved and a tad nerdy 
Loves gaming! Leaning towards majoring in video production/film/digital media of some kind.
He’s not really interested in visiting colleges as of yet although we have come up with a list of potentials. He wants to stay in California (we are in Bay Area) so we are focusing on a couple of UC schools (likely UCSC and UCSB which would be reach) and then CSU schools (mostly match and safety excepting Cal Poly which would be reach). Private schools would likely be unaffordable without significant aid (we live close to Saint Mary’s College of California which could work with aid and him living at home, but they don’t have the best majors for what he wants to study). I am torn between wanting him close to home and wanting him to gain some independence. Best of both worlds might be somewhere 1-3 hours from here where he could live in a dorm and drive home on a weekend if he felt homesick or just needed some family time.
Glad to find this group - it is so different from when I went to college. I got into UCSD with a 3.4 GPA back in 1984…lol.
@ITBgirl - your son sounds so much like mine - I’m also guilty of a bit of babying
Hi all. Been lurking, not too much posting but wanted to get anyone’s thoughts on Lehigh University. Any experience with the school? Posting in other threads so I apologize for the repeats.
Welcome @thedreamydaisy ! D20 is my fourth kid (whew!)
Hi everyone, I’m not sure lil D and I fit in this group but I don’t think she is as driven as the students in the other group.
@thedreamydaisy, we’re in the same boat except my kid wants to stay in SoCal while I would like her to consider schools up north. If you’re looking at schools with film/video, etc. check out Loyola Marymount. A friend’s D choose it when their scholarship made it a little cheaper than a UC.
My S got into CPSLO with a 3.5 (in 2010) so don’t count that school out. He was a graphic communications major.
@lilmom thanks, I had just discovered Loyola Marymount but was concerned about cost. We may put it on the list just in case a decent scholarship is possible. We’re not counting Cal Poly out although they don’t seem to have a great video/film program specifically. Probably wouldn’t be S’s first choice.
Joining in here. D has a 3.71 GPA but her rigor is not great so feel like we belong in this thread. Lots of medical issues/surgeries in HS so she has missed a lot of school.
Anyone just get their ACT scores? My D’s were kind of all over the place. 21 in math, 29 in science, and 33 in the two English sections. She wants to major in psych or English so not sure how much the math score matters. Big improvement over her PSAT’s so overall we were pretty happy.
@thedreamydaisy your son does sound like mine! And you do sound like me, I got into UNC with an 1150 on my SAT in 1984 - I remember my mom saying - “you broke 1000 - you don’t have to take it again!” Those were the days…
Welcome @MAmom111 . It sounds like the ACT may be her test, my daughter did great on the ACT but terrible on the SAT. My son just took the ACT in school this week but it will take forever to get those back. I think the SAT is going to be better for him.
Joining in here. So glad I found this thread. A little about my daughter…she is legally blind and has ADHD (on meds which helps a lot). She became legally blind in 4th grade due to retinal detachments in both eyes. Prior to that, she excelled academically (as much as one can at that young age:) )
Fast forward to high school…started out freshman year with a 3.25 with several honors classes. Due to her ADHD, she really struggles with procrastination and organization so her grades would have been higher had she handed things in on time. Then came sophomore year. I was very ill and had to go out of state for medical care for a bulk of that year. She struggled a lot with anxiety over my illness. Her GPA for that year was a 2.57 which brought her to a 2.9something. Now that I am well and her anxiety is much better, she currently has a 3.02 (for this year she is at a 3.48). She got a 1320 on the PSAT and will be taking the SAT in March. She doesn’t have a lot of extra curriculars but has played the harp for 11 years and won an international competition in that. She takes voice acting classes and does a lot of sound editing on various voice projects through jobs she gets online. So that is her background.
She isn’t seeking a top tier school because of her grades. She wants to go for sound design (she also wants to be a voice actor). We are looking at Montclair (in state - her top choice), Columbia College of Chicago, and Emerson (that looks like it would be a real reach). She liked Savannah College of Art and Design but I just think the cost is too prohibitive. Other possible visits are University of Hartford and Middle Tennessee State.
Sorry this is so long. I am looking forward to going through this process with you all. If anyone is looking at colleges in the Philadelphia area, that is where we are (and my husband is an adjunct at several universities) so I might be able to help give insight.