I’m thinking 7-10. Daughter did 13 - too much! Son has lower stats though and needs a range of options.
If she weren’t doing ED, I’d go with 6-8 schools, all EA if offered. We live in a state with an auto admit policy on state schools so if nothing pans out, she can put in late applications and still have a sure thing at several places based on class rank (if she stays top 25%). It’s a nice fallback option.
D20 has 3, maybe 4. He has said he’d be ok going for 2 years to our community college and save money if he gets into the “special program” they offer (which does sound pretty cool). So, I think that might be it. All are in state. One reach, 2 matches, and one that has a high acceptance rate because kids tend to self-select whether it’s for them or not (St. Johns College in Annapolis, MD-Great Books program). I sort of feel bad because we haven’t done much in the way of tours but he’s just not that into it.
He does get his SAT’s back tomorrow, maybe that will help spur him on. He takes the ACT the first week of April and then probably the SAT again in June.
S20 has a big list so far, probably about 10 schools he is interested in with a big range. Not sure if he’ll apply to all of them. I think the tours will help us and of course his SAT scores and grades this semester will also help narrow the list.
I think about 6-7 max
D is saying four. I may push her for two more. They are all in-state publics.
I was really surprised by her reaction to the two schools I suggested to her. One school she thinks is too much of a party school and the other she thinks might be too political. I thought she would be attracted to parties and the kinds of politics in question. Hmmm. I actually don’t believe those schools are significantly different from any other schools but it’s interesting to see that she’s thinking about things.
March 9 SAT scores arrived today and for those who have followed my threads…D20 scored an 1190 which for her (having LD and specifically Dyscalculia math disability) is a great score. She scored 670 Reading/Writing and 520 Math. She worked hard on SAT prep which included one-one-one tutoring…the goal was to get her math to over 500 and she did it. Now hopefully she can retake the SAT and increase her score to 1200-1300, hoping to increase her math score to 550.
D20 is still registered to take the ACT on April 13 to see how she does on that. Now to focus on the GPA…which D20 is working hard at…but will likely achieve a 3.0-3.4 range.
This very good SAT score gave D20 the confidence she needed and will hopefully get her into her school of choice (which as of now is UMW). We plan to visit safety/match schools over Spring Break – Radford, Longwood, VCU as well as Richard Bland College of Williams & Mary (back up plan via Guaranteed Admission route). Already toured JMU and GMU.
Additional schools to visit later will be CNU (likely a reach school) and ODU (Safety/Match).
That is a great score! Congrats!! What is UMW? (Sorry, down here in TX and don’t know LOL)
@murray93 UMW = University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. It’s a smaller state school with a very good repuration. We looked at it for my D, and I liked it.
@scoutmom2002 William & Mary was my dream school “back in the day.” I begged to go there, but my parents thought that it was too expensive (and they thought it was a private school for some reason). But I got a sweatshirt on a college visit!
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I thought of visiting a couple of colleges over spring break with D20, but she doesn’t want to. I think she has her favorite and may wait to visit any others once she gets acceptances, depending on how any merit and FA shakes out.
This is so different from the last kid.
I know you probably thought I left but have been following along.
D20 has been keeping me very busy parenting as she has stretched the limits of her new license in two months more than her sister did in two years. And with the freedom to drive came the drop in grades and the hiding of them. She is now digging her way out of a 3rdQ D in Algebra 2 and I found a way that works…she is paying for her math tutor, she is beyond upset. Since this went into effect though in one week she received an 80 and 100 in math scores so it is working. Q average is 73 but we are in the right direction.
Grounding from driving has also made her much more scholarly so I have hopes we are headed in the right direction all around for junior year grades.
What was most disappointing is most of this fell apart after I took her on a week college road trip which not only did we have a great time on but I thought really inspired her to give it her all to the finish line. Will post another time about the schools and the trip. Also thought she would be online 24/7 to get those practice test scores up, but no.
Have determined and discussed with her she is holding back on giving it her all because she can hid behind the excuse “I am not dumb just did not give it my all” but if she gives it her all and comes short she is afraid others and she will think she is dumb. I have been convincing her the only way you are not smart is when you hold back and the only one you hurt is yourself.
Just wanted to check back in officially. Looking forward to this thread…I think it will be key in providing my sanity for the next 12 months!!
Happy weekend to all!!
@MinnieFan I know this was an old post, but your daughter sounds a lot like my son! I messaged you earlier about something - can’t remember now - but are you looking at Southern schools?
@MinnieFan I am fairly new here; I was trying to respond to your post from ‘18 and now I see you also posted here. Well, at least she is independent enough to drive! Apparently the new thing is kids not wanting to drive so they can be chauffeured about! I love your comebacks and consequences!
@MACmiracle Just read your 9/18 post re dogs. I think Sewanee allows them.
@scoutmom2002 just read your old post talking about being from NoVA. I’m in MoCo and can relate. My DS has no APs yet either, he is in a Catholic school where they restrict access to them. As with many other posters, dealing with ADD, immaturity and summer birthday meaning he is one to two years younger than most of his classmates. Gotta love the “redshirting” that runs rampant in the DMV, and of course I wish we had held him back. As my husband says, he makes a great sophomore! (He’s a junior). He is extremely bright but a bit of a cynic, easily bored (like his dad) and is running a cumulative 3.12 gpa with a 1290 SAT. His current junior year GPA is a 3.95.
@tutumom2001 Hi, new here and just read your post about your daughter not being able to handle 15+ credits. I toured Elon with my son and we both liked it a lot. They have only 12 credits per semester and then a condensed month-long session where they earn the other credits. Might be worth checking out. It is more than our in-state but has a much better four-year grad rate and for a private not bad at @ $45k all-in (tuition room & board).
@cakeisgreat Hi, you asked about Lehigh. I went there and keep in touch with the school. I will be taking my son up there soon, though I’m not convinced he could handle it (or get in). It’s academically rigorous. Do you still have questions? Happy to help.
@1stTimeThruMom I’d love to hear your thoughts about Lehigh when you visit. I feel the same about D20 who may not be able to handle the academic rigor, but would love to hear the vibe. We are waiting on how her SATs turn out. It could go either way.
PS - LOVED Elon - was S19’s first choice for awhile but ended up being too expensive…highest cost from the list, even with a $5k award. So off it went, boo hoo. Buuuuttt…we’re really excited for him because I think he’s going to pick College of Charleston (or Quinnipiac…or Stockton if goes for least expensive option) which will be really fun to visit.
Editing also to say I am definitely keeping D20 at 12 credits a semester. D16 took 18 credits (or maybe 20…cant remember exact) her freshman year and ended up on academic probation (well…she got really sick also and other stuff but still…how did I not catch that huge courseload!) She’s a junior now and just finally recovered to over a 3.0 GPA…this my academic star high school student. You just never know. (but she’s doing GREAT so no worries here).
@1stTimeThruMom Thank you for the information about Elon. We know some folks who have gone there. However, Elon doesn’t have a program for her desired major.