@InfiniteWaves kind of in the same boat - except D21 currently has 22 on her list! She was hoping to apply to just 10 but we’re stuck trying to cut because the majority were going to be toured this past spring and never happened!
Of course, we got in the visit to Syracuse, where she would happily ED and be done…but at close to $75k/year, not happening! She’s leaning towards out of state publics but we need money. Most I would say are safeties or matches; she’s struggling to find a reach. But that’s from an admissions perspective - affordability is a different animal. Hoping we can see some late summer and fall, but she also wanted to apply to early if possible and be done. S17 was soooooo much easier!
@eb23282 for my D, she’s in love with Syracuse and would ED because that’s her top pick. Get it down early. But we can’t afford that route.
She also is a applying to a couple that require EA in order to be eligible for Honors College and merit, so we definitely need to get those in by 11/1.
Thanks for the responses, everyone. I was thinking this process would be similar to what we did with S19. Clearly, adjustments have to be made due to “these unprecedented times.” So, my instincts are correct in allowing for a larger list.
And I thought going through Penn State’s first admissions cycle with “modified rolling admissions” and first one using the Common App was rough. This admissions cycle will definitely be interesting.
If you are looking for merit, I don’t think there is any need to find a true reach. I mean don’t stress over it. The higher you reach academically, the lower the chances for merit. My D19 was in this gpa range with commensurate test scores. She was very happy with 3 match schools and I made her apply to one safety as well. She got in to all of them, with merit as predicted. Now she has to keep a 3.0 to keep her scholarship, and as a science major, it was a tough freshman year. She is super happy with her college and if she’d pursued a reach, she might have struggled too much. A lot of schools in this range, especially the CTCL’s, have great internship and career guidance offices, so the ultimate outcome will be great and I don’t think your student will suffer for not having “reached higher”.
My D has five schools on her list. We visited Oregon a couple of years ago because her brother was interested in it, and we went to Montana State in Feb.We have booked trips to visit the other three in Sept and Oct (Oregon State, Utah State, and Northern Arizona). Even if they aren’t doing official tours/visits, we can see the towns and the areas. They are all safeties for her so we’ll see what kind of aid she gets offered and which she likes.
Received an email from Ursinus talking about reopening for visits…
…beginning July 1, Ursinus College will reopen to welcome admission visitors to campus for an individual information session and tour.
Our office will be open in July Monday-Friday for sessions at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. (Sessions tailored to prospective transfer students will be available each Tuesday and Thursday). Come August, we will expand our offerings to include small group academic interest sessions and college search workshops. Stay tuned for more information on these special interest events!
We have refundable hotels booked for the end of August to see JMU, App State, NC State, ECU and maybe GW. None of their sites have been updated for visits, D needs to reach out. Hopefully see can at least see a few before she applies everywhere.
Hi all! I have read through all the posts and definitely think that our son belongs in this group! His GPA is 3.4 uw (3.51 w according to the school, but I don’t know how they calculated that) because he puts the bare minimum effort into school and even less for homework. I feel like I am the one researching all the colleges for him as he hasn’t put any time into looking at where he wants to go! His only EC is marching band for all 4 years. He wants to study CS to go into video games since that’s all he spends every free moment doing!
S21 does test well, he was invited to apply to the National Hispanic Recognition Program and his SI of 219 puts him at the likely cutoff score for WA for NMSF. He has taken 12 Honors/AP courses so far and is signed up for 4 more senior year. He hasn’t taken the SAT yet since the spring dates were canceled, but he is signed up to take it in Nov. We have to apply to the schools that will likely give him merit aid as the amount that our EFC is estimated is waaaaay beyond what we can afford. So right now we are targeting the likely NMF full ride or minimum full tuition like UCF, UTD, UF, or TAMU. UWash is our local public flagship that won’t get him merit aid but is affordable because he can live at home. If he doesn’t make NMSF, then we will have to re-evaluate our list.
Looking forward to sharing the trials and hopefully successes of the next year with all of you!
@kethra , I’m dropping in from the class of 2019, but our S was much the same and he has done really great his first year in college, so my message is just that you should not let yourself become discouraged! The GCs and other like to suggest that it is the kid that should be driving the bus in admissions, but it doesn’t always work that way - kids mature on their own schedule. It sounds like you are looking at larger schools, but we looked primarily at LACs and had really good luck with merit aid.
@kethra and @tkoparent similar here with my S21. He’s working at the college research and applications this summer because I’m guiding him to do it and keeping on top of him. My S does put in a lot of time on schoolwork, and some of that is motivation but part of it is difficulty with time management, ADHD, and slow processing speed so that everything just takes him longer…a lot longer…and then he works so long that he fizzles out and doesn’t have the stamina to keep going. And, yes, he likes some videogames. This summer, as he can’t see his friends, he’s been spending a lot of time playing Animal Crossing and Minecraft with them.
@tkoparent is your S at Denison ? I think I recall that from another thread. If so, how has he found the level of rigor and workload at Denison? It’s on S21’s list as his reachiest school in terms of selectivity, and I don’t think it’s likely he’ll get in (unless maybe he actually gets to take the SAT again and improves by 70-80 points…but even then, it’s a reach for him)…but sometimes I wonder whether it’s not the right fit for him anyway because perhaps the academics will be more than he can handle (sometimes it’s hard to know how to gauge that other than by the school’s SAT range and selectivity, but that definitely isn’t completely correlated with workload/rigor)!
Thanks for the words of wisdom and encouragement @tkoparent! He is definitely less mature since he skipped kindergarten so is only 16 right now.
@nichols51 I have the same problem of fizzling out with my ADHD! The thing that helped me the most is having someone to work alongside, a shadow buddy, they don’t have to be working on the same thing, but if we both sit down at the kitchen table and work on our own work together then I am much more able to get motivated to work on and complete the task. Also chunking the task into more manageable chunks. Maybe it would help your son by just saying: today you are going to just research two schools in the next hour and I’ll be here working on my own thing and can help if you need me?
This is just a little encouragement post, with a little info thrown in.
S17 was above the GPA here but totally not interested in most CC class colleges. He had an awful Jr in HS year behaviorally and motivationally. Grades stayed up but did the minimum to get A’s and didn’t bother studying for AP tests. Really didn’t care to even look at colleges or study for ACT. Ended up with a 29 and wouldn’t take again.
He turned it around before his Sr year and did far better! He got in to every college he applied to (all big state universities) with merit at all and honors college acceptances at all. He loved Kansas State even though from a big urban area in TX. He was accepted in their early admit to vet school program, was President of his fraternity, did undergrad research, did study abroad for a mini term, and was accepted to vet school after his Jr year. He had a 4.0 in difficult premed classes. He’ll be starting vet school in a month!
Point of this: Big state universities are not always settling. They can be awesome choices. Graduation rates and acceptance rates don’t always tell the story. His school accepts most, the state funding wants them to do this. They believe most students deserve a chance. They get a lot of lower income students. Most of their drop out rate is due to financial concerns. Many return or slow down progress to graduation but do finish. S’s classes were challenging, professors involved and caring, students were intellectually engaging. He doesn’t know anyone that left because of grades, ok maybe one kid that really didn’t want to go to college in the first place.
These big schools have small recitation sections to help reinforce material from large classes. They provide office hours, tutoring, learning centers and all kinds of things to help students. The key is the student going to get help.
So good luck to all and don’t overlook colleges that may not have the highest ratings or be on the east or west coast. Look at individual programs. We couldn’t be happier with S’s decisions. His gf is premed and on track to get into some great schools. Look outside the CC box!
@kethra, thanks for those ideas - while they are things I’ve done with S21 before, it’s always helpful to be reminded…I find I’m constantly trying things from a toolbox, finding things that work for a while, getting frustrated, needing to be reminded of other ideas, etc. You are definitely right about the sitting with him…there were a few times this year when I would just sit in his room making my grocery list while he was working on something!
@nichols51 , yes, S19 is at Denison. He is finding the workload and rigor to be manageable and is enjoying his studies. His professors have been very supportive and generous with their time, and it is my impression that he is learning he can expect more of himself. He is a varsity athlete, and I think that is also helpful because he needs to be disciplined in how he allocates his time between practice, studying and fun. Denison was his choice - he had one of those “aha” moments when we visited last year (seems like a lifetime ago!) - but we are really pleased with the school, including how they’ve been handling the coronavirus situation. Best of luck to your S21!
I have an S20 with a similar profile so I thought I would pop in and say hi, and share what schools he was successful at in case it helps anyone. I also have an S22 who who had a rocky first year and a half, but ended this last semester with 4 A’s and 2B’s, so there’s hope for his jr year ?, and in following this thread I hope it will inform how we guide him next year.
DS20 had a 3.5 WGPA, 1330 SAT, a handful of decent APs, and was a 3 season athlete (XC/TF). He applied to 11 schools and was accepted at all, several with merit $. He will be headed to UMass Amherst (oos for us) for business with a pretty solid merit scholarship. Great merit $ from the following: UMass Amherst, URI, College of Charleston, Earlham College, and Salve Regina University. Also accepted at Southern CT State, UConn, Indiana, Rutgers, UMD, and Fordham. I know it’s an odd mix, but while he leaned towards large state schools, he also loved some others based on campus visit/gut feeling, and others because he was recruited for running.
Lots of luck on this journey, especially in these odd times!
@ctcape thanks for that! My d’s Weighted is a littler higher but her SAT is right there. UConn Umass and URI are on our list. We’ll need merit to make them work!
@NJWrestlingmom I’m assuming you’re from NJ, in which case UConn is likely to give merit. It’s such a good school, but 50 kids from s’s graduating class are
Going, and he wanted a less rural environment. UMass’s merit was high, bringing it within reach of Uconn (though he didn’t make Commonwealth Honors College). Ymmv with a higher gpa, though their process is known to be somewhat random in an attempt to create diversity of majors and interests within the CHC. I’m thrilled he picked UMass. It was my favorite interns of academics, fit, vibe, college town, price, and distance from home for him.
URI is insanely generous (would have been less than UConn with all the merit), and I was in love with the honors college, the campus, and the vibe. At the end of the day, the business school at UMass is just stronger, so he was determined. His girlfriend is headed to URI for Engineering, so he’ll visit and hopefully not regret passing on it, lol. It has an old rep in New England as not being so strong, but a lot has changed and I was very impressed.
@CTCape we are in NJ. Our school is like that with Rutgers - 55 kids heading there this year. D has no interest, mainly because of the bus issue there. We live in Avery rural part of the state, so I think U Conn will be ok with her, but i’ve Heard Amherst is a great town! She loves the idea of URI being near the beach, I think she would get their honors college, too. This whole covid thing is just making me very nervous about merit for the class of 21! Hopefully we can visit all of these on our November break.
@NJWrestlingmom Rhode Island and Mass governors have both handled Covid well, so there’s some comfort in that.
In terms of college town, Amherst has Kingston, RI beat by a mile. This year will of course be different, but there’s just more to do within walking/biking distance in Amherst. Cute town center, shops, restaurants, etc. No need for a car unless you want one.
Proximity to the beach at URI is a huge plus, and upperclassmen who move off campus tend to live in beach houses in Narragansett, known as living “down the line”. If you have a car there, there’s also Newport within a reasonable drive (shops, restaurants, etc.). My sense was also that Greek life was more of a thing at URI than UMass, which is either a plus or minus depending upon your kid’s interests. We went to an honors day long program at URI in February where DS got to attend an honors level class, eat lunch, listen to faculty and student panels, etc. We both loved it.
Lots of unknowns with merit next year, but URI was super transparent in their literature about the combined GPA/SAT scores that lead to merit/honors. Assuming they do the same this year, you should be able to get a good sense. UMass didn’t state that info outright, and admissions emphasizes their holistic process, but in the past they have been known to give decent merit to strong oos students.
UMass has the stronger rep academically and is a little more competitive (with the exception of pharmacy—URI is excellent), but you can’t go wrong with either in my opinion.
This summer, as he can’t see his friends, he’s been spending a lot of time playing Animal Crossing and Minecraft with them.