Welcome @momandslp. Great to get updates about Tulane here! Could you tell us a little about what your son21 will be looking for?
Jumping back into this forum. Thanks for whoever posted that link to Compass Prep. Fascinating analysis, and explains why there were not a lot of high-scoring kids at our HS. Visited Northwestern this past weekend. Not sure itās quite a fit for S21.
@burghdad, we had the same experience with the psat this year. S21 got a 1430 the year before (so, given that weāre a very low index state, we/he thought he was good to go). Got less English questions wrong this year, but ended up with a much lower English score, x2, 1400 total, took the SAT right after and got a 1520 (720 English). It seemed like kids who took a prep course (he didnāt and our D21 did) at least went up from their previous yearās psat though (hers did, but not even close for NMSF). And she too did better on the SAT, but only by 50 points (1370; sheās trying this Satās ACT?). This yearās psat definitely had a harsher curve than last yrās. 10 points off for every English/Reading question wrong/20 points for every wrong math question.
@havenoidea Art Sawyer is predicting 209 as the commended cutoff for class of 2021 and for some historically low-scoring states. Nobody really will know until the fall for state cutoffs but maybe he might squeak through?
Google national merit semifinalist cutoffs 2021 and you will find the article. When I tried to post the link my post was flagged for moderation.
Iāve been around reading on these boards the past few months, wanted to officially make a post! Our son graduates in 2021 heās our oldest of 3 boys so first one off to collegeā¦ We are trying to make some college visit arrangements for April break. We live in upstate New York but we think heād prefer to go to one of the neighboring states. Unfortunately so far his SATs and and ACTs are not coming back as high as he thought which is so frustrating for my son. He is a solid A student. Strong in math and science, several honors classes, AP physics pre-Calc etcā¦ and in the project lead the way engineering program and doing exceptionally well in that. He does fine in his other classes I think he right now has around a 94/95 average but 1200 SAT 24 ACT is just not competitive enough unfortunately for many of the schools weāve talked about.
So weāre back to the drawing board. He is not sure what he wants to study but heās definitely strong in math and science and of course I like the idea of him going for something in the engineering vein- civil or environmental might be in his future? Currently toying with a trip up to the University of Maine and need to pick one more college to add to the list for that trip Iād welcome any recommendations 
Sure @inthegarden. S21 is a very different animal than D17 who wanted to go farther away for college so considered schools in Boston, NY, DC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and New Orleans. S21 attends a small private HS (D17 was at large public magnet), but now he is gravitating towards attending a large-ish college not too far from home (Philly), with Temple as his far and away favorite. Heās a science kid, so we looked at Stevenās Tech (too small and specific), Drexel (didnāt like) and Muhlenberg (nice but too small and did not love location) and Temple. We are visiting University of Delaware over spring break and we will go back to Pitt in the fall if he applies (we were there twice with his sister - we really liked it but I think itās too far away for him). S21 really is over the whole process already and I think would be happy just going to Temple, which I actually think is a great pick for him. His stats (SATs and GPA) are pretty good so he could probably get into a lot of schools, but he has no interest in looking at Lehigh, Lafayette, Dickinson, GW, Penn State, American or anywhere else I have suggested. So we might be close to done already. I keep reading this thread for inspiration though!
I just have no idea of reality vs perception anymore regarding who gets in where. My child has all As in full IB Diploma program, 36 ACT, 1490 PSAT, three sports, tutors, has a community service requirement, and works a retail job during the school year. Mostly looking at top tier public schools (out of state) ā none of those are sure things and there likely wonāt be much merit money on the table from most of/any of them. . It just seems crazy.
If you are merit hunting, look at private schools, not public. Precious little merit at top publics for OOS students.
Interesting about the low PSAT scores. S21 did improve from 10th-11th but then I found it surprising how much higher his Dec SAT was than the Oct PSAT (1490 SAT vs. 1360 PSAT).
We visited William & Mary last Friday because S21 had a day off school. Heād seen it last year when we were there for an event and didnāt like it at the time (the tour came at the end of a very long day) but when we started talking college list more seriously said he didnāt remember anything about it. So, we attended a STEM student panel (just two students) and the info session, skipped the tour because once he saw the campus he remembered the tour weād taken last year, ate in the dining hall. He liked it better this time and said heād keep it on the application list. I think the only downside was that all the students we interacted with in admissions were girls which made it hard for him to see himself there. And, he refused to strike up a conversation with any guys we saw at the dining hall. I came away thinking my S23 would absolutely love it (she wants to pursue a science PhD) but not sure if itās right for S21.
Heās registered to go to the VA Tech open house in March and while weāre there I hope heāll get to spend some time with a friendās son who is a happy freshman there. Also signed up for a March info session at UVA but not sure if weāll go to that ā I learned from a friend who met with admissions that from our HS they only really consider full IB diploma candidates and S is not doing that. I knew it was a big reach for him anyway based on our schoolās Naviance and his minimal ECs. UDel and Pitt are also on the to-visit list. Possibly NC State ā itās strong in Statistics (his preferred major) but they donāt seem to give much if any OOS merit aid so I donāt know that I want to go to the time/expense of visiting unless heās admitted and itās affordable.
1st semester finally ended last week (January felt like a really long month!) and he did well, As in everything except a B+ in Computer Science. Next up - figuring out senior year schedule.
February slump has started here. Third year in a row all the friend and school drama starts up this month. Just in time for ACT testing this weekend tooā¦ At least I reminded D21 that this happens every year and she couldnāt believe it. Now we start counting days until Spring break! Anyone elseās kid in a slump?
Still waiting to set up an appointment with the counselor for senior year schedule planning at the end of the month. I get that theyāre busy but I work full time and canāt take off at the last minute. Sigh. Sheās pretty sure of what she will take next year except that the music teacher is leaving and so orchestra is up in the air.
Good luck to all taking the ACT Saturday!
Parents go to class selection? Not here. Itās all on the kids, has been since middle school. Iāve talked to D about her selections, but sheāll get a pass the morning of to go to guidance to make her selections. This year itās a bit more involved because they also start talking college, but parents arenāt invited.
Every time I think I have the Spring Break trip planned, we get more mail that seems interesting! Think Elon is off - friendās son got $6,000, plus a chance at their Scholars program or whatever itās called for another $6,000, I think. Not enough to make it worth if for us. East Carolina is a bit out of the way, but may see if we can make it work. Also UNC Greensboro, but hearing it might be more commuter than we would want. Anyone know anything on either of them?
@nanosec what Selection Index does your childās 1490 PSAT add up to? (chop off the zeros, double the verbal, add the three numbers together). Look up Artās predicted cutoff for your state on his Compass Prep blog. If you are above the threshhold, there are some very good public schools that your child will be eligible to attend for free as a National Merit Scholar - you can find the full list on the yolo site (google NMF scholarships yola site). Just have to have the matching grades and SAT/ACT scores, submit the application when the time comes (next fall), and decide which one you want. 
We are leaning toward University of Florida or UCF right now.
@NJWrestlingmom For us, parents donāt go to the scheduling discussion. The kids schedule their āacademic planningā meeting with their counselor where they discuss class selection, post-secondary plans, next steps for those, etc. Thereās a presentation for parents tonight where in past years theyāve explained the process for people new to the school and highlight any changes in available courses. Each core subject teacher has to recommend/approve the next yearās selection for each student and then the parent has to sign off on the form.
S21 is pretty set on most classes but needs to figure out one elective slot and isnāt sure about regular English vs. AP English Lit so he needs talk that over with his current English teacher. Heās enjoying AP Language this year but doesnāt really like to read/analyze literature so I donāt know that AP Lit is worth it for him. Heāll already be taking AP or IB for Calc BC, Stats, Physics and Economics (can you tell he likes math).
Yea, Iāve never attended a class/course selections either. Itās not really a thing here. I have made a separate appointment with my sonās GC to discuss his testing anxiety but thatās about it.
When my boys bring home their high school course selection material we discuss, I advise, they chooseā¦our high school gives a date by when selections must be entered into Skyward (the online district system) and then thatās it.
DS21 just started an internship at an engineering firm this week. Heās learning SolidWorks which is like learning the alphabet, if youāre interested in engineering as a career. I am very grateful that he has this opportunity; my own first job was selling hot dogs at the food court at the mall. I was also a cashier at Acme - donāt even know if that grocery store still exists back East where I grew up.
@sherimba03 - Thank you - 222 should qualify just about anywhere, especially with the the adjusted predictions. UF and and USC (only private currently on list) are the only two schools of interest that would give significant aid based on NMF. At this point, I am more worried about admission to top choice schools - it just seems like a crap shoot.
Parents donāt go to course selection either. We do have a college planning session with the GC and parents can go to that if they want to.
I donāt care what my daughter takes, I tell her just make sure she meets graduation requirements, but the GC guides them to make sure of that.
Congratulations on your student likely becoming an NM semifinalist!
Admission to highly selective schools may seem like a crap shoot, but its not.
If you are looking for school suggestions, merit hunting targets, etcā¦I am sure posters on this thread would be helpful in suggesting target schools and potential strategies, but it would probably be best for you to start a new thread with your kidās stats, desired attributes (college size, geography, major, etc.), and budget.
I hear you about spring slump. My kidās just finished apps/interviews for summer programs. Heās beat. I will try to find a great link that I saw about NM scholarships, which will be relevant for S21 as well.
https://publicuniversityhonors.com/2016/04/04/best-major-universities-for-national-merit-scholarships-part-two/
This is the only year parents are involved in class selection, previous years Iāve just had to sign her form that says I agree.
I think they use the guise of class selection to get parents in for a meeting that encompasses the entire college planning/application process. Although when I went to the junior parent night earlier in the year, I think I was better informed than one of the counselorsā¦