This is not ‘generally’ true, applicants have to research what each college’s AOs are saying.
Some are very clearly stating to only submit scores if they are at the median or above, so that would mean in your example if one’s scores are at the 25%ile mark to just under 50%ile they should not submit.
I’m certainly not an “expert” only giving my opinion (as requested by a poster @Meddy).
I personally have learned a lot on CC by many posters with differing opinions so I can make my own informed and educated decision. I think that is the beauty of a site like CC.
Was there something in my earlier post that you disagree with?
@socaldad2002 Nah. Just kind of teasing you but also letting you know that many of us have older kids so your giving us advice on TO isn’t really any more insight unless you’ve actually spoken to an AO or you know a college coach with tons of experience. None of us know how TO will work this year. We are flying blind. There aren’t really any rules that cut across all schools. This is a diverse group with kids coming from all different types of situations and each student’s background needs to be considered when trying to figure out TO strategy.
Did anyone else get their student’s July ACT results? My D tested on July 18 and hers are not posted.
Reach out to the school and ask if they can give you her contact info. One of our GCs just left and school said they would let her make the recommendations.
Congratulations to @Rue4! Fabulous score!!!
Well this dedensifying class rooms is a real challenge with schedules. As of now but certainly not set in stone is her schedule.
Because they are having to make the class size smaller, classes are full and can’t find another weighted class that she likes to put in 8th period.
Got a parking permit today, D takes her road test for her driver’s licence next week. Hopefully my reluctant driver will be more independent her senior year. I have bought a new CRV for me and passed down my 2014 Accord to her. Not gonna lie, kinda scared of my car insurance rate hike…lol
I know some UNC public schools are starting tours next week, so you might want to check.
We were at an in-person college visit yesterday so didn’t get a chance to log into the new ACT site until we got home. Of course, by then it was FAR too late. Next available date is December, so we’re also hanging it up. She tested in February without prep and was happy with the composite, though math was lopsided. Not a huge deal since she’s not looking to study anything quantitative, but a bummer because she’s actually a super strong in math. Let’s hope her grades – and an LOR from her Calc teacher – will tell that story well enough.
The school we visited yesterday is a safety for D that impressed us both. When I asked if it had changed her list at all, she said she really liked it, but she still prefers her other choices. Her safeties are places that have similar academics, relationships with professors, research and experiential learning opportunities, etc. The main differences seem to be less shiny amenities, and less desirable locations. We had an interesting talk on the way home about if she genuinely likes the other places more (though can’t really articulate why), or because we’re more influenced by prestige than we like to think. We’ve decided it’s a bit of both, but it was a discussion worth having.
I don’t know if anyone has posted this (or if I’m allowed to post a link), but there is an interesting compilation of ED vs RD rates, as well as average merit & need-based aid amounts, from the 2019-20 admission cycle. It was put together by a place called Big J Educational Consulting (not an endorsement, as I’d never heard of them!), on their “Resources” page. Nothing you couldn’t look up on your own, but I thought it was helpful to have that information all in one place.
@kbm770 FWIW my D was accepted to several highly selective SLAC RD with lopsided SATs, much higher verbal than math. Like your D, she had excellent grades in math, and wasn’t interested in quantitative fields of study. Her expressed academic interests, ECs, and art portfolio painted a clear picture of her strengths. IMO being an arts and humanities student made a difference in her outcome given how many applicants indicate their intention to major in STEM and econ.
@gotham_mom That is really, really nice to hear. Thank you!
@kbm770 Thanks for the tip!!! Appreciate it.
Well, S21 decided to add a DE class today. While doing the Clemson app over the weekend it “suddenly” dawned on him that he had only 5 classes senior year - 3 AP, 1 senior thesis, and 1 honors, so not slouching, but not full. (I pointed this out in February during class signups.) While that is not uncommon at our school, he decided it “looked bad.” So this morning’s scramble involved relooking at everything and realizing an evening class was now doable since ECs were cancelled. He had already been accepted into the DE program way back, so after tracking down his advisor to unlock registration, he got the last seat in Algorithmic Design, which he is pretty sure he will like since he loved his last computer class.
@kbm770 - Thanks for posting the info from Big J Educational Consulting. I was going to post and unsure if I could post the link either. It should be easy to find and it was also written up today in the G&F newsletter. Jeff Levy (I presume the Big J!) is the real deal and highly respected private college counselor. We have not used his service, but have watched several free webinars and he is very generous with his knowledge. The charts for ED and Merit aid are beyond helpful and can’t imagine the hours and hours of work put in to get this data. I love this type of data 
I have a question -D’s school doesn’t rank. We do see the ranges for the deciles (top 10 percent, top 20 percent, etc.) D is top ten percent for unweighted and not quite there for top ten percent for weighted. She’s way towards the top of that 20th decile. If I were guessing, she’s probably top 12% of the class for weighted.
My question is this. On Common App, they ask you to report your “rank” or where you stand in the class however it is reported by the high school. (Exact class rank, by decile, by quartile, etc.) You can choose to report weighted or unweighted.
I have always heard that you should put your weighted GPA there and hers looks very good as a number. But then she has to use the “top 20%” designation. Should she still do that? Or report unweighted top ten percent instead. What do you guys think?
Our school district calculates class rank by weighted GPA, so that’s what we would report. It’s a little screwy in Texas with the top 10% auto admit rule so I tend to think of everything in terms of weighted GPA. Like right now, my son’s unweighted GPA is 3.5 while his weighted is 4.2.
@homerdog – my gut says unweighted top 10% is better. The numbers don’t mean much; it’s the percentile. Also, reminder that Scripps was my D18’s top choice for quite a while and we did visit. I’ll PM you with some thoughts when I’ve got more time. Overall, she really liked it and the consortium.
@Rue4 – congrats on that score!
I’m on vacay so just a quick check-in. Snagged a late Oct. ACT for my S about 30 min from our house yesterday after waiting 30 min. in the line. Was surprised to get anything. July 18 score not posted yet. Hoping he gets a good enough score he can cancel, but we’ll see. . . I think late Oct. might be too late for some of his EA schools, but I’ll have to check. It was the only option avail and it’s not a hotel stay away, at least!
University of Massachusetts Amherst questions. Please feel free to PM to me.
Campus is a mixture as mentioned. Really nice classical buildings like old chapel. Ugly 70s style. And brand new and sleek. New Isenberg school is fantastic. The student commons has been completely remodeled and will be fantastic.
CS is very competitive to be admitted. It’s a top 20 option and top 5 in AI. World renowned grads and research. They have a great reputation in that industry.
Natural sciences are also exceptional. Originally Mass Aggie, it’s agricultural roots as part of the Stockbridge school persists. They own farms , working orchards and flower houses. In the sciences it’s a really serious place. Great nursing school too.
Dorms are bit mixed. Southwest is not pretty but it’s fun. Orchard hill sylvan offer great options. Central is traditional college feel.
Commonwealth honors college is outstanding. Dorms. Students and access. Can’t say enough good things.
It’s a beautiful town and it is definitely a college bubble. The whole region is focused on the colleges.
You have a consortium with smith mo ho and Amherst. Hampshire to some degree as well. Most students who take advantage of this come to the university for higher level classes. Cs and maths. Others do as well but it’s really not that much. Socially separate but there is some mixing with the schools at parties etc. kid and friend group dependent.
It’s become a pretty academic place. But it’s still a mix. Lots of top local students and oos for nursing isenberg cs and engineering. Engineering is top shelf as well.
It’s big but not OSU or asu type big. For New England it feels big. But it’s not really.
One of the top hockey programs in the country and lower tier d1 in the other sports.
Another question!
Are any of you having your kids answer the Covid question on the Common App? I’ve read conflicting advice. Because D21 was at ballet for freshman and sophomore year for 30 hours a week year round, she did very little else. Junior year, she started at yearbook and football/basketball poms. She has a few other small things to report as well. Her other “bigger” thing was going to be Special Olympics. Kids have to interview for a spot and she started as a coach in the spring but then school ended. She really enjoyed the two meetings they had but it wasn’t much yet. She was also being sponsored by her high school to go to a leadership camp in CA (really bummed about that one - the school was even paying!). Last, she was going to take contemporary dance at Hubbard Street in Chicago (pretty well known place for anyone reading her app that knows dance.)
Do you guys think she could write just a few short sentences about these things in the Covid question? I told her it’s tricky because her life was not that affected compared to so many others. She will have to watch her tone. She did do a few things this summer that she didn’t plan to do - started a cookie business and raised over $1000 for NAACP and took two Coursera courses on Psychology. She will list those in her activities.
@homerdog Some virtual event I sat in on sometime in the last 4 months (lol) said if it started, list it. If it didn’t, don’t list it.
My daughter doesn’t plan on filling out the COVID section. She also had things canceled, and wasn’t even that creative when filling her newly available time - she started a couple of new hobbies and just worked a ton - but our family has lived through this unscathed. I think that section is for major impacts, not: I was never a runner and decided to do and successfully completed couch to 5k (like my daughter)