He is now worried they got his score wrong.
Not sure if theres schools that will give merit aid for ACT with a lower GPA though.
My son got v good merit aid with a 32 ACT and 3.0 gpa, I think because of the score. $25-$38k
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If he can get his gpa up this semester and next semester, he will have a very compelling story. My S had some great merit awards with a 3.4 and test optional, because it was below 1100 (yikes).
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Like Murray93âs son, my S21 got great merit offers with a 3.4. He applied TO b/c his score was abysmal. If your son targets the right schools, that ACT score will most likely bump him up to the next level of merit scholarships. And as pointed out, especially with his new diagnosis and medication, his grades might start moving upward so all that combined is great news for him.
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So DS23 (son #1) got his ACT results back:
Composite: 22
Math: 18
Science: 24
Reading: 24
English: 20
Writing: 5
He has an IEP for ADHD at school and took it with time and a half.
Overall, pretty good results. I need to think of ways to help him get stronger in math and writing for the future. Any ideas?
I think the 22 will get him into a college. He is low for UW-LaCrosse, low-ish for Eau Claire, right at the average for most other UW schools. He is most interested in science and is going to need that math⊠He is taking AP Statistics next year as his 12th grade math choice. His GPA is just shy of a 3.0.
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Thanks to cc I found out about U of Louisiana-Lafayette. The college gets decent grades on niche too.
OOS students who have above a 2.5 GPA and above a 20 ACT would likely be eligible for instate tuition which is only $6800 a semester.
Out-of-State Fee Waiver ACT 20+
SAT1030+
2.5+ cumulative GPA $68,640*
$6,864/semeste
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I donât think the writing section is required by many collegesâŠI would just forget about that! As for Math, I really think the professional ACT tutors can help a lot. Itâs about strategies, time management, things that can be taught.
My S (also ADHD) went from a 26 to a 32 with a few zoom sessions with a ACT/SAT tutor in WA. Sheâs got experience with ADHD kids. Wonderful to work with. My S really connected with her. Gave him a lot of tips on how to take the test, which really helped. She uses actual tests. Thought she was reasonably priced. Happy to share info if youâd like.
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I am not sure that S1â23 will want to or need to take the ACT again if heâs going to one of the regular University of Wisconsin-system schools, not Madison. I am not sure that S1â23 will tolerate taking the ACT a second time because heâs kind of a one and done kid. Weâll see. Iâm glad this is over with.
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I would not obsess about retaking the ACT again. If his GPA is right around 3 and ACT is 22 then I would personally much rather focus on schools where he can be in the middle 50 and is a good fit for him. Often, lacking a compelling reason, a lopsided GPA vs. ACT can throw up red flags. Now if his GPA was close to 3.5 then I would absolutely recommend a retake.
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@1dadinNC Maybe you could give advice for my D23, too. 3.79 weighted gpa which will likely drop at the end of the year. I wonât try to calculate unweighted. Her school doesnât give that info at all.
1300 SAT with no practice. I suspect she could go higher but I donât have high hopes for that unless a desire to apply to a certain school lights a fire under her. She is taking part in the digital sat study this week.
Because Rutgers has the new FA program, I estimate she would have direct costs for four years around $65K if she could get in. GC thinks she has a chance at SAS or SEBS.
As a back up, she could go to another NJ public school with the new NJ FA program of free or discounted tuition for years 3 and 4. Rowan would probably top the list. Ramapo or Stockton after that. I think she would get in at any of those.
She would rather go OOS somewhere cold, though. Iâm just afraid of strict gpa requirements to keep any merit scholarship. We would also face health insurance costs OOS.
I have mixed feelings about more SAT attempts unless she really buys into it and Iâm not sure how much it would help anyway.
So, what do you think? Is it worth planning for more SATs?
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D23 just finished up the SAT this morning. Her school district uses it as the state-wide assessment so it is mandatory for all juniors.
She felt pretty good about how it wentâŠthough she has always planned to go test optional so as she left this morning and we wished her luck, she said, âI feel goodâŠand am under no pressure to submit!â with a huge smile.
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My D23 also is taking the SAT today and is also super relaxed about it since she has no plans to submit any test scores to schools. In fact, earlier in the week when her friends asked if she was nervous about Wednesday, she asked, âwhy, whatâs happening on Wednesday?â Spoken like a true test-optional kid.
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My S23 in his true adhd ways will totally procrastinate and postpone any discussions about post graduation plans until the last second.
His gf is a senior and debating her choices right now. They are two peas in a pod it sounds like. I know her mom is likely going a bit stir crazy about the lack of decision.
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IF she is chasing OOS merit and took the first SAT cold then I would retake to see if it could be brought up to a 1350. I do not know her score breakdown but if the Math section was not great then with some practice, it could be brought up. A 3.8-ish GPA is nothing to scoff at with a 1300 SAT. Unfortunately, cold states do not offer great deals at public unis. However, down south, it is a different story.
Thank you for your thoughts. She has a 700 EBRW and 600 math. I think her unweighted might be more like 3.5. Sheâd do better with merit at a school that accepts weighted gpa and doesnât recalculate, doesnât look at rank, and and has minimal gpa requirements to keep scholarships.
An older daughter with similar scores at the beginning ended up with a 1470 after a few tries, with big gains in math. We were definitely chasing merit with her and I didnât worry about her meeting grade requirements to keep scholarships. She ended up with full tuition at Rowan and is graduating next month summa cum laude. Sheâs had a great experience there. D23 is a completely different kid, but it might be worth investing in some sat math tutoring for her, too.
I think she could end up doing well in college with some maturity, and once she becomes passionate about a subject. For now, I wish I knew how to help her understand how important it is to hand in work.
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You are my people! Artsy Daughter with 3.3/3.4 no APâs but honors and English AICE class. Sheâs an artsy girl wanting to major in Fashion Merchandising. Not chasing any kind of money we know we paying full price - thank you 529 account started at birth . She was at the same small private school from age 4 to end of sophomore year. Begged to transfer to public as she had tons of dance friends as she just didnât gel with the other 25 super smart girls in her class saving the world (class of like 48 kids).
Sheâs a good student just does the minimum. Has maintained a job for 2 years, was competitive dancer for years and quit this year bc it was just alot of time involved
We paying full price for Engineer son at Purdue (who got money from other schools but He wanted Purdue ). I went to rival - Indiana University. We are currently in Florida and no fashion merchandising programs here. So she will be applying to every school and hopes that her EC, essays help: so far our list
Consists of and she will go wherever she gets in
FIT
Auburn
Univ of Alabama
High Point
Belmont
Kent state
Indiana university
Marist
Georgia Southern
SCAD
LSU
Drexel
I still working on list of other schools that have the merchandising program. Several will be a no
Of Course but all these applications will be in by September 15th as we did October 1st with my son but I need to set her parameters soon and know that it will take 2 weeks to get her ass in a chair to get them submitted. So different than my son who we did nothing for. He did it all and I just supplied the credit card.
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Welcome back! High Point evokes very strong response from locals here in NC. I would describe it as a conservative, student-friendly, laid back school.
I love Savannah, so I vote for SCAD!!
I work in High Point and live 20 min away with friends who have kids at HPU. Excellent school, us locals refer to as the country club of High Point:)
Also my niece who also has an âartsyâ went to SCAD this past fall it was her dream school. She had done several summer camps at SCAD. Unfortunately once there it was not all what she had expected. They donât have normal semesters everything is crammed into I believe 6 or 8 weeks. She had a difficult time fitting in and making friends. She had so much work that it was hard to find time to join clubs. She transferred to USC this spring and is much happier.
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