UW Stout, UW Eau Claire, UW Milwaukee, maybe a few other directional UWs (our state has reciprocity.) U of MN Twin Cities (a reach, although not aiming at a competitive major, so maybe.) Winona State. Vaguely looking at schools in Canada- tempting but probably not logistically realistic. Vaguely looking at schools in Portland OR (might take a gap year living with relatives while taking some CC classes.)
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I hear you. Remote learning did a number on our kid, and going back in person brought its own challenges, so ours has a mostly downward trajectory, not exactly what colleges are looking for. So sorry youāre going through this, but youāre absolutely not alone!
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Things were bad for my son as a junior but he is recovering now and showing some initiative. Hang in there. From what I hear, High Point University in NC might be a really good fit for your son. Take a look at the forum for that school. They say it is impossible to fail there. There are a few smaller NC colleges I would look into as well ā Mars Hill, Montreat, St. Andrews.
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I can only hope schools are taking this into consideration.
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My ADHD kid was. Last quarter of Freshmen year and a bunch of a sophomore year was rough. Even straight As the first half of junior year only got home go to about a 3.3.
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S23 got his first college acceptance last week to Iowa State. Iowa State, University of Iowa, Kansas State and the University of Kansas are all really upfront on their website about what it takes to get in and what your merit will be. They list an admission index (think of it as points for your GPA, high school credits and test scores) and if you meet it you get a quick turnaround on your application. Itās basically an auto-admit. If you come in below the index, they will put it into the wholistic review process and that will take longer.
Although Iowa State is a huge university, they have a very strong academic support program and seem to do everything to keep kids in both the school and their major rather than weed them out. They have a great engineering program, so itās a school to look into if you have a future engineer that may make it into another school, but not necessarily their engineering program (or the type of engineering they want if the school is not direct admit).
We are OOS and will be visiting Iowa State and University of Minnesota next week. I talked S23 into a visit to St. Olafās, too, as itās between the two and looks really interesting even though he has no intention of applying. Iām glad heās willing to look at a small school just to humor me. Maybe he will see something that the huge schools just donāt have and start to consider some smaller schools.
I started following the 3.0-3.4 thread last year for D22 and it was so refreshing. She ended up attending a nearby state school and itās perfect for her. I was pushing her to look at other schools for comparisons but she was sure thatās where she wanted to go and once we saw it we knew it was the right choice for her. She was a one and done.
S23 has a high GPA but ACT scores arenāt very good (will be applying test optional) and due to an LD we are very interested in schools with good academic support. On paper, he may be āhitting below his weightā but in actuality, we want him somewhere where he will thrive. I learned so much from last yearās thread that I will be using this yearās for reference as well. I feel like, despite the higher GPA and good ECs, he just doesnāt fit in with the āchance me for T20 schoolsā crowd . Right now he is targeting Iowa State (already in), University of Minnesota and Colorado State (his top choices), Michigan Tech and I think he will add Northern Michigan (they both are involved in the wolf research that heās had a chance to work on through his school and he wants to continue). I am making him apply to UMaine just to have something a bit closer to home (still 4 hours away) as air travel has gotten so crazy lately. They are all great schools for a kid that wants to major in bio and Wildlife biology.
If it were up to me, S23 could be looking at small schools, but he has completely different ideas. I have to keep reminding myself that he will be the one that will have 4 years invested in this decision and not me, but as a control freak thatās really hard. Luckily, heās been really good about researching and writing essays, so he will have all of his applications out before returning to school in Sept.
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We have quite a few students who choose Iowa State each year. Ive heard nothing but great things!
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Well it sure looks like he is targeting many of the right schools if he wants to be studying wildlife, especially wolves. If (and I know it is a big if) he decides he is open to LACs, Cornell College in Iowa recently published the below story. Cornell College is a 1-course-at-a-time school like Colorado College, and works well for some kids with learning differences. https://news.cornellcollege.edu/2022/03/heinzel-receives-fellowship-study-wolves/
LOL. I happened to show him the same article when it first came out as Cornell College was the first college I fell in love with for him way back when he was a freshman in highschool (I have a friend that works there, so I read up on it), but he has no interest. He goes to a boarding school that is just too similar and he wants a new experience.
I definitely recommend those on this thread take a look at it though. Itās not right for everyone, but for those that it clicks with I think itās amazing.
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Starting the pre-app prep here and anticipating Aug 1. My son has the common app ready and is starting to work on essays. His goal school has additional essay requirements outside the common app but the questions havenāt been released yet. Trying to get as much done before school starts as possible. Overall GPA is still good but Junior year had the lowest GPA so far for a few reasons, but the main one being the change in curriculum during the Covid years and having to play catch up last year as a result. Iām worried about how the dip in grades will impact his chances. I donāt want to fast forward time but I do wish I had a crystal ball.
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Another school he might consider is U of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. It has great forestry, wildlife, natural resources programs, it is much smaller than CSU or ISU (about 10,000 students), and itās fairly inexpensive with some nice financial aid available. Travel is not easy as you have to connect thru detroit, Oāhare or MSP.
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@vwlizard My son is starting his 6th year at Kansas State (3 undergrad, 2 in vet school) and he loves it! I have been amazed at how the professors really get to know the students. He has played golf, squash, and handball with his professors on weekends. They have helped him get research, jobs and given great advice for the future. The school gets noted for happiest students and it really does have them. Academically in the vet, pre-vet, pre-med and sciences (what I know best) they have been very challenging academically and have prepared him for vet school extremely well! (He is top of his class which has students from all overt he country). The town is small but he has always had plenty to do and friends who are very strong academically. The merit has been great for him, he has done 2 mini session study abroad trips (with some scholarships given on both) which were excellent, was president of his fraternity (greek life is there but students not in it also have plenty to do!), had several jobs and graduated summa cum laude. Cost of living is low! We are very happy with his decision and we are from a very large city OOS. Iowa State is also a very good school, I had an engineering intern that went there and we ended up hiring him!
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FYI, Baldwin Wallace gives out merit scholarships for GPAs of 3.0-3.33 of 15k/yr.
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Hi all, DS23 living his best life. Working outside as a sailing instructor, lots of time with new girlfriend. Heās never home, so would love some advice on engaging him to get down to business and work on college list.
June SAT was down bit. Superscore is 1370; GPA not yet updated for the semester Jr. year but was last a 3.3 UW/3.6 W. Will go up as he was had 6 As and 2 Bs since it was last updated. I hope to see him up to a 3.5 UW.
Wondering if he should take SAT again; he never wanted to try the ACT. He wants to try SAT again, but we could not get an August date for SAT, is it possible more locations will be added or people will un-register? Would love to have this behind us before school starts.
Essay class week after next.
Current interests: pre-vet, marine biology, archaeology (has shadowed at our local vet).
ECs: Taekwondo; SCUBA; Peer Leadership; Community Service with school/church.
His initial list was colleges all over the world and high reach. I think heās now limited the international options to Scotland. He seems uninterested in south/middle/west, so weāve got mostly New England Flagships on the list to visit: UNH, UMAINE, UCONN, UVM, UMASS. Mid-Atlantic SUNYs, UDEL possible. I know there might be smaller private schools that have opportunities, but Iām stuck trying to get access to plenty of animals and/or ocean, hence the focus on Land Grant Universities.
So in addition to sharing my experience, Iām wondering how I get this active guy to focus, whether I should let him go through the SAT again, and what else should be on the list.
Itās going to be a crazy year. Thanks for CC and this thread in particular.
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Some smaller private schools that are definitely in reach with his stats and have good Marine Bio programs are Roger Williams and University of New England.
Roger Williams is an easy visit if your going to URI and UNE is an easy ride from UNH
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Iām not very familiar with these schools, but these are private schools that might suit your sonsā interests:
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Mercy (NY): Offers majors in animal sciences and in veterinary technology. The former has various research opportunities with faculty and the latter includes two semester-long externships in a clinical environment.
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Saint Francis (PA ): Offers a major in Aquarium & Zoo Science with lots of hands-on learning, an animal care practicum, and an internship. A concentration in marine biology is available in the bio department, and thereās also a minor in biological diving.
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U. of New England was already mentioned above.
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Wilson (PA ): Offers majors in animal studies, equine studies (including a concentration in animal-assisted therapy), and in veterinary nursing, along with a minor in conservation, which seems to lean more towards animal conservation.
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Take a look at Eckerd, near Tampa, Florida. They claim to have one of the best marine science programs in the country. Certainly lots of water, and I imagine lots of animals - it is the only school I am aware of that welcomes pets in the dorm! I donāt have any personal experience with the school, but I read about it on here and always thought it would be a perfect place for my daughter.
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Embrace that he is not hyper focused on this process for a few weeks. It is okay to let him have the summer. The essay class will help him organize his thoughts around that for the common app and will be one less thing to worry about in the fall.
That is a great list of colleges based on his interests. Several of them have sailing teams that would be happy to have him, too.
His SAT is solid for the list you have and others he may add based on gpa. Encourage him to have a strong first semester to show he is on an upward trajectory. That is more important than pushing for some goal of clearing 1400.
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In addition to Eckerd, which is a CTCL school, I have on my voluminous, years-in-the-making spreadsheet that Uni of New Mexico has pet-friendly dorms. Dickinson in PA has service dog training. And Trinity in Texas has ācampus cats,ā cared for by a student club.
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If you get to UMaine, Iād love to hear your thoughts. When people ask my D23 about what colleges she is thinking about, UMaine is it. Now she includes Susquehanna.
Iām thinking about visiting Ursinus. It could be a little more expensive, maybe too close for D23. But it would be convenient for us and might suit Dās interests outside of school if itās near a trail system and shops.
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