Probably. (Even if they’re staying test-optional—a lot of pre-pandemic test-optional places weren’t actually optional when it came to the good scholarships.)
I’m just hoping that we go back to having scholarship grids again—a lot of places that had GPA/test grids before the pandemic got rid of them entirely when they dropped the test requirements, and I for one very much miss the predictability.
Hello, can you please explain what this grid is? We are not aware of such a thing. Thank you.
oh grids are just showing automatic merit for test scores and or GPAs. They are pretty transparent; they let you know exactly what to expect.
here is one from University of Kansas but it could change. In 2019/20 - it was both ACT/GPA on their chart and i’m wondering if it’s going back to something similar.
Don’t know if you posted about KU merely as an example, or if it’s a top contender for you, but feel free to PM if you have questions about campus/culture. I have no familiarity with the AE program, specifically, other than that it’s highly regarded.
We’re back home from our tours at Trinity University and UTSA (and exhausted!!) for the twins. These college tours really are a beating lol.
We had a fabulous few days in San Antonio! Despite being a born and raised Dallasite, I admittedly do not venture out to other parts of Texas much. I am a huge travel aficianado, but any chance I get for vacation, it’s usually leaving the country. Our boys have traveled international extensively but barely within the state lol, so we were all very pleasantly surprised by San Antonio. The last time I had been there was 1999!
What came as a surprise to us was that SA is the second largest city in Texas and 7th largest in the US but didn’t feel that way at all! It felt very comfortable and pleasant, even during the Spring Break rush.
Trinity University:
Nestled on the outskirts of Downtown San Antonio, it’s a very pretty campus. Green, kind of hilly, there is an “Upper Campus” and “Lower Campus” with a couple of flights of stairs to delineate the freshman dorms/main dining hall and the academic buildings. Its very walkable, all the buildings the same red brick. Pretty fountain, green space and grassy quads. They had their Spring Break the week before so classes were in session so we got to see a typical day. Enrollment size of 2500 +/-, saw every color of the rainbow, looks like a diverse student body which is a HUGE plus.
The information session was great, very thorough. Two things that stood out to me:
1)The test optional policy is a 3 year test run to see how it worked out…our HS Class of 2023 will be TO, then after their admission cycle they will review the past 3 years data to see if Trinity will go back to requiring test scores again or remain TO
2)They encourage ED & EA, (Nov 1 App deadline and notified by Dec 1/Dec 15) and to help with that they will give a full pre-read of financials and tell you what to expect in scholarships and financial aid so that the student can decide which application to pursue.
The only issue we had was with our student tour guide. There were 6 tour groups, and our guide was 30 minutes late! We had to wait around making small talk for him and once he got there he wasn’t very good. He was the only one without a mic headset so we could barely hear him and he honesty didn’t do much to sell Trinity to us. He was a PoliSci major and talked so much about Politics that it majorly turned Thing 1 off lol. We did see and hear enough from other groups to see that ours was an anomaly. I wish we had snuck in with another group lol.
The dorm we saw was nice! All dorms have exterior access with a balcony and 4 large windows, so it felt like being a treehouse almost lol. 2 to a room and shared bathroom with the room next door. Every room has a HUGE walk in closet. 
Academics: Engineering is ABET accredited, they just received a $25 million alumni donation for their Business school. Internships are VERY easy to get being on the edge of Downtown SA. Research opportunities are abundant, even for freshman. All classes taught by professors, no TA’s. I got a very work hard/play hard vibe from Trinity, with LOTS of support, like they WANT you to succeed. There also a distinct preppy bordering on affluent vibe.
I knew Thing 2 would love it, it’s right up his alley, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much Thing 1 liked it.
UTSA:
They were on spring break so campus was empty, but it’s nice! About 30,000 enrolled, so much smaller than TAMU. Not as aesthetically pleasing as Texas Tech campus, but San Antonio definitely beats Lubbock lol. UTSA’s Comp Sci is only one of 20 in the nation NSA certified for Cyber Operations. The University is now a Tier 1 Research facility as well. Facilities are all VERY nice, the dorms we saw were much newer/nicer than Texas Tech where our eldest is at. They’re putting a lot of money into facilities and I think they’re fast shedding the “commuter school” persona.
Pleasant fact at UTSA: there is a student pantry where students can go daily for FREE basic groceries (milk, eggs, bread etc)…you’re allowed items a day. I like that they are acknowledging food insecurities in the student population.
I feel like I’m missing more info, I’ll add in comments as it comes to me lol.
Disney over Spring Break, never again. But it was awesome seeing S23 perform there!
When we get back, its prom prep. And hes trying a new sport this spring. ACT complete and awaiting score.
I set up a couple of virtual college info sessions to start his mind thinking about options.
Hes so busy all the time. Anyone else done virtual sessions lately? Any they liked?
D23 met with her counselor yesterday and it turns out that she, contra what any of us thought, will have finished her HS English requirements at the end of this semester! (Her oral communications DE class is her 4th HS credit of English.) That means that the only course she needs to complete her HS requirements is econ. She was planning to take intro to business to fulfill that, but there was a schedule conflict with music theory/ear training, and that’s more important for what she wants to do, so she’s taking a different course.
Here’s her new draft schedule, she registers for classes in something like three weeks, so assuming none of them have filled up:
This leaves her room for one more course if she’d like, but any of the stuff she’d like to take has schedule conflicts or is offered in the evening (and the courses above are all in the morning), so she might not. If she doesn’t, she promises to dedicate time to learning to use Ableton better.
Not quite midwest, but University of Alabama Huntsville
My 11th grader just took their first SAT today. They’d been lightly studying and taking some practice tests: 740-780 Verbal, 740-790 Math over 4 tests (their scores didn’t go up each time, just moved up and down around in that range).
They hadn’t come across a math problem they didn’t know how to do yet, but rather it was a mistake that got them to a wrong answer. Until today! When they said four problems on the test were something they’d never heard of before. They shrugged and hoped they figured it out via context.
Sigh. I was hoping they’d be one and done with the SAT and never have to take the thing again. Needing higher scores for Merit Aid. Crossing fingers…
S23 got his scores back yesterday - Nov 2021 scores of 1390 (640 ELRW/750 Math) increased 50 points from his March 2022 scores of (690 ELRW/750 Math). He’s happy with that and won’t test any more. If only his rank would get better but not likely - really not a big deal since he is mostly applying to safety schools. But he’s starting to talk more about schools with friends and last night popped up with University of Washington - I was like wha?! (we live in Texas 
). I told him he can apply to wherever - if he gets accepted, then we will check it out. Application season is just around the corner - and we will be virtually passing around the wine/liquor bottle while we sit back and watch. 
I have not posted forever because I don’t want to jinx my kid actually graduating. He took the March SAT and still has no scores posted. Anyone know anything about that? It IS possible his score went way up from the PSAT because he said the test was shockingly easy. But wouldn’t there be some sort of notice?
My S23 took the ACT this month and they told the students it could take up to 8 weeks to get results. Not sure if SAT is similar.
My kiddo had higher SAT than PSAT scores and also said it is easier. She took it in December and scores came exactly when they said they would. I don’t recall how many weeks but you can check their website.
My son is registering for senior year classes next week. He is signing up for AP English and AP European History (reading and writing are his strengths). His choices for math (his weakness) are pre-calculus and statistics. He has struggled in every math class since he started in pre-algebra in middle school. He needs tutors and extra help at school just to get Cs in math. Normally, I’d tell him to take statistics next year and be done with it but he is interested in business in college. I’ve looked at the business courses at the colleges he is looking at and they all require calculus. If he doesn’t take pre-calc, he will be lost in calculus, right? I never took either class myself. Any advice?
My D’s March SAT scores came yesterday morning. I don’t know if they release in batches. Hopefully, yours will come soon.
My twins got their March SAT scores Friday morning as well.
They did okay…not where they need to be for our merit chase but close…will be retaking in May!
Have him take pre-calc college prep, not honors and get the basics. The teacher will spend some time filling in gaps the students may have from Covid learning. It will help to have that in HS and not at the college level the first time.
If you can convince him to do a little extra math this summer to not lose what he learned in Algebra II that will help. Just free Kahn academy - factoring, etc…
Most colleges give a mathematics assessment and place them with that anyway. Some kids have to take one or two math classes before they get to the first required math class for their major. He will be better prepared for that assessment next summer before college with the pre-Calc, too.
If he can fit the prob and stats in as well that is a great class that is useful in business courses and even Econ.
Thanks for the advice. He asked his teacher to drop down a level in math (he should’ve done that last year but hindsight…).
I don’t think he has any gaps due to virtual learning. His private school only missed a week in the spring of 2020 and last year was hybrid (he was in school 2 days per week and online the rest).
If he has to retake math or physics this summer, he will get A LOT of math practice then. Lol!
Yes I will advice taking precalc. It will prepare him well for calc. My dd is also looking at business and one of the schools she is looking at have over 92% of the students coming in with calc 1 but it is a tech school. She is taking calc 2 now and will take accounting next year.
There is a virtual session of the “Northwest 5” LACs - Puget sound, Whitman, Willamette, Lewis and Clark and Reed. I thought it was well done and an intro to 5 schools in an hour. They offer it again May 15 and June 11. We registered through the Puget sound site but probably is on all of them?