It’s a thread dedicated for parents whose kid’s GPA is between 3.0-3.4, since the board is geared more towards high stat kids. If you do a search there are other Parents Class Of …. 3.0-3.4. The conversation is more useful if you don’t have a straight A kid. I just don’t know who starts the threads. Is it a moderator or can anyone start them?
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Here is a reply I made to a similar question in another thread last year:
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Thank you for the information. I figured as much from the context but wanted to double check.
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Well you all look like a fun bunch! Excited to join in for my S24 who is very different from my S21 who just finished the chaos of BFA acting applications for the fall. This one is a musician but not sure if he wants it for college, hoping to just have to think about grades, scores and money this time!
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LA Times reporting that CA legislature will approve more $$ to help UCLA, UCSD, and Cal afford to reduce their non-resident admissions starting with the class of 2022. It was tough for many CA kids in 2021. I’m glad this gives more access to the CA kids who are qualifying but can’t seem to crack the code for the top 3 UCs
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I wish they would have stuck with the 10% cap but better than nothing.
I thought they will for the top three UCs?
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Thank you. I misread. 10% was the desired plan.
I’m hitting a pay wall now but I think the earlier article said 10% at every campus, but now it’s 18% at the top 3.
10% at each of the higher and mid-tiers would have potentially been a big game changer for unhooked high GPA students like my D24. This is an improvement but not sure it will make a difference in our case. We’ll see. Thank goodness she will not choose one of the most popular majors.
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Hello! I think this is my first post here. I have lurked occasionally.
I’m at a place trying to find the KIND of school my kid will like. He really can go anywhere if he gets in. I was looking this evening for guides and quizzes to help…kind of like the Lisa Birnbach book from when I was looking at colleges…but that doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Everything is focused on numbers when I’m trying to figure out culture. He is a strong student, but 99% would not get into an ivy league school. That’s not the goal.
What I know he WOULDN’T like is a big sportsy school centered around Greek life. He is very introverted but also progressive. Probably will major in something related to science, although he’s strong in English…just doesn’t like it that much. He really has NO idea where he wants to go, and it would be helpful start identifying the kinds of schools we’d be looking at.
I’m torn between big city schools and small schools that cater to more eccentric kids. (I looked at Bard, Sarah Lawrence, Bennington, etc…in my day, but ended up at NYU. But I majored in English.) Then there are small schools IN big cities.
We’re in Virginia, but I probably would only consider William and Mary if he could get in, and I don’t even know if that’s the right culture. I know he has a few years, but I don’t think his personality is going to change that much. I am also struggling with extra curriculars for him because he’s so introverted. He was online all this year, and I’ve told him he MUST do something this year, but he’s not motivated for it. He likes drawing but doesn’t want to show people. He likes learning on his own, but not in any measurable way.
He’s my only kid, and we’ve saved a lot. How would you/did you narrow things down if you weren’t guided by financial reasons? I wanted to start scheduling some tours this summer but most are still online.
I think it’s ideal if your son could visit the colleges when students are on campus to really get the vibe.
But based on the fact that he likes science, but good at English, not a big sport school, want progressive environment…and if you’re open to West Coast…
He might like UCSD. I wasn’t sure if big school is ok. Top notch STEM school but they have colleges that kids are assigned to where you take thematic classes together. Think of it like Hogswart in Harry Potter. For instance, the Eleanor Roosevelt College is all about writing and humanities—but it doesn’t affect your major. UC Irvine has a smaller feel campus. Also progressive and not a big sport campus. I think UC Santa Cruz/UC Santa Barbara is also a great place for eclectic kiddos. For private schools I think Seattle University my be interesting. Small college but in big city, though.
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For an overview, I really, really like the big green Fiske guide. The Fiske guide gives you a list of similar overlap schools for each college, which is handy. There is at least one or two paragraphs about culture for each school and it is quite concise but gives you a sense of it.
S21 also used Niche, which I thought was better than Big Future and some of the others. I think you can filter by size, major and other things.
You can find preference questionnaires online for your son to fill out. If I remember correctly, the Fiske Guide has one at the front. I can’t remember where I got the other one my son did. My son leaned small, rural or suburban school and that’s what he ended up choosing in the end. He was into science and a lot of times the stronger programs lean big school. Tufts might be interesting to you as it is not too big but very strong for science and pretty progressive.
When drilling down, Unigo has some interesting, topical, anonymous student feedback, to be taken with a grain of salt of course.
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Get on the mailing lists for schools too, even though it can get overwhelming and often too much mail, I did at least start to feel like I had a consistent “read” on some schools based on their mailers alone. Swarthmore, Northeastern, Sewanee, Carnegie Mellon, and Kenyon all come to mind and offer different combinations of size and settings. Honestly for us, nothing could replace the actual visits though, even if they are not schools you are considering, just driving around schools that are a reasonable distance for you to get a feel for what he likes and doesn’t like will help him with translating that to other schools (for instance my D21 was our oldest and just could not conceptualize the different sizes until she saw various sizes up close and personal).
Thanks! I have to admit that I know very little about the west coast. He likes rainy and cold places, so I’m not sure Santa Barbara would be for him. Probably the Pacific Northwest. I know someone well who went to Reed and loved it. But I heard they’re have some financial issues. I think we will have to go and look at some west coast schools. I’m not sure when. I’d love to keep him relatively on the east coast for me, but if he really liked somewhere across the country, I would like to let him explore.
Thank you! I will definitely check those out! I don’t think I’ve seen them.
Thank you. Did you do tours or just visit and walk around? I can take him to various schools around the DC area now and in the fall even if I can’t get tours. There are a variety there between the different kinds of schools. We’re taking a trip to NYC in a few weeks, so I plan to walk around Washington Square Park and show him what a big city college is like. And then I could compare it with something like University of Richmond, which is more suburban. But I ultimately feel like the culture is the main thing—not the location. Maybe he just needs more time. But some of his friends already have ideas about where they might want to go. Knowing would help with goals.
Also, to piggyback—and thank you for the advice! He’s my only, so this is a one and done for me—what do you do with a really introverted kid and extracurricular activities? If you have a kid who isn’t a big joiner, how do they stand out? I know people whose kids are in EVERYTHING! And mine doesn’t want to leave his bedroom. Lol! I’m like…make an app! Enter your art in something…but I just get eye rolls. He’s a good student and good kid, but it seems like that’s not enough these days. I’m hoping going IN school will encourage him to find something, but it’s also right when he’s starting to take a very full schedule, h English, h chemistry, h algebra 2, AP psychology, AP seminar, Spanish 3 ( bane of his existence), programming and project management.
I’m not an expert but just speaking in very broad strokes, there is leadership, music, sports, service, hobbies, family help, etc. Mine had basically no leadership and no real life challenges to overcome but a ton of service hours and hs sports.
Mine also has a lot of “intellectual curiosity”. That phrase is something I learned is important to a lot of colleges and one of the ways some colleges score applicants. S was genuinely interested in natural science and in his junior year took a deep dive into a weird, specific botany hobby that was pretty solitary though he did network with others online. This was part of his personal statement. He also read a lot. His service was at the City Museums and he did some extra programming in his own. Just making the point here that there is room to explore avenues that are intellectual, untraditional, solitary and authentic. Whatever your son is genuinely interested in.
The tricky part is that some schools (maybe more very selective big publics) like to see recognition and participation beyond the high school arena. It’s also good imho to encourage experiences in his community when he’s ready. Have him pick one thing and try to stick with it. No need to join everything imho. Try to connect with a couple of favorite junior year professors very well during office hours if he’s uncomfortable raising his hand. Colleges want to hear about what a student will bring to their community and how they will get involved as a student there. Positive impact on others, that helps too.
You’ve got time for him to discover his path, so remember to breathe. It’s a bit harder too during a pandemic. There are so many great schools who will love your kid for exactly who he is. You can give him the courage and knowledge to present his authentic self to them when the time comes. Lots of great, free resources out there.
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