Hi all! Seems there is a small bunch of us that have chosen to go TO and we get mixed in with all the others that are taking the SAT or ACT.
I wanted to start a thread where we can share our stories, concerns, and outcomes concerning going TO.
I think some schools frown upon it whereas other schools have completely done away with even looking at the test scores. I was searching for a place that we could compare notes. Share where our kids have applied or plan to apply and then share the outcomes. This will be helpful to parents / students in the future that may wonder how applying TO will effect their chances ect.
Please share your childs stats if you would like and the colleges they have applied or will apply and if you have an outcome!
D24- TO
4.0 uw / 4.2 w
2 varsity sports
Too many Clubs to list them all
200+ community service hours
5 Dual enrollment - 4 Honors
Applied:
Clemson
U of SC
Auburn
Alabama - accepted
Ole Miss - accepted
Since we have other threads active which discuss strategies / validity / reasonings, etc, I am allowing this thread where the post contains college lists and / or outcomes as outlined in the original post.
Posts that don’t include are more appropriate for this thread and should be posted there.
Posts not complying are subject to deletion without comment
NJ resident. GPA 3.9 UW, 4.2 W (I think)
2 sport athlete, team captain
3 AP classes
Strong essay
Tutor, math and coding clubs
Job - manager at restaurant
All acceptances were with merit, except Rutgers:
Kenyon
Denison
UMD - CP (Smith)
Rutgers (Biz)
Syracuse (Whitman)
UDel (Biz)
Elon
James Madison (Biz)
Waitlists: WakeForest, UMiami, Clemson
Denied: Villanova, UNC -CH
95% GPA but only around 80 percentile on both SAT and ACT
6 APs, 3 DE and the rest honors other than her performing arts classes (enrolled one class shy of sophomore status)
All extracurriculars centered around her dramatic arts program but also VP of English Honor Society and had summer jobs
Applied to too many as a film major but was accepted to the following schools:
Emerson (attending)
Penn State
UCONN
Florida State (only school submitted her ACT score)
ASU
SDSU and CSUN
Syracuse
Fordham
Drexel
Chapman
UNCSA
Hofstra, Quinnipiac, Ithaca, Marist, DePaul, Bard
Waitlisted: NYU Tisch
Denied: USC and BU
Except for OOS publics, received merit scholarships at all schools in $20-$35K range, including in-state tuition at UCONN, ASU and FSU
My dd 23 (CT resident) applied to most schools TO, except for a few. She was a 3 sport varsity athlete, captain of 2 sports, leader, tons of good EC’s, excellent recommendations and essay. SAT score of 1260, weighted GPA at graduation of a 4.2. We applied early action to every college that offered it.
TO Schools:
Accepted:
UConn
Ohio State
Penn State
Richmond
Bucknell
Lafayette
Rejected:
UNC Chapel Hill
Waitlisted:
Wake Forest
Submitted Score:
Accepted :
Purdue
Georgia Tech (deferred EA then accepted RD)
Illinois residents, attended a well ranked public HS
My oldest graduated in 21
4.4/3.8 - high rigor curriculum
10 AP courses
Lots of leadership in school and in the communitee including 3 year captain of dance company and principals advisory commitee
Percussionist
Excellent letters of rec
UIUC: admitted to honors college w/merit
Knox: admitted with merit
Loyola Chicago: admitted with merit
Grinnell: admitted
Wash U St. Louis: admitted
Northwestern : denied
Vanderbilt: admitted w/full tuition merit scholarship - currently attending - and thriving
My youngest graduated in 23.
3.7/4.35 - high rigor curriculum
10 AP courses
Passionate theater student, with deep involvement in the arts at school and in the community, including leadership on thespian board - VP junior year and President senior year
Also commited to social justice, spent one year in social justice internship and studied social justice theater at Goodman theater in Chicago.
Strong letters of recommendation
They waivered between wanting a strong academic experience for college vs. BFA, so their list was unusual. They also did not apply anywhere if the NPC did not meet our price cap.
Applied for theater:
Northern Illinois BFA: admitted w/merit
Western Michigan BFA: admitted with top scholarship (full ride)
Knox college: admitted EA w/merit (BA theater)
Marquette: applied and admitted late w/merit - after audition at Illinois Theater Fest (BA theater)
NYU BFA directing: denied
Applied for academics (dream schools)
University of Chicago: denied
Pomona College: admitted - attending and studying Theater and Politics
Reading all these successes has certainly helped to give us some encouragement! I keep going back and forth on whether we made the right decision but seeing all the successes of TO has given me hope! Thanks for sharing all that have so far!
Not sure if you want historical data from D22 but I will offer it.
PA resident, female from strong but not highly ranked public HS
3.98/4.12 GPA
4 APs, all Honors
State level swimmer, NHS, social justice involvement, clubs, volunteering, etc, great LOR
(ACT of 27 will note where submitted)
Applied to Nursing Programs
Accepted without score:
Pitt: GAP MSN/DNP small merit
Delaware: Honors, Presidential Scholarship
Scranton: with large merit
Clemson (pre health studies, not accepted nursing)
U of SC not direct admit
JMU not direct admit
Rejected without Score:
Penn State
Villanova (deferred then rejected)
Accepted with 27 ACT:
Temple
Duquesne with large merit
Scranton with large merit
I know things have evolved a bit in the past few years but if we had it to do over again and I could take all the stress of ACT and SAT prep away I would!!
Yes! I definitely want this to be a thread that collects all the data from the past couple of year up until current. I think this thread would have been helpful months ago when we were spending $100s on extra SAT classes, ect. So hoping this can help someone else. Thank you!
I am top 5% of my class of 325 top public school in NY State
UW 3.9 W 4.4
8 APs, 4 dual enrollment, 10 honors classes
I play two travel club sports, am co-captain for 5 years on one
25-35 volunteer hours per year since 9th grade
National Honor Society member
Great essay, great letters of rec.
Female, white, Native American
Honestly, my SAT scores are not great at all. 1140 (don’t judge me) I just don’t perform well on lengthy timed tests in a room filled with 100s of people. I’ve taken the test 3 times and won’t test again.
I applied EA to 17 schools (because I could see myself being more than happy at any of them) and went test optional if available. I’ve been accepted to 3 so far.
Test Optional:
Appalachian State
Baylor Belmont University - accepted with $10,000 merit which is the highest for this year
Clemson Florida Institute of Technology- accepted with $21,000 merit the highest amount offered
Furman
Nova Southeastern
Randolph-Macon
Stetson
TCU
University of Miami
University of Tampa
UNC Wilmington Wingate- accepted with $31,500 in merit
Tests Sent:
Auburn
University of Florida
UTK
I know that my chances are lowered for the schools that required scores unfortunately, but it is what it is and I’m not going to stress.
My 2023 daughter applied TO. We are in NY. She was top 10% of her large, public high school. She had a 97% unweighted average, 5 APs, 2 SUNY Oswego, 2 SUPA, very good ECs with leadership roles, great LOR, and writing is her strength. She applied to:
-SUNY Binghamton (no merit)
-SUNY Stony Brook ($2000/yr merit)
-SUNY Cortland ($3300/yr merit)
-SUNY Geneseo ($3500/yr merit)
-SUNY Oswego ($6450/yr merit)
-Syracuse University (Coronat Scholarship-full tuition)attending
-NYU (waitlisted)
GOOD LUCK!
I am top 5% of my class of 325 top public school in NY State
UW 3.9 W 4.4
8 APs, 4 dual enrollment, 10 honors classes
I play two travel club sports, am co-captain for 5 years on one
25-35 volunteer hours per year since 9th grade
National Honor Society member
Great essay, great letters of rec.
Female, white, Native American
Honestly, my SAT scores are not great at all. 1140 (don’t judge me) I just don’t perform well on lengthy timed tests in a room filled with 100s of people. I’ve taken the test 3 times and won’t test again.
I applied EA to 17 schools (because I could see myself being more than happy at any of them) and went test optional if available. I’ve been accepted to 3 so far.
Test Optional: Appalachian State Baylor Belmont University - accepted with $10,000 merit which is the highest for this year Clemson Florida Institute of Technology- accepted with $21,000 merit the highest amount offered
Furman
Nova Southeastern Randolph-Macon accepted with $29,000 merit and an invitation to interview for a full tuition scholarship
Stetson TCU University of Miami
University of Tampa
UNC Wilmington Wingate- accepted with $31,500 in merit
My D24 (CT) has a 3.6 UW GPA and 1030 SAT-clearly does not test well but giving it one more shot in Oct. Going TO to all Schools unless required. Rigor-8 honors, 3AP, 6 DE, one University early college class. Majoring in business, took 9 business classes.
-National champion at Summit for all star cheer. 6 yrs of all star, 4 yrs high, captain, most improved, coaches awards.
-Over 160 hours community service coaching and mentoring cheer
-lifeguard
-worked at restaurant
-Created online business
-Award for business and tech
-yearbook club, Deca club, peer minister, library club
-Hugh o brien leadership award
Schools requiring SAT and sent
U FL (super reach)
FSU (reach)
Schools TO
UMaine Accepted $15k merit
West Virginia Accepted
Ole Miss Accepted
MS State Accepted
Waiting on and will update:
Auburn
BAMA
Utampa
Umiami
Clemson
Furman
Tulane
College of Charleston
Coastal Carolina
Indiana U
Miami u of OH
URI
UCONN
UNH
Bentley
Conn College
Syracuse
Penn State
My '23 grad sent scores to the few schools that required them, but applied TO otherwise. SAT score of 1240, 3.8UW/4.2W GPA, 3 AP classes (sent AP test scores), a handful of ECs, work experience, two sport varsity athlete, NHS, etc. Above average/excellent LORs and essays. She applied EA to every college that offered that choice.
Scores sent:
Auburn (accepted)
U of Tennessee (accepted)
FSU (waitlisted, then rejected)
UGA (deferred, then rejected)
Test optional:
UCONN (accepted)
Virginia Tech (accepted)
JMU (accepted)
U of Tennessee (accepted)
U of South Carolina (accepted)
U of Alabama (accepted)
Syracuse (waitlisted, then accepted - Newhouse)
Clemson (waitlisted, did not take waitlist spot)
Another data point people may want to add. If your student took a number of AP classes, did you submit AP scores and went TO, or did you submit no AP scores and no ACT/SAT?
Including merit awards, too, because “top” or “great” merit can be subjective.
Kid A
Small private boarding school (was a day student).
Top 4 in class
UWGPA - 3.99
3 AP’s (not many offered at the school)
All other classes honors, if available
3 season varsity sports for 4 years - captain of two of those sports
Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, & Gold awards
Private flute lessons
Lifeguard, CPR/AED certified, Certified Water Safety Instructor
Accepted to all schools applied to:
College of Wooster ($48k merit)
St Olaf College ($29k merit)
Gettysburg College (43k merit)
Denison College ($25k merit)
Dickinson College ($25k merit)
Connecticut College ($30k merit)
Smith College (no merit… it is not offered to many students)
Kid B
Small private boarding school (day student… different school from Kid A)
Top 8 in class
UWGPA 4.0+
3 AP’s, 3 DE classes, the rest honors classes, if available
Robotics team 4 years (captain 4th year)
Eagle Scout - active BSA member
Private piano lessons
Lifeguard, CPR/AED certified, Certified Water Safety Instructor
Manhattan College ($35.5k merit)
Alfred University (honors program) ($25.5k merit)
WPI ($24k merit)
UVM (honors program) ($20k merit)
Drexel (honors program) (23.7k merit)
Lafayette – no merit (didn’t interview, which is a merit requirement)
UConn – ($7.5k merit)
Clarkson University (honors program) ($41k merit)
Rose-Hulman ($27.5k merit)
Did not get into Brown
No scores(SAT/ACT/AP) were sent to any colleges. All in all, I’d say that not submitting scores did not hurt either of them. Good luck to those of you in the thick of it right now!
96% (I think) GPA and top 10% of her class.
3 AP classes/5 offered at small, rural school; honors where available elsewhere.
Some school govt/club leadership, but not president of any.
Unique philanthropic organization, founding member, very personal reasons.
Most time dedicated to interesting job.
No sports.
Applied to 6 schools. Accepted at all into direct admit business programs:
IU Kelley
Fordham Gabelli
Pitt CBA
Ohio State Fisher
Ohio University
Michigan State Broad
She received merit at all except OSU. She didn’t apply to any honors programs, but a couple offer honors based on the regular application. I think Ohio U and either Michigan State or IU offered honors.
This post is mostly to help other people in the future who are searching for scholarships and show results.
DD applied to 20 schools
DD also applied for 2 BS/DO programs.
State - MD
SAT combined 1430 (Math750) got by November.
Most schools applied TO. (Needed SAT for DO programs and some scholarships)
GPA at time of application 3.98 unweighted ( I do not remember weighted, but pretty much very high - all classes honor, AP or college level).
30 credits DE in Community College with GPA 4.0 (including Calc 1, Physics, English, Bio 1, Psychology, Chem, English etc.)
Had very focused EC (including 2 years of internship in a hospital and doctor’s office), and organized a significant club in school for helping people in the community (sorry for staying vague. This club was the main reason she got all her scholarships! ), plus normal girl things like volleyball and dancing, honor societies, school activities etc. Again success is basically attributed to community service.
She got accepted (or waitlisted) at all schools but CWRU (was denied EA - we suspect that this is the school’s punishment for her older sister not taking a very big scholarship there a couple of years ago .) We find this hilarious.
Nova South Eastern -22K (accepted to BS/DO program) -SAT for DO only.
Ursinus -35k (I think provided SAT 1360)
St. Mary’s Maryland -6k (this is in state school) -TO
Juniata - 39K (provided SAT 1360)
Miami of Ohio - 34K TO
Dickinson - 35K TO
Gettysburg - 43K (Eisenhower Scholar) TO
Rhodes - 28K TO
Muhlenberg - 34K (invited for Shankweiler) TO
Hobart and William Smith -40K Provided SAT to qualify for scholarship.
George Wahington- waitlisted, did not stay on WL, TO
UMD- ILS Honors, Dean’s Scholarship -4.5k for 2 years. TO
Washington and Lee - waitlisted, not accepted - TO
Case Western - rejected EA, TO
Richmond- accepted TO
Lafayette accepted TO
University of Rochester - accepted TO
Bucknell - waitlisted, not accepted TO
Furman - 28K TO
University of Cincinnati TO- some ridiculously small scholarship, and not accepted into Medical Science Major.
