So i would need a 1460 to make what you think will be the cutoff? That sucks… But thanks for the info. I wonder why it changed, guess the new sat got easier. I doubt i can do as well on math as i did before and they dont superscore. This sucks. Thanks for the info though. I sent an email to them as well.
@novicemom23kids - I think you are right. I think they will need a 1450 on the new one. However I am also wondering if they will change the ACT or the GPA at the same time. I hope not… But I have to wonder how long they can keep giving out all these scholarships…If you look at other colleges merit sometimes the ACT or GPA is higher.
Wow cant believe i missed this by a year. And i didnt take the ACT and only will be able to in the fall… Cross our fingers they let it slide for another year to transition
Just to note, I specifically asked about this during our visit last week, just because I was curious. The woman doing the session said that the score requirement would be adjusted if necessary to keep it in line with the old test. The notice on the web page is not very well worded in my opinion, in that it doesn’t make that clear.
The College Board has a concordance tool on its website that will convert your score. But essentially students are going to need to score 40 to 60 points higher on the SAT for the Presidential, but that’s just my guess. I haven’t done the tool.
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cant believe i missed this by a year.
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Not really. Unless Bama increases the required score for the Old SAT to be over 1400, the req’t is the same. You have a 1400 on the New SAT. That is equivalent to a 1340 on the Old SAT. Your 1400 SAT is equivalent to an ACT 30. If you had taken the Old SAT, you likely would have gotten around a 1340.
The confusion is that the numbers are rather similar, so people are thinking that they need a “better” score on the new SAT. No, they don’t. They need the equivalent score on the conversion.
In other words, someone with the new SAT score, will still need the equivalent to an ACT 32 for Presidential. They aren’t being required to have a higher equivalent score.
When the new MCAT came out, the scoring was very different, so less confusion. A new MCAT score of 509 is equivalent to the Old MCAT 30. Since the numbering is so different, there isn’t this “now I need a higher score” feeling.
@mom2collegekids has it exactly right. They have NOT made it more difficult to meet the minimum requirements; they’re simply adjusting the minimum NEW SAT score so it’s equivalent to the OLD one.
And given that, I would not expect them to increase the minimum ACT scores or GPA requirements for the 2016-17 school year. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.
Given that the new SAT concordance charts seem to be off, they may very well be making it more difficult to meet the minimum requirement. It will be interesting to see whether the # of students getting the Presidential increases or decreases next year.
This may be a year where it makes sense for kids who prefer the SAT to focus on the ACT instead.
Since most of UA students take the ACT, I don’t think we’ll see any reductions.
The new SAT has likely been well-normed-referenced, so likely the concordance charts are accurate. It’s not like they just guessed or estimated what was equivalent.
See the thread discussing the charts. They are based on a research study that does not seem to line up well with results that have been posted on CC…very similarly to the concordance charts for the PSAT. Just a giant mess.
@itsgettingreal17 The results of “lower” scores from CC student report make sense. There are no seniors taking those March tests - more younger kids with less experience testing. There have not been multitudes of practice tests provided on the new format of questions - especially for the ELA. There was no opportunity for the CB to reuse tests yet so there were no instances of students having already completed the exact same problems and passages - often multiple times. The test prep companies and tutors did not have binders and binders of old authentic tests to pull likely questions and “overstudy” those kids. Real test questions were not floating around the internet and there has not been a lot of practice on these new common core aligned ELA type questions. The current sophomores and juniors have not gone through school with these evidence based multiple choice questions on standardized tests. There seem to be less perfect top scores here on CC but there is no indication that the tests were any more challenging - just kids who didn’t know exactly what to study. There does seem to be some people online indicating that the CB did indeed inflate the scores so not to scare people away from the new SAT while everyone is finding a way to learn the test. Additionally, there was not penalty for guessing - which makes sense that the older test would been seen as more rigorous.
My D did not take both tests but most of her friends (and several relatives) did take both the old and new SAT -and most did better on the new test - some by a lot (upwards of 100+ points in a little over a month -Feb make up old SAT vs. March new SAT). Their guidance counselors here had originally suggested that they all skip the first few revised SAT sittings but after viewing results have encouraged many kids to jump back to the SAT - they feel that the scores were very high. We are sitting out the mess and doing the ACT.
Please pardon me for re-directing the thread, but does anyone know the stats for how many students LOSE the Presidential after freshman year or any year thereafter based on GPA requirements?
It’s a good question, @STEM2017, and one that many have wondered about. To my knowledge, nobody has ever come up with a number. Based on anecdotal evidence (discussions I’ve seen among parents on Facebook and here), however, I would say it’s not common.
According to my son, it IS quite common for students to go on scholarship probation for a semester, but the vast majority are able to get off. He even has a friend who lost his scholarship, withdrew for a semester, and somehow managed to get it reinstated. I do NOT think that is common, however. In fact it’s the first I’ve ever heard of it.
Thanks @LucieTheLakie From what I hear, C grades are fairly common in lower level engineering classes.
C grades and Presidential scholarships don’t play nicely together in the sandbox. 
I know of several students who have lost their scholarships, and more who’ve been on scholarship probation. Alabama’s probation is pretty generous - you need to earn a 3.0 in every semester during which you’re on scholarship probation, but as long as you do so you can stay on scholarship probation, with the scholarship intact, even if you never pull the cumulative GPA up to 3.0. That means an atrocious freshman year is not necessarily the end of a scholarship. But I’ve never seen official numbers on scholarship loss.
Do they first look at the kids grades after fall semester or spring?
They don’t look at freshmen until after the spring semester.
No student loses his scholarship after one year unless he totally flunks out of school.
After the first year, if the student doesn’t have a cum 3.0, then they’re on probation. If they make a 3.0 for Fall semester (not cum), then they stay on scholarship, but stay on probation until their cum reaches a 3.0.
It’s important for students to balance their schedules. It can also help if a student takes a class at a local CC or wherever, if he thinks he’ll get a C in that course since that grade doesn’t compute in the scholarship formula.
I have only known a few kids to lose their awards. In those few cases, the students stubbornly made poor decisions even though “the adults” were advising differently. Some learn the hard way.
In one case, the student refused to do Calculus using the methods taught in the class, preferring to use shortcuts learned in high school. The prof kept taking points off, and the student refused to adjust.
One thing that seems to “bite” STEM students is that they’re not used to the tough rubrics in lab classes. Maybe their high school teachers were lax about lab reports. Colleges tend to be very strict, and a stubborn student who won’t adjust or doesn’t believe that they need to adjust will find themselves getting C’s or lower.
Also…there are profs that take off points for attendance…don’t let that happen to you!
Thanks @mom2collegekids Helpful as always.
As others have said, when the new tuition rates for 2016-2017 come out (the UA board establishes for UA, UAB, and UAH), they also will have ready the information for scholarships for in-state and OOS “Student Guide to Undergraduate Admissions and Scholarships 2016-2017” - one for in-state and one for OOS. They upgrade the attending cost estimates based on the prior year in this student guide.
The tuition supplement at University of Alabama for OOS Eng/CS students with ACT equiv of 30-31 plus 3.5 GPA, called Engineering President’s Cabinet Scholarship did end after fall 2016 freshmen students (it gapped the 33% OOS tuition; moving forward now those students qualify for 67% OOS tuition just like OOS students in other majors).
Eng students with ACT 30+ with 3.5 GPA still will receive Engineering Leadership Scholarship of $2500/year from all indications from UA. Students with ACT 27 - 29 and 3.5 GPA receive the $1500/year Dean’s Engineering Excellence Scholarship and the appropriate level for in-state and OOS University level scholarship.
In-state (Alabama) students in any major with ACT equiv of 30 plus 3.5 GPA receive the University Presidential Scholarship (full tuition scholarship) - this is also true at AU and many other in-state schools for Alabama residents.
UA is very straightforward on what it takes for the University level and Eng/CS departmental scholarship.
Also spelled out in the University information is retaining scholarship. Agree with @mom2collegekids about a few of the mistakes some students have made with losing their scholarship. I know a few students who never cracked a book in MS, HS, tested high on ACT, had 4.0 in regular curriculum, but didn’t make the adjustment to needing to study and use good student skills. Having a softer first term to make the adjustments necessary socially and academically for some.
Honors requires 3.3 GPA. Most honors students don’t have a problem with this.