Safety and Targets for 3.7 weighted quirky bright not good test taker NJ white boy?

Parent Cafe
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We are just getting started, and I’ve just joined this forum for my HS class of 2021.
Kid is bright and analytic but ADD gets in the way of consistently high grades and he’s not a good test taker. Uncertain major, plays the violin well and in multiple ensembles, has done international volunteer work several times on his own, but grades and scores don’t reflect his potential (yet). Likely looking at 1300 or so on SAT’s and 3.7 weighted in large NJ public school.
I don’t have a sense of what’s too much of a reach, target, safety.

Are Brandeis, U Rochester, Macalaster way out of reach?
We are considering tons of schools but I’m not sure what’s on point and what’s a dream.
He’d prefer a school in in an urban or semi-urban area, and doesn’t want to go south.
Thank you!

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You can assess chances by googling Common Data Set and looking at section C. It will show what weight different attributes get on the application and what the average grades and scores are for admitted students. How much can you afford to pay?

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What are you willing and able to pay? Are you going to need merit or financial aid?

The three schools listed will be a challenge at stated academic numbers. Look at Fairtest schools.

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Lawrence in Wisconsin. Nice little city, they love quirky musicians, on the quarter system so you only have to manage three classes at a time.

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Like someone said before starting with what you can/willing to pay is the first item on the list. Once people know that then they can steer you in the right direction.

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Wouldn’t NJ publics have schools which could be admission matches and safeties? Of course, cost needs to be considered before assessing overall match or safety.

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My d got into Roch with similar stats (higher test score), but much may depend on major. As I will continue to warn people, my d and at least two of her friends are transferring out due to a significant drop in FA going into sophomore year. Many of her other friends had drops as well but are staying put for now. There are hundreds of schools that meet your wants. We’d need more information on what he’s looking for as well as budget constraints in order to give suggestions.

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It’s really impossible to give a lot of help here without some idea of your need (or not) for financial aid or merit aid, and your child’s interests.

That said, I agree that Macalester, Brandeis, and Rochester are reaches for the kid you describe, but maybe not “way out of reach” reaches. Geography will work in his favor at Macalester, and probably work against him at Brandeis or Rochester.

I think there are three or four types of colleges you may want to focus on:

(1) Test-optional LACs that have a good reputation for teaching quality but are not trying to get ranked (or to defend their rank) in the list of top-20 or top-30 LACs. Macalester is almost there, but is not test-optional, and is probably a smidge or two too snooty. Some other suggestions: Emerson (Boston), Trinity (Hartford, but it may be a little too much like Macalester), Sarah Lawrence (just outside NYC), Rhodes (Memphis), Goucher (Baltimore suburbs), St. John’s (Annapolis or Santa Fe), Occidental (LA), Lake Forest (Chicago suburbs), Lewis & Clark (Portland OR). Lawrence and Beloit are nice, too, but wouldn’t qualify as “urban or semi-urban” in most people’s books.

(2) Larger, urban Catholic universities – Fordham, Loyola LA, Loyola Chicago, Loyola Maryland, DePaul, Marquette, Xavier, Duquesne, Providence, St. Joe’s, Canisius, St. Louis, Louisville . . . .

(3A) Public urban non-flagship universities – Buffalo State, SUNY Albany, UMass-Boston, IUPUI, Michigan State, Wayne State, Cincinnati, UMBC, UIC, Arizona State, and lots, lots more.

(3B) Public urban flagships that are not as selective as some others – University of Vermont, University of Kentucky, Nebraska, UNLV . . . and how about Rutgers, which doesn’t seem out of the question. Or even Ohio State.

(3C) Think about Canadian public universities, some of which are excellent, in great cities, very large, and much less selective than US universities of equivalent quality: University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia.

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American, Case Western, University of Denver, University of Puget Sound, College of Wooster.

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@taverngirl Did something change in your finances or did UR change the way they figure need-based aid? Seems surprising they would cut aid if everything stayed the same. Hope your student is happy at their new school.

What is the unweighted GPA? It really depends on how your HS weights. Where does this put him in comparison to other students (top 10%, 25%?) Is your HS considered competitive? IME the quality of the HS can matter as well.

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Thanks, what are fairtest schools?

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Are you talking about state colleges? He prefers to expand his horizons and NJ has the highest in state tuition in the country so not a huge sacrifice.

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Thank you so much. He is a humanities kid. We’re looking for liberal arts with strong diversity and a good study-abroad program. He loves to play music but likely won’t go pro. Wants a school where he can participate without being crazy competitive. We worry about giant schools as he can get lost socially without a hook. Catholic schools, or any religious affiliation are not ideal though not necessarily a deal breaker if the religion is low key on campus. We want him to go out of state, though Rutgers is an obvious possibility if we aren’t finding other great options a year from now.

As for finances, I’m head in the sand a bit still. Yeah, we’ll want help for sure but for now we’re looking at “fit” and managing expectations about what’s possible academically.
Thank you everyone!

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His HS just gives weighted GPA. Unweighted would be a couple points lower, 3.3 or something? I have no idea of his ranking. We get that this month. His class is big at 600 kids. They send kids to Ivies and little Ivies every year.

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Google Fairtest schools and you’ll get a list. One of mine with far lower test scores than yours applied and was accepted to Gettysburg, Dickinson, Holy Cross and Fairfield without submitting test scores.

I think there are schools that would find your son’s scores just fine. Mine hardly hit 1000 on the SAT and not much better in the ACT equivalence. He still was accepted to colleges with those scores, but I wanted some options where the test scores did not come into play

16

That is JUST NOT TRUE. And even if it’s high…it’s not going to be as high as most OOS schools public or private.

I would suggest you check out Rowan. Check out some of the SUNY schools. Even OOS costs are modest and there are many of them. Surely one or two will be suitable for your son.

There are plenty of colleges in New England. Plenty. How about Marist? Vassar might be a good fit for him…but a higher SAT would help.

Fairtest.org is the site for test optional colleges. Look at that list.

If he is willing to go out of New England, I would suggest he look at Denison in Ohio. As noted, both Lawrence and St. Olaf’s are very good about allowing music participation for non-majors.

Would he consider University of New Hampshire or University of Delaware? University of Maryland Baltimore County might be another good option.

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As the parent, you need to figure out the finances before the application list is made. You do not want him to get a bunch of admissions in April only to have to tell him that they are all unaffordable, so he has to start at a community college or take a year off of school and work.

No college can “fit” unless it is affordable. For most students and parents, affordability is the most important part of “fit”.

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The first question you need to ask yourself is…”how much can we pay for college each year”.

19

Very helpful. Thank you.

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NJ’s in-state tuition at Rutgers is higher than any other State U’s in state tuition. It is true. Lots of great schools in NJ. So many. We are looking outside the state first. Thanks.