<p>My son is applying to college this fall. His SAT is decent (2040/2400, 1340/1600). He is taking another one in Oct, and the odds are good that he can get 2100+/2400, 1400+/1600 since he will get tutoring help next few weeks for the area he is week in: math section (CR and W are already very good).</p>
<p>His GPA is 3.85'ish/4.5. This is his weakness.</p>
<p>We are looking at top 50-100 sort of schools.</p>
<p>we were considering any school where his current SAT does not put him well beyond the school's 75% marker as "reach" because of his weakness in GPA. </p>
<p>Recently, I came across common data set for some schools, and found out that some schools marked GPA as "important", and SAT as "very important". Lehigh Univ even marked GPA and class rank as "considered" while course rigor as "very important" and SAT as "important".</p>
<p>This kind of yard stick will put my son in a much better light. His course rigor is good, and his current SAT already puts him at the top 75% of their incoming student stats, and the Oct score is likely to be better. His ECs are great, unusual and interesting.</p>
<p>Are other other universities/college in top 30-80 range like this you know of?</p>
<p>I have no idea what 3.85 out of 4.5 means. What are his unweighted grades and how challenging is his schedule? Any idea what his rank is?</p>
<p>Lots of schools consider GPA very important, but they’ll still accept a B+ student if the rest of the application warrants it. Rigor is important for all the selective schools, but the most selective of course still expect mostly A’s in AP and honors courses.</p>
<p>home state NJ.
Course rigor: good. Honors and APs. 3 AP taking in Junior year: AP exams 4, 4, 5. SAT II US history: 780. taking 3 more AP this year as a senior. Honor classes. </p>
<p>3.85/4.5 weighted. it would have been great if it were a unweighted GPA.</p>
<p>^^ Lots of good privates that like solid B+ students also. This is a good thread to read. Some of these refer to weighted GPA but it’s pretty easy to discern the unweighteds from the weighteds. Our school doesn’t weight so I had to figure it out the “other way” what might their weighted GPAs be comparatively.</p>
<p>What type of school is he interested in? Some schools give admissions advantages to male students, especially those who are trying to avoid too mismatched of a male/female ratio, mostly LACs. </p>
<p>actually, we are not interested in state schools. The only state school my son is applying to is our state flagship.</p>
<p>Most decent state schools are charging OOS tuition that is fast approaching a private school tuition. I see no reason to send my son to a public school in another state which consists mostly of kids from that state (no geographical diversity) with large classes and uncertain fiscal environment where almost every state government is looking for a way to cut funding in all possible places. </p>
<p>Personally, I believe not even Berkeley (the king of the public school) is worth the OOS tuition. Not that my son can get in. But any OOS kid good enough to get accepted into Berkeley can get into a lot of terrific private schools with smaller classes, more accessible faculty, and better institutional resources not at the mercy of the whims of the politicians. So why would you choose to go a school, paying about the same money, where students and faculty are demonstrating on campus on a regular basis because of tuition hikes, cuts in funding, etc. </p>
<p>By the way, I am a great fan of the likes of Michigan and Berkeley - world class institutions even with recent warts and all with affordable tuition for in state students. But for OOS??? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>I agree! And I’m an alum. Check out Willamette University, in Salem, Oregon. My freshman son is having a great experience there. His stats:</p>
<p>3.44 unweighted gpa; 4.02 weighted
2130 SAT; math & verbal = 1450
ACT composite = 32
Strong letters of recommendation; Eagle Scout; other great EC’s with leadership, etc. </p>
<p>There are also other great schools in the Pacific Northwest, and their overall rates of tuition and fees are lower than those of schools in New England. Many of the best liberal arts colleges in Oregon are a mere 40 minutes from the breathtaking Oregon Coast, a short car trip from the Cascade mountains and other fantastic state parks, and a brief train ride from bustling cities like Portland or Seattle. Sorry to sound like a travel brochure, but as a Californian, I’ve just been really impressed with Willamette and other schools in the region. Our son turned down Boston University, Trinity College, CT, and Emory University for Willamette. Take a look.</p>