<p>Thanks so much everyone for all the valuable trip and route info… especially jym626!! I have actually been searching for a site like this… thinking there had to be one, but just couldn’t find it. My S and I actually will be flying back to the East Coast after he spends a week at home for his Spring Break. I’m thinking of flying to NYC and then driving back up the coast till we get back to Vermont. We’ll see. Like I said I am directionally challenged and need A LOT of help.LOL!!</p>
<p>hv5… Yes, very interesting post and I had actually thought along the same lines as this for awhile. I find myself vacillating between thinking my 3.6 upward trend, high tester, atypical EC’S, who has teacher’s that rave about him in their classses, should shoot for the stars or, thinking he should just apply to schools based solely on his GPA. It’s a tough one because if you throw in the fact that my S is very bright and loves to be around intellectual people and discussions, but really doesn’t like to work that hard and is not a type A, finding a fit is hard. So that is why the broad range of schools on his list.</p>
<p>He also goes to a top 50 private prep on scholarship, that sends 3.6 kids to top schools ( not Ivy’s) on a consistent basis. He has Brown. Midd, Carleton, and Bowdoin on his list as well as Sewanee, Lewis and Clark, Warren Wilson and St. Lawrence. He is looking at schools on fit alone… not really paying that much attention to the selectivity. When next Fall gets here we will have a clearer picture on whether he will want to even apply to some of these top schools… but if he wants to, I will support him. Last year he applied to a VERY selective school for his Spring semester this year. Most kids who get into and matriculate from there, go to Ivy’s. I’m not saying my S will do that too, but it did make me think that his application may be stronger than I originally thought.</p>
<p>5boys, you are not alone! Even after going through this with S1 last year, I still find myself in the same situation with D1.</p>
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<p>I didn’t look at any LAC last year because S1 only wanted to apply to schools with heavy research emphasis. D1 is different. I think a LAC may be better for her. Does anyone know of top LACs that are willing to take chances on 3.6 kids with high test scores?</p>
<p>^Vassar did for my son, but he did have the advantage of being male at a school that needs to watch those numbers. His test scores were good, but not overwhelmingly good 790 CR, but 690M and 670W.</p>
<p>5boys - I second Colorado College for your S. It sounds just up his alley. My D is applying there and we were favorably impressed upon our visit.</p>
<p>In that case I’d say just about any LAC is in play as long as the 3.6 was earned in the “most demanding” course of study, class rank is top 10% and ECs demonstrate quality and depth. The tougher “sells” will be places like Swarthmore, Pomona, Amherst and Williams but it wouldn’t be ridiculous to apply to any of those schools (as a high reach) as well.</p>
<p>Re: LACs for kids with 3.6 and excellent scores – S2 applied to Swat (denied), and waitlisted at Bowdoin and Carleton. Had Macalester (41% admit rate) on the list, too, but withdrew his app after getting Chicago. We knew Swarthmore RD was a Hail Mary pass, but thought he would have better LAC results. However, by February, he knew he wanted a research U with an LAC vibe. The LACs were feeling small to him by then. The northeastern LACs are VERY tough admits for East Coast young women.</p>
<p>PCP – Is your daughter looking for a 5-year B. of Architecture degree or a 4-year B.S. degree? It does appear that most of the top architecture programs are found at research universities. One university with something of a LAC feel and a great architecture program is Rice University.</p>
<p>We just started on the list. The idea of architecture just came up a couple weeks ago. If she has to pick a major now, it would be Econ. For upper reaches, we’ve been looking at USC, Pomona and CMC in the LA area (she is pretty excited about being close to her older brother who she adores). Haven’t come up with a similar list for other regions yet. RPI sounds interesting for architecture, but she is not an engineering type. She wants a diverse student body, and is lukeworm about women only colleges. She is open to both research Us and LACs.</p>
<p>I don’t really think anyone should major in architecture as an undergrad (as a professional degree i.e. a B. Arch.) unless you are very sure you want to be an architect. There are some BA programs, but you’d have to research how much if any credit they’ll give you towards an M. Arch.</p>
<p>Hopefully, a bit easier for a West Coast young man.</p>
<p>S didn’t apply to Swarthmore or Bowdoin because he felt they were too GPA/rank-focused to take him (Swarthmore, for instance, last year had a 17% acceptance rate, and 87% of the students in the top 10%. S felt that being JUST outside the top 10% that Swarthmore wouldn’t happen for him. Bowdoin was similar.</p>
<p>He decided to ED to Wesleyan–also a “hail mary” pass but he felt slightly more possible with around 67% in the top 10%.</p>
<p>We’ll see. The other LACs he is applying to are “top 50” with one other in the USNews “top 20” (we aren’t that stuck on rankings; just using it here since lots of those “top 20s” do seem to go for the highest GPAs.</p>
<p>One important component of LAC applications that this thread hasn’t thoroughly addressed is the essay. This is especially true for B+ students who need to set themselves apart from their classmates with similar grades and scores. LAC’s have the luxury of more time to read fewer applications than the larger state schools and Ivies, and they take the essay very seriously. At this point, your senior should be spending a tremendous amount of time on all essays, including the supplemental essays. This is what will make or break a student’s admission, especially those who have borderline grades and scores.</p>
<p>BTW CollegeSpecific, welcome! We certainly can use your input on this thread. My S goes to a public school with overwhelmed GCs–5 for a school of 2,000 kids.</p>