<p>Lafayette has a very good reputation. I was very impressed when I toured with my son 2 yrs ago. D won't even look at Lafayette because its too close to where my mother in law lives and her uncle works there!! Nor will she consider Lehigh for which her chances are excellent since dad went there, but, too many relatives too close by and my mother in law works there!!</p>
<p>3 fine schools and 1 picky D!!</p>
<p>We have a pretty good list now including Providence, Stonehill, Roger Williams, Ithaca, UConn, UNH. With Villanova, Holy Cross & Skidmore as reaches. She is B+/A- but this includes 5 AP's over the lst 2 years, and mostly honors classes, so the curriculum is challenging. Hopefully that will weigh in her favor. Fingers are crossed on this past weekend's SAT scores!!</p>
<p>Anybody know if a 3.3/3.4 and good SATs (say 1250) would give someone a good shot at UConn? I know the reported "average" GPA is higher. </p>
<p>FWIW, I don't trust the average GPAs as true averages: think UMass, is the average UMass student a 3.59 (as UMass reports)? Does that include band/choir/gym? Does that mean UMass isn't a match if you have a 3.4? I would think it would be a match, but the stats suggest otherwise.</p>
<p>MSUdad, with UCONN it depends upon the state you come from, and the major. For example, a student with a 3.3/3.4 and a 1250 might get in if applying from Nebraska, but not necessarily from NJ or NY. If that student is applying to their business school it will be tougher than for early education IMO. I know students from our state (NJ) who were WL'd with similar and higher stats and applied to their business program.</p>
<p>"Average gpas" do not help me too much. It just depends upon the hs, as well as classes taken. I went to an info session at a state school in the south. They told us that a 3.0 from certain states are not the same as from other states. Frankly, IMO, you cannot lump all high schools from one state to be the same type of education, but I am sure that they were just making a point, and were talking about the "average" high school from one state vs. another state.</p>
<p>MSUDad, I also checked our Naviance scattergram; we are a CT high school:</p>
<p>Accepted average GPA from 2005-2009 is 3.34; accepted average SAT on a 1600 scale is 1192. Just visually on the graph it looks like the 25th percentile might be as low as GPA of 3.0 and SAT of 1000.</p>
<p>MSUDad, our high school says to "weight" a GPA, do they do it the way the Mass state schools do it. They add .5 for any Honors class and 1.0 for AP classes. So I assume UMass does the same thing? The 3.59 you refer to may be a weighted academic GPA, giving a 1/2 point for honors. That would sound about right. UMass has gotten considerably more selective in the past few years given the number of students applying there (as have all schools, I know). I think with the current economic crisis, applications to state schools are going to soar, as people see their 529 plans shrink with the stock market.</p>
<p>Class of '07, our high schools sent 40 kids to UMass Amherst. I doubt they all had a 3.59 UNweighted academic GPA.</p>
<p>I have an 87 average right now, but it should go up over the course of my senior year -- still, an 87 is very depressing for me, considering that I should doubtlessly be graduating in the top ten of my class (current rank is 57/179). I'm honestly worried about my chances of getting in anywhere, but it was my freshman year that brought me down. Colleges like improvement, right? Especially with unweighted grading?</p>
<p>My current schools:
Amherst (reach)
Bard
Beloit
Boston U (reach)
Elmira
Mount Holyoke (reach)
Penn State U Park (slight reach; good chance with application sent in early)
Skidmore College
SUNY Fredonia
SUNY Purchase
SUNY Potsdam
SUNY Stony Brook (reach)
Vassar (reach)
Virginia Commonwealth U
Virginia Tech (reach)</p>
<p>skulldruggery, yes, colleges do like an upward trend. Do you have some standardized test scores yet, and how are your ECs? Even with average standardized test scores, why wouldn't you have a good chance at VCU, most of those SUNYs, or Elmira?</p>
<p>Oh, the ones I didn't put "reach" as are considered matches or safeties, but you never know. My ECs are very strong, I scored 660 CR 730 W 550 M on my first SAT and retook on October 4th. I guess the number of reaches I have is fairly disproportionate? Hey, someone has to be the long shot, and my recommendations are great.</p>
<p>Precisely. I can't help but be worried, you know? Nevertheless, the number of B+ers who have been mentioned in this thread seem to have done well, and there is not much that I can do besides hope for the best. :P Despite the number of posts by overachievers to the contrary, a B+ really isn't the end of the world (even if it occasionally seems like it).</p>
<p>Potsdam is rolling, and I think PSU sends out acceptance letters starting November 1. I've finished all of the applications, just need to work on my Common App essay (I've scrapped it thrice).</p>
<p>I wish you the best with your admission outcomes! Make sure that you have a couple admission safeties that are also financial safeties. I suppose, if you are from NY, that those might be the SUNYs on your list.</p>
<p>I am a little behind on this thread, but my nephew is at College of New Jersey and it is wonderful. Admission has gotten competitive, but it is still a good option for a solid B+ student.</p>
<p>With regard to the University's reported Common Data Set average frosh incoming gpa, my guess is that it's all courses, with gpas as the HS reports them (that is, with extra AP/honor points, band/choir/gym, etc) </p>
<p>I've asked on another thread if that's true, as it would hugely impact conclusions that folks draw from the common data set (I don't know what naviance is..., but those numbers sound great for B+ ers)</p>