<p>interesting about "core courses" D's schools reports all courses in the unweighted GPA and the weighted GPA is reported with +1 for honors and AP (assuming an unweighted grade of C or above).</p>
<p>My D is in a performing arts "academy" at a regular public high school, so many of her required classes are not weighted, nor would they be considered "core" by your definition (Theater, Musical Theater, Chorus). I wonder if she is going to be penalized for that in college admissions since she works very hard at those non-core classes and gets straight As (which does help her unweighted average, but does not do all that much for her weighted-in fact this quarter it is dragging the weighted average down somewhat).</p>
<p>I've never heard of a school offering grades in courses, and then not reporting them on a transcript. I would think this to be a very rare exception.</p>
<p>Skull, I agree w/ NEmom, nothing wrong with a few "reach" schools on your list. Your reach pool, however, is pretty broad - - Amherst, MHC and BU all in the same tier? Not likely, even if you're an Amherst legacy. OTOH, there's nothing wrong with throwing in a single "lottery" school, so long as you understand that its a one-in-a-million shot (I know a boy who applied to Amherset ED, even though Rhodes - -to which he applied successfully EDII - - was a reach). </p>
<p>And, not that I agree with you, but if MHC is a reach (I think its more of a match), then why do you consider Bard and Skidmore to be "match" schools? Admissions at Bard and Skidmore is more competitive than at MHC - - and getting more comept every year. </p>
<p>Also, if you're going to have some long-shots, why not consider some of the stronger SUNY schools (especially since the list suggests you are a NYS resident)? The state schools enroll a much large class than the LACs, and being in-state will help.</p>
<p>If you like Bard/Skidmore, maybe consider Sarah Lawrence (marginally co-ed, but does not require the SAT), especially if your grades are improving. You might also want to check out the fairtest site to add more SAT optional schools - - maybe Bates or Bowdoin instead of Amherst.</p>
<p>^^ I wasn't sure exactly that MHC is a reach -- I put it to be safe (haha, there's that irony for you). PR lists the average incoming GPA is a 3.7, but I fall in and above the SAT range and will have some great recs/essays. What, exactly, made you think that MHC is or is not a reach? As for Skidmore, I have had interviews and asked in numerous chance threads whether I have a shot, and it is a definite shot. Bard I wasn't sure on either. Honestly, I like all three and am unsure about any of them.</p>
<p>I wasn't considering Sarah Lawrence because they don't seem to be too strong in the sciences (but I could be wrong) and because I already have (and have sent out applications to) fifteen different schools. My GC is going to start to hate me soon with all of these recommendations that she has to do! Besides, my SATs are what are going to save me. They're going to be higher this time around, especially with superscoring.</p>
<p>The SUNY schools were chosen due to strength in music, but I'm honestly not sure whether I want to pursue it anymore because my band director is a complete bunghole. Amherst...I already waived the fee, there's no use in not sending in my finished report. My problem is that I've sent so many things out already that I can't really change my list around, and Bowdoin seems really hard to get into as well. I don't know. I was considering adding it...do you have any thoughts on chances with any of the schools on my list in general? Should I add anything, or replace others? (The ones that I have yet to finish and send are Bard, BU, MHC, Stony Brook, and VCU. I suppose I could add additionally, although my GC is probably going to put a cap on somewhere.)</p>
<p>Skull, I was speaking generally. MHC is not a reach b/c, as one long-time CC poster noted, with women's colleges, you're rarely aiming too high b/c they are incredible admissions "values" for the quality of the school. My suggestion that you consider SAT optional schools (Bowdoin, Bates, Sarah Lawrence) was based on the scores your reported, if your scores shoot up, then there's no reason to add the SAT optional schools. </p>
<p>Still, I do think that you have a lot of reach schools on your list (7 of 15, by my count). Also, it looks like all of your reach schools are LACs and your match/safeties are large unis. I understand the SUNYs as financial safeties, but if you really prefer a LAC, why not add a LAC safety - - maybe Wooster or Earlham, since you're willing to consider the MidWest (Beloit). Or maybe check some ot the threads on southern schools, since you've already got 2 VA schools on your list.</p>
<p>I think here is the best place to get some advice since my D is a B+ student. I'd like to have an idea what colleges D has a high chance to get accepted. Her stats are:
-uwgpa B+ (for UC uwgpa is also a B+)
-wgpa is still B+ (almost A- short by .12)
-SAT scores 1580 out of 2400. (Math 680 the others are lower)
-Subject test MathII - don't know scores yet.
-Has taken the max of AP allowed in her HS.
-Very good EC -leadership, community service, three languages, dance, sports, art, etc.
-D attends a highly selective private hs. I don't know if that makes a difference when applying to college.
-Undecided about major
At thispoing, we're only looking in in-state colleges such as UC Irvine, Davis, SCruz, Riverside, SBarbara, SLO, and, Pomona. Should we add some Cal State to the list?
How much weight do sat scores have in the admission process?
I'm a little bit concerned about UC b/c of very low sat scores, and D doesn't have the benefit of -start athete, low-income, first generation to college, or hardships.
Any advice as what colleges should we target as safeties for D? thanks a lot in advance!</p>
<p>Chico State is probably a safety for your D, as is Pomona (you meant Cal Poly Pomona, right?) depending on her major. Cal Poly SLO might be a reach as they're very statistics-driven and SATs are very important. Davis and Santa Barbara are probably reaches as well given her SATs. Would she be interested in Humboldt State? It seems like a quirky kind of place, probably great for the right kid.</p>
<p>There are dozens of good private schools in California that would be options if she'd like to go that route.</p>
<p>Finally caught up with this thread...whew. My DS qualifies as a B+ student I think - UW gpa 3.0, 5 AP's w/other honors courses, 31 ACT. I'm think I've put together a list of many matches, a couple of safeties (CSU schools, 1 UC) to see what comes of it all. He is weak in EC's, ranking will be skewed by his school (public HS with 2 magnets, his science magnet and the only highly gifted magnet in our huge district), but I think the school profile addresses that.</p>
<p>We won't qualify for financial aid, but hope to get some merit aid based on his ACT score, and are looking at schools where that's a possibility. The biggest question is the elusive fit. He has a dream school that I think would be a high match, but he hasn't visited yet, and it's 2500+ miles away. </p>
<p>As obsessive as I've been with research, it might be even more stressful if he's accepted at a number of schools that we need to decided between! As another poster mentioned, I don't want to have a lot of reaches on the list, as I don't think there's much to be gained by a lot of rejections as heads away to college.</p>
<p>Thanks keilexandra and vballmom for the replies. Yes, I'm refering to CalPoly Pomona. So far my D is undecided for her major. Is that good or bad when applying to Pomona? Hmm..I think we need to start addding more Cal States and private colleges. What would be the most suitable Cal States to apply for? and is there any chance for my D to get into a UC? thanks a lot. I appreciate the feedback!</p>
<p>Yes on UC's for your daughter, particularly with a strong GPA. According to our guidance counselor, there are 3 tiers for UC's and they primarily go by the numbers.</p>
<p>cpeltz, thanks. I was losing my hope for a UC for my D. We'll try Tier 3 and maybe one or two from the other Tiers. As you mentioned in your previous post. It would good to have too reaches and then rejections right before college.</p>
<p>MomOfATeen,
Here's a hint for your D if it's not too late: have her SAT scores sent to the CSU Mentor rather than individual CSUs. Any CSU she applies to will then have access to her scores, and you save lots of $$s.</p>
<p>If she's undecided about a major, she can't apply to Cal Poly SLO because applicants must declare a major (it's more or less difficult to change, depending on the subject).</p>
<p>I think in general the CSU system gets a bad rap just because it's in the same state as the top-notch UCs. However, many of the CSUs are commuter schools, so if she's looking for a residential experience then choices are limited.</p>
<p>Another Cal State to consider might be Sonoma State. </p>
<p>She can get into UC-Merced with her stats, based on looking at the scattergrams from my son's high school. Everyone who applied got in. But remember that the UCs require SAT IIs as well, so your D will need to take one more and do well. </p>
<p>Momofateen: The college board website has an awesome featured called "how do I stack up?" You or your D input and save her stats and then it will compare her to last year's accepted class at any college using several variables. Their graphs make it very clear. </p>
<p>I am a big fan of Sonoma State and Cal State Monterey Bay. both are small and more residential than many of the other CSU campuses. SSU is lovely. CSUMB isn't but it offers LAC size at a CSU price and it has easy access to Monterey (10 minutes) and Santa Cruz (35-45 min) both of which are lovely and while SSU is under an hour from San Francisco, the area around campus is further from urban culture than CSUMB. I also believe that your D has a better than average shot at UCSC. Don't rule out either Cal Poly Campus either. The humaities majors at CPSLO are much easier to get into than the science/business/arch/eng programs so if she is still undecided but know she wants a humaities focus that may be a great place for her. Best of Luck!!</p>
<p>I would encourage you to encourage her to take the ACT and perhaps the SAT again if she has time. My D did much better on the ACT than on the SAT.</p>
<p>vballmom and historymom, thanks for the tips and advice. Finally I got all the details and using the UC calculator, my D gpa for UC is 3.54. I think D has a good chance to improve her SAT scores, but we don't know what number we'll be. So, at this point we need to work we the number we have. D is considering taking the ACT too.
Good idea historymom! D is undecided and she can indicate that her interest is in humanities when applying for CalPoly SLO and Pomona. Since D is undecided any major would be o.k. for her at this point. I guess many students change their major after they get accepted. How easy it would be to change major? well it's an issue than we need to deal with later, if she gets accepted and if she wants to change majors.
Again, thank you. I really appreciated all the ideas!</p>
<p>At Cal Poly SLO they really make it tough to change majors if you are changing to get into arch, eng, and business which are their most impacted majors. They also take a dim view of students who try to buck the system be applying under an easier major to gain acceptance and then switch once they are there. What this means for the applicant is that if you really want to be a business major but applied as a psychology major just to get in it would be much harder and perhaps next to impossible to change from one to the other. But if you were admitted as a business major and wanted to change to psychology you would have a much easier go of it.</p>
<p>btw here is the link for CSUMB. Both of my daughters...one with stats similar to your Ds, are applying there as a financial/admissions safety which they would be happy to attend. CSUMB</a> ~ Homepage</p>
<p>Historymom - DS is looking at both CSUMB and SSU as safeties, but financial safeties as well that I think might be a good fit for him. Besides attractiveness of the campuses, are there any differences that might not be apparent from the CSU website? I know SSU has a Liberal Arts college, and that what DS would probably enter into if accepted.</p>
<p>Any insight would be helpful. We are going to try to make a northern trip to visit those two as well as UCSC. He's not excited about staying in California, but I'm much more hesitant to commit to a cross country private school than I was a year ago when we started putting the list together.</p>
<p>It isn't that easy to change your major at SLO. We met a SLO counselor at a college fair last year and she said SLO was not a good fit for kids who do not know what they want to study. At SLO, kids take major course from the start so it isn't like two years of general ed and then start the major classes. Anecdotally, I know a couple of kids who had trouble with their particular major changes there, but do not remember which majors they were and what they wished to transfer to. However, at a USC information session we attended, they said it is common for kids to change their majors 2 or 3 times so SLO must have mechanisms to deal with changes. </p>
<p>Definitely a good idea to stay at the in-state publics if possible: there is a lot of uncertainty economically right now. Luckily, you do not have to decide until May!</p>