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<p>That is what we found to be true, and I kind of regret pushing S to apply to those reaches. Unless a student is absolutely in love with a school, I don’t see the reason in retrospect. It’s a disappointment either way - a rejection or an admit/deny.</p>
<p>5 reaches? That’s a lot! Why 5? What if there aren’t 5 reach colleges the kid likes? Honestly, that’s just asking for 5 more rejection letters for the kid to deal with. </p>
<p>If a kid really likes a school and thinks they’d be a good fit, then apply even if it’s a reach. But to go looking for x number of reaches to apply to… that’s a waste of $75/application IMHO.</p>
<p>IMO certain schools are worth paying for, but only if your kid is in love, they have a great name (not just a little better than kid’s match), and you feel your kid would thrive there more than at any other school. Otherwise, matches with merit aid are probably best. D kinda likes a small LAC near us which is an uber-safety. Depending on the amount of merit aid they offer, she would seriously consider it.</p>
<p>“Part of the problem with applying to a lot of “reach” schools is that a reach school is not likely to provide much financial aid.” </p>
<p>Yes, if by financial aid you mean merit grants, as opposed to need-based aid. if you’re talking about need-based aid, sometimes the “reach” schools have larger endowments and offer more attractive finaid packages (ie more gransts than loans) than the “match” schools.</p>
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<p>“matches with merit aid are probably best”</p>
<p>But if you’re in the middle of the pack (which would make the school a match), is there really signifiant merit money? I know of “match” students who received modest merit awards($5-6K), but the real money offers came from their safey schools.</p>
<p>I think many guidance offices and private consultants want to look good by getting as many kids as possible into reach schools for the prestige value, regardless of fit for the kid.</p>
<p>I know a fair number of private college counselors and they certainly don’t encourage kids to go chasing prestige (they are all IECA-affiliated and really seem to emphasize fit). The guidance counselors in this area don’t even appear to know which schools are prestigious outside those in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>I know a family whose son turned down Harvard to attend Notre Dame. He got a LOT of pressure from his GC (at a Catholic high school!) to go to Harvard instead - his mom is convinced they just wanted to add another “graduate attending Harvard” to their stats.</p>
<p>Thats so funny Lafalum – when my parents were in HS, the quiet understanding was that Catholic HSs would only forward transcript to Catholic colleges. Only exception – kids who could only afford local publics.</p>
<p>so the OU honors scholarship is 14000 over 4 years, so 3500 per year? that’s not very much! so many other better options available!!</p>
<p>Yeah Mike…the problem is that OU (like UT) doesn’t “have” to give alot of money because there are so many Texas kids that will pay full price to go there…OU is a great option for non top 10% kids from TX who can’t get in to UT or A&M…especially if they don’t want to go to Tech.</p>
<p>yeah, i guess they don’t “have” to. and i guess my DD doesn’t “have” to go there.</p>
<p>i didn’t realize that texas gave in-state tuition to anyone who got $1000 in scholarship. kind of wish thy didn’t since lots of kids benefit from texas’s generosity but few states reciprocate.</p>
<p>Thought I would bring up this thread again for the 2010 class to see the acceptances (a few pages back) from 2009’s B+ students. With this year’s class size smaller, it might be a good year for our kids to get into some reaches, especially with early action/decision schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for reviving this helpful thread. For some reason, the CC B student thread has been much more active than this.</p>
<p>I think B+ students can do unusually well in a recession applying to private school reaches, especially if they do not seek aid, or apply ED (which means you have to take whatever aid is offered) as applications will be down.</p>
<p>Of course, the admissions prospects of a student with an unweighted B+ GPA should not be compared with a weighted B+.</p>
<p>Okay, let’s throw some schools out there for two B+ student profiles, and educate us with your insights…</p>
<p>Student 1 is a 3.4 uw, couple APs, 27 ACT (or 1220 SAT).
Student 2 is a 3.1 uw, 24 ACT, some ECs (1140 SAT)</p>
<p>How would these students do at:
UMass, UConn, U Delaware, U NH, U Maryland, U Maine, U Vermont, Indiana, Illinois???</p>
<p>LACs: Goucher, Lafeyette, Gettysburg, others?</p>
<p>I’m most familiar with East Coast, but feel free to put your info in for other regions.</p>
<p>^^^ I can speak to UMass, UConn & Lafayette (just my opinion, FWIW):</p>
<p>Student one should get in at UMass and probably at UConn. Lafayette would be slight reach.</p>
<p>Student 2 is a reach at UConn & UMass (Amherst, probably more of a match at the other campuses), and isn’t getting in to Lafayette unless they have a hook.</p>
<p>what about someone between the two. SAT’s 1340; GPA wtd 3.411 - 1/2 course load honors, but no AP’s</p>
<p>[Do</a> Elite Colleges Produce the Best-Paid Graduates? - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/do-elite-colleges-produce-the-best-paid-graduates/]Do”>Do Elite Colleges Produce the Best-Paid Graduates? - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Interesting article</p>
<p>^^^
Of these schools, I only have firsthand knowledge of Goucher. </p>
<p>3.1 uw, 31 ACT, 5 AP’s, no EC’s…deferred then accepted with zero merit aid, no FA needed.</p>
<p>We had a different outcome with Goucher, 3.2 uw, 28 ACT, no APs, strong dance EC – accepted with no merit aid, no FA needed.</p>
<p>I was surprised about Goucher, as student is a west coast male and we had visited. He was eventually accepted, but he had much better options in the end than full pay at Goucher.</p>