<p>Thanks Fendrock - Tulane is his first choice, but Charleston is mine - either way he’d be happy</p>
<p>Hey, congratulations to MSUDad’s D! That’s a great result so far.</p>
<p>Hi everyone. We have a sort of weird problem.</p>
<p>DD’s GPA is right on the cusp of A-/B+, it’s 5.2 weighted out of 6.0 (weird, I know). We don’t know the UW, because the school doesn’t do that, and they give me the stone face when I try to work it with them. Also, she did fresh. and soph. years at another school with a 4.0 scale; and her current school used their weird criteria for awarding points. Oh well, malesh, it is what it is (don’t want to naff off the GC even more than I have already). So, approx. 5.2 W. </p>
<p>Her latest SAT score is 2070, second sitting, and she doesn’t want to retake. She is doing SAT IIs next week.</p>
<p>She has an independent research project at a univ. lab, which she hoped to submit to Big Science Competitions, but her project results have not yielded what she hoped (no breakthroughs, etc. :)). She is writing up the paper anyway. She is very committed to scientific research.</p>
<p>She wants to study biology, and ultimately focus on marine biology. We can easily come up with Reachy-reachy schools (i.e. her brothers’ schools), and Safeties, but nothing in the middle.</p>
<p>Reaches (and I do mean reaches):
MIT
Yale
Harvard
Stanford (one of her recommenders suggested this!!, I think, huh?)</p>
<p>Matches?:
BU (but she really didn’t like it during our visit, and she needs decent merit aid, it’s expensive)
UNE (but ideally she would like to go away, and UNE’s local)
UMiami (this one scares me for some reason)</p>
<p>Safeties:
Florida Institute of Technology
Eckerd
College of the Atlantic</p>
<p>She didn’t like URI when we visited, UConn, Roger Williams or Brown. She is not interested in our state U.s (Maine). She likes UMass Boston, but it’s OOS for her, no discount, and it’s a commuter school. Northeastern is urban, and also expensive. She would like to be in the NE, but Florida is also good – it’s an easy and cheap plane ticket from here.</p>
<p>Suggestions, anyone?</p>
<p>3bysmom, I thinks his chances are good and admire your candor and his perserverance regarding his depression. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Annuduh M –
You should probably start a separate thread to get more broad input.</p>
<p>Look at SUNY Stony Brook @ Southampton…would be at least a match (maybe even a safety) with her stats and being out of state.</p>
<p>Any interest in California? Lots of schools for Marine biology…</p>
<p>Thanks, 2boysima. Whadda dope I am – I thought SUNY Stony Brook was land-locked, but I am looking at the site right now. Not only is it on the coast, but wow, great research opportunities!</p>
<p>Also, thanks to several posts on this thread, I am learning that UNH has great bio/marine bio, and their site looks amazing for that subject.</p>
<p>Actually, <em>I</em> don’t want her to go to California. Or Hawaii, although I know there is great marine bio being done there. Truth is, I don’t have unlimited funds to get to her, and for her to get home, so that’s a consideration I have to admit.</p>
<p>Anuddah, perhaps Washington College, a good school right on the Chesepeake, has a good program.</p>
<p>annudah- Nova Scotia has a respected Marine Biology program- don’t know how selective it is.</p>
<p>with UMiami’s great marine biology program, and her stats - it seems like a perfect fit. What scares you about the school?</p>
<p>3bysmom, no, you’re right. It’s kind of stupid to be afraid of a school that you haven’t seen yet. And certainly people on this thread have spoken very favorably about UMiami.</p>
<p>…it’s just…it’s so beachy. It looks like a lot of beautiful, rich kids (it’s in Boca Raton) with a perma-tan. My D is beautiful (aren’t they all :)), but we are far from rich, and I would be sad if her head is turned by that South Beach thing. She has been so focused and committed to marine science for so long, and I think that atmosphere might be very distracting, but of course I could well be wrong.</p>
<p>I am quite crazy about Florida Inst. of Tech, actually. We met a WONDERFUL rep from FIT at a college fair here a couple of weeks ago. Not only did this woman major in Marine Bio, did fabulous research projects, but she is actually working for NOAA now – so she got a good job in a highly-competitive field. Both D and I love the location, just minutes from Cape Canaveral (they are restarting manned space missions in a couple years). Of course D took note of the fact that the ratio of males to females is approx. 4 to 1. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great suggestions, everyone. We’ll check 'em out, and will love to turn around and help other families with info eventually.</p>
<p>I second UMiami for Marine Biology. The program is fantastic.</p>
<p>D’s friend got his bachelors & masters at UMiami. He never quite warmed up to the campus, but he got a top-notch education for a bargain (great merit aid!). He made friends, had a good enough time. In the end, he landed a GREAT job in Minneapolis (much more his speed).</p>
<p>When my son was applying, he was thinking marine biology. So we visited UMiami. I can’t therefore speak intelligently about the actual school culture, but we did go out to the Marine Studies facility. It was full of non-shiny people, people who love science, people who live for the ocean. If she can get lab work, etc. out there, it would be amazing. You do need to focus on how possible that is. My son had high SATs, so they were super nice to us, and made it clear he would be welcome to hang out there. Make sure that would be available to your D too.</p>
<p>UMiami is not in Boca, it’s in Coral Gables, and does indeed have a fabulous marine bio program. I would also suggest you check out UNC-Wilmington, another very strong program.</p>
<p>Just checked back here, and you guys posted some really great stuff about this!</p>
<p>Thank you so much.<br>
We will let you know how it goes!</p>
<p>Second B+ acceptance in: Michigan State. So far 2 for 2</p>
<p>Congrats! Go Spartans!</p>
<p>What exactly do you define as quality education? What does your kid want to do?</p>
<p>Yankeedoodle, kelsmom, and mathmom, I love your attitudes. Your kids are old enough to make their own decisions, and if they’re not failing or threatening to drop out of school right now, just support them as long as they’re happy and (generally) succeeding in life. I’m clearly not advocating any kids’ impulsive decision to drop out and pursue their career as a rock star.</p>
<p>That said, I’m a senior in college with a 3.98 GPA (one A- in calculus IV). One of the 21-year-old students in my Honors program has broken her parents’ hearts by deciding (after proving that she has the GPA and board scores to pursue both medical and vet school) that she WILL be a rock star. I’m 30, and I “know better,” but I believe I will be waiting in line for her autograph someday. She is so smart and determined that I only feel sorry for her parents for expecting “better.” Don’t have expectations for your child’s success, because as long as he/she is working hard and passionate about what they’re doing, they will find their own path to success.</p>
<p>As an adult student, I worry about the parents here who are so concerned about their kids. I’m old enough to empathize…but then again, I was mature enough to empathize with the parents of my peers when I was 16. I was also realistic enough to know when my empathy should extend beyond that to plain concern. Some kids take the long road to success, whether due to family situations or just due to the fact that they’re not ready yet. In my case, I was doing well on the pre-engineering track, but I had to take time off. I never would have considered medicine, and I certainly never would have believed that I was capable of it (academically, not intellectually) had I not had the life experience that made me fall in love with the field.</p>
<p>To those who are concerned about their kids…I applaud you. Stand back, and support them however you can. To those who envision something in particular for your kids, I suggest that you give it time. If it’s meant to be, it will be. If they want something enough, THEY will make it happen, and you’ll be there to help them.</p>
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<p>I’m sorry, but surely you can’t believe this ridiculous platitude? Some do, and some don’t. And the number of kids who have a passion to be a rock star or rap star compared to the absolutely tiny percent that will actually achieve those goals is is overwhelming. Sure, maybe take a few years off to try, but don’t ascribe to the notion that just because you have passion for something means you will succeed in it. That is evidenced by the probably 30 friends I have (in my 50s) who are passionate about music, still playing music, but supporting themselves by other means.</p>
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<p>As the wife of a Tenor, I know those people, too…lots of them. Folks probably don’t realize that the guy trying to sell them insurance has a PhD in Early Renaissance Music, or that the secretary down the hall is a sought after oratorio soloist.</p>