<p>^^^I would never discourage people from pursuing a true passion for something, but just say that you have to be realistic, and sometimes 21 year old kids, despite being intellectually gifted, lack any sense of practicality. Of course, that’s what’s good about being young, you have time to “right the ship” if things don’t work out exactly as planned. I am certain that what I am doing now is not exactly what I was passionate about in my 20s, but I guess I am lucky that with every job I have I have been able to develop a sense of satisfaction and in some cases passion. And there are many alternate ways to express your true passion even if you aren’t fortunate enough to make your living that way.</p>
<p>And just from a truly practical side, since I do know lots of musicians (mainly blues and jazz), the music business is even tougher to make a living at now days, with free downloads and less discretionary consumer money.</p>
<p>I agree that B students most often thrive in college. Those B students, however, should be sure to apply to some colleges that look at the applicants holistically because there are many colleges (mostly big state U’s) that do place most of the emphasis on the numbers.</p>
<p>Just got back 2nd round of ACT scores. My S went from 21 to 22. He has LD (reading 30/ math 19 for example…). but works very hard and managed to come up with almost 3.6 GPA at a very academic public HS (although no APs he has no self contained classes, and IEP gives him only extra time on tests)</p>
<p>He is applying to several ACT optional schools but not sure what to do. He is disclosing his LD, in a positive way, and he has great recs and some fair ECs. He is a applying to schools that are a good match for his stats and he should get in and be able to do well at them.</p>
<p>His list now is: Susquehanna, Elizabethtown, Roanoke, Guilford, Muhlenberg, for test optional schools. Other thoughts are American U, Hofstra (both possible LD programs), West Chester U of Penn, U of Mary Washington and Longwood. </p>
<p>How do we decide what the bottom line score he should send in is? Or should he just go with the optional test? Anyone have experience with optional test?</p>
<p>I think you have selected excellent schools.
part of the test optional consideration would be what schools want in its place, such as 2 graded papers. If the papers are very strong, that might influence you towards not submitting scores.</p>
<p>I would also look at where your scores fit on the school’s CDS. If you do not submit, the school will likely assum ethey fall below their 50th percentile. If this is not true, I would submit them.</p>
<p>I think there are some specific test optional threads in the Ask the Dean section.</p>
<p>Note that Hoftstra may have a lot of commuters and it and American are noticeably larger than your other picks.</p>
<p>Hard as it is for my family to believe, our college search ended today with our son being accepted to his first choice, Susquehanna. Thanks to everyone for their past kind advice and support!<br>
He is ecstatic, my wife is very pleased and I am exhausted. I had been tempted to push him hard to go for a more selective/prestigious school, but decided to trust his instincts and it did seem like a great fit from many perspectives.
Thaks again!</p>
<p>If anyone has any spare time during this lull period, I suggest it would be a service to future generations of kids like ours to write CC Visit Reports if you have not already. As so many of the schools we discuss are small or off the radar, few have had a significant number of visit reports filed. Even with the X factor of kids’ quirks, I found them to be a good resource.</p>
<p>I second yabeyabe2’s request that everyone PLEASE post their visit reports. My D and I are at the beginning stages of the visits and I am finding reading the reports to be very helpful!!! Thanks!</p>
<p>My daughter is a solid B+ sophomore. She is taking a strong courseload, I’d say one step down from the most rigorous. It is the most rigorous this year but next year she will not take APs in English and History, her strengths are math, language (Latin) and to some extent sciences. We will most likely focus on test optional schools, she has never done well on standardized tests, and the PSAT followed that pattern. So we’ll be looking at schools with a good math focus, not sure about engineering, maybe business, possibly some of the more techie ones if that gives girls a boost.</p>
<p>javacc, have your D try the ACT - probably in the winter/spring of her Junior year. Some kids who struggle with the PSAT/SAT do better on the ACT. The material on the math section of the ACT is actually more advanced, but the problems are more straightforward than the SAT’s mind-game/brainteaser questions. The reading is also done following a different format that works better for some people. The science section doesn’t require advanced science knowledge at all, it’s really about reading and interpreting graphs and data. My D’s PSAT scores were mediocre in all 3 sections, and her SAT score was only slightly higher (after a $1000 Kaplan prep class - I do NOT recommend Kaplan). But she took the ACT twice, with very little preparation, and got a decent score both times. Her combined SAT score put her in the 73rd percentile, but her composite ACT score had her in the 89th percentile. The College Board provides “conversion tables” to compare SAT and ACT scores, and D’s ACT score was comparable to a combined SAT score nearly 200 points higher than what she actually received on the SAT. </p>
<p>My point is that some kids find the ACT to be more user-friendly. It’s worth taking a shot at it. Not everyone does better on the ACT (D’s friend took both SAT and ACT and her scores ended up being very similar), but some kids do - and it’s a lot cheaper to download the ACT’s prep booklet (or buy The Real ACT book at a bookstore) and take the test once to try it out than it is to pay a ton of money for SAT prep.</p>
<p>javacc,
kids can change greatly in a year or two, but, in addition to a test strategy, you might want to start the conversation with your daughter about which region of the o****ry interests her; size of school; and urban/suburban/rural. If she participates in an activity which precludes visitng during during certain HS breaks when colleges are in session, you might want to suggest a visit or two. I found that visiting colleges when kids are around (which also eliminates weekend mornings) is vital. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you two, I plan to start visits with her this summer to some test optional schools. She has not been interested in college stuff yet as her older sister has visited. Since she hasn’t been on any visits yet, I’d like to take her to a variety of schools representing different types.</p>
<p>I will also have her try the ACT practice, I would be happy to invest in prep for either test if she wants to, but I don’t want to force her.</p>
<p>I know she can improve a lot in a year, but the PSAT scores were reallly low in the percentile of 10th graders, like under 50%. On the other hand her grades are mostly B+ (one C+ one term last year, and one term she had an A- average) so I think she will have more options if we don’t need to worry about scores.</p>
<p>Some very good and test optional schools are Drew, Susquehanna, Muhlenberg, Roanoke, Ursinus, Fairfield and Elizabethtown.
The difficulty with Summer visits is that you do not see any kids, so it is harder to get a sense of campus vibe and style. Kids often place great emphasis on fit–which they judge from whether kids dress like they do; seem friendly to each other; etc. A Spring Break visit might be more helpful.</p>
<p>javacc…I’m sure you have looked at fairtest.org, but a couple of others to add to yabeyabe’s list: Union College, Dickinson College and American University in DC (ED test optional)…and that’s just this year; possibly more to be added next year…</p>
<p>Just be aware that some schools are TRULY test-optional - just send the scores or don’t - while others are test optional with conditions. For example, some will allow you to omit your scores if you’re in the top 10% of your class, or if your GPA is a certain minimum, or if you’re willing to do an on-campus interview and/or write an essay, etc. Read carefully!</p>
<p>javacc, agree and have her try the ACT in junior year also. The ACT is shorter than the SAT and the ACT measures more what has been learned. Kids that are running accelerated programs tend to score higher and kids that are running a pretty straightforward college prep will score closer to the 50th percentile. It will also be helpful to take a look at the school profile and hopefully you can see how the kids fall gradewise which will help you understand her grades in context. For instance both my older boys score slightly above 80th percentile on national tests (in our case both SAT and ACT). Their unweighted GPAs are around 3.2 and 3.4 and they fall in the lower 20th percentile at their school compared to other kids. I can presume then that they are really 80th something percentile kids and the school does not have grade inflation or deflation. This really helped me to weed out and understand better how they will be viewed. It is also entirely possible that your D doesn’t test well on the SAT format so trying the ACT should also give you a clearer picture (if there are no LDs involved.) Test optional schools are certainly a potential although most of the ones we encountered required the scores for merit awards. If you go this route it is also good to know what the grades mean so your D doesn’t get in over her head. Oh, there is a learning curve to the ACT because it moves so quickly. Taking timed practice tests is really helpful for the kids to learn to pace through the test. If she does OK on the ACT have her take it a second time, anecdotally fomr my kids and their friends, most kids scores go up a couple points the second time around even taking the practice tests.</p>