<p>thanks for the tips! Of the closeby schools I thought we would look at first, I know WPI has other requirements if you don’t send in scores. I would really have to look at other schools to see if there are other hidden requirements. She took the Bio SAT II last year and also didn’t score well, but she hadn’t covered much of the material in school. She goes to a private school and also scored poorly on the english part of the SSAT. Math was very good. The school was concerned but let her in because her sister was attending. I don’t want her to get in over her head, she does well in her classes but writing isn’t as “mature” as it could be causing the lower B grades in English/History. I’ll see about having her try a practice ACT over a break maybe in the spring. She is in precalc now so should be able to handle much of the math. I would be happy to have her go to a prep course for either test if there is motivation and if she really needs to to get some good options, which might be the case if test optional schools have more caveats than I originally thought.</p>
<p>ps- she wouldn’t be in the top 10% of her class, might have a chance for top 25% but probably not, it is a small school and is probably too early to tell now. I’m just going by the honor roll publications from last year.</p>
<p>Thought I might update acceptances for my B+ kiddo: PLEASE SHARE YOUR B+ ACCEPTANCES HERE</p>
<p>MSU
UMass with $5,000 merit
Small midwestern LAC with $8,000 merit
Small northeastern LAC with $6,000 merit</p>
<p>SAT came in at 700 verbal, 520 math. Pretty much the same her 27 ACT</p>
<p>So, you parents of B+ kids, there is merit aid out there for you!</p>
<p>Awaiting Fordham, UCF and others.</p>
<p>Fabulous, MSUDad!!</p>
<p>Congratulations to your D. MSU is a great school for a lot of things – is it your D who will attend? What is she interested in majoring in?</p>
<p>Congrats!</p>
<p>You are very right about the merit aid–I think GCs do a terrible job of educating parents about this!</p>
<p>This is especially true in states with expensive public schools–many parents are unaware that kids who are not superstars can receive merit aid that will make privates similar in cost to in state publics and well below OOS publics.</p>
<p>I only have one child. These admissions are for unlisted majors, and she’s also applying to audition-based programs, so there might be more merit aid, but that wouldn’t be based on grades, so I don’t include that here.</p>
<p>Merit scholarships are a funny thing - you can get blanked at a “tier 3” school and get a bunch of money from a ‘better’ school. These scholarships bring the cost in the $26-28,000 range for these schools, and we won’t qualify for any more need-based aid, so this is huge.</p>
<p>I started this thread because it’s easy on CC to get the idea that a 2100 SAT is “bad, and you should probably retake” - there is money out there for many of us.</p>
<p>Yyou are so right! A CC mom yesterday referred to her son’s record as “mediocre”–National Merit Commendation and 3.8 weighted GPA and 9th in the state of Indiana math test. I had thought that disease was more prevalent in the most affluent suburbs of the largest cities</p>
<p>Yabeyabe…I think his C in AP chem was pretty darn mediocre, as well as his C in Honors Spanish 4 - particularly since he had the highest score in his hs on the national honors math exam. Great schools can spot a “slacker” when they see one. Brainpower is clearly not his problem. The engineering schools are tracking him like a wild bear…as are the expensive LACs…but top tier schools…I don’t think his 3.8 gpa is what they are looking for. But thanks for thinking there is hope for him. He’s an adorable kid. He’ll make it in life on his cuteness alone :)</p>
<p>I guess I should mention we are in an affluent suburb of a large city :)</p>
<p>debrockman, were the C’s a result of very boring teachers? Or, because he is a 16 year old senior, are there some social issues? </p>
<p>Many mid teens also like nothing better than irking their parents–he may know that not meeting your very high expectations is a way to push your buttons.</p>
<p>Lots of very bright kids underperform in classes which they feel are boring or filled with busy work.</p>
<p>It is also very common for bright kids who seem charming outside the house to be battling some form of anxiety or depression. </p>
<p>Great schools also find it worthwhile to take chances on some kids who are HS slackers, but very bright and likely to respond better to college challenges (fortunately an Ivy took such a chance with me and I wound up Summa cum laude).</p>
<p>A small school, where teachers will notice him, mentor him and push him may be the answer.</p>
<p>No, he doesn’t have depression. He’s met with a counselor who describe him as “delightful”. He is. I was concerned about sending him on a mission trip with no friends last year…he looked at me and said, “Mom, I’m an amiable guy…I’ll be fine”. And he was.</p>
<p>In Spanish, they got bonus points for participation. He thought that was political so he didn’t participate. In Chem, he has never had a test grade lower than a B, but he went through a whole 9 week cycle without doing any homework.</p>
<p>I definitely think a small school is a good idea. He is only 16 and will be a young freshman. We’re considering sending him to a small school near home for his freshman year. He’s OK with that. He’s kind of OK with everything. Nothing stresses him. </p>
<p>I would not say he is not competitive. Everything he tries, he excels at…music, public speaking, videogames :). He was a good athlete. Everyone likes him. </p>
<p>I’m not really worried about him, per se. I just want to try to help him find the “right” place. He really did like Miami/Oxford. But I think he’s also fine with Taylor. I don’t think we are prepared to send him across the country since he is already a little young. I’ve told him I’d like him within a 6 hour drive. If he could afford Notre Dame, that would be great, but he wouldn’t get in, I don’t think…certainly not with any aid. His dad is a doctor. His dream school is Vandy for grad school or Wharton. I suspect if he gets serious in undergrad school, that’s doable for him. But truthfully, he’s a kid who will be fine.</p>
<p>A mentor would be wonderful. I do think in his huge high school he is not a troublemaker and as you have said, he has performed fine. So people let him slack.</p>
<p>New here to this site. I have a freshman in a private HS. B+/A- student who I nag to death. In need of ways to motivate him. He CAN do the work but constantly gets side tracked. He has never HAD to study before and thinks studying is reading over material…as quickly as possible. Currently taking Honors English, Geometry, Biology, SpanishII, Bible, Computer class and plays football. He is not wanting to play football next year. He could care less about being involved in school ECs. Anybody??? Please??
He wants to be a Marine. He wants to go to college and go into the Marines as a officer. I’m all for it as long as he does go to college. His first choice is USNA, Citadel, VMI. We live in Tennessee. I like his choices because the structure of the military will only help him. Although, if he should change his mind about the military, I would like him to be able to get into and succeed at a larger non-military school.</p>
<p>krangell…is your kid a friend of my kid? They sound suspiciously similar. I think my son would be great in the military as well. He doesn’t mind structure. He performs at a high level. He is talented physically as well as mentally. This might not sit well with you, but one of the recommendations of my son’s counseling was that we look at treating him for ADHD because he definitely meets the diagnostic criteria. He recently (two days ago)started on Vyvanse and he says it really helps him stay on track. He says he concentrates much more easily while reading and doing homework. Before anyone pipes up, my brother, my husband’s oldest daughter and my other daughter all have ADHD. My husband always felt as though he was also ADHD. As the doctor described it, the brain function that Vyvanse stimulates is the “executive” function…motivation/stick to a task til completed, etc. Just something to consider. I have been very reluctant to head this direction, but my daughter who is treated told me I was a “bad mother” if I refused to let him be treated when he clearly needs the help. That’s me. Bad bad mother.</p>
<p>You all are very honest and helpful. My H and I had a conversation last night while our jr. D was playing games with friends instead of studying (finals are Thurs/Fri), that at this age we have to let her make her choices and see how things turn out. Does it mean she ends up with a B instead of a B+ or A-, or mean she doesn’t get the audition she is trying for? Maybe she’d end up with the B anyway, and be stressed and bored on top of it.We’ve all seen that happen. She has made it clear she doesn’t want to be a “grind,” definitely gets discouraged sometimes, but also knows she recharges by socializing, and that she’ll have a nice life even if she gets Bs or goes to a lower-ranked school. She does set her sights high, would love to go to a great college, but we all know if she kills herself studying now to go somewhere that she’ll have to keep up that pace, what has she gained? On the flip side, if we tell her she’ll “never get in” if she doesn’t work harder, and she does, what does that gain us? She’s willing to take her chances, doesn’t want to do hours of test prep, doesn’t want to address concentration or attention issues, just wants to be herself. And we’re ready to appreciate that. We’re certainly not going to handcuff her to our own plans. We know she’s plenty hard on herself without us jumping on her, too.</p>
<p>We’ll see how it goes next year as she’s actually applying. She’s definitely happy whenever a school is test-optional, but on the other hand she’s interested in theatre and will mostly be trying for auditioned spots that are 1 out of 6. I think she’s basically going to end up where 1) she belongs, and 2) she needs what they have to offer. </p>
<p>Thanks for the B+ group - I always feel like people understand here.</p>
<p>Add Montclair State with a 5,000/year scholarship</p>
<p>MSUDad. Woot!
EmmyBet…the Slackers forum. :)</p>
<p>Debrockman, provided a physician is overseeing it, there is no reason to apologize for your child taking medication, any more than if he had an irregular heartbeat.</p>
<p>I would, however, respectfully suggest that this is one more reason not to think of his record as “mediocre” despite the 2 C’s reducing him to 3.8–you do not have to upgrade him to “brilliant” (although might not put him in the top quintile of CC kids as described by their parents or themselves–but how about “fine”; “good” or dare I suggest the merit commendation, etc entitles him to"very good"?</p>
<p>How about Earlham and the various CTCL schools within a 6 hour drive? There might be some good merit awards awaiting him there, plus a nurturing atmosphere which might help him mature at the right pace.</p>
<p>EmmyBet: my new best friend; our daughters could be clones…</p>
<p>rodney and emmybet…make that triplets separated at birth!</p>
<p>Emmybet, the most important thing a paent can help a teenager achieve is a good sense of who she is and being happy about it. Having seen so many hyperachievers over the years burn out, I think she is on the right trackA relaxed theater mom and daughter–what a concept!</p>