<p>re: post 641 <<my variation="" would="" be="" b+="" a-="" students="" who="" test="" really="" badly="">></my></p>
<p>I'll 2nd that thought. My son is in the upper of the grades, but the two times he's taken the SAT's he's not done that great. -we can partially blame having to study for the WASL all the time! I wish he would consider taking the ACT, but he thinks he will just be going to a state school any way, so why bother?</p>
<p>I haven't been active on this thread but have been lurking. My son only has one B+, but I'll be eligible for this thread once his junior year is over, no doubt.</p>
<p>Anyway, I just got back from a bookstore and saw a book by Tamara Orr called something like "Great Colleges for B students." I don't know whether the book is any good, but just thought I'd pass that on in case anyone is interested.</p>
<p>missypie and lderochi, can you talk about TU a bit? I found a blurb about it today while I was in the above-mentioned bookstore and remembered y'all had liked it. What about the school caught your attention?</p>
<p>Or how about those students who have a great GPA (my daughter) but will never get those SAT scores up any higher? I hate how much emphasis is placed on those SAT scores!</p>
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I'll 2nd that thought. My son is in the upper of the grades, but the two times he's taken the SAT's he's not done that great. -we can partially blame having to study for the WASL all the time! I wish he would consider taking the ACT, but he thinks he will just be going to a state school any way, so why bother?
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<p>I think learning to take the WASL from day one and ignoring other tests (for the most part) screwed up a lot of kids. Especially the ones who are used to having as much time as they need to finish the test. Still, I know a lot of good students (honors, APs) who didn't do that hot on the SATs...</p>
<p>I'm an A student, but all of my test scores are closer to B/B+ students and I don't really have good ECs so I'm not the average CCer.</p>
<p>I'm not missypie or iderochi but I can tell you that Trinity U is a wonderful school that seems to be full of smart kids and professors who care about their success. It is an excellent school for science and business. There are loads of opportunities for internships in San Antonio which is I think the 5th biggest city in the US. Check out the visit reports and the TU forum on the colleges page for more information. Their website is pretty cool though rather outdated in some parts.</p>
<p>That's pretty much what I'm talking about too, momomom. S2's grades aren't stellar, but are pretty good. No such luck in testing, though.</p>
<p>Missypie - good to know. He has not done any review yet. The math and verbal scores were identically low, which is odd because he's definitely stronger in verbal/reading/writing. It was just the PSAT, but it shook him up. He'll take a shot at the ACT this year to see if he fares any better. Our school is starting to recommend it more and more. I like the fact that, unlike College Board, they'll take just your best score without showing all your past ones.</p>
<p>I first heard about TU on this board because I was looking for good but smallish schools within 4-5 hours of Dallas. TU has 2830 undergrads but the campus has a much larger "feel." I've heard that it is the smallest Division 1 school, so you can have a small school with big time sports if you want that. </p>
<p>There is a lot of construction going on...new apartments, new "entrance" to the school, etc. A new music/arts building isin the works. A lovely fitness center. Bikes a student can borrow for the school year. Tuition in the $23,000 per year range. Princeton review selectivity rating of 90, academic rating of 88. SAT 50th percentiles: CR 530-690 Math 540-690. (Son is CR 740 Math 690, so he's in a good spot for admission.) Rolling admissions, which is great if you're trying to have an early acceptance under your belt.</p>
<p>historymom, we'll be visiting there in the next year! We've already done Austin College and Southwestern and loved both of them. I'm told Trinity is similar.</p>
<p>By TU, I assumed they meant University of Tulsa. The book I looked in called it TU. It hadn't been on my radar screen at all until a month or two ago, but the stats look about right for my son, and it's not too far from home.</p>
<p>Crossposting: Missypie, was that Trinity or Tulsa in post 148?</p>
<p>My post was about Tulsa. I guess they call it TU because UT has been taken by University of Texas.</p>
<p>My bad. We'll let Tulsa and Trinity armwrestle it out about who gets dibs on "TU" :-)</p>
<p>Growing up in Oklahoma, I just thought that Tulsa seemed like a really neat school. In our neck of the woods, it was just expected that you were going to go to OU or Oklahoma State. Maybe Oklahoma Baptist. Tulsa seemed to attract a minority of kids who were bright, well-rounded, and looking for more than just the super-university experience (mind you, I eventually had the super-university experience because we couldn't afford anything else, and I had a great time!). And besides, I vaguely recall having a big crush on the golfer Nancy Lopez when she was tearing it up for the Tulsa golf squad. </p>
<p>I think it's still like that today. Bright, well-rounded, generally laid back and friendly students. Good size for a more intimate academic experience. Still has Division 1 sports if you're looking for that. And like I said earlier, I like the city of Tulsa itself.</p>
<p>PS. If you REALLY want to see a good argument watch a Tennessee alum and a Texas longhorn argue over who the "real" UT is.</p>
<p>I'm not a Tennessee alum, but Tennessee is definitely the real UT.</p>
<p>High grades, low testing --</p>
<p>For those of you whose kids fit that profile, I would really recommend you look at the testing optional places at Optional</a> List | FairTest . Note that some require alternate tests but there are some wonderful schools on that list. It is probably worth your time to include 1-2 of those on your list because your student will probably fare better there.</p>
<p>Can any parents give me some advice? My problem is my high school does not offer many APs and instead has many rigorous courses to take (i.e Gay & Lesbian Lit, American Nature & Lit). I was wondering if some schools would look down upon me if I don't take many APs (I only plan to take about 1-2, possibly 3)?</p>
<p>My son likes UW-Madison for Actuarial Science. We're out of state for that school. What are his chances? UWM only uses the unweighted GPA in admissions decisions.</p>
<p>Recap:
3.38 unweighted, 4.31 weighted GPA because of a lot of honors and AP classes. Great AP exam scores, 33 ACT, NM Commended (too low for NMSF in our competitive state), but the kid racked up a lot of B's and even a C+ (horrors! ) because the kid has clashed with some Humanities and English teachers on things like interpretation and analysis, and kid refuses to compromise kid's principles for the sake of conforming to someone else's opinion (ahh, the naivete and idealism of youth).</p>
<p>GPA grading scale:
93-100 = A
86-92 = B
etc.</p>
<p>And yes, the C+ was an 85% :rolleyes:.</p>
<p>Would a school like Mount Holyoke and/or Smith be a good fit for a B-B+ student?</p>
<p>Chartreuse: UW-M actually has a matrix on their admissions page where you can estimate your likelihood of admission:</p>
<p>From the numbers you quoted earlier, looks like your son has about a 60-70% chance of acceptance....</p>
<p>Thanks, scout59.</p>
<p>Looks like subjective grading and the HS's tough grading scale could negatively impact my kid's chances at UW-M.</p>