It is frustrating but things happen for a reason. At this point I believe that they have moved down on both our list. She really likes UL and has already made friends on group chat.
Gotta LOVE those group chats!!!
Maybe this is the voice of God-- or the Universe if you prefer-- pointing her towards UL.
You are so right !!!
So, as we approach May 1, I figured we should start one of those threads where we list the schools our kids will be attending. Please add on 
bjkmom’s daughter: Plymouth (NH) State
DS will attend Virginia Commonwealth University - VCUArts
I wanted to revive this thread to kids, and parents of kids, in the rising Senior class.
I know you’re out there, though not in high numbers here on CC. But I want to reassure you-- you don’t have to be at the top of your class to attend college. And Community College, while a great option for some, is NOT the only one for you.
Yes, let’s keep this thread going. 
Also, if your B/c kid didn’t get into a college they like or if you worry about the graduation rate, there’s the NACAC list of colleges that miscalculated yield, which has a lot of possibilities for kids with GPA’s in the 2.6-3.1 range.
Thanks for this thread. I recently found this website and have been stunned with the way college admissions have changed since my era. It’s also shocking to read all the threads of students with super high stats; it’s like a whole other world from the average masses. It’s good to remember that the students on this site make up a tiny fraction of all high school seniors going to college. The average ACT in the US hovers around a 22, yet on here a 30 is considered grounds for a retake, lol.
My son has a 3.5 UW GPA and a 28 ACT and has his sights set on several LAC’s. It’s not about getting accepted but more about the financial aid and if the school is worth it. That’s the thing, if you don’t have a sports scholarship it’s tough getting financial aid for an average kid.
I feel bad that finances trump the importance of the social/community aspect of a school. Average kids often need motivation that comes from peers and mentoring from professors, something that is hard to find in a cheaper community or state college. That’s why I think it’s important to investigate all possibilities and not to just automatically assume that a cc is the only option.
^^^^^It’s good to remember that the students on this site make up a tiny fraction of all high school seniors going to college. The average ACT in the US hovers around a 22, yet on here a 30 is considered grounds for a retake, lol.
One of the most accurate and excellent observations on CC!
Mostly parents not the kids. Turbo charged helicopter parenting and self validation are at work. Imho. But this forum self selects. But still interesting and helpful. Just take it with a grain of salt and avoid looking at school choice as a reflection of one’s unique parental excellence. And determinative of student success in life and ability to go on to grad med law school etc.
@hopedaisy – about this comment:
^^^^^It’s good to remember that the students on this site make up a tiny fraction of all high school seniors going to college. The average ACT in the US hovers around a 22, yet on here a 30 is considered grounds for a retake, lol.
My D19 scored 30 on the ACT in the fall and will be retaking the ACT next month. She is doing so in order to try to counter her 2.8 unweighted/3.1 weighted GPA. No helicopter parenting here. It’s her choice based on a conversation she had with her school counselor. There are many different students and many different situations.
Of course. It’s a general comment not about your unique situation. But the solid 3.5 student with a 30 act is a great student in the larger picture and cc can make them feel a bit lesser than.
And being on cc as a parent,myself included, is in fact a leading indicator of helicopter parenting. :-c
If you haven’t already, check out the 3.0-3.4 thread. It has a pinned post of last years results, including merit awards for kids in that range.
It’s a great resource. We too are solidly in the boat of mid stats, full may, and hunting merit. It is out there for the B student. It does get harder as the stats drop and it’s frustrating but with proper planning and research there are good options. Will it me the same merit offered to a super high stats kid? No. But it can be decent especially if you focus on match and safety. My S17 (3.47 UW, 25 ACT suoerscore) was accepted at 7/7 and all with merit.
Is it helicoptering? Maybe. Then again it’s my wallet and I’d like the best bang for my buck that fits my kid and my pocketbook.
Rightly or wrongly, my 3.3 UW junior with a disastrous 2.8 first semester of junior year (and a new LD diagnosis
) but a 33 ACT would definitely feel “less than” at CC. More importantly for him, it would not provide the smaller network he needs to connect to other kids and professors. He knows what he wants and as a parent it’s my job to try to facilitate that as best I can.
CC can be the perfect path for many, it’s just not what we are looking for either.
3.5 and a 30 means loads of options. CC is not “normal” don’t get hung up on that at all.
@eandesmom By CC. We mean on college confidential. Not community college - posters on college confidential with ridiculous stats make the solid student feel inadequate. It’s not the case. There are wonderful options. And the tiger parents ripping fine schools because they aren’t ivy or duke is at a fever pitch on this site at times.
@orangefish My son also is retaking the ACT because of scholarships that could open up for him with a higher score. My comment had nothing to do with helicopter parenting and more to do with the fact that this CC site represents a unique subset of all kids who go to college. So if you have good stats and read here you might think your future is hopeless when in fact millions of students do just fine at “average” schools and end up with great careers.
@hopedaisy you are correct. And who attributed my helicopter parenting comment to you btw?
Helicopter parenting. everyone knows what that means right? It’s what we are doing for our kids right now versus when we went to college. Pretty much everything. Researching schools. Making sure of timelines. Setting up resources. All of it.
And it’s not a perjorative. It’s an observation and I too pleaded guilty. It’s ok. We want the best for our kids. I get it.
As an FYI my B-C student is still taking time off between HS and college. Neighbors ask if s/he is “taking a gap year.” I confidently say: “maybe a gap decade and we support this fully!. It’s the healthiest thing s/he has done.” The truth is that if you are patient the right school will become clear. I couldn’t be more proud of my child as he/she just got back from A FULL YEAR on his/her own supporting self, no parent contribution. This is more gutsy than I can possibly imagine.
I take heart in reading the posts about you patient moms/dads on this thread who carefully choose the just-right school for your child. That takes a lot of love and independent thinking. When and IF the time is right we hope to emulate you.
@privatebanker – thank you for sharing your definition of helicopter parenting. I had never heard such a broad definition before. The things one learns on College Confidential!
@Dustyfeathers Kudos to you and your family for realizing that there is no one size fits all way to grow up.
I am putting a lot of time and research into colleges for my son but I think that many students need the help since things have changed so much. In my era I applied to several colleges and got into all of them including UCLA, UCSB, etc.There was no common app, and I don’t even remember teacher recommendations being a part of the process. Costs were reasonable even for the average student. But things have changed now and unless a student knows about these changes it can lead to not being able to go to college.
I have a friend who is a good example of the other side of not being involved at all in the college process. Her son is graduating next week from a small christian school that she herself attended. He has a 3.9 GPA so she naturally thought he’d get great scholarships into any school of his choosing. His SAT wasn’t great but she didn’t think anything of it. He really wants to go away to college to get out of his smaller town. He got rejected from Call Poly SLO along with several UC’s. He only got accepted into small LAC’s with no financial aid. So now it’s May and she just told him sorry, the local community college will be your only option as they can’t afford the expensive LAC’s. I feel so sorry for her son as he’s had no guidance and my friend was clueless how competitive things are now.
@orangefish. Thanks for the thoughtful and well reasoned response to my post And for directing the thread away from the questions and towards me directly. .
Cc It’s for opinions and I have mine. And it’s not the place for full on treatises. Good lord. You can’t get the gist of a concept, we both know that’s not true. No it’s not the full and unabridged version.
I think it’s heslthy to laugh a bit at oneself sometimes. My finger wasn’t pointed st anyone other than myself btw.