<p>Berurah, definitely talk to the GC. My daughter went to a no-name high school, but her transcript was very simple - Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra II/Trig, English, Honors English, AP etc. Anatomy and physiology at her school was an "avoid physics at all costs" course at a school that required 4X4 for graduation. Probability and stats might also be misconstrued as less than rigorous. I'm not implying that his schedule is not rigorous, I'm saying that the explanation should be very explicit and straightforward.</p>
<p>Berurah, Has anyone in the past 9 pages, suggested Brandeis? If not, let me be the first! :) It certainly worked for my brother</p>
<p>NJres,</p>
<p>Brandeis got a mention on page 7! (soozievt) ;-) Thanks for the second endorsement!! Can you tell me what the average stats. are for admission? ~berurah</p>
<p>bookiemom,</p>
<p>The more I think about it, the more I can REALLY see him at Michigan. I think it would provide the right mix of everything: academics, social life, interesting environment, interesting people! (I am an old Neil Diamond fan, since precollege!)</p>
<p>Cangel, thanks for the advice about the transcript. His transcript has all the things your D's did--at our school, the electives he took were the best offered. He still took honors physics, honors advanced chemistry, honors senior bio, etc. The A & P in his case just took the place of psychology or photography or the like. He is VERY science and math heavy--there was no math left for him to take this year, hence the college classes. ~berurah</p>
<p>Berurah:</p>
<p>the key is whether the GC checked off the box that said 'most difficult schedule' possible at our school.</p>
<p>BlueB</p>
<p>BlueB,</p>
<p>First of all, did you notice that we made it to page 9????? <em>lol</em></p>
<p>I HOPE that she did check that box, but I am going to the school tomorrow morning to have a powwow with her! Thx! ~berurah</p>
<p>Berurah,</p>
<p>Good luck with the GC tomorrow. As other posters have pointed out, she may not realize how carefully the toughest colleges scrutinize high school profiles in assessing an applicant's record--and how important it is to make clear that class rank is based only on unweighted grades. (In case it's helpful, here's a link to the College Board's guide to high school profiles: <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/about/association/regional/west/hsprofile.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/about/association/regional/west/hsprofile.html</a>.) Based on the mixture of tact and steadfastness you've displayed on this board, if anyone can counter the Wizard of Oz syndrome and get your son out of Kansas, you're the one to do it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, my sympathies on your son's reluctance to finish his applications. My daughter--a gifted procrastinator in the best of times, but this was extreme even for her--could barely drag herself out of bed, let alone write essays full of wit and enthusiasm, after her deferral last year. In the end, though, she did get through everything before the deadlines (albeit not much before :rolleyes: ).</p>
<p>Please let us know what happens with the GC.</p>
<p>Hi berurah, I'm so glad to hear that you're going to the GC. When we first talked, I got the sense from you that they were unapproachable. I'm glad you've mustered up the nerve!! Please let us know what happens. I have a strong hunch you're going to make some interesting discoveries. </p>
<p>BTW, if it's any comfort, my s hasn't finished any of the 9 applications that he's going to submit, since he got deferred. He's just plain too busy. The night after the deferral he/I were up until 2 a.m. filling out teacher evaluation requests and addressing the envelopes, as it was the school deadline for those. He's basically just going to do the apps over vacation. Not much of a holiday. I may get a case of senioritis myself this spring!!</p>
<p>Yea, we made it to p9 -- take that skeptics (if you are still lurking)! LOL</p>
<p>Michelle Hernandez does a great job of discussing the strength of schedule (SOS) issue in her book and explaining how GC's can signal an adcom even for schools that don't rank. (not meant as an advertisement, I just found her book, amongst others, very helpful to understand what happens after the app passes thru the mail room)</p>
<p>Speaking of SOS - Go Wolverines -- pound Texas in the Rose Bowl.</p>
<p>Yes, berurah, let us know how it goes tomorrow after meeting with the GC. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>editrix,</p>
<p>Thanks for the vote of confidence for my upcoming dealings with the GC. Actually, I got a rather strange email from her this morning, so I had already planned a little visit with her tomorrow. Now, though, I can also address the issue of the profile and how important it is for her to explain some things, given that ours is a school that rarely sends kids to top colleges (because the vast majority don't DESIRE to leave the state, of course! <em>LOL</em>). Do you have any tips on getting over this procrastination thing? My son is a bit of a procrastinator himself, but always seems to manage to get the job done. This time, though, the job is more important than usual!</p>
<p>andi,</p>
<p>If you DO get seniorPARENTitis this spring and just decide to disappear, come by here and we can hit Cancun together!! Of course we will have to bring a laptop for CC!! It's not so much that the GC is unapproachable--it's more a matter of knowing that when all is said and done, I will have gotten no useful info. from her. She is very good at <em>saying</em> the right thing (at least when she's not saying the <em>wrong</em> thing! <em>lol</em>), but whether any of it can be believed is another story. I will be thinking of your son (and you) as we burn the midnight oil this holiday break. Believe me, it will bring me some small comfort to know that we are not all alone with this last-minute app. thing!</p>
<p>BlueB,</p>
<p>I honestly think that a good deal of the problem lies with the fact that our school is simply inexperienced with apps. on this level. I am REALLY getting nervous for the remaining schools' apps.!! We will definitely talk about he SOS issue tomorrow.</p>
<p>BTW, my dh and most of my kids are huge Michigan football fans (though Duke basketball...), but I did my masters at U.T. Austin. So, we are a bit divided over the bowl game. My eleven-year-old son is begging me to abandon ship for Michigan. For the sake of peace in the family, I may have to!!!</p>
<p>Do you think we can make 10?</p>
<p>momof2inca,</p>
<p>I'll definitely check back in and let you know. Thanks for the good luck--I'll need it!</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>On the subject of ranking and rigor of curriculum. My S is graduating at the end of junior year so he has no class rank (ranking takes place at the end of junior year). He has also been auditing college classes for high school credit. No matter what the actual grade is for the course, it shows up on his high school transcript as Pass. The GC said to me (without my even asking) he was writing a letter explaining both the lack of class rank and the GPA issue. I have not seen the letter, but I have no doubt that it stressed the rigor of my S's curriculum. We are lucky that our school is used to students applying to top schools and the GCs know the importance of such things as school profile, ranks and GPAs.</p>
<p>My, I haven't been around in a week or so and I find this massive posting. I think that all of the recommendations have been great, especially the last post re: rank. My son also did not have a rank, and this did not hinder him as it was clearly explained in the recommendation letter sent from GC.</p>
<p>Preliminary report...</p>
<p>I talked to the GC by phone this a.m. as I was dropping everyone off at school. I told her that I'd like to come by and see her to discuss some issues pertaining to my son's apps. She wasn't all that receptive, but I told her that I would be in the building anyway dealing with a schedule change for my daughter and that I'd just drop by for a few minutes.</p>
<p>I talked briefly with her about the GPA/ranking issue and it was very obvious that she was pretty in the dark about the import of it. Now, I find myself wondering just how many things were not properly presented by the school in its paperwork. I will be leaving in a few minutes, but any suggestions for getting this point across will be greatly appreciated. I did print off the college board school profile info. that editrix referred to, and I'm bringing with me so I can compare it to our school's profile.</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>Can you ask to see the school profile, rank information, transcript? These are public documents that your GC should be willing to share with you. In the past, other parents have found errors in the materials provided by the GC and were able to correct them in time. Of course, you don't want to suggest that the GC made an error; but do stress the importance of underlining rigor of curriculum and class rank based on WEIGHTED GPA. While it is true that many top colleges redo the GPA (eliminating PE and art electives, for example), they cannot recalculate class rank. So if the GC did not underline the fact that your child took the most rigorous curriculum and that the class rank did not take into account honors vs. non-honors, the adcoms will not know how to interpret class rank.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Marite, thanks!</p>
<p>I don't think that any of that was explained properly. In talking with our GC about class rank prior to this, I can tell you that the way the ranking is done at our school is unbelievably convoluted. Our school even did away with having a valedictorian because there has been so much grief over this issue (particularly regarding transfers). I am planning on asking to see all of the things you suggested. O.K., I am off! ~berurah</p>
<p>I will echo Marite's statements. Often it is best to see exactly what is being sent off to the school, that way you can fill the "Additional Info" section with anything that is left out of the GCs information.</p>
<p>your son sounds like me, way back in 1982. i had my heart set on top tier schools and my parents were not help...just "whatever". I applied to harvard, stanford and berkeley. I had good grades, hard courses, great test scores, great EC's... a really good package (especially way back when). I didn't get in to any of them, so I just went to the large state college. HUGE MISTAKE!!!!!!</p>
<p>I was a fool, and I should have looked at a smaller private school that would nourish my intellectual capacities. Yes, the financial aid was good and I also thought I would make it to a college I wanted for grad school. guess what...I never even graduated it. I hated school!! no one wanted to study, classes were huge, it was just not the group I saw myself a part of.</p>
<p>Please, pick some schools that match your son's needs. that is the one big gift I will be giving my kids (whether they like it or not) is to help them select their safeties, matches and reaches based on what they want in a school.</p>
<p>step down from those top tier schools and look for one that will really connect with your son and he will be happy (and finish school....I sure wish I had done things differently!!)</p>
<p>hsmomstef,</p>
<p>Wow...it looks like you learned one of those life lessons from your experience, but the cost was waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too high. I am so sorry that your college experience ended up as it did, and I must admit, your story makes me nervous. I thank you for posting this and for giving such a concrete example of why a student/college personality match is so important. I keep telling myself that if worst comes to very worst, there's always the possibility of a transfer. I'm just hoping, though, that we can get this right the first time.</p>
<p>The only great thing about your experience is that you are fully aware of what you need/want to do for your children. And remember, it's never too late to return to college :-), though it is a totally different experience when you are a mom with a family...</p>
<p>My very best to you and good luck in the future for your own kids' experiences! ~berurah</p>
<p>berulah, did you meet with the GC?? I'm dying to know how it went....please let us know.
andi</p>