Has she taken the ACT or SAT yet?
D scored 1500 on 10th grade PSAT, 1510 on Junior PSAT and 1590 on SAT. May take an ACT or not, haven’t decided yet.
Is the 1590 SAT score two subtests? If so…why take the ACT?
No. First attempt. Her high school gives a small scholarship and a graduation cord for perfect scores.
1590 out of what?? What is the max she could,have gotten. That is what I meant.
PSAT out of 1520 and SAT out of 1600. Is there any other scale? Am I confusing it with subject tests? She needs to take those as well? D did mention something but I can’t recall when is she scheduling those for.
The old SAT had three sections. I just wondered if this was two or three sections. If it’s out of 1600, that’s 2. With a 1590 SAT, I would not have her retake. That’s a great score.
The scholarship would need to be more than the time used, and the cost!
@lookingforward Which intelligent ways do you suggest to up one’s chances?
Hiring a consultant? Good ones are too expensive and cheap ones are a waste of our limited resources.
Truth be told, whole elite admission process seems like a sham. She’ll be better off EDing at a tier 2 that really wants her and would give merit aid to attract her.
I don’t understand point of NMSF if no selective school honors it.
I feel like we need to chill and let fate decide which college to attend. If kids stay healthy and take studies seriously, they’ll do fine in life, no matter which college they go to.
I said it back in post 8 and annoy folks for saying it so often: “Start by looking at what the colleges themselves tell you that they value. That’s not simply CDS or stats. It’s found by reading as much of what they say as you can.”
But what are you really looking for, @SugarlessCandy? You stated with course selection, “elites,” worried about kids attaining perfection/doubted it, etc. Now it turns out she’d done fine, at least in GPA, some rigor (something weighted, after all,) and may not be so interested in elites. At one point you said, just arguing to make your point. This thread has taken a confusing path.
I’m very interested in helping her find best college she can get accepted at but this late at night, everything looks gloomy and it feels comforting to say that I don’t care.
@SugarlessCandy your daughter has great test scores and seems to have a very good GPA. You mentioned that she is applying to 6-8 schools which means she really needs to do her research and not apply to a lot of reaches. If she applies wisely you/she should be happy with the results. She is only a junior and at this point is just making a list- things should not be gloomy. You mentioned what your D is looking for ( urban, small but not too small, east coast etc) but you throw me a bit with the word “gloomy.” I am a little confused.
@SugarlessCandy I guess I am also confused about what you are looking for, exactly. You mentioned that if your daughter studies seriously she will do fine regardless of where she goes to college- I agree.
Why does she need to apply ED anywhere?
I came across articles about how few seats are left for merit admissions after you deduct early admits, legacies, donors, athletes, actors, musicians, singers, URMs, valedictorians, internationals and candidates with exceptional STEM capabilities.
I mean odds for an unhooked ORM are so rare. This is like setting D up for dissapointments and feeing incompetent. If D only applies to colleges where her chances of getting accepted are realistic, it could be a joyous and rewarding experience and I won’t have to hand over our life’s savings to those colleges.
Those articles get attention by alarming. And they almost always refer to the “most selective.” You said she doesn’t want random elites, anyway. So what’s gloomy? And now we’re on costs? And ORM?
People love to fuss over ED, but you still have to be a worthy match (again, more than stats and a few ECs ) and you still contend against the heavy odds. That’s why it’s good to include realistic choices/safeties.
I suspect you know more than it seemed or you hint, but now you and she need to start filtering, then pulling the info together. And visiting.
If what you do want is prestige, please cut through all this and say it. Otherwise, feels like we’re meandering.
I do like prestige and would pay for it but still on the fence about if it’s worth gambling with D’s self esteem and my savings.
Haha, I actually know less than I let on. I wish I knew more, this is a very confusing process but I definitely don’t want a chase of elusive Ivy unicorn to drain my energy and sanity during next 1.5 years.
Don’t tinker with that 1590. A single attempt, one and done, nearly perfect score is impressive. Your child is done with testing, IMO. Chances are good that your child will quality for NMSF/NMF, which will open additional doors. Congratulations!
Have you done any research about your EFC (Expected Family Contribution)? Will you qualify for any need-based aid? It sounds like you have the means to pay for a tippy top college but would prefer to pay less. Your college list should begin with finances - what’s the balance of need-based and merit-based aid that you can expect?
If you are seeking merit, look for schools where your child’s stats fall in the 75% of accepted students and merit chances will be good. High achieving students can reasonably hope for a 15-30K discount from schools ranked 25-60; top 20 is considerably more difficult. That, of course, might still leave 35-50K to pay annually, if your are not eligible for need-based aid.
FWIW, my kid’s school does not rank, does not weight GPA, and does not offer AP courses. She is a high-achieving student with very strong GPA and test scores. So far she has been accepted everywhere she has applied and has received substantial merit scholarships. These were schools in the 25-60 ranking where she is at the 75% mark or above, all of which she would be happy to attend. We have not yet heard from the higher reaches.
My advice is for your D to identify some schools like these, preferably that have a non-binding early action program so she will receive notification early. This will take the pressure off as she waits for answers from more prestigious RD schools, should she choose to apply to those as well.
If you do want prestige, be clear up front with your child about how much you are willing to pay. This will save much heartache and drama later on. There are a few top schools that offer full tuition/full ride scholarships, like Wash U and Duke, but they are extremely competitive and require separate applications and interviews. Keep expectations realistic if you go this route.
Here are some resources that may be helpful if they haven’t already been mentioned up thread. Do check school websites, as scholarship criteria do change over time.
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
This is a helpful reply. I’ll explore these links tonight.
Yeah, if her self esteem is so delicate that she can’t handle rejections she should play it safe. You’ll have to judge what your pocketbook can handle.
My oldest got rejected by four fine colleges and waitlisted by another one. He got into two reaches and two safeties. Younger son got three rejections out of 7 applications. Each kid had found two safeties they could live with. Each kid applied EA/priority/rolling admissions wherever they could and each had an acceptance before Christmas. We all stayed sane.
My free advice. Find one school at least that is early action or rolling admissions that she really likes, and has a strong chance of acceptance. Apply as early as possible. It’s very nice for seniors to have that one early acceptance to a school they like…and EA is not binding.