Colgate is very Greek, a huge party school, and I can’t even describe the massive amounts of reading. D20 had to do a summer reading assignment and paper before even arriving. The Core classes gave her something like 1000 pages a week of reading, all year long. Some classes had 10-12 books, not an understatement.
I understand the thought process that brought you to thinking LACs are a good option. I think it might be helpful if you look at some of the curriculum requirements. Honestly, the pre-freshman “homework” would completely discourage him. Colgate is not the only school with that type of reading and writing focus.
Oxy doesn’t seem to stack merit and need based aid, they used both to meet need, not to exceed it. A 3.25 seems fairly high GPA minimum for a student looking for/needing highly supportive school planning something math/techy. There are plenty of schools that have significantly lower GPA minimums to maintain merit, Wooster comes to mind with a 2.0 minimum to maintain merit aid.
LaSalle in Philadelphia may be worth a look. They stack aid. And I think LaSalle can/would provide a gentle entry into college level work for students who need it.
I’m not sure this is true. Our high-stats D21 applied to Knox. We both loved the school and thought it had a lot to offer, though it ended up being a bit close to home for her. Knox (and other schools mentioned here, I’d imagine) makes it clear that they don’t only give merit for academic achievement. Their supplemental question for merit consideration is something like, “What is your KnoX factor?” This allows an opportunity for kids to receive merit because of their unique talents, not only their GPA.
In any case, I wouldn’t expect a school to penalize your son if he needs extra support in writing, study skills, or other areas, even if he comes in with a strong GPA and scores. The benefit of the CTCL schools and their ilk, as far as I know, is that they really do embrace kids with diverse talents and backgrounds.
It’s not so much a concern with gpa per se, but a concern with grade pressure and staying in the mix with what’s going on around him. Gpa matters too, hypothetically. It’s a long ways away from knowing if gpa is going to matter though. Some of his potential interests are what I would call real ability based (science, computer science, tech) vs. show-based (med school, finance), so at least there’s that. The former are more about where you wind up than what happened as you got there.
Yes this is all premised on my confidence that, eventually, my son will get there and that he has not been challenged and he will eventually rise to the challenge, as well as mature in general. He has potential.
Without that confidence, we would just settle for state college and risk getting kicked out when the new FAFSA law strips twins and siblings across the country of their place in college.
Well then it’s game over. I guess our high school is basically a one way ticket to nowhere. I should I guess just give up now.
Too bad about his twin sister, who has a 4.0 and also has maxed out all honors and APs and is #1 in the class. Guess it’s game over for her too, and there was nothing more she could have done.
However, I fully intend to come back here in May and prove how flat out wrong you are.
I, in no way, am telling you, your S or D to give up (whatever that means). You wrote about your son’s HS and college readiness in your opening post. I am simply pointing out that although those schools may give good merit 1. they are very difficult admits for the majority of students (as indicated by their acceptance rates) and 2. that merit is often linked not only to GPA but test scores as well, and 3. colleges are aware of the rigor/profile of different high schools.
Take a stroll through the threads on CC and you will find countless examples of students who weren’t admitted to those schools with stats similar to or better than your S. My point is that it is important to apply to a wide range of schools, which you are doing, and to be realistic about acceptance chances. Hard to see how that offends you.
I just don’t see a fit at U Richmond or Kenyon etc., for kid who doesn’t like reading or writing. Many kids at selective LACS have been writing 5 paragraph essays since middle school. What about foreign language? Many LACs req. foreign language. Tech colleges often do not.
The schools referenced by VPA2019 are not suitable because they are not easy. That is what you asked for and that is what was answered.
“Well then it’s game over. I guess our high school is basically a one way ticket to nowhere. I should I guess just give up now.”
No one said or implied “game over” or spoke disparagingly about your kid (accept arguably you). Everyone has been respectful trying to help identify “suitable” per your description options.
Thanks for the well wishes. And we’ll prove that he can get into some of these.
Note that the list was mechanical and based on npc only. Since that’s the first obstacle, picking out opportunities from what’s left is the next stage, along with asking here about schools that might be too challenging even if he does get in.
I appreciate that you are not giving me the line "They only judge them based on what was available to them."
That’s stock verbiage on many college websites and the GC’s and their high school’s party line.
I think that “easy college” isn’t exactly the right term you are looking for.
Perhaps “college that supports freshman from high schools with lower educational standards or those from high schools with grade inflation” may be a better way to say it.
Your kids are going to land on their feet. They may have some struggles along the way and that is okay. You are doing the right thing by trying to find the right “fit” for each of your kids. I mean, there are many parents here with high performing kids with anxiety or other mental health quirks trying to find the right environment for their kids. I don’t see why some are so angered by you trying to do the same thing.
apologies if this causes any trouble but I seem to remember a thread written by someone who was in a similar situation but different POV. i have a hunch that it was the daughter – not a challenging hs, twin brother, dad is a UCD prof, they were looking for CSS only schools because they’re in that awkward middle-class spot. unless I’m hallucinating and I’ve completely fabricated the memory?
