<p>While I think your son might be able to get into some well ranked LACs (Bates, Macalester, Grinell, Oberlin, etc) from my personal experience I do not think he is competitive at top ten universities. I went to a competitive high school where there were many kids who had very high test scores and took the hardest classes but were not ranked highly because of their grades. Their grades may have even been lower than your son’s in many cases since a 3.5 with the top level courses would still get you in the top 10% since there was no grade inflation. These students, especially those out of the top 20% did not have success applying to Ivies or similar schools since how you compare in your school is more important than your specific GPA. They had much more success at schools like the ones I mentioned.</p>
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<p>Then you probably won’t want your son to attend one of those top-ranked, highly competitive schools – he needs a college that will keep him motivated but accommodate his tendency to prioritize areas of high interest. There are plenty of excellent colleges that probably would love to have a debater and soccer player with his talents, but they probably aren’t Ivy League. So widen the range of schools you are looking at - and also figure out whether those talents can be leveraged. (By leverage I mean that rather than look for schools that are particularly strong in the areas where your son is strong, look for colleges that value those qualities and are looking to improve. ). </p>
<p>Admissions officers will also look at the pattern of grades over time and over types of courses. So if your debater son has strong grades in his English and history classes, but is pulling B’s in math – then he would be a lot better off than a prospective engineering major with the same pattern. </p>
<p>Also, if the student has a tendency to dive deeply into an interesting subject, but does not like to give effort in other subjects, consider each college’s general education or breadth requirements. A college with a heavy core curriculum or lots of general education or breadth requirements may not be the optimal one for such a student.</p>
<p>@callpapa There are going to be colleges that appreciate the skill and commitment that’s needed to be a champion debater. I’m not referring only to colleges with strong debate teams. I think your original post did have a valid point: exceptional achievements can outweigh some other factors. Like your son, mine was a champion debater (state level); he spent 30-40 hours a week on research and prep for debate. He didn’t get perfect grades, but they were very good (top 10%). He was very strong in math (3rd in state competition in 8th grade). In high school, he won statewide awards in journalism. Near perfect SAT I and II’s.</p>
<p>I agree with the suggestions above that your son identify a set of colleges that meet his core criteria, but arrayed along a scale in degree of difficulty of admission. If possible, visit several of those colleges before applying, especially if he’s considering early admission, which could give some boost to his admission chances.</p>
<p>My son did not aspire to attend most of the colleges that you listed in your OP. He didn’t want to debate in college. He just wanted to attend a college were it was considered OK to be a thinker. It wasn’t the name of the school as much as the “intellectual style” that mattered to him. Location also mattered (preferred urban setting). He attended UChicago, but he would have been happy at several of the schools to which he applied and was admitted. His concentration was in economics.</p>
Your HS school probalbly doesn’t rank for a reason. Your son’s SATII and AP scores support his GPA. The
“ranking” will be irrealvant to most privates, who compare the students profile to the profile of HS in general. Ask your HS for copy of your HS’s profile. A middle of the pack student from a highly regarded high school is not shabby.
UCs have their own method of calculating GPA. Look it up.
Does his HS use Naviance. That should give a better picture of where kids with his stats end up.
I would look for schools that include an interview as part of the process, especially for a kid with polished communication skills.
Agree with EA and ED stratagy. Just don’t blow his ED on a Reachy-reach.
A good game plan to start iinvestigating now: (send interest emails, visit if possible, talk to current students or alum, make contact at college fairs or info sessions)
Reachy Reach @ 6
Reach @ 8
Target @ 10
Comfort @ 8
If your instate CA, I’d create a separate catagory for UC/CSUs @ 8
Wildcard (aka art school, or some other implusive what if) @ 2
Summer between junior senior year: start apps as soon as realeased, write 3 essays (one to use a primary ,two to draw from for suppliments.) Ask for Recs.
Then narrow down the list by half in sept of senior year: Start knocking out apps, schedule interviews
Apply to as many EAs as possible. ED if he has strong prefrence
Reachy Reach @ 3
Reach @ 4
Target @ 5
Comfort @ 4
UC/CSUs @ 4
Wildcard @ 1
Reachy Reaches(like the ones mentioned in your OP) make sense for a kid with his stats–long, long, long shot none-the-less…
This is an old thread…an update since there is a new suggestion: Since last year, my son improved his SAT (2360), got two more good scores on subject SATs, got all 5’s on APs in Junior year and his GPA has a significant uptrend in the last semesters and he took a summer course in community college where got an A+ (and can be used for UC credit). His debate season ended really well last year.
He applied to 8 schools during EA (3 safety/match and 5 reach) - he got into 4, 3 with merit aid; 4 deferred
He submitted 4 more apps (for RD) before EA results and also submitted the UC app.
He submitted 3 more far-reaches in the RD cycle last week.
Let’s see how it plays out. So far, Michigan is the leading contender of where he is accepted.
@calipapa Thanks for the update!
Good luck to him, and congrats on having a very good acceptance already!
Thanks for the update. Nice results!
" I still think we did the “right” thing by letting our son pursue his ECs with passion - the skills he is honing will serve him good regardless of the college he attends." - Absolutely!