@dspflyer, our S16 got a scholarship at Temple last year with about a 3.2. However, he was also a NMSF with a 1460 M+CR on the SAT. Our other son is a junior with a similar GPA, and I’m guessing he’d have a hard time getting into Temple without a fairly high SAT.
University of Hartford sounds realistic to me. They used to have an early very easy application which one could,do (my son did it). Do they still have that option? If so, get it done, and you will get an admissions decision very quickly.
http://admission.hartford.edu/applying/applyonline.html
Yep…it’s the quick response online application…or something like that. Easy to complete quickly in one sitting…no fee…and you get the results quickly.
You do the application, and then you have to send them your HS transcript and a letter of reference.
Do it now…and you should hear soon.
Thank you for this link and info about University of Hartford. I believe Hartford is test optional as well correct? One of the big struggles with a average student is he is just that - average. It is not like he is in honors or AP classes.
I have posted on other threads but this thread is one I can really relate to. My son came into 11th grade with a 3.2 and we were hoping to go up this year, but so far, the year has proved to be more challenging than he expected. Also no AP or Honors classes. He is discouraged and frustrated knowing how important this year is and acknowledges that academics are not his strong point. He has even started to voice his concerns that he will ‘never’ get into any college that he wants to go to. I have given him multiple pep talks about the fact that there is school out there for everybody, but he is definitely down about it. I am reading CC voraciously trying to see what options are out there and what will be realistic for him. Looking forward to seeing more posts here as well.
@VaNcBorder and @dspflyer as mstomper points out, it’s hard to match student to school without standardized test scores. Many of the schools we looked at w S2 were in the colleges that change live (CTCL) book, you may want grab a copy. My S had around a 3.2, scored well on the SAT and two of the CTCL schools offered him quite a bit of merit (> $20k/year).
on a side note, we paid for an SAT tutor for our kids, we believe we received a good return on investment based on merit offers. Of course, we’ll never know how they would have done on their own.
VaNcBorder - I could not have written your post any better or more accurately. It is the same with my son. I wish mine started 11th grade with a 3.2.
quietdesperation - I think I’ve heard of that book and I will check it out. My son has been in an ACT prep class since July - 4 hours a week. We are praying it helps him.
@dspflyer, I try and stay postive and give my son a lot of encouraging feedback, but behind closed doors, his discrouagement breaks my heart. I wish I could be as blase as my husband whose response is always the same 'Oh, he will be fine!" Our son has been working with an SAT math tutor once a week since July and we are hoping the investment is the tipping point to get him where he wants to go. He never aspired to schools with high stats but even his current choices may end up being reaches instead of matches. I am so curious to get to PSAT test results in December and go from there!
VcNcBorder - it sounds like you are married to my husband! My son is taking the ACT in December and
by some stroke of good fortune and lots of prayers I hope he can get higher than a 20.
My son had a 3.3 weighted/unweighted GPA (took no AP or honors classes) and a 26 ACT. He wanted to stay fairly close to home and preferred small LACs. He applied to 6 schools and was accepted and offered merit scholarships at all of them:
Northern Illinois University
Carthage College
Lake Forest College
Augustana College
Knox College
Beloit College.
He is now a freshman at Beloit.
Can you tell me how much Merit aid he got at the schools he got into? We are trying to figure out if my daughter should go public or apply to more private colleges (she prefers smaller colleges). She is a 3.3-3.4 GPA and a 31 ACT. We are trying to find the right place for around 18k after Merit aid.
@Mom2017grad , are you asking me? Your daughter’s situation could be decidedly different than my son’s, due to her 31 ACT score. I’d think she would be considered a better prospect.
My son’s merit offers ranged from $3000 at NIU (bringing the total down to around 18k) to $20,000 at Beloit, Lake Forest and Augustana. (Beloit also offered a few thousand in need-based aid, even though our EFC didn’t indicate further need.) All 5 LACs ended up fairly similar in cost, ranging from around 29k to 33k. Your daughter’s stats should bring better merit offers at these schools, but maybe not enough to bring you to your target.
Are you pretty certain you won’t qualify for need-based aid?
@quietdesperation Just had some great news - DS has been using an ACT prep program and just got a 25 on his practice test. Granted it was a practice test but a timed one at that. So I hope / pray this is realistic enough that he can get at least a 25 or close to it in the December ACT. Any indications that the practice tests are close to the real deal? The prep program was very strict about administering it.
@VcNcBorder meant to include you too…Just had some great news - DS has been using an ACT prep program and just got a 25 on his practice test. Granted it was a practice test but a timed one at that. So I hope / pray this is realistic enough that he can get at least a 25 or close to it in the December ACT. Any indications that the practice tests are close to the real deal? The prep program was very strict about administering it.
@dspflyer great news!!! it really depends on which prep program you’re using but any test program worth its salt should provide realistic results. The best tip I can offer for the act is to get the meltser English act book. My D moved from a 28 to a 36 after spending a week working through the book. Then her friend used the book and went from a 26 to a 34.
@dspflyer that is very exciting- for both you and your son! Since my son is working with an SAT tutor, I am not sure how that will translate to taking the ACT (he will sign up for the February test). I am also anxious (much more so than him) about how these tests will go!
@quietdesperation, thank you for the tip about the meltser book- we can use all of the help and suggestions offered! Now that the quarter has officially come to a close at school, he might have some more time to fit in the extra ‘studying’.
Is it really possible for students to get a 36 on the ACT ? Isn’t that a perfect score? I figured it should be too hard for that. I am probably incorrectly equating it to getting a 1600 on the old SATs that we all took.
my d got a 36 on the english section, not the whole test, but yes, about 1000 people get a 36 every time it’s administered. here’s a link to the percentiles:
http://blog.prepscholar.com/act-percentiles-and-score-rankings
Run the net price calculators on the schools she is interested in, they will give you an idea as to how much you can expect in merit. She is a candidate for some but not likely enough to get you to 18k at a small LAC on merit alone. The amount itself is a bit irrelevant as it is all relative to to COA at each institution. A 20k offer at Beloit will go a farther than say the same offer at Muhlenberg which has a higher COA by about 5k.
In general the higher your D fits in the stats pool (check the common data sets) and schools in the middle of the country will be more affordable and better merit offers than schools where she is a match or lower, or on the coasts.
My D just applied EA to Beloit and Kalamazoo. She went abroad her junior year so her GPA is from 10th grade and it is 3.125 UW. She did take all honors classes that year, except for 1. Now she is a senior taking her AP’s and we will see how she ends up with her GPA. She had a 30 on her ACT in 10th grade. She is excited about Beloit because of the Rotary merit scholarship too. She is hoping that will help with aid and she will be accepted. @rienrah What has the freshman year been like so far?