My daughter applied this year with a 31 ACT and a 3.9 unweighted 4.2 weighted GPA. Has a prestigious national awards plus state level instrumental awards and 2 sport varsity player with MVP in each.
Rejected ED from Vanderbilt (strong legacy)
Rejected from Notre Dame (counselor called ND and they said it was the ACT that held her back)
Accepted: Boston College, College of the Holy Cross no merit. Large scholarships from SMU, Butler, Denison, Indiana University, and Simmons.
In retrospect I would have had her quit activities to study more for the ACT. That seems to be all schools care about these days.
@go9ersjrh : Vandy has placed increased importance on the ACT every year. Impossible to get in with 31 now unless you are URM or athlete. Son #1 would most prob have not gotten in today as he had a 32. This year’s 25th percentile score was a 33!
This is a good thread that should give encouragement to a lot of people. Real world examples that not getting a certain test score does not mean you are not a very talented student who can still get a good education. Thanks for starting it OP and all those contributing. Wish I could add something but son #1 and his 28 act jumped at the first school he looked at 4 years ago that automatically gave him a scholarship that brought cost in below in state tuition costs where we lived and never applied anywhere else…
30, 31 Superscored, 3.89ish GPA and accepted to Cornell University ILR, William and Mary, Boston College, Tulane, Richmond, Colorado College and CU Boulder PLC.
My D had a 30 and a 3.97 uw gpa. She was accepted with great merit to Tulane, Iowa State, U of South Carolina, and LSU. Also accepted to GA Tech and Auburn but not so much money. She chose Tulane but after two years there, she is transferring to Iowa State this fall.
My daughter ultimately made a 32 during her senior year, but she only had a 31 when she applied and was admitted to all of her schools she applied to. The only real change we saw was that Missouri upped her merit aid from 7K a year to 10K for out of state students. She had a weighted GPA of 4.2 and I would guess probably a 3.9-3.95 unweighted. She was admitted to Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Northern Illinois and Louisiana Monroe. That eclectic list was based on her major choice and I am sure she would’ve been waitlisted at Illinois and Purdue if she was pursuing Engineering. We were chasing money because we were looking at out of state tuition at almost every school we were applying to. The 32 helped secure more money at Missouri and Louisiana Monroe, but we were retaking to try and get the 33 that was the magic number at Northern Illinois that was very close to a free ride. The ultimate difference between the 31 and 32 wasn’t really worth the stress and preparation time versus the very limited payback. And really, what is the difference between a 31 and a 32 and a 32 and a 33? A school is really willing to make that much of a difference in merit aid on something like that?
I’ve seen Tulane come up a few times. @cyclonehome, I noticed your D is transferring. Of the ten friends of my older children who went to Tulane, only one stayed to graduate, mostly because it would have been too difficult to transfer given the program he was in. All of the others transferred out, and not for financial reasons. I couldn’t get a good handle on why for most of them, but at least a couple just didn’t like the atmosphere which doesn’t really tell me a lot…but since Tulane was on our list it does make me wonder if there might be a disconnect there of some sort for the more motivated student. Any thoughts?
I got a 31 on the ACT and have an unweighted GPA of 3.85. I got into Umass Amherst, Binghamton, Drexel, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, University of Maryland-College Park, RIT and Northeastern. Most of them offered me the honors program and some decent money. 31 is a good score so don’t worry.
CaliCash, you are mistaken. Syracuse does have full tuition scholarships; I know another student who has one. The text you quoted doesn’t say that the Founder’s, Chancellor’s, and Dean’s are the only merit scholarships - it just says they exist.
