Where should this guy apply

Parent Cafe
1

<p>My son is a writer with pretty bad grades. We live in the northeast and he wants to stay here or venture into NY, the mid-Atlantic or midwest. Here's his stats. HELP!</p>

<p>Who am I: white male Senior
High School grad year: 2008
High School: Public
High School Type: Very competitive...
Will apply for financial aid: No</p>

<p>Academics: Going into senior year has a GPA (weighted OF 2.95)<br>
Has done well (B’s and A’s later) in English (honors – no AP at his school)</p>

<p>Class Rank: no idea – probably (definitely) in bottom half
Class Size: 300</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>PSAT – 200 Reading 71, Math 61, Writing 68
SAT – (he totally freaked, skipped many) Reading 660, Math 540, Writing 680 Essay 11 (Total =
Will retake SAT in October, also will take ACT</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>School paper film critic from 6th thru 12th.
Awards:
2004 – Scholastic Art and Writing Award – Gold Key in Region at large –
National – Silver Award – Journalism
2007 – Scholastic Art and Writing Award – Gold Key in Region at Large</p>

<p>Summer 2007 – accepted into and attended University of Iowa Young Writers’ Studio</p>

<p>Has portfolio of writing : journalism, film criticism, poetry</p>

<p>Work - part time summer</p>

2

<p>What kind of atmosphere is he looking for? Size? Urban or rural? </p>

<p>What schools has he been thinking of? Is he interested in any schools his friends are applying to? I’m assuming a kid going into his senior year at a reasonably competitive school in the NE has thought about colleges, and that’s usually a good place to start to get ideas.</p>

3

<p>Good questions. Considering schools between 1500 and 15000 kids, preferably in a town or city, but not overwhelming.<br>
Clark, Hampshire, Kenyon, Alfred, Hobart, Emerson, Northeastern, UNH
Looking for a good English/writing program - don’t know how far to ‘reach’</p>

4

<p>Focus on some SAT tutoring if content is the problem. Also have you time-monitor many practice tests for the SAT’s – since obviously he’s capable from the PSAT’s. Read under CC’s SAT threads the Xiggi Method (sticky thread at top) because he approaches the “timed practice” quite differently than the books themselves say, and I think Xiggi is on to something important there re: timing.</p>

<p>Look at Ithaca College in upstate, rural NY to see if his new stats (anticipating some improvement) and interests match their program offerings and range of scores. It’s a very progressive, artistic community with much to offer. Cornell is in the same town, but the two campuses are very much separate.</p>

<p>See if Emerson College in Boston is pleasing. I know they do a lot with writing. </p>

<p>(LOL, we crossposted! Was glad to see UNH on your list; they have a lot of good things going on with writing there.) </p>

<p>Then consider some non-conventional schools, because the GPA is problematic. Perhaps: Hampshire College or Bard. </p>

<p>What is so wrong about going to a state school, doing well, and transferring?</p>

<p>Is there an English teacher who will write a fine letter of recommendation for him? To help offset the GPA, which is obviously brought down by the other subject areas.
If he tries hard in other subjects, sometimes a letter from a teacher who attests to that (in other words, he’s not lazy but does work steadily) might offset a poor grade showing in Math. If the GC has a lot of good to say about his character or friendship around the school, this might help, too. Finally, have him understand how important it is to allow his writer’s voice to come out fully in his essay. Essentially he’s banking his application on his ability in ENglish and writing. So don’t scrimp for time on the essay! Be sure it sounds like HIM when you read it; go for writer’s voice.</p>

<p>Any chance of an extra Letter of Rec from the U.of Iowa program? They are reknown for their writing nationwide; that’s a pretty impressive EC. Is he a hard worker at his summer jobs? Again, an extra Letter of Rec from an employer that indicates he has work ethic might help offset the GPA / class rank thing. They want to know at a college that he’ll work hard at what he’s interested in, and is willing to take distribution requirements even if he isn’t so hot on a subject. </p>

<p>Also, some of the writers are poor in Math; everyone knows that.</p>

5

<p>

Or staying at a state school. There are a lot of state schools you can look at with the regions you have in mind that would be about right for his range. </p>

<p>You’ve mentioned a lot of the schools I was going to bring up. To be honest, I’m not an expert of the types of schools your son is looking for. Maybe take a look at Marist College in NY. I was going to suggest Emerson, UNH, and Northeastern. Other state schools to look at would be UMass Amherst, Dartmouth, or Lowell – I’m not sure on their GPA desires, but I think he’d be in the running for all of them; URI; UMaine Farmington–though they may look for a higher GPA… I’m not positive; University of Vermont; and many others. State schools would bring up a number of options and are worth consideration.</p>

6

<p>SUNY at Purchase has dramatic writing, theater and film departments. IT’s very competitive; SUNY New Paltz is a bit more realistic for gaining entry, but look at both.
Each SUNY campus has a specialty, so perhaps there’s one that specializes in journalistic writing or the kind he likes.
SUNY Purchase will require a creative writing portfolio, but he’s got that well in hand!</p>

7

<p>Look for colleges that require a writing portfolio with the application. That is an indication that they are looking for writing talent and are willing to factor that in to offset the lower gpa. For example: I read on this site about a student who got in to the college of creative studies at UC Santa Barbara with a much lower gpa than the average admit because of her creative writing ability. Maybe you can find a college close to you with similiar priorities.</p>

8

<p>Small Liberal Arts Colleges will want him. What an opportunity to wow them on the application essays. They will be thrilled to get some genuine, well written essays. You didn’t say if he will get a terrific recommendation from his English teacher- I’m guessing he will, and that will help. </p>

<p>Lots of colleges accept kids with less than a 3.0. I was surprised by the stats in several of the Guides to Colleges.</p>

9

<p>Maybe St. Bonaventure in NY? A former student of mine is just starting her second year there (journalism major) and had a summer program at Oxford after her first year. I don’t know all of the schools to which she applied/gained acceptance, but one was Ithaca. Her choice of SBU was influenced by a strong merit package, and she is very happy there. She was a top HS student grade-wise, but I would guess her test scores were on a par with what your son should be able to do with some prep, and he definitely sounds like a stronger writer. </p>

<p>I just looked at the SBU website and here’s a little blurb about admissions:</p>

<p>“What type of student applies to St. Bonaventure? We don’t believe that there is an “average” student. Rather, we review each student who applies for admission as an individual. Our admissions committee will read all of the documents that you submit, so it is important to present yourself in a positive manner when you put together your application for admission.” The freshman profile mentions that 81% were in the top half of their HS classes, which means that 29% of their admits were in the bottom half–decent odds for your son, considering his other strengths.</p>

<p>The GPA is a bit of a problem. Obviously, 50% of all students end up in the bottom half of the class, but I’m not sure colleges would consider the HS “very competitive” it it offers no AP English (unless the school has a reputation for a curriculum that is stronger than AP). A strong upward trend will help–is your son willing to put out in the first semester even on classes he doesn’t care for so much? If he does show strong improvement, but admissions deadlines come before he has first semsester grades, he should include the first quarter/mid-semester grade report with his application. And if his GC and recommending teachers can honestly state that he has really made strides and shown his true capabilities this year, that will help to counter the GPA.</p>

<p>Wishing him success!</p>

10

<p>THanks so much for all your thoughtful advice. I have made a list and will explore each school as well as the Xiggi method.
In answer to questions: yes - the school has many AP courses but considers its English program stronger than the AP course. In retrospect I should have had him take the AP English exam because he reads classics in his free time and would be familiar with the AP reading list, but it’s too late now. And yes, he has 2 English teachers who thinks he’s terrific and will write very strong recs for him which will help. He is evidently an active class participant who adds much to class discussions and teachers love this. I am hoping that after first semester his GPA can be recalculated to swing it up over 3. He has a case of writer’s block in regard to the essay and doesn’t know whether he should try to explain his GPA or ignore it and focus on writing and what it means to him.</p>

11

<p>Try some of the ‘artsy’ colleges. Hampshire pops up.</p>

12

<p>Washington College in Maryland has a very well known writing program and gives away the second biggest literary prize in the world to a graduating senior. (The biggest, of course, is the Nobel.) They also give scholarships for writing to incoming freshmen.</p>

13

<p>Goucher in Baltimore might fit the bill- the creative writing/English dept. has an excellent reputation, and being male might give him even more of an edge there. If you are not already familiar with it, get a copy of Loren Pope’s book “Colleges That Change Lives.”</p>

14

<p>How about College of Wooster?</p>

15

<p>I was just looking back over this thread and saw what I wrote…29% in post #9 should be 19%. Gosh, I really can do simple addition and subtraction and satisfactorily perform other operations as well! :)</p>

<p>Oh, and I would second Goucher and Wooster.</p>

16

<p>Totally missed the math error. I wonder about those stats. Since our school doesn’t rank, and many do not, do colleges leave out the students from unranked schools from their statistics? And do they just use the students from the ranked schools to report their percentages? I am hoping so.
We just got back from Wooster. It’s a lovely campus and we had an enthusiastic and articulate tour guide. But the emphasis was so heavily on traditions and rah-rah kinds of activities that it made my writer feel that it might not be right for him. He knows he can’t get into a top notch school, but he’d like to go to school with some offbeat, intellectually curious people like himself.
We have Goucher on our list and are planning a trip.
All advice is so appreciated.</p>

17

<p>If you are looking at Goucher, I second taking a look at Washington College, about 90 minutes from Goucher. Their writing program has a wonderful reputation. Small college in a very small town, about 45 mins from Annapolis.</p>

18

<p>If you can afford it, send the writer to Manhattan. He’ll be surrounded by the most ambitious people on earth and writers galore.</p>

<p>I know a young man who has blossomed at Marymount in Manhattan. great neighborhood, small school where he can’t get lost or forgotten. <a href=“http://www.mmm.edu/[/url]”>http://www.mmm.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Fordham would be another choice. The Jesuits deliver a fine, philosophical education that is a great underpinning for any writer.</p>

19

<p>In addition to Hampshire and other colleges mentioned above, I’d add New College in Sarasota, FL. About 1000 kids, individualized program. <a href=“http://www.ncf.edu/index.html[/url]”>http://www.ncf.edu/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

20

<p>Definitely send in a portfolio of writing samples.</p>

<p>Several people mentioned Northeastern - you should be aware that they are a “hot” school right now, last year they only accepted 1/3 of their applicants (not like they old days, when they took 80%). I would think the GPA and class rank might eliminate Northeastern.</p>

<p>I’d look at some of the smaller state colleges, as the flagship State Univs tend to have higher GPA requirements and I suspect they’re more prone to simply “go by the numbers” rather than looking at students individually (just because of the huge numbers of applications they have to weed through). Corranged, you were wondering about GPA requirements - UMass Amherst now requires a minimum of 3.0. Examples of smaller state colleges: Plymouth State in NH, Westfield State in Mass, Mass College of Liberal Arts, etc. I don’t know which ones have writing programs, though.</p>