<p>my son is a junior in a very good public school on long island n.y.
sats are 1900 g.p.a 3.5 .not many exras <pt work ,few clubs
630
630
640
he wants to major in creative writing and or english lit.
-stay close to a major city
-be with more artsy students than with the greeklife/jock type .
i really want him to b comfortable at school.
some schools on the short list are
marist
purchase
new paltz
tulane
boston u
hunter -hopefully honors program .
let me please know your thoughts and what u think his chances are for those schools and suggestions are welcome ,thanks<br>
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<p>Since he’s only a junior, it’s a bit early to consider his chances because he could always take the SAT again (and take the ACT) and do better.</p>
<p>Also, I’d tell my kid to get as many A’s as possibly junior year to boost GPA and to show an “upward trend.”</p>
<p>Since he has a 1900 as a first semester junior, he likely can bring up his score a good bit. :)</p>
<p>Within the next few months, have your son take the SAT again, **and **have him take the ACT (some kids do better on the ACT and schools accept whichever is better.) </p>
<p>Pay the extra $15 for the detailed score reports. Then, a few weeks after he takes each test, he’ll get a copy of his test and the answer key - with his wrong answers indicated. He can use those to determine his weak areas and work to improve. </p>
<p>Then, after working on weak areas, he can take the tests again in the fall of senior year. Who knows, he may score high enough to get some merit scholarships. </p>
<p>At a minimum, he will likely improve his scores to improve his chances at his chosen schools. :)</p>
<p>Can you afford paying up to $50 k a year for college or are finances a concern? BU’s total costs, for instance, would be around $50 k a year, and it doesn’t offer good financial aid. If finances are a concern, how much are you willing to pay each year for college?</p>
<p>Does your son have any preferences in terms of size of school? Would he be willing to go to a church-related school? Willing to go to college any region in the U.S.?</p>
<p>DS was wait listed at BU three years ago with substantially higher stats. He was also a geographically attractive candidate. The poster above has some good questions. What about finances? Are you looking for merit aid at any schools or are you prepared to pay your EFC-every freaking cent?</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence and Syracuse spring to mind for writing, although I don’t know if he would consider Syracuse a major city. Since you have Purchase on your list, I’m assuming you have nixed Geneseo because of the location. </p>
<p>In Boston, Emerson would seem like an excellent match. DePaul in Chicago might do, although I don’t know about their creative writing program. Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore is worth a look.</p>
<p>There are lots of places that might be good fits that are not near or in major cities, depending how you define “near”–easy access?–or “major.” Some of them include Ithaca College, Beloit, and Kenyon.</p>
<p>As Northstarmom says, cost can also be a factor.</p>
<p>If you can easily afford the $220k that it would likely cost at many privates, then awesome!</p>
<p>However, if money is an issue, then a strategy is needed. </p>
<p>If EFC is lowish, then target schools that meet 100% of need without loans.</p>
<p>If EFC is high and unaffordable, then target schools that will give generous merit scholarships. (This strategy would likely require improving SAT/ACT scores by using info in post #2) and increasing GPA for junior year.</p>
<p>mom2, I agree with your strategy suggestions, but this kid does not have anywhere near the profile required by the 100% need/no loan schools for unhooked students. (At least not for any that I am aware of.) He would probably have to raise his SATs by at least 100 points per section, get the GPA up to an A, and develop at least one significant EC. The class rank would also need to be very high. It seems unlikely that this is all doable between now and the fall of senior year.</p>
<p>You can find out a lot of info about specific colleges on this site. This includes average SAT scores, graduation rates, total costs, what students major in, etc.</p>
<p>I agree with Consolation: The OP’s son is not competitive for the 100% need/no loan schools. There’s no time for him to become competitive for such schools, which require much higher scores plus usually two extremely strong ECs. While his scores probably will go up later this year, even a total of a 100 point rise won’t put him into contention for the top schools – places like Amherst, Yale – that are the ones with the excellent need-based aid nor would he be in contention for full scholarships at places that offer excellent merit aid.</p>
<p>He is, though, competitive for most of the colleges in the country. If finances aren’t a concern, he should easily find a college that meets his desires. His being a male interested in English/creative writing and a small college experience is a plus since most LACs have a hard time attracting males. They may even give him some merit aid, but that still may leave as much as $35,000 a year for parents to pay.</p>
<p>If finances are a concern, it will be harder for him to find what he wants in a private school or an out of state public.</p>
<p>That there appears to be at least one sibling coming behind him is something else for the OP to keep in mind in terms of the finances.</p>
<p>^What about meet need/some loan? I think he has a realistic shot at BC and Holy Cross (would be reaches, though). Also, Trinity College and Connecticut College would be good reaches.</p>
<p>Pretzel…do you know what your EFC is? If it’s higher than what you can afford, then you’ll need to look at schools that give a lot of merit. Your son needs to take the SAT again and take the ACT. His current SAT is in the 91st percentile. From what I’m seeing on Hunters honors threads, those kids have at least SATs in the 95th percentiles and higher GPAs.</p>
<p>Also, consider if he wants large lecture halls, a campus, small connected community, small classes, etc. Consider if he minds TAs. You have a variety of schools on your initial list. Marist is not all that close to NYC (they do take some day trips for a fee into NYC), but it small and has a beautiful campus. Boston U. is more of city school, much larger, and has a bit less of a small connected community, with easy access to what Boston has to offer (just hop on the “T”). I think a school like Northeastern, would sort of split some of the differences between a school like Marist, and a school like Boston U. Again, that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>*His being a male interested in English/creative writing and a small college experience is a plus since most LACs have a hard time attracting males. They may even give him some merit aid, but that still may leave as much as $35,000 a year for parents to pay.</p>
<p>If finances are a concern, it will be harder for him to find what he wants in a private school or an out of state public.
*</p>
<p>True…if his stats stay the same. But, many first semester juniors are able to increase their scores by fall of senior year. If he is able to increase his scores, then his possibilities at privates and OOS publics could increase. :)</p>
<p>Since your son is interested in English/creative writing, I would remind him to minimize any student loans that he’d be responsible for. Newly minted English majors often aren’t earning much for several years, and it would be very hard for him to support himself and make highish monthly payments for student loans. </p>
<p>As for TAs… many schools have moved away from having TAs teach/lecture. Many are only using TAs for proctoring exams, grading papers, helping in labs, etc. Therefore, just because a school is large, it doesn’t mean that they use TAs to teach. So, look into each school’s policy.</p>
<p>I agree with the Northeastern suggestion or some LACs that want more males. :)</p>
<p>finances are def a concern !! wants to stay in northeast and wants a school like 4000 kids up to 15000 kids .not trying to get him into the best academic school he can ,more like were he will thrive and be happy !!!</p>
<p>If he raises his stats, he’ll have a better chance for merit scholarships. :)</p>
<p>Are you in-state for NY?</p>
<p>How much do you feel you can spend on his education each year?</p>
<p>I think on another thread, it was guessed that your EFC is about $25k - 27k. If that is not affordable, then he’ll need to raise his scores and find schools that give lots of merit (including ones that give full tuition).</p>
<p>Along with the above-mentioned school-size, what else would your son want in a school? I’m guessing that if he’s going to live on campus, he’ll want a school where many kids stay on campus on weekend.</p>
<p>*more like were he will thrive and be happy !!! *</p>
<p>What kind of school would make him happy? Quiet campus? Lots of ECs and clubs? Rah rah big sports?</p>
<p>yes takin sat again in jan @ march i believe, and we will be getting a tutor to try and up the march one for sure .yes to act.we r in ny .family can contribute about 10 k a year .he woould like to be a bus ride from a major city or in a major city is fine as well .would the school to have a football or hockey team to root for .does not want a huge greek life on campus - more the artsy type .clubs would be good ,like music ,film , books,BIG TIME .wants to study creative writing and english lit ,education .thanks</p>
<p>Catholic schools like Holy Cross, BC and Providence are frat-free. Good sports programs hockey and football are good and all have arts/writing programs.</p>
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