Balanced List (30 ACT)

[Anonymous]

You gave some solid targets, high targets, and low reaches. I’d add at least one state school likely that doesn’t yield protect. I’d show interest to the schools. She has a lot of APs and good stats - you could add another reach or two if so inclined. Definitely ED W&M if that’s top choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My prediction is that she would get into most of these schools. Quite possibly ALL. Don't let the people of DCUM deter you from encouraging her to apply to all of these schools, if she is interested. Add some more safeties that she likes, if it makes you/her feel better.

Thank you pp
I’d be happy if she got 1-3 acceptances from her current list and she can easily squeak out a few applications to more VA publics

I'd say more like 7+ acceptance from the list. Your perspective can become skewed if you're on DCUM too long ... A 30 on the ACT is 90+ percentile. These colleges are not filled with students scoring in the 90+ percentile, as far as I'm aware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My prediction is that she would get into most of these schools. Quite possibly ALL. Don't let the people of DCUM deter you from encouraging her to apply to all of these schools, if she is interested. Add some more safeties that she likes, if it makes you/her feel better.

Thank you pp
I’d be happy if she got 1-3 acceptances from her current list and she can easily squeak out a few applications to more VA publics

I'd say more like 7+ acceptance from the list. Your perspective can become skewed if you're on DCUM too long ... A 30 on the ACT is 90+ percentile. These colleges are not filled with students scoring in the 90+ percentile, as far as I'm aware.

Agree. DCUM posters scared me into pushing DS to apply to too many safeties and targets. We way underestimated his chances. He was accepted to all safeties and targets and 2 of his 3 reaches. We should have done ED to a favorite reach and been done.

[Anonymous]

Your DDs chances of W&M are great if she EDs.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately this year has skewed a lot of the data - TO is pushing the middle 50% scores upward. My kid had a 31 and that was well within range of a lot of competitive schools based on data from a few years ago. But that data changed wildly and he wound up going TO at a number of those same schools. Naviance is a great tool but it relies on self-submitted data, which is ultimately not super reliable given that these are HS students on their way out the door. Wait until August when the schools themselves update their Common Data Sets. Even then, remember that what's a viable test score for a kid from Oklahoma may be not be viable for a kid from Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a good list IF she likes Elon and Loyola (esp Loyola).

It looks like one safety, one high safety/low match, I don’t know how to categorize FSU, and then high match/low reaches/reaches.

It would be great to have more solid matches/have the overall list more bottom- and middle-heavy.

I was under the impression that Gettysburg, Franklin & Marshall, Loyola, and Elon were her match schools -OP

A match means she hits the 50th percentile (not below!) of the incoming students’ stats. I’d check F & M’s common data set to confirm.

NP here. I would put F&M and Lehigh as similar profiles. While this wouldn’t help with the target/match, has she looked at University of Richmond - it seemed like it would be a similar type as some of the colleges on the list.

In general the list looks okay but I would feel nervous without more of a financial safety and would add a likely admit state school on the list. Also, what is the RD vs ED acceptance rates? Someplace like F&M may look like a match on the surface, but if you find out they take half their class in ED and the acceptance rate is 25% for RD, it may be more of a low reach if applying RD. I would also look to see how many offer EA option, it’s nice to have the likely/target with EA for many reasons.

I think Lehigh, F&M and Richmond are reaches. DC with 3.9/4.7 GPA and 1470 SAT, APs and strong EC was waitlisted at Lehigh and Richmond. He was surprised. My guess is ED would make it easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately this year has skewed a lot of the data - TO is pushing the middle 50% scores upward. My kid had a 31 and that was well within range of a lot of competitive schools based on data from a few years ago. But that data changed wildly and he wound up going TO at a number of those same schools. Naviance is a great tool but it relies on self-submitted data, which is ultimately not super reliable given that these are HS students on their way out the door. Wait until August when the schools themselves update their Common Data Sets. Even then, remember that what's a viable test score for a kid from Oklahoma may be not be viable for a kid from Bethesda.

very true!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately this year has skewed a lot of the data - TO is pushing the middle 50% scores upward. My kid had a 31 and that was well within range of a lot of competitive schools based on data from a few years ago. But that data changed wildly and he wound up going TO at a number of those same schools. Naviance is a great tool but it relies on self-submitted data, which is ultimately not super reliable given that these are HS students on their way out the door. Wait until August when the schools themselves update their Common Data Sets. Even then, remember that what's a viable test score for a kid from Oklahoma may be not be viable for a kid from Bethesda.

But that kid from Oklahoma may have close to full need. All else being equal, at a need aware school, the almost full pay kid from Bethesda may actually have the advantage. When I look at Naviance at our W school for SLACs beyond the top 15, I often see many kids getting in with below average stats. I have to assume this is the full pay advance.

[Anonymous]

GPA is most important and do NOT rely on what is in Naviance when it comes to GPA. It no longer tracks for anything below 4.0.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GPA is most important and do NOT rely on what is in Naviance when it comes to GPA. It no longer tracks for anything below 4.0.

What does that mean that Naviance no longer tracks below 4.0? I see gpas below that on Scattergrams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GPA is most important and do NOT rely on what is in Naviance when it comes to GPA. It no longer tracks for anything below 4.0.

What does that mean that Naviance no longer tracks below 4.0? I see gpas below that on Scattergrams

I mean that the old data not longer "tracks" i.e. is not predictive, of whether your 3.5 is good enough today, even on a chart with only green check marks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a good list IF she likes Elon and Loyola (esp Loyola).

It looks like one safety, one high safety/low match, I don’t know how to categorize FSU, and then high match/low reaches/reaches.

It would be great to have more solid matches/have the overall list more bottom- and middle-heavy.

I was under the impression that Gettysburg, Franklin & Marshall, Loyola, and Elon were her match schools -OP

A match means she hits the 50th percentile (not below!) of the incoming students’ stats. I’d check F & M’s common data set to confirm.

NP here. I would put F&M and Lehigh as similar profiles. While this wouldn’t help with the target/match, has she looked at University of Richmond - it seemed like it would be a similar type as some of the colleges on the list.

In general the list looks okay but I would feel nervous without more of a financial safety and would add a likely admit state school on the list. Also, what is the RD vs ED acceptance rates? Someplace like F&M may look like a match on the surface, but if you find out they take half their class in ED and the acceptance rate is 25% for RD, it may be more of a low reach if applying RD. I would also look to see how many offer EA option, it’s nice to have the likely/target with EA for many reasons.

I think Lehigh, F&M and Richmond are reaches. DC with 3.9/4.7 GPA and 1470 SAT, APs and strong EC was waitlisted at Lehigh and Richmond. He was surprised. My guess is ED would make it easier.

Agree; the three on the list my similar DC applied to: W&M and Lehigh WL, F&M accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GPA is most important and do NOT rely on what is in Naviance when it comes to GPA. It no longer tracks for anything below 4.0.

What does that mean that Naviance no longer tracks below 4.0? I see gpas below that on Scattergrams

I mean that the old data not longer "tracks" i.e. is not predictive, of whether your 3.5 is good enough today, even on a chart with only green check marks.

High schools vary a lot by how many years they go back

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GPA is most important and do NOT rely on what is in Naviance when it comes to GPA. It no longer tracks for anything below 4.0.

Not necessarily, at least not necessarily UNweighted GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GPA is most important and do NOT rely on what is in Naviance when it comes to GPA. It no longer tracks for anything below 4.0.

What does that mean that Naviance no longer tracks below 4.0? I see gpas below that on Scattergrams

I mean that the old data not longer "tracks" i.e. is not predictive, of whether your 3.5 is good enough today, even on a chart with only green check marks.

High schools vary a lot by how many years they go back

It doesn't matter. College are changing everything.