Need help with the selection process

[Anonymous]

Hi OP, my DD is a senior with a similar profile, she has a 4.0 W now, test optional, and exec functioning challenges which have improved with each year of HS. You are smart to start thinking about this now as you will be able to take advantage of the coming summer where she will have a lot of free time... in our experience junior year was a big step up in academics as well as extracurriculars so I'm glad we did a bunch of tours the summer before. Most important things to think about now in my opinion:

1. Distance: how far from home would she like to be? My DD wanted to stay in a 4-5 hour driving radius so that eliminates lots of ideas. Maybe yours has strong preferences on this or on weather: warm or cold?
2. Large/medium/small school: this has a huge impact on student experience so I think it's good to tour one of each so she can get the feel and maybe develop a preference. Mine did not have strong preferences on this and has ended up with one of each size in her top three.
3. Budget: important to determine now and run the financial aid calculators on the websites of places she is seriously considering to see if they are in the ballpark. Also this board and CC have good intel on merit that could be expected.
4. Testing: the major push on this needs to happen this summer if you are going to make a major push as opposed to just letting it go and deciding to be test optional. Decide now whether to focus on ACT or SAT. This is mostly decided on whether she is stronger in math or English... if math that will be a larger part of the score on SAT. My DD is a humanities kid so I was pretty sure ACT would be better, but she took diagnostic tests of each (shorter versions available for free on Kaplan website IIRC) just to confirm. Once you pick, work with your school to get accommodations set up. My DD's school had automatically done this for College Board because of the PSAT, but I had to request an extra process for ACT. She had a baseline ACT score from the diagnostic (19... pretty awful) and then spent probably 50 hours over the summer after sophomore year in private tutoring and took ACT in October and December of junior year. Ultimately scored a 25 which was a huge jump. Moved all the way up to 29/30 on the English and reading scores, but the math score barely budged. In my opinion there is a lot more she could have done to raise the math score, but she was just not motivated to do it. So a lot of this is knowing your kid and whether they are truly going to go to the mat to improve their score. She stopped after the December test as many of her schools were going to be comfortable acceptances test-optional, and she would have needed to get all the way up to the 28-30 zone to even submit to the reaches... and this seemed unrealistic.

I found College Vine to be very helpful in classifying reach/target/safety and now that decisions are rolling in, it has been quite accurate.

Happy to share more about specific schools and outcomes if you are looking in the 4-5 hour radius. Good luck and happy hunting! It's a very exciting time

[Anonymous]

Budget! Be honest with DD that undergrad could be a major expense. But also emphasize she WILL have a lot options because she's smart, hardworking, and a wonderful person. Undergrad is just a stepping stone, not a final destination.

Meanwhile, obsess about GPA to maximize merit aid.

Testing will open options.Try low stress, free practice ACT & SAT to see which she prefers. Then prep accordingly through school, public library, online.

Pick quality over quantity of AP exams to earn college credit. Aim for 4-5 score in areas of interest. Note: every college is different in how they assign credit.

Make college tangible: This summer try pre-college programs: consider a program on a college campus or an online non-credit course in a topic of interest.

Like summer camp, it's for enrichment. It's an investment in empowerment. It won't help admissions, but it will help empower DD to consider what school environment or subjects she might love--or hate. This will help selecting a list of schools that will be good FOR HER, not just a "good school."

There are lots of affordable options. Or maybe a family member can help out if she goes to a program near a relative.

Depending on your situation and community, there may be College Access Program available to your child that can help her build a plan of action more thoroughly than a school counselor.

While DD starts to chart her way, you can focus on financial planning.

Together you'll find great options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is uw gpa? 3.3ish?
She will have options, go TO.
Choose larger schools that have various majors she can try (as opposed to SLAC)
Temple
U Delaware
URI
UConn
UCF
Hofstra
Pace

Not getting into UConn with that GPA and test optional OOS.

[Anonymous]

First, it’s great that you are on top of this and want to help. Now is about the time to start low key exploring. Find drivable schools and visit a SLAC, a large state U,
A rural, an urban school, an HBCU (if that’s something she might want). See what feels comfortable to her.

I would disagree with defaulting to “choose huge” idea for an ADHD/ anxious kid. Reality is that many SLACs (outside HBCUs) don’t have a huge Black population. That might be an issue for her. But I wouldn’t default to “large urban” just because she’s Black. SLACs have small classes and more 1:1 professor interaction and more approachable professors for anxious kids. They could be a great option. It really depends on what your kid wants and whether she is willing to made a less diversity for smaller classes trade off.

Plus, D3 sports won’t come with a scholarship, but might give her a chance to compete in college. I know both my kids used their ECs to help manage ADHD— on with physical activity and PE with a musical instrument. She might do very well in a D3 student athlete (vs athlete-student) environment.

One thought is that math/lego loving kids at our high school tend to join FRC robotics. Which would give her a window into engineering and CS in an approachable, hands on way. VEX robotics is also supposed to be good. Maybe a summer program?

As for testing, TO is in constant flux, but I’m sure lots of schools will be TO when she applies. But for most schools, high test scores can help. With ADHD, make sure her school is helping her get the testing accommodations (small group/ extended time) she is entitled too. And, have her do an ACT. One of kids had meh scores on the PSAT/SAT and blew the lid off the ACT. They are different tests that play to different strengths.