Brainstorming College Options for Son - Northern VA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here thank you so very much for all the notes. A few more details. PSAT score was 1500 - he is shortlisted for NMS but from what we heard we will know only next year if he is in the commended or shorlisted list?

He is at Calculus BC level and would have taken 5 APs upon graduation.

Our main reason for looking at in state schools is the cost factor - we will not be able to afford the high tuitions of OOS

That's an excellent profile! 1600 SAT, NMSF/NMF, if doing Calc BC as a junior, I assume he'll be in multivar/linear senior year and his weighted GPA would be over 4.0. Like another poster said Virginia Tech is your best option for in-state. Make sure he does well in the math classes. GMU, JMU, etc are shoo-ins. He would easily get into some of the other state flagships/top schools (Pitt, Penn State, UMBC, Delaware, Ohio State, etc.).. maybe even NC State. Some may give enough merit money to bring cost down to in-state levels. SUNY schools are quite cheap and Binghamton and Stony Brook are great schools that will give him merit aid. There's a facebook group called "Paying for college 101" which I recently found. Wish I had come across it when my kid was a junior. Lots of good info and helpful crowd. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The SAT is okay, the GPA is a little low, maybe VCU?

3.75 is “a little low?!” I am clearly very out of touch.

Grade inflation is real and spectacular.

If grade inflation is real then why is the GPA 3.75?!? Evidence of grade deflation right there in front of you!

[Anonymous]

Op here. Son is from TJ - grading is stricter compared to regular High schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The SAT is okay, the GPA is a little low, maybe VCU?

3.75 is “a little low?!” I am clearly very out of touch.

Yes, the unweighted GPA is considered low for top schools. Ideally, you want to be up to 3.99. And then when the weights are added in, you want to see a much higher GPA. UVA's last class reported a GPA of
4.51 for 75th percentile, 4.31 for median of the enrolled class, etc. https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

[Anonymous]

OP - What is your son's weighted GPA at TJ? What STEM AP or AV (post AP) classes will your son have completed by graduation? This will give indication of rigor relative to TJ

[Anonymous]

OP, is he an Asian or URM male? Sorry, but that does make a difference.