Bs in all advanced classes, straight As in advanced CS, refuses regular for easy As — what’s the outlook here?

[Anonymous]

This I’d was my son. Has dyslexia, so there was that layer too. Got in to Tennessee, Indiana, Penn State, South Carolina. Didn’t get into VA Tech. UVA was never going to happen so didn’t try and if you have a decent college counselor they’ll tell you the same. I will say my son had excellent ECs and is a good writer, so maybe the supplemental stuff helped. I don’t think OP mentioned ECs.

I agree with the others that said a higher SAT isn’t going to change things so I wouldn’t spend too much time on that.

[Anonymous]

Isn’t the point of school to learn? And won’t he learn more in a class that’s moving at a pace he appreciates and with content he can absorb. I applaud him for taking challenging classes for sure. Not everyone has to get into an Ivy.

FWIW his SAT score is great, makes me wonder if his grades are low because of adhd. Check it out?

[Anonymous]

I woiuld knock off the SAT prep. If he gets has a 1500+ SAT and low grades, he will look like a slacker.

[Anonymous]

This is a case of him needing to love the options he will have, not the options he may want.
He's a B student with a 1450 and strong passion/aptitude for computer science. That's not MIT material (which is straight As in highest rigor + perfect SAT + national recognition + something special + a lot of luck). It's not UVA and probably not V Tech. BUT there will be a ton of options for this kid: JMU, GMU, SEC schools, Delaware, and on and on. These schools all offer great computer science majors and engineering majors and he can, have the complete fun traditional college experience and get a great job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I respect your kid and desire to challenge themselves. They won’t be attending a top school, but will do very well at life.

I agree with this and I think you should commend your kid for following the path they think is right for them and not just striving for an outcome/A.

My only advice is to really listen to your kid about what they want from college and what their career goals are - this is a kid who seems to know what is right for him, so don't push him into a mold that doesn't fit.

[Anonymous]

U Pitt and Penn State should be in play

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a lot of those type of kids in my AP math classes. Hard working, good, B/B+ students. They typically end up at Mason or JMU. Sometimes an out of state flagship.

That sounds terrible, you can get into those schools without taking an AP classes, in fact mason accepts everyone. WOW so this is why we need to do something about admissions too many students for the spots

Why? If you're a mediocre student with mediocre grades, you go to a mediocre school. Not everyone should be going to Yale, just because they believe themselves to be smart.

mediocre students get bs in advanced classes? so do failure students get As in normal classes? WILD!

Yes...we're talking about MIT and Princeton level schools, here. Your child isn't special for barely being able to get through APUSH.

ok thats fine lets say that no ivy league, but UVA or Vtech level are out of reach? people are saying thats a stretch? So they should be targeting GMU (90% acceptance) or JMU (76% acceptance?)

Acceptance rates do not drive how much a child will learn in college.

Interest and self-discipline have a lot to do with it. The reason better grades matter so much is that your child is behind peers in terms of motivation and self-discipline so far. I do read that boys have spotter records than girls in early high school.

In my circles, I knew a kid with a grades pattern like this. He went to Delaware for Engineering and dropped out. After course correcting, he will be starting at another 4 year college this fall.

I agree that some state flagships could work. Also smaller Engineering and STEM-focused schools that might be more motivational environments.

[Anonymous]

Good lord! You all are brutal. Talk about pressure on these kids for flawless transcripts! It does appear that all of dcum has straight A perfect students who never make any mistakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U Pitt and Penn State should be in play

I have a kid like OP’s. What about Ohio State, NC State, Indiana, Purdue, for bigger schools? Are those out of reach? If $ isn’t a big concern, they seem like good choices.

Anecdotally, it seems that some schools “like” our highly ranked public school. It seems like at least some schools recognize that the quality of education is good, even if the gpa is a little lower than expected. Not T30 of course but a bit lower than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not OP but have a similar kid. Why is everyone focusing on MIT? Of course that's not on the table! I think the question is ... what IS on the table?
I'm assuming OP is from NOVA, which probably makes UVA and VT much harder. (For a similar kid from MD, would VT be a possibility, especially if the end SAT ends up more like 1550?). What OOS schools might be realistic?

Former kids with this profile got into Alabama, South Carolina, UT Knoxville, NC State, Georgia state, and Towson from an FCPS school. One got into auburn but on an rotc scholarship so that was probably a hook.

Those Southern schools admit almost everyone. He will have many more choices than the schools listed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord! You all are brutal. Talk about pressure on these kids for flawless transcripts! It does appear that all of dcum has straight A perfect students who never make any mistakes.

The PPs are talking about the reality of UVA admission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord! You all are brutal. Talk about pressure on these kids for flawless transcripts! It does appear that all of dcum has straight A perfect students who never make any mistakes.

Of course not. But if you haven’t been immersed in college admissions lately you probably have no idea how competitive the “regular” colleges have gotten. It’s better to understand so you can set reasonable expectations and stop wasting three afternoons a week on SAT prep. There are plenty of schools this kid can attend.

[Anonymous]

He should take the advanced classes. He will go to the college that is right for him. Don’t worry about getting into top schools. It ain’t happenin for him even with straight A’s in regular classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord! You all are brutal. Talk about pressure on these kids for flawless transcripts! It does appear that all of dcum has straight A perfect students who never make any mistakes.

No, it's the opposite. It's both ok not to have straight As AND it's ok not to go to MIT (or even UVA). The pressure comes when a parent doesn't realize that there's a whole world of good schools out there.

[Anonymous]

No chance he’s getting into uva