Looking for College Ideas/Suggestions
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Anonymous
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Help - overwhelmed by college process for DC and hoping a few experienced parents will be able to offer some practical advice.
DC is a Junior, 3.1 GPA in core classes from a competitive private. Will end up with about 6 AP-level courses. SATs currently 2070 (650 Verbal, 660 Math). Looking for a smallish to mid range school willing to consider an average performer with potential..... willing to go/look anywhere - interested in Entrepreneurship, Economics, or possibly CS. DC is a well rounded kid - plays 2 sports year round, leader in extracurriculars, strong community service and work experience. Although he is bright/lots of intellectual interests, and presents well (interview would be a plus for him I think). he has never been a star student (would rather be social, not motivated by grades, but no real red flags aside from immaturity to say that he has any sort of serious learning issues - when he puts his mind to it he can perform very well). Biggest problem is getting Bs/B+s to As. Looking for thoughts, suggestions about how to go about this process, and trying to pick a few schools to visit/tour over spring break. His college counselor was not very helpful - basically said that it really depends on how the grades trend for the rest of the year. Told us to focus on a safety school first just to be safe and then go from there. Ugh - anyway, want to be realistic, but also want to see how others with kids in a similar predicament fared. Thoughts appreciated. Thank you! |
Anonymous
| Get the book "colleges that change lives". There's also a book on 'colleges for B students" that was good for our kids. |
Anonymous
What do you mean "core" classes? is that his Cum U/W GPA? |
Anonymous
| Entrepreneur & innovative opportunities at Clark |
Anonymous
| Check out High Point University in North Carolina. They have an entrepreneurial program and a charismatic President. It is a pricey, private though. |
Anonymous
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Definitely get Colleges That Change Lives. Keep in mind that many LACs are low on boys, so that's an advantage for your son. Are you Catholic? Catholic schools dominate the mid-size school market (i.e. Fordham, Marquette, the Loyola schools, Xavier, etc). Some good state schools in your zone would be Pitt, Indiana, Vermont and many of the SEC schools. Also Clemson.
Check out the parents site on College Confidential. You'll find numerous threads focused on kids like yours. Finally, don't get discouraged. Our DCs are B+/A- students from a tough private school who can't quite manage more than two As a semester. Too much else going on, and they just don't care about grades that much. Chances are, your son is not going to transform himself into a perfect student at this point -- but if he's as together as he sounds, he's going to have great college options. |
Anonymous
| Dickinson, F&M, Gettysburg, Hobart, Wheaton, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, maybe Conn College, are good LAC options. |
Anonymous
| Thank you - very helpful. |
Anonymous
| What state are you located? Is money/financial aid an issue? Schools have something called "Common Data Set" that gives particulars of their accepted Freshman students (GPA,SAT,ACT scores). This will help you make a realistic choice of where to apply. As for looking at schools during spring break, often people start with a big school,small school, city school and rural school. This helps to narrow down where your child would feel more comfortable. All college websites will have a " prospective student" choice so you can set up tours. |
Anonymous
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Although I understand feeling a little shunted aside by your counselor, I actually think her advice is wise. Focus on finding some safeties/matches where your DS can thrive and be happy, and then add some reaches as desired. Is money an issue?
Definitely check out Colleges that Change Lives. There are MANY small, well-regarded colleges that welcome and nurture B students. |
Anonymous
This is actually very, very, very good advice. The most important part of choosing colleges to apply to is choosing a school that is an affordable, guaranteed acceptance and that your child would be happy attending. There is a possibility that your child will have to go to his or her safety, and you don't want your child to be shut out, unable to afford it, or miserable. |
Anonymous
I am sorry to hear you describe your kid as an average performer. 650, 660 on SAT sections is great! Sounds like an incredibly well rounded boy, you should be proud! Re schools, how about Colgate, Bucknell, Lehigh, Dickinson or Lafayette? All great schools with good social scenes, athletics, etc. |
Anonymous
Good list. Those SATs may still go up too and. Could open more doors. Could this student coming from private get into st. Mary's in MD or is the GPA too low? |
Anonymous
| The 3.1 GPA will put many of the schools mentioned to date out of reach. Good SATs and going to a private only carry so so much weight. |
Anonymous
| Sorry, I don't buy that. Look for a school where coming from this area will be a plus. Sounds like a kid who will do well - lots of sports, leadership, great private, very good scores...Have him work on his essays and get his grades up for the remainder of the year. Let him know what his options are. |