Safety and Reach Schools for 3.5 and 1300 SAT

[Anonymous]

"3.7 weighted and 1300 would get you into most flagships 15-20 years ago. Not now. Still gets you into some but others are a toss-up or reach."

Even once you account for SAT and GPA inflation, this still depends on your major. Some schools admit by major and/or department, it can really make a difference so try to find some information that allows you to figure out if the major your DC wants is the most or least competitive at the prospective school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"3.7 weighted and 1300 would get you into most flagships 15-20 years ago. Not now. Still gets you into some but others are a toss-up or reach."

Even once you account for SAT and GPA inflation, this still depends on your major. Some schools admit by major and/or department, it can really make a difference so try to find some information that allows you to figure out if the major your DC wants is the most or least competitive at the prospective school.

Any idea where one can find out which schools admit by major versus overall acceptance to the school. I know UMD admits to school first but not sure about others. It would interesting to have this information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"3.7 weighted and 1300 would get you into most flagships 15-20 years ago. Not now. Still gets you into some but others are a toss-up or reach."

Even once you account for SAT and GPA inflation, this still depends on your major. Some schools admit by major and/or department, it can really make a difference so try to find some information that allows you to figure out if the major your DC wants is the most or least competitive at the prospective school.

Any idea where one can find out which schools admit by major versus overall acceptance to the school. I know UMD admits to school first but not sure about others. It would interesting to have this information.

Va Tech. Here you can search by college and major (super helpful - I wish more placed did this): https://www.ir.vt.edu/data/student/admissions.html

[Anonymous]

Va colleges decide very late. Have other safeties. Include Va schools on the list if you want but have other options nailed-down as safeties, safeties the students would like to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"3.7 weighted and 1300 would get you into most flagships 15-20 years ago. Not now. Still gets you into some but others are a toss-up or reach."

Even once you account for SAT and GPA inflation, this still depends on your major. Some schools admit by major and/or department, it can really make a difference so try to find some information that allows you to figure out if the major your DC wants is the most or least competitive at the prospective school.

Any idea where one can find out which schools admit by major versus overall acceptance to the school. I know UMD admits to school first but not sure about others. It would interesting to have this information.

Va Tech. Here you can search by college and major (super helpful - I wish more placed did this): https://www.ir.vt.edu/data/student/admissions.html

Very true re: VT. Engineering admissions are on a completely different level than non-engineering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average from our hs for Pitt is 4.03 weighted so OP's son at weighted 3.7 may make that a reach if from similar hs. The average SAT was 1290 so that's on target. The other issue is that if unweighted is 3.5 but weighted is only 3.7 that may imply that he didn't take a rigorous courseload which will make more of these colleges out of reach.

JMU from our hs is weighted 3.97 and 1225 so that's a little more in line.

I have a junior at an FCPS HS, and I have discovered that Naviance is worthless. My dd has friends with weighted 4.0s that have taken a ridiculously easy courseload, and friends with 3.7 weighted who are doing the full IB diploma. Ethnicity and first gen status are also hugely weighted right now.From what I’ve heard on results this year, some colleges prefer a more rigorous courseload when combined with a high test score over just a higher GPA.

I'm curious how Naviance is worthless-it shows the actual GPA/SAT scores for admitted students over the past ten years from your hs and you can see year by year data. To be sure, a competitive school requires an advanced courseload so you should assume that the GPAs of admitted students reflect performance in advanced coursework. If there are a body of students who are accepted with slightly lower scores, you should assume they have some hook (URM, legacy, recruited athlete or other talent). But this has been the case for a decade--so the scores reflect that. My only thought with the Naviance data is that competitive schools have been getting increasingly competitive so the average scores needed may be slightly higher than those reflected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average from our hs for Pitt is 4.03 weighted so OP's son at weighted 3.7 may make that a reach if from similar hs. The average SAT was 1290 so that's on target. The other issue is that if unweighted is 3.5 but weighted is only 3.7 that may imply that he didn't take a rigorous courseload which will make more of these colleges out of reach.

JMU from our hs is weighted 3.97 and 1225 so that's a little more in line.

I have a junior at an FCPS HS, and I have discovered that Naviance is worthless. My dd has friends with weighted 4.0s that have taken a ridiculously easy courseload, and friends with 3.7 weighted who are doing the full IB diploma. Ethnicity and first gen status are also hugely weighted right now.From what I’ve heard on results this year, some colleges prefer a more rigorous courseload when combined with a high test score over just a higher GPA.

I'm curious how Naviance is worthless-it shows the actual GPA/SAT scores for admitted students over the past ten years from your hs and you can see year by year data. To be sure, a competitive school requires an advanced courseload so you should assume that the GPAs of admitted students reflect performance in advanced coursework. If there are a body of students who are accepted with slightly lower scores, you should assume they have some hook (URM, legacy, recruited athlete or other talent). But this has been the case for a decade--so the scores reflect that. My only thought with the Naviance data is that competitive schools have been getting increasingly competitive so the average scores needed may be slightly higher than those reflected.

So let’s take, for example, University of Richmond. Our Naviance shows acceptances with 3.25 gpa and 25 ACT, 3.45 GPA and 26 ACT and 4.14 gpa and 33 ACT. All around that are waitlists and rejections, with both higher and lower stats. This tells me absolutely nothing. Are the lower stats athletes? IB diploma candidates? We’re the high stats test-prep robots or mostly easy classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average from our hs for Pitt is 4.03 weighted so OP's son at weighted 3.7 may make that a reach if from similar hs. The average SAT was 1290 so that's on target. The other issue is that if unweighted is 3.5 but weighted is only 3.7 that may imply that he didn't take a rigorous courseload which will make more of these colleges out of reach.

JMU from our hs is weighted 3.97 and 1225 so that's a little more in line.

I have a junior at an FCPS HS, and I have discovered that Naviance is worthless. My dd has friends with weighted 4.0s that have taken a ridiculously easy courseload, and friends with 3.7 weighted who are doing the full IB diploma. Ethnicity and first gen status are also hugely weighted right now.From what I’ve heard on results this year, some colleges prefer a more rigorous courseload when combined with a high test score over just a higher GPA.

I'm curious how Naviance is worthless-it shows the actual GPA/SAT scores for admitted students over the past ten years from your hs and you can see year by year data. To be sure, a competitive school requires an advanced courseload so you should assume that the GPAs of admitted students reflect performance in advanced coursework. If there are a body of students who are accepted with slightly lower scores, you should assume they have some hook (URM, legacy, recruited athlete or other talent). But this has been the case for a decade--so the scores reflect that. My only thought with the Naviance data is that competitive schools have been getting increasingly competitive so the average scores needed may be slightly higher than those reflected.

So let’s take, for example, University of Richmond. Our Naviance shows acceptances with 3.25 gpa and 25 ACT, 3.45 GPA and 26 ACT and 4.14 gpa and 33 ACT. All around that are waitlists and rejections, with both higher and lower stats. This tells me absolutely nothing. Are the lower stats athletes? IB diploma candidates? We’re the high stats test-prep robots or mostly easy classes?

It depends on the quantity of applicants. I think it’s easier to tell the colleges’ average accepted profile when there are multiple applications yearly. I find the area on the bottom where you find your school’s average accepted SAT/ACT numbers (versus the national numbers). There, you can clearly see the average numbers broken up by section in the SAT or ACT and average GPAs (from your specific high school.

[Anonymous]

^^pushed send too quick. Meant to say, the bottom section is more helpful to me. The breakdown of the average/low/high of each of the test sections and GPA breakdown is really helpful.

[Anonymous]

Also, have you looked at the “college match” section on Naviance? It is suppose to show you how someone with your kids scores (tests and GPA) faired in admissions at particular schools. It shows you the number applied and admitted with your kid’s “profile” with a percentage. For example, someone with a 33 ACT and 4.15 GPA historically has been admitted 75% of the time at XXX college.

[Anonymous]

UCF (Central Florida)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UCF (Central Florida)

That school in enormous - over 66,000 students. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year has been really bad - even for high stats kids. For all the garbage from these schools about holistic admissions processes - don’t believe it. They want high stats for usnwr purposes. So focus on schools that your kids stats match. Then apply to a bunch, plus one reach because you never know. It’s a crapshoot.

Yes, we have found the same thing! Apply to a few safeties and make certain they visit their safeties and would be content there.

[Anonymous]

Temple
U of Delaware
Miami of Ohio
Franklin & Marshall
Old Dominion.