Good GPA but very low test scores - advice
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Anonymous
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My rising senior has a 4.37 weighted GPA, 3.81 unweighted. DC has taken both AP and honors classes, and is involved in school activities (such as National Honor Society, English and Spanish Honor Societies, editor for school newspaper, student ambassador, plays a varsity sport and plays same sport year round on a travel team). However, DC has always struggled with standardized tests. I'm talking 1030 SAT after taking a Kaplan course with about 6 students in the class. Math has always been a struggle (will take pre calc as a 12th grade student). Although, with the help of a regular tutor and meeting with instructors often, DC has earned either an A or B in every math class since 9th grade. DC loves all things English, Journalism, and writing.
With college approaching, DC would love to pursue something in the field of Journalism. DC would also like to be close to home (MD). Money is a concern for sure. With incredibly low SAT scores, what advice do you have for us? The school counselor is no help at all. |
Anonymous
| Wake Forest is test optional, and she may have the GPA to get in. Merit money could be tough though. |
Anonymous
Test optional schools for sure: http://time.com/money/collection-post/4002269/best-value-test-optional-colleges/ |
Anonymous
| St Marys College, the states LAC might be a good mqtch, if your son does not mind being in a rural area. Also I would look at Layfayette, Lehigh and Muhlenberg in PA. |
Anonymous
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To the extent possible, I'd send the kid somewhere small. The big schools, the ones with a thousand kids in Econ 101 -- they use a lot of multiple choice.
You should play to your kid's strengths. |
Anonymous
This makes a lot of sense! I never thought about this! |
Anonymous
| She should get tested for non-verbal learning disability (NVLD). She sounds a lot like me in high school--from the difficulties with standardized exams to the difficulty with high school math. Because people with that LD tend to compensate for any issues they have with their hyper-verbal oral and written communication skills, it is often undetected, particularly if the kid is highly intelligent. But it doesn't just show up in math scores, there are also some peculiar (and often speed related) issues with verbal standardized tests as well. I am not actually bad at math when receiving appropriate accomodations, but it took college level coursework to really reveal that I had an LD and was compensating with hard work. |
Anonymous
| That is like my child. My advice is apply widely and apply to lesser known schools where your child will stand out for merit aid. My child received enough scholarship money to cover nearly all tuition at an out-of-state school of 4K students. |
Anonymous
| Will your DC take the SAT again this fall? Also, the ACT-some kids prefer it/ |
Anonymous
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OP said that DC wanted to be close to home. Lafayette, Wake Forest, and Lehigh are all going to be very difficult to get into with that SAT, will not award merit aid, and are not very close to home.
How about Goucher? It is a small school north of Baltimore that awards lots of merit aid. I also know kids that have gone to McDaniel College and had a good experience, and again, they will award merit aid. |
Anonymous
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My son is the same. He is dyslexic, high GPA low test scores.
I have been told that McDaniel, St. Joes, Washington College, Mount St. Mary's, and Towson are good places to apply. But that is also because they provide support. Other test options schools that my son's friends like are Loyola in Baltimore and Franklin and Marshal. VA school that he could probably get into with those scores are ODU and JMU. He could get into WVU but it is huge. Might be too far but in Ohio... IUP, Miami of Ohio and Dayton. Bowdoin is highly selective and test optional. For some reason our school is not a big fan of St. Mary's. |
Anonymous
| What about William & Mary? Smaller school, DC would be instate, which would help with admissions. |
Anonymous
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I'd get him tested for a learning disability! And a small college with more emphasis on writing sounds right.
One nice thing about journalism is that it is one of the less status-based jobs -- if he is a good writer and reporter, he can make it. They won't care what college he went to. |
Anonymous
Our Naviance says lowest SAT is 1270. His GPA falls into the "great" range. I feel your pain. |
Anonymous
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William and Mary? Wake Forest? No offense, OP, but these schools are much harder to get into than some of the PPs understand.
I noticed that your child took a prep class with 6 people in it. You may want to try a private tutor just for your child and see how that works. If the test is the only thing standing in their way, one-on-one attention would be worth it. If your child had a learning disability, I would assume it would have showed up in their schoolwork, and from their GPA, it clearly hasn't. I am wondering if this is high-stakes test anxiety--a private tutor could help with that. I have seen some names of private tutors on other threads. Good luck, OP. |