Pls recommend SLAC for 4.0 GPA, 34 ACT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid with a 34 on the ACT with a bunch of Bs in AP classes is underperforming. Not impressive.

Not helpful.

Sure it is. It means top LACs won’t be interested. That’s helpful for OP to know. She said the school he attends doesn’t offer a lot of APs and that he’s getting Bs in the relatively few APs that he’s taking. Yet posters are tossing around super competitive schools like he’s a shoo in. He’s not. He’s not even a likely.

People thought it was a 4.0 unweighted. It’s really annoying when people don’t post stats correctly. It nullifies all those early comments.

Seriously. She said the school doesn’t offer lots of APs until senior year, and that he’ll end up with 6. So far he has what sounds like 3 - with Bs in all of them. And we’re not talking about a Big 3 school because we know they don’t even have APs. It’s probably a Catholic or Christian school since it has religion classes - which he’s also getting Bs in.

AND she said he has nothing beyond average extracurriculars etc.

In other words, the one thing the kid has is a 34 on the ACT, which as I said is great but given everything else says only that he’s underperforming. A kid that smart should be getting As in his AP classes.

So, go ahead and dismiss what I have to say as being “unhelpful” - but it seems to me that a whole lot of schools being suggested are pipe dreams for this kid even if he’s full pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the high school does not normally send kids to LACs and the gpa is weighted, your son does not have a good chance at the very tip top schools suggested — especially since your son does not appear to be hooked (sports, legacy, no outstanding extracurriculars).

My best suggestion to you is to look at the male-female ratio at LACs. It can really help to be a male applying to LAC outside of the top few. Also, look at schools where being full pay helps. Again, it won’t help at the top schools but may lower on the list.

I think Skidmore is an excellent option. Dickinson is another good option. Reed is another good choice. Trinity, Macalaster , Lewis & Clark.

How do you find "schools where being full pay helps"? Is the answer the same as schools that rely heavily on ED?

I’m the poster you’re responding to. Look at the first list on this link. These are schools that are need aware but meet full need. That means they have to balance their class carefully to meet full need because they don’t have the deep pockets of the richest schools. Schools that don’t meet full need (most colleges actually) are less likely to care if you’re full pay.

https://prepexpert.com/need-aware-colleges/

[Anonymous]

*6+3 = 9 APs total. (4s and a 5 on AP exams)
3 B+s and 1 B in freshman religion
“Rigorous course load”
that’s the transcript

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:*6+3 = 9 APs total. (4s and a 5 on AP exams)
3 B+s and 1 B in freshman religion
“Rigorous course load”
that’s the transcript

I’m the 12:32 poster (and the one just before this post). I was wondering if the school was Catholic and you posted this. If it is, admissions to Catholic colleges are usually better than for comparable public school kids. If so, you might consider College of the Holy Cross, Santa Clara and Fordham. They are a bit bigger than most LACs, but they’re a very nice size for an undecided student - big enough to have a lot of majors and small enough to get more attention than at a big state U.

If the school has a different affiliation, it may help with admissions to colleges with that religious affiliation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:*6+3 = 9 APs total. (4s and a 5 on AP exams)
3 B+s and 1 B in freshman religion
“Rigorous course load”
that’s the transcript

Well, OP don’t blame us for being confused as you continue to spoon feed us information.

If the hasn’t gotten any As so far on his APs he’s not a good ED candidate for the top schools. They are going to want to see improvement first.

This kid is not, not, not — NOT - an ED candidate for a top 20 LAC.

[Anonymous]

12:32 again

What are your son’s safeties? Is the school Catholic? Last, but not least, why does he want a liberal arts college?

Your son sounds very bright. Why do you think he has Bs? Is he disorganized or not very challenged at his school? Does he stay on top of his work?

[Anonymous]

DS is a ‘23 Gonzaga grad with very similar stats. Based on G’s scattergram and what I know: OP’s kid will get into Holy Cross, Santa Clara & Fordham. And Boston College if ED. There’s enough data that suggest Middleberry is about a 50-75% chance if ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid with a 34 on the ACT with a bunch of Bs in AP classes is underperforming. Not impressive.

Not helpful.

I don’t understand this bc at our private, an A+ is a 4.0. How is that underperforming?

[Anonymous]

ED to Boston College. Done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:*6+3 = 9 APs total. (4s and a 5 on AP exams)
3 B+s and 1 B in freshman religion
“Rigorous course load”
that’s the transcript

Well, OP don’t blame us for being confused as you continue to spoon feed us information.

If the hasn’t gotten any As so far on his APs he’s not a good ED candidate for the top schools. They are going to want to see improvement first.

This kid is not, not, not — NOT - an ED candidate for a top 20 LAC.

OP previously said “His GPA is weighted but his school doesn’t offer tons of APs before senior year (he’ll have 6 APs).” Now it’s 9 APs. I quit. We were trying to help you…

If your kid is getting any admissions boost anywhere, it is to Catholic schools — assuming he goes to such a school. In terms of non-Catholic schools, he will not get into a SLAC with an admissions rate below 15%, even with ED1 — so don’t bother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ED to Boston College. Done.

this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a ‘23 Gonzaga grad with very similar stats. Based on G’s scattergram and what I know: OP’s kid will get into Holy Cross, Santa Clara & Fordham. And Boston College if ED. There’s enough data that suggest Middleberry is about a 50-75% chance if ED.

Boston College is a great ED option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a ‘23 Gonzaga grad with very similar stats. Based on G’s scattergram and what I know: OP’s kid will get into Holy Cross, Santa Clara & Fordham. And Boston College if ED. There’s enough data that suggest Middleberry is about a 50-75% chance if ED.

When you say 50-75% chance to Middlebury with those stats, you mean from Gonzaga, right? Gonzaga is an excellent Catholic school. If OP’s son comes from a school that doesn’t have many admits to top schools, it may not be on the level of Gonzaga and not have the same added weight. Of course, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try, especially if the kid really loves BC and Middlebury.

[Anonymous]

Middleberry seems to be the only or at least the highest ranked SLAC that Gonzaga has enough data for a scattergram. Many data points for BC, Holy Cross, Santa Cruz, Georgetown, and of course all the bigger schools.