If your junior had a significant DOWNTURN in grades

[Anonymous]

What school (stem/possible engineering) would take DS with a C in AP Physics 1 but an A in AP Calc BC, 4.1 wgpa 1460 sat? Would VA tech be off the table? We have Pitt & Penn State.

[Anonymous]

One C is not a significant downturn.
You just won’t know until you try. VT has been unpredictable lately. Most midwestern flagships would still be sure bet, so I would toss a couple in as safeties. Apply to Pitt as soon as it opens up, and then use that to gauge other applications. I would assume he’d be admitted.

[Anonymous]

Oh my lord. You think Virginia Tech is off the table? This place is getting to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One C is not a significant downturn.
You just won’t know until you try. VT has been unpredictable lately. Most midwestern flagships would still be sure bet, so I would toss a couple in as safeties. Apply to Pitt as soon as it opens up, and then use that to gauge other applications. I would assume he’d be admitted.

OP here, no it's not just 1 C, but he took mostly AP classes which kept his weighted gpa up.

[Anonymous]

Maybe he should back off the classes where he is getting Cs. They are too much for him.

[Anonymous]

Oh, DCUM. Never change. Now a C is a “significant downturn,” even though the kid still has a 4.1 GPA. 🙄

[Anonymous]

Applying for STEM/Engineering with a C in physics is, to be frank, tough.

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of universities where you are just admitted in general and then apply to the specific college or major later once you have completed the prerequisites. Look for those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of universities where you are just admitted in general and then apply to the specific college or major later once you have completed the prerequisites. Look for those.

+1. Case Western is one. Maybe try Purdue? RPI? I know kids with less than perfect grades who’ve been admitted to these lately.

Sorry PP. I had a TJ kid. VT Arts and Sciences would likely be fine. But VT Engineering has gotten very competitive out of NOVA. And they have a new focus on equity/ looking more like the whole state and not just NOVA. A C in AP physics would make it tough.

[Anonymous]

Also OP— Ohio State— although many NOVA kids don’t like the atmosphere.

Also, if you have the money, a suggestion. A friends kids is doing this. Look at a SLAC with a strong STEM department. And do 3-2 engineering. I know a kid doing this at Oberlin, which has excellent STEM. Three years at Oberlin covering certain core courses and liberal arts. And if you keep a certain GPA, then there are 4 partner schools you can do two years of engineering at: Cal Tech, Wash U, Columbia, or Case. And you get a joint degree.

You pay for an extra year. And it can be hard on the kid to leave a SLAC before his class. But, you can get a Columbia or Cal Tech degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also OP— Ohio State— although many NOVA kids don’t like the atmosphere.

Also, if you have the money, a suggestion. A friends kids is doing this. Look at a SLAC with a strong STEM department. And do 3-2 engineering. I know a kid doing this at Oberlin, which has excellent STEM. Three years at Oberlin covering certain core courses and liberal arts. And if you keep a certain GPA, then there are 4 partner schools you can do two years of engineering at: Cal Tech, Wash U, Columbia, or Case. And you get a joint degree.

You pay for an extra year. And it can be hard on the kid to leave a SLAC before his class. But, you can get a Columbia or Cal Tech degree.

My D is interested in OSU and we are from nyc area. What about the atmosphere that NOVA kids and presumably NYC kids wouldn’t like?

[Anonymous]

My DD had a c in physics senior year first semester. Otherwise strong record. Got into multiple good schools and did very well. Now starting as an engineer at Boeing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also OP— Ohio State— although many NOVA kids don’t like the atmosphere.

Also, if you have the money, a suggestion. A friends kids is doing this. Look at a SLAC with a strong STEM department. And do 3-2 engineering. I know a kid doing this at Oberlin, which has excellent STEM. Three years at Oberlin covering certain core courses and liberal arts. And if you keep a certain GPA, then there are 4 partner schools you can do two years of engineering at: Cal Tech, Wash U, Columbia, or Case. And you get a joint degree.

You pay for an extra year. And it can be hard on the kid to leave a SLAC before his class. But, you can get a Columbia or Cal Tech degree.

My D is interested in OSU and we are from nyc area. What about the atmosphere that NOVA kids and presumably NYC kids wouldn’t like?

If you’re from NJ, your kid will fit right in. Half of OSU seems to be from NJ

[Anonymous]

Look at Lehigh, Lafayette, and Bucknell. My daughter’s roommate at Lehigh was an Engineering major and didn’t even take Physics in high school because she couldn’t fit it in her schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school (stem/possible engineering) would take DS with a C in AP Physics 1 but an A in AP Calc BC, 4.1 wgpa 1460 sat? Would VA tech be off the table? We have Pitt & Penn State.

Why did he have the C? Has he taken the AP test?

If the teacher was a jerk, he gets a 4 or 5 on the AP test, he gets 1550 or higher on the SATs, he loves science and has great science activities, and he can pay $80,000 per year, maybe he has a fair shot of getting into any private university at or below the Rensselaer Polytechnic level.

If he gets a 3 on the AP Physics test, he gets a 1300 on the SATs, he doesn’t really like STEM, he’s majoring in STEM because that’s the only kind of degree you’ll help him pay for, and he has no significant STEM activities, then he might have a hard time getting in anywhere respectable.