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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In this competitive environment, I’m not sure that the rigor is helping my DS get into a decent top 50 college . 11 IB classes, 3 AP, full IB diploma expected. Will land with 27 B’s, 23 As, 5 Cs and 1 D.  Lots of leadership and ECs coming from a large MCPS HS. Worked part time and matured alot through gradual leadership positions in HS. Test optional, prefers mid-Atlantic, Northeast urban school. Acceptances to schools with 20-30% acceptance rates are not coming in. He doesn’t want to do gap year but that might not be a bad option. He gets an A for effort on my book.  Undecided major, not STEM oriented (his words). Any ideas of schools or gap year programs ?[/quote]

What happened with in-state options and safeties? I'm sorry, but that's a pretty low GPA (plus test optional doesn't help) for 20-30% acceptance rate schools. The reality is that your DS is competing with 3.8-4.0 UW students submitting good test scores for that level of school. Didn't his guidance counselor advise a balanced list of schools. You seem to be mentioning reaches more than targets or safeties.[/quote]

This is correct. I find it hard to believe any counselor would have advised your DC he had a good shot at T-50 schools. The stats simply don't support it. "A for effort" has no play with admissions committees. [/quote]

Even a cursory glance at Naviance would have given them the lay of the land.

Plus, even though MCPS doesn't report class rank any more, they do provide GPA bands as part of their standard school data. And these days a weighted 4.0 may not even crack the top quarter of the class, even at non-magnet IB schools like BCC or Einstein.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid OP and their kid may have been sucked in by the sometimes-overblown promises that "colleges love IB diplomas." My MPCS junior is on the IB diploma track, and I'm a huge IB fan (definitely NOT the troll who loves to swoop into all the MCPS threads whenever anyone mentions IB!), but we don't have any illusions about it being a magic bullet for college admissions. It might tip the balance over an applicant with similar stats, or get their application a closer look, at some schools; but it won't negate the problem of a GPA that's relatively low for that college.

Rigor is important, of course; but if your GPA puts you at the bottom of the applicant pool, you won't even make it to a review for rigor at a highly selective university. Especially if you're not even in the top quarter of your own high school class. Not saying it doesn't suck for kids like this, who take on a challenge and (mostly) meet it instead of taking the easy way out with honors-for-all, but it's reality.

But if OP and their kid can get past the prestige thing, there are plenty of solid schools that will meet him where he is, and help him further the maturity and growth he's already begun. [/quote]

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