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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My experience with college admissions is that there are general trends you can look at for GPA and SAT scores, and that it is important to be realistic about what schools are a good match, and an Harvard is likely not going to take someone unless they are in the top 1-10% of their class (depending on the rigor and size of the school), however there is a lot of randomness to it as well.  I graduated high school in the mid 2000s, so my experience is not [i]so[/i] out of date, and I've been watching family friends and relatives go through it all over again.  There's always going to be the kid who you are sure will get in everywhere, or who has a great list of "matches" and only gets into their safety.  That kid might be a 4.0, perfect SAT, has all the extracurriculars, super type A student, legacy, and for whatever reason, they just didn't fill the niche that the admissions officers wanted for the class.  Then there is always going to be a student who applies to a school that seems like a total crapshoot reach (i.e. no legacy, no "hook" has a couple Bs) who gets in.  Hell, I found a SLAC that I was convinced was a perfect match for me which my guidance counselor thought there was no way I would get in; I got in, and later I met the admissions officer who reviewed my application and he said I had really compelling essays, especially the "why x school" supplemental essay.  Naviance is a tool, and one shouldn't overestimate their chances, but often in my experience college counselors underestimate the chances of kids who don't fit the typical mold.

That said, a 3.5-3.6 is still an A- average, and it seems silly to yank a student out of rigorous courses when they are performing well.  I think in general it is beneficial to the student intellectually and in terms of preparation for college to stay in difficult classes that challenge them with a good peer group, and it is also beneficial for college applications to take rigorous classes.[/quote]

But it's not clear she is performing well in all of her rigorous classes. What's the point of struggling for a C in AP Bio (just to pick an example) at the expense of your other classes? If she's in a private school or strong public school the regular bio class is going to be fine. [/quote]

I think the important thing is to step back and assess the entire situation, not just parts of it (like "what does this mean for college?").

I think the first question to consider is why her grades have slipped a bit. Is it just because the work up til now has been easy for her and she is now more challenged? If so, how does she feel about the challenge? Is she capable of getting As and Bs in these classes and does she enjoy the challenge and is she the type who rises to challenges? Or is she feeling overwhelmed and overworked? Is she finding it difficult to keep up? Is her confidence flagging? My advice about both next year's schedule AND ultimately the types of colleges she should be looking at/aiming for would differ depending on the answers to these questions.

To get a sense for where I'm coming from, I have a kid who is often content with "good enough" even though he is quite capable of very high level work. I tend to insist that he take more challenging classes (although not always) because I don't want him to get into the habit of slacking. Especially in his areas of interest (history/government/literature), I push him to take the most challenging classes available even if it means he will get Bs in them, because I think that is best for his overall growth and development. I think I would be doing him a grave disservice to allow him to coast to easy As in lower level classes. OTOH, math is comparatively a challenge for him. I think it is more important that he develop a solid competency in math and gain more ease and confidence in the subject than it is to make sure he gets to calculus before he graduates, so I allowed him to step off the accelerated math track. This approach is likely not going to get him to HYP, but I think in the end it will serve him better. I am confident that there are hundreds of other colleges out there at which he can get a good education and thrive.[/quote]

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