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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]National Merit Scholarship can get free rides from several colleges if prestige and ranking doesn't matter.[/quote]

OP said her kid has an 1100-1200 SAT score. Maybe switching to ACT would help; who knows. I had suggested she have her kid checked for possible processing issues. That could explain the difference between the high grades/rigor and low standardized test score.

Bottom line is OP’s kid realistically can’t expect to get a “large merit scholarship” at a “good school” unless the kid ups their standardized score or EC game. Alternatively, in-state schools often provide a good value and may be more economical than an OOS or private even with substantial merit.  Good luck OP.  [/quote]
OP here. You’re exactly right. DC has issues with processing and doesn’t do well in big tests but has almost all As. What’s the ACT like? Is it really all that different?[/quote]

Maybe this is off the mark if you’re poor, your son has a physical illness, or there’s something else I’m missing, but it sounds as if your son is probably a pleasant, shy kid who’s middling bright and doesn’t have any amazing talent or passion.

If that’s true, what’s the point of pushing him to get merit aid at an out of state school, unless, say, he wants to go to school by a beach or by ski slopes and your state doesn’t have beaches or ski slopes?

If I’m right, a possible strategy:

1. See why the test scores are what they are. If raising them just takes a little tutoring, get tutoring. If, really, the scores  accurately reflect your son’s intelligence level and are hard to improve, accept the scores and your son for what they are. It might be fun to have a son who’s a rocket scientist, but, if you don’t have a son who’s a rocket scientist, enjoy the son you have. If, say, he doesn’t have a rocket scientist mind, but he’s serious and hard-working, he might do better than a lot of people with much higher SATs.

2. Encourage your son to try to get an office job or other job in a field he could imagine working in, because his career may simply depend more than his high school jobs than on his degree.

3. If possible, encourage your son to learn about bookkeeping and accounting, so he has concrete skills in an area where no one expects people to be social dynamos.

4. When developing college lists, look for financially stable, pleasant places where the average SAT is 1100 or lower. Stop thinking about prestige. Maybe your son could get into a T100 school, but it doesn’t sound as if your son wants that. Your son’s behavior suggests that he needs a low-stress, supportive school, not selectivity or prestige. If anything, he needs a school that makes a point of requiring many group projects and helping shy kids connect, not prestige.

5. He should probably target schools in your state that are comparable to Norfolk State or friendly, stable Jesuit colleges. If he wants to go to school out of state, look for schools there that are comparable to Norfolk State or to Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, and in the desired location. Some will probably be happy to see your son’s high GPA and will offer great merit aid.

6. If he wants to go to a school that’s more selective than Norfolk State (or your state’s equivalent), he has to want that to happen and help you make that happen. If you’re tight on cash, you can’t do much to boost him up to a higher college level. He has to get his SATs up, figure out a military-related strategy or come up with another idea.

Those schools might not be glamorous, but they’re perfectly good schools, and they educate a 
[/quote]

YMMV poster here and I respectfully disagree. OP’s kid has nearly perfect grades with high rigor. He’s not phoning it in and and surely can aim higher than you suggest. He just doesn’t like ECs and has been focusing on his classes it seems rather than test prep at this point. If he gets accommodations it might also help a lot.

OP what state are you in, and what major does you son want to pursue? With high gpa he could probably get in to GMU (or similar) honors. Miami Ohio and Elon also offer good merit to high stats test optional applicants. Some lesser known schools will match in-state tuition if the kid has a certain GPA. There’s lots of possibilities like these; you have to look for them.  [/quote]

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