Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other state's flagships & assorted SLAC like Dennison, one of the many MANY that in PA (lower tier ones probably giving massive merit), etc.

More info needed for actual, relevant recommendation as your student's stats are higher than the vast majority of college-attending kids so that are many options

He is a sporty, super social nice kid, lots of friends, If it didn't cost 90K, I think a school like Villanova would probably be a great fit. He would love school spirit but is unlikely to be into the Greek scene. Re: academics, I didn't mention it because he keeps changing his mind. He doesn't have strong likes and dislikes. He is more of a well-rounded kid in an era where they're supposed to be spiky.

Ok, climate? Is this kid going to be OK with grey, freezing winters or does being in short sleeves year round a requirement?
Does he want to be around grinders or more laid back kids?
Size? 30K too big? 2k too small?
Demographics? Is diversity important?
City, suburban or rural? Will they have a car? Is it important to have a campus where a car is not needed?
Are co-ops or special programs important?

If the kid literal has no direction on climate, required activities, size of school, general area of the country, demographics, size, rural or not, etc. then people are just going to shout out names of schools their kids applied to. So, I guess just tally those up?

But I'd suggest you have your kid visit some schools & do some reflection on what makes him happy & what environment he needs to thrive. I've got well-rounded kids. They have opinions, even if it's they want a club ultimate team and good dining hall food.

Anonymous wrote:Look, the kid's SAT score is just FINE. Any poster who says he needs to raise them is flat wrong.

I agree with the posters who says to ED W&M. He'll get in. If not, go to JMU. He'll love it.

To attract merit, raising the SAT will help him. He’s in a rough spot. High enough to fit into the profile of previous admits but no hooks or unique spike and coming from a high performing area with plenty of perfect stat kids. If VA is like some other states chasing FGLI, rural, URM etc then he may not have a good chance.

My advice would be to research which schools offer good merit, get the SAT as high as possible and shotgun as many schools as you can.

American
GWU
Many Liberal arts colleges ranked T-25 to T-100.

My son was very similar. He got into W&M RD and rejected from UVA. How about Tulane or Wisconsin? Tulane gives merit.
So does Lehigh. Indiana Kelley? He has a strong profile and will have lots of options.

Publics: Wisconsin, UIUC, Michigan, UGA
Privates: Wake Forest
LAC: Davidson, Colby, Hamilton

Anonymous wrote:He could probably get into W&M ED.

+1 based on the results of the boys who applied ED from DC’s school this year. The girls didn’t fare so well; there’s definitely a gender bump for boys. If it’s a top choice, he should ED there.

If it they aren’t too small, consider Mary Washington, which has a very W&M feel to it, and St Mary’s College of Maryland.

He must have some academic inclinations. Would he rather write literary criticism or do a chemistry lab? Is he more interested in current events and the economic variables OR philosophical discussions of obscure ideas OR the use of lidar in autonomous vehicles? He doesn't need to know a major but must have some sort of direction or if not he needs some help narrowing slightly. Otherwise even at a liberal arts college he'll flop around for a while.

Anonymous wrote:Other state's flagships & assorted SLAC like Dennison, one of the many MANY that in PA (lower tier ones probably giving massive merit), etc.

More info needed for actual, relevant recommendation as your student's stats are higher than the vast majority of college-attending kids so that are many options

He is a sporty, super social nice kid, lots of friends, If it didn't cost 90K, I think a school like Villanova would probably be a great fit. He would love school spirit but is unlikely to be into the Greek scene. Re: academics, I didn't mention it because he keeps changing his mind. He doesn't have strong likes and dislikes. He is more of a well-rounded kid in an era where they're supposed to be spiky.

Unweighted is 3.8. Public in NOVA. He won't ED to W&M because he absolutely loved UVA. He will likely ED to UVA but he may well get deferred so I think we need other schools to get excited about.

School scattergrams make UVA seem like a toss up for him. William and Mary too, though more green.

JMU's on his list but I'd love other suggestions.

Look at your schools placements. 1480 is not a low score. Public or private? 4.2 is not low but assuming it is weighted? What is his unweighted?

Look, the kid's SAT score is just FINE. Any poster who says he needs to raise them is flat wrong.

I agree with the posters who says to ED W&M. He'll get in. If not, go to JMU. He'll love it.

Other state's flagships & assorted SLAC like Dennison, one of the many MANY that in PA (lower tier ones probably giving massive merit), etc.

More info needed for actual, relevant recommendation as your student's stats are higher than the vast majority of college-attending kids so that are many options

Get the score above 1500, better yet 1540+. EA UVA, ED W&M. OOS Case Western EA, Rochester, they offer merit.

He could probably get into W&M ED.

for a kid who is on the cusp but may not get into UVA and William and Mary. We are in-state.

He currently has a 4.2 as a junior, likely to be a little higher next year, 1480 (will take again), good rigor (as in five APs junior year) but definitely not the highest at his school. He has a varsity sport, volunteering, everything good but nothing at the level that it would help him get in anywhere.

He truly has no idea what he wants to study so I think he should go to a liberal arts college. I don't see Virginia Tech being the right place at all. But we'd really need some merit to get the costs down, not necessarily to in-state price but can't afford 90K.

Can anyone suggest schools that their similar kids liked? Thanks in advance!