^^ sorry for above post ~ not relevant. Thought I was on a different thread.

High school graduates, even taking all regular classes (no AP's, no honors) and even from our very competitive area, can find a college to attend assuming they have above a 2.5 uw. Not all college admissions are sooo competitive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP...have you asked your school's college guidance counselor for input? They can help your son plug in his scores and make some "guesstimates" for you. Colleges evaluate high schools on a ranking scale...they know which ones are the toughest (private and public)...we'd really need to know which h.s. your son attends to make a guess and you wouldn't want to divulge that on an anonymous forum. Good luck with his choices!

Do they actually rank high schools? I've always understood that they look at applicants within the context of their school and that they are familiar with the schools, but not that they rank them. That doesn't sound right to me.

They don't rank, but the regional admissions officers know the schools. They also scrutinize the curriculum, so taking easy classes won't work.

Anonymous wrote:OP...have you asked your school's college guidance counselor for input? They can help your son plug in his scores and make some "guesstimates" for you. Colleges evaluate high schools on a ranking scale...they know which ones are the toughest (private and public)...we'd really need to know which h.s. your son attends to make a guess and you wouldn't want to divulge that on an anonymous forum. Good luck with his choices!

Do they actually rank high schools? I've always understood that they look at applicants within the context of their school and that they are familiar with the schools, but not that they rank them. That doesn't sound right to me.

OP...have you asked your school's college guidance counselor for input? They can help your son plug in his scores and make some "guesstimates" for you. Colleges evaluate high schools on a ranking scale...they know which ones are the toughest (private and public)...we'd really need to know which h.s. your son attends to make a guess and you wouldn't want to divulge that on an anonymous forum. Good luck with his choices!

Actually if doable visits can winnow out schools your child just doesn't want to attend.

If, for some reason, he does not get into WM or UVA, will he (and you/husband) be happy with JMU or VT?

Not that there aren't other Va schools, but it's a common occurrence. If you can answer yes, I wouldn't consider oos.

If not, look at school below top 30. DD with roughly same stats (720 math 3.8uw) applied to 8 oos. It varied widely -did not get in UNC and UFlorida, no money at Miami Ohio, Cal Poly, Penn State, a little money at Indiana, 1/2 tuition 4 yr scholarship at UConn.

You won't be able to anticipate. Really. Don't try to figure it out. Just churn out the apps. Your son doesn't have to visit (fall in love) until after results and final costs are in.

Again, if you're happy enough with JMU/VT, it sounds like with those stats, he's set.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you for the responses. Son is not URM. I am nervous to have him focus on OOS highly selective schools, because if he gets his heart set on one that accepts him and doesn't provide merit aid, I will be in the position of either saying no or asking my husband, who is the primary breadwinner, to postpone retirement that much longer, because we would also need to give the same opportunity to his sibling.

Have you sat down with your child and opened the account statements to make him aware of finances and what it means / what is expected of him?

Few parents do this - but your child is now an adult - or will be by around the time the 1st tuition bill comes due. Time to have some adult conversations.

OP,

Rule #1 of College Application Process: Do not get attached to one outcome. I suggest you invest in a college counselor, for a reality check on your son's chances of receiving merit aid. I'd explain the chances to your son, and decide based on the acceptances/offers. I know a boy who got off the waitlist at Wesleyan, his first choice school, but had to stay at a school that had offered him more money. He survived.

Op here. Thank you for the responses. Son is not URM. I am nervous to have him focus on OOS highly selective schools, because if he gets his heart set on one that accepts him and doesn't provide merit aid, I will be in the position of either saying no or asking my husband, who is the primary breadwinner, to postpone retirement that much longer, because we would also need to give the same opportunity to his sibling.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter got offered a lot of merit aid, including from schools like Oberlin, Wash U, Emory, Tulane, but she was a NM Finalist/Presidential Scholar semifinalist, and her SATs were 2370. I get the impression that unfortunately these schools use the merit aid to try and up their USNews ranking and boasting potential by pulling in kids that they can list as NMSFs and increase their SAT score means. And 2100 while very good is not going to fulfill those goals. The merit aid is to try and entice kids away from Ivys.

My kid was not a NM semi-finalist (much less a finalist or Presidential Scholar) and scored under 2200 on the SAT but was accepted to 3 of the 5 Ivies -- including the "first choice" -- applied to (was wait-listed/rejected by the other 2) but is happily attending one of a few selective schools that offered substantial merit aid. So, in response to your question OP, I think it takes the same thing to get merit aid from selective schools as it takes to get accepted to those schools. And, expanding on PP's comment, I believe that non-Ivy selective schools use merit aid to entice kids -- who do not qualify for need-based scholarships/no-loan financial aid -- away from Ivies because, if money is a concern, who wouldn't turn down Harvard if they could attend the schools listed above or Duke for "free"?