Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low test scores can be a problem. Ds has a 3.5 uw gpa (4.2 w)and 1500 SAT and was accepted at Villanova, Lehigh, Bucknell, URochester, etc. His best friend has a 3.7 uw (4.2w) and an 1190 SAT and is a URM. He was rejected from a similar spread of schools, and only accepted at a state school with an 80% acceptance rate and Penn State. It doesn’t seem fair.

Did the 1190 kid prep for the SAT? I think that most kids should be able to break 1200 with prep. Undiagnosed learning disability? It's reading comprehension and algebra.

No prep. He is low income, single parent household, and first generation, and I assume his need for aid may have factored into some of their decisions. I guess with all of the uproar about how white kids cant get into good schools, I expected someone would give him a chance.

Anonymous wrote:My kid with strong ECs; 4.1 w GPA and 28 ACT got into several mid-level SLACs (Macalester, Franklin & Marshall and Northeastern) and UVM. Classmates with fewer ECs and higher test scores were offered a lot more money. So, even when schools that say test scores don't factor into admission, that might be true. Merit aid feels like is directly tied to standardized test scores.

Northeastern is not a SLAC.

Mine has a 4.0 uw, all honors and AP classes, student government plus other EC clubs, and was terrible at SAT but slightly better at ACT (1190 vs 33).

She’s in at JMU, Penn State, Amherst, Williams, and Boston College.

Was a no at UVA and W&M.

Anonymous wrote:Low test scores can be a problem. Ds has a 3.5 uw gpa (4.2 w)and 1500 SAT and was accepted at Villanova, Lehigh, Bucknell, URochester, etc. His best friend has a 3.7 uw (4.2w) and an 1190 SAT and is a URM. He was rejected from a similar spread of schools, and only accepted at a state school with an 80% acceptance rate and Penn State. It doesn’t seem fair.

Did the 1190 kid prep for the SAT? I think that most kids should be able to break 1200 with prep. Undiagnosed learning disability? It's reading comprehension and algebra.

Anonymous wrote:My kid with strong ECs; 4.1 w GPA and 28 ACT got into several mid-level SLACs (Macalester, Franklin & Marshall and Northeastern) and UVM. Classmates with fewer ECs and higher test scores were offered a lot more money. So, even when schools that say test scores don't factor into admission, that might be true. Merit aid feels like is directly tied to standardized test scores.

Our college counselor told us flat out that higher test scores = more merit money.

Elon and Miami Ohio.

Anonymous wrote:Boulder is hot rn so I don’t think it’s a safety to anyone.

DD was admitted to Boulder for the fall. She takes non-honors classes at a top private with a strong academic reputation. She had a 3.3 unweighted GPA (school does not weight); 32 ACT.

Anonymous wrote:My kid with strong ECs; 4.1 w GPA and 28 ACT got into several mid-level SLACs (Macalester, Franklin & Marshall and Northeastern) and UVM. Classmates with fewer ECs and higher test scores were offered a lot more money. So, even when schools that say test scores don't factor into admission, that might be true. M[b]erit aid feels like is directly tied to standardized test scores.

[/b]


Some of the smaller LACs do buy the lists of students who score over a certain ACT point. My DS received two unsolicited offers from two of these colleges (in other words he never went to the campus, never demonstrated interest, and never applied) both in the $20K-$26K range. One school made a point of saying to me that because he had a 32 on his ACT and had X GPA, they were willing to offer him a scholarship of $20K but when I said he had a 36 after retake, there was a rustling of papers and then the rep. said "in that case we can offer the President's scholarship of $26K", so they clearly wanted his ACT score for reporting to the rankings service. Yet, when one subtracts $26K from $75K a year, UVA was still the better choice so he went there.

My kid with strong ECs; 4.1 w GPA and 28 ACT got into several mid-level SLACs (Macalester, Franklin & Marshall and Northeastern) and UVM. Classmates with fewer ECs and higher test scores were offered a lot more money. So, even when schools that say test scores don't factor into admission, that might be true. Merit aid feels like is directly tied to standardized test scores.

But more and more quality schools are going test optional!

My DC (who wanted a SLAC for science) got into Conn, Wooster, Mt Holyoke, Juniata, Dickinson, SMCM

Anonymous wrote:750 per section?
or 500 for each of 3 sections?

All the SATs are now just 2 sections, so PP's kid must have averaged 750 per section.

750 per section?
or 500 for each of 3 sections?

Anonymous wrote:Low test scores can be a problem. Ds has a 3.5 uw gpa (4.2 w)and 1500 SAT and was accepted at Villanova, Lehigh, Bucknell, URochester, etc. His best friend has a 3.7 uw (4.2w) and an 1190 SAT and is a URM. He was rejected from a similar spread of schools, and only accepted at a state school with an 80% acceptance rate and Penn State. It doesn’t seem fair.

Which is why some schools are now moving towards a test-optional policy - if your kid has otherwise excellent stats but doesn't test well, but can interview and write well, they should think about applying to these schools:

https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-complete-guide-to-sat-optional-colleges

Anonymous wrote:Berkeley. She's super excited.

Aunt Becky!!

Berkeley. She's super excited.