OP, there’s tons of schools your kid can get into. Honestly I’d load him in the car and drive to some campuses within a couple of hours, get out and walk around. A “real” college visit is great, but with the current situation probably not possible (although some schools still are in a modified in-person form so check that out).

Anyway let your DC see if they like urban vs suburban vs rural. My kid definitely didn’t like urban, as soon as we’d walk on a campus like that he knew it wasn’t for him. We’d also drive around the area a bit to see what the surroundings were like.

Anonymous wrote:Providence

My friend went there and I visited her there a few times. Great school and she is still good friends with her college friends. It's cold but it seemed like a good community there.

Frostburg

Anonymous wrote:What a depressing thread for a parent of a ninth grader. She's getting a B in math, so I guess it's all over for her!
I should definitely not open these threads.

Yes, DCUM college talk focuses on the superlatives. The top 20 schools, the Ivies, etc.

But if we step away from the elitism, many, many kids will NOT go to these top schools, and they will still be able to go to college. Our kids can get a decent college education at a reputable -- if not superlative -- school, and can go on and have a happy life, find a job, etc.

I'm not saying its bad to chase after "the best". But it is not a good fit for many (including my child), and the intense focus on the top schools on this board is not where many of us should focus. Especially if you'd need merit aid to access an elite school -- much harder to qualify for merit aid at the most competitive schools.

I am banking on my child getting merit aid at "lesser' non-elite colleges (which are actually reasonable schools, just not with national name recognition). My child's college search is focused on match and safety schools, where merit aid chances are greater. Using Naviance and getting a sense of which schools are reach, match, and target for your child based on GPA, SAT, is a good thing to explore to see what schools are realistic options.

Providence

Anonymous wrote:Alabama
Auburn
U of Arizona
U of Tampa
U of Florida

University of Florida is ranked #30 and is tied with NYU and Tufts. No way any average, OOS kid is getting there.

There are also tons of small LACs in the region that a student with these stats can get in to:

Goucher College
McDaniel College
Juniata College
and many more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when I say average, I mean actually average. Not DCUM average?

3.4 uw 3.8 w, 1250 SAT, typical sport and club type activities
typical suburban white kid

He’s a junior. We don’t know where to start. What medium-big solid schools anywhere within 8 hours driving distance would he definitely get into?

lol your kid is above average. get a grip.

1250 SAT is not "above average." I had that 20 years ago and I struggled to get into good schools. And it has become insanely competitive since then.

1011 was the mean SAT among college bound seniors in 2011. Not sure what it is now.

This breakdown really illustrates the correlations of SAT scores to income and parent educationa attainment level.

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_155.asp

I’m the pp who talked about where my dc got in. I’m sorry that I didn’t focus on your original post where you said within 8 hours driving distance and at least medium sized. There are lots of schools in Ohio that your dc could get into - University of Cincinnati, Xavier, University of Dayton, Kent State, Akron (they are cutting departments but supposedly have very nice facilities). WRT cutting departments, that is happening at a lot of places, including University of Vermont which could be another option for you. If you are willing to drive a little further, Butler or DePauw in Indiana (although not sure about DePauw’s size). In PA, Penn State main campus may not be an option for the first year but many people start at a satellite campus and then transfer to main campus the second year. Same with Pitt. Agree with the prior recommendation of Temple. I know many kids who blossomed there and absolutely love it. West Chester is also an option.

Naviance *is* super helpful, but so are recs from other parents. OP, I totally understand where you are coming from! Ignore the grouchy people who are parsing your every word.

Finding a parent you know of kid with similar stats would be super helpful!!

What a depressing thread for a parent of a ninth grader. She's getting a B in math, so I guess it's all over for her!
I should definitely not open these threads.

Just adding, that is not average at all, don't sound so discouraging to your kid. Tons of suggestions here. If your school uses Naviance, that will also help you understand where kids with their stats from their school apply and are accepted.

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread highlights what happens when out of towners use the DCUM boards. You don’t know the area, so you ruin a thread with arguing irrelevant points.

I don't understand this post. I live "in town", and the facts are that 1260 is above average (in some cases, well above average) for every single public school system district in the area - MoCo, FFX, Arlington, Alexandria, Howard, Falls Church, Loudoun, DCPS, PGCPS - and some private schools, too. Sure it's not above average for a Sidwell or St. Alban's type school, but if your kid goes to one of those schools they are not average to begin with.

Calling kids with this profile who are actually well above average except from a DCUM perspective “painfully average” goes a long way towards explaining why psychologists who treat teens remain in high demand in this area as well as why many kids want to get away from the schools with high numbers of DMV students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when I say average, I mean actually average. Not DCUM average?

3.4 uw 3.8 w, 1250 SAT, typical sport and club type activities
typical suburban white kid

He’s a junior. We don’t know where to start. What medium-big solid schools anywhere within 8 hours driving distance would he definitely get into?

lol your kid is above average. get a grip.

1250 SAT is not "above average." I had that 20 years ago and I struggled to get into good schools. And it has become insanely competitive since then.

A 1250 SAT is by definition above average. It's the 81st percentile. My kids all got in the 1200s and 1300s and all got into selective -- even highly selective -- colleges. You must have been lacking elsewhere if you "struggled."

Correct--the percentiles are available here, see page 5:
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/understanding-sat-scores.pdf

Average would be closer to the 50th percentile, which is a score of 1050.