<p>Thanks for the reply.<br>
New at all this what do you mean by start a new thread?
Would prefer close to home. But whatever is best for her is OK.</p>
<p>forgot to mention -looking for non-need based merit scholarship.</p>
<p>mcvik - A couple things. You mentioned that you wanted to pare D’s prospective college list to a dozen or so, and THEN visit. Hmmm. My D’s “starter list” was >50 and it was the VISITS that cut her application list down to seven. (Fifty sounds like a lot, but D was primarily interested in city campus’ – eight in/around Boston, a bunch in/around Los Angeles, etc.) It’s amazing how quickly a first choice college can get dumped. JMHO, but you may want to visit a few colleges rather than deciding on a college list in abstentia.</p>
<p>Secondly, there’s this sticky business about the GC recommendation. Your GC sounds like my D’s GC, a sophisticated individual with strong views about where “his students” should apply. I don’t know whether the GC’s Recommendation Letter affected my D’s acceptances or not. It didn’t matter really, because D did everything she could to show her promise to colleges. Even if Ohio_Mom is correct, and I believe she is, changing a GC’s letter is a very difficult thing to do. Again, JMHO.</p>
<p>NewHope33:</p>
<p>In excess of 50 does sound a lot. How many separate trips did you end of making? We are planning to do some marathons to pare the list. However, I do want the list to be a realistic list rather than going to Harvard and frankly wasting a day. </p>
<p>I do not want to change the GC’s letter. However, I do want to impress upon the GC that some students are late bloomers and they should be given the benefit of doubt. I think it is unfair that my child should boxed in her quadrant for keeps by the gC. If my D was showing a downward trend or being inconsitent, I would agree with the GC. I claim to be objective, but after all this is my first born. Frankly, I found the GC to be disinterested and trying to get us out of there.</p>
<p>We plan to meet the GC in the fall and see how it goes. In the meantime, the campus visits etc will go on and the quest for more EC’s, SAT’s, AP’s and whatever goes on.</p>
<p>mcvik - We made three OOS trips and combined each with a vacation – Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Washington DC/Philadelphia – and one day trip to Boston. D is a quick study: UCLA went from top of the list to off it in 90 seconds. (Yes, I could have told her it wasn’t a match but having HER make the decision was so much better.)</p>
<p>As for the GC issue, the best way to show him that boxing kids is an obsolete practice is to have your D get into “better” schools and take the evidence back to the school and the GC. But if your goal is to convince the GC to alter his assessment of your D and reflect that improved assessment in the GC Recommendation, well that’s changing the letter the GC intended to write isn’t it?</p>
<p>Just so you know, whether American looks more at one reccomendation or another for your daughter, her stats should certainly gain her entry to American and quite possibly get her into the University College program.</p>
<p>Here is a thread for you</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=2673512#post2673512[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=2673512#post2673512</a></p>
<p>If we keep it near the top of the list by conversing back and forth, others will see it and reply.</p>
<p>thanks ohio_mom.</p>
<p>I have already started on that thread.</p>
<p>mcvik -
your D might also want to look at sending in an additional rec from someone in conjunction with the work with the disabled - that would stand out. </p>
<p>SAT II’s can also show mastery of a subject.</p>
<p>I’d suggest you add more sure bets other than Pitt and PSU. Even superior students are not getting in to schools where their stats suggest they should—so the conventional wisdom is “make sure you can be happy with your sure bet”. Schools where she is in the top 10-20% and offer merit aid are worth considering. There is a whole thread with those lists. While in Boston I’d suggest you look at Tufts, Emerson, BU, and NE. The last three offer merirt aid.</p>
<p>Based on your daughter’s interest in helping kids with special needs, I’d suggest she look into the Best Buddies program to find which colleges have an active chapter. The program was started by one of the Kennedy’s and match young adults up with one-on-one friendships with those with developmental disabilities. If your state has an active organization your daughter might want to try to set up a club at her HS. My daughter is working on this at her HS and we expect it will really make a difference for a lot of kids in our community (including her 14yo sister). If nothing else, get her one of their (very cool) t-shirts.</p>
<p>Good luck on the admissions process,</p>
<p>Kevin</p>
<p>Thanks for all your suggestions.</p>
<p>dogs:
You really think that Tufts is that easy to get into? I felt that it is getting increasingly tougher to get into.</p>
<p>Tufts is indeed hard to get into. But if your D is interested in the early childhood program, that might provide a big tip.</p>
<p>Tufts is difficult - but if your D is able to demonstrate what <em>she</em> has to offer Tufts and what <em>Tufts</em> has to offer her, its not impossible. </p>
<p>One of the best essays I read in the last admissions cylcle was from a young lady that was admitted to Yale. She was a very good student, excellent boards - but she did not have the really spectacular ec’s that are often associated with students admitted to HYP. Also, no legacy or athletics. What her essay and application did show was a prospect who was, in the very best sense, a scholar and a young gentlewoman. Her essay let the reader <em>see</em> her: not as a photographic snapshot, but as, perhaps, a sketch of one of the masters that illuminates the surface and the soul at once. </p>
<p>IMO most college essays leave a good bit to be desired. If your D can write one that lets us her more clearly than whatever the GC has to say - then her application will at least be considered.
One of the posters on the UChicago forum (Diocletian) wrote this in response to a question about what an essay should show:
</p>
<p>Enclosed is the naviance site for our high school:
<a href=“https://connection.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=wootton[/url]”>https://connection.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=wootton</a></p>
<p>Log in as “guest” and go to college lookup. This site lists admission, rejections and waitlist by GPA and SAT. </p>
<p>I should note that our high school uses a weighted GPA. Honors and AP scores get an extra point. Thus an A with an honors or AP=5, a B=4 etc.</p>
<p>AS you can see from our high school admission rate, which admittedly has some top performing kids since we have two internal magnet programs, your child’s 3.5 unweighted GPA probably isn’t enough to get into Chicago, CMC, and some of the other reach schools. However, you need to look over each schools record of admission and decide for yourself.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>“your child’s 3.5 unweighted GPA probably isn’t enough to get into Chicago”</p>
<p>My kid just completed his first year at Chicago. He was admitted with a 3.57 UW (not top ten percent) GPA from a public hs that sends few out of state or to privates. Kick-*ss essay, though.</p>
<p>Yeah, my kid is also at Chicago, and her unweighted GPA when she applied EA was probably not much higher than 3.5. (I don’t know what it actually was, but she seemed to get a pretty even distribution of grades between As and Bs.) She had excellent board scores, a lot of demonstrated depth in literature and writing (which I hope her essays confirmed), and recommendations that said “this is a mature, intellectual, analytical girl whom the English Department regards as a colleague more than a student”. Very little leadership in ECs, by the way, and fairly low class rank (probably out of top 10% at time of application) because of switching schools mid-stream.</p>
<p>Taxguy–
Fascinating list! Does this HS have technology and/or science/math emphasis?</p>
<p>2boysima, Our high school had primarily a science and math emphasis for many years and currently still has an internal magnet program in science and math. They compete annually in physics competitions and usually score within the top 3 in the state. I think that last year or the year before they won the national competition.</p>
<p>About 6 years ago, they made a strong commitment to humanities and instituted a magnet program for “humanities scholars.” The bottom line is that now they have two strong tracts: science/math and humanities. </p>
<p>I should note that they also have, as part of the humanities track, a very strong music and art program,which has gotten well known throughout the county.</p>
<p>The problem with having such strong programs and such motivated kids is that I think we need higher scores and better GPAs, when compared to other “normal” high schools, in order to get into the top schools. This is probably a problem for many magnet kids as well.</p>
<p>taxguy -
looking at your data, I can certainly see why you didn’t think prospects were good for the OP’s D at UChicago. Wootton’s acceptance rate there is around 15% - whereas Chicago’s (over the years covered) overall admit rate is just under 40%.</p>