Congrats on his liking it. That’s why they have these programs. Experiential marketing.
Susquehannna is for sure a safety - although not for $50k. If he likes W&M, I’d add Miami Ohio. It’s just bigger but seemed to us on our visit similar. Iowa, of course, is arguably the public school king for his interests.
If he’s ok taking the SAT again, it could help. Is it off balance ? Like math low and English high ? If he’s stressed then don’t.
Really depends on the overall budget and other aspects. You note above $50k. He has no safety there but I suspect Susquehanna will come in safely below. But he could be left without a home with your current list - you need an assured will hit cost school - so whether CNU or UMW excite him or not - you need something like that or a Geneseo. I’m sure Susquehanna will hit but you can’t guarantee….as the list price is well above.
Your list is built for his desires but not the most important piece - your budget.
very glad he loved it and learned so much
What about Mary Washington, in VA?
Perhaps for a more “intellectual” experience add SUNY Geneseo. It’s NYS Honors college, a pretty campus, strong students, and should be within budget. And/or College of Wooster??
University of Iowa is a definite safety since his RAI guarantees him automatic admission and very likely Honors.
I would question how high his SAT would need to be, to give him a meaningful advantage compared to applying test-optional while noting National Merit Commended status. That already validates his strength on the standardized testing side of things. I would be tempted to consider that box checked and use his energy on essays which is where he could really set himself apart. I understand the desire to maximize merit potential, though. Congrats to him on finding his groove at the Young Writers program; hopefully that will give him good momentum going into senior year and college apps!
The issue becomes with merit - what moves the needle.
You know at an Alabama, as an example, a 1420 is worth $4K more than a 1410 - and the next leg is at 1600.
But he does not have a school like that on his list - with automerit.
So the question becomes - will another 30 or 60 points matter - either for admission or merit - and there’s no way to know.
It certainly can’t hurt - but I’d be more concerned with finding that assured and affordable school - as a 1420 is quite good.
For a Kenyon, 1420 is at the mid point so it’s fine - but does being at the 75th bring more money? No way to know - or if you get more, does it reduce the need component? And at Kenyon, only 2/10 are even submitting a test.
But at a UVA where 59% submit, 1420 is rather low with a 1410 25th percentile - and that may include hooked people - so scoring higher could potentially be the difference between admission - and non-admission.
Yes, I was speaking in the context of the OP’s list being mostly “holistic” schools. If he were gunning for auto-merit someplace like Alabama it would be different, but he isn’t, so there’s no need to look at it that way.
In terms of UVA, that’s still 41% applying TO, and how many of those have National Merit Commended to check the “tests well” box? As I said, my question is, how high would the SAT need to be to confer a meaningful advantage over TO plus National Merit Commended? Obviously we can only guess but maybe those who are very familiar with UVA admissions can guess better than you or I can.
I think the issue here is that trying to boost the SAT score is tangible, whereas the payoff from allocating that same investment of energy to essays and the other demands of fall semester senior year is harder to quantify. But less tangible doesn’t necessarily mean less valuable. Time and energy are finite and trying to wring every possible point out of the SAT at the expense of other priorities might not pay off - even if the score does go up somewhat. He’s on a roll now, enthusiasm-wise. When I imagine one of my kids in this situation, my gut says, channel that enthusiasm into the absolutely sparkling essays he’s capable of writing, rather than dampen it with uninspiring test-prep. But one could make a good argument for either approach, and whatever you choose, you’ll never know whether the other choice would have turned out better. There’s also the middle road - schedule a retake, commit to a conservative amount of test-prep, and see what happens, but don’t let it turn into a buzz-kill time-sink. Personally, I’d let the student decide.
That’s what my husband and I were thinking about Susquehanna - a safety for sure academically, but not financially. Even though they’re known to give merit aid, nothing is guaranteed.
Yes, math is low, English high. I’m going to let him decide if he wants to retake WITH studying!
We will look at Geneseo. Thanks!
He’s having a hard time loving the safeties. Even Susquehanna - he doesn’t love entirely. He loves their creative writing program, but he’s not fond of the dorms (unfortunately they’re in bad shape!), he’s heard that the food is bad, but again, he loves their CW program.
We’re going to have to try to find schools somewhere in the middle!
Thank you. You’ve given me lots to think about. I guess it wouldn’t hurt for my son to reach out to a Admissions Officer/Counselor at say, Kenyon, to see if there’s a difference in money being at the midpoint or closer to 75% or to UVA to see if another 30 or 60 points will make him a little bit more competitive.
Of course, SAT is just one small part of the application.
Good point! It wouldn’t hurt to ask an Admissions Officer, right?
Thanks for your insight. He IS on a roll which is why he’s going to tackle that Common App essay tomorrow. After reading MY college application and essays to UVA (yes, my mom saved them for me and I’m a UVA alum. I felt so much cringe while he read my essays ), S26 understood the purpose of the college essays.
I am going to let S26 decide whether to retake. He may be motivated if it means securing more merit aid, for example at Kenyon, IF Kenyon is at the top of his list.
I’m not sure that you can have only one - a possible better test - or the other - better essays. Why isn’t it possible that you can’t have both.
The student may test better with little or no prep since they did it once. It wouldn’t be impossible.
Yes, we don’t know if NM Commended has meaning or not. If I had to guess, it likely has zero meaning as it’s based on a PSAT which likely doesn’t impact admissions at UVA. It’s not like commended is beyond a score that isn’t used by UVA vs a tangible accomplishment beyond taking a test.
However, I imagine the student can ask their admission counselor to see.
Bottom line - the score is low vs UVA submissions and UVA is one school that would hit budget sans merit.
S26 knows we can afford all the in-state schools without merit which is why he acquiesced to UVA and William & Mary, but paused at the 3 true in-state safeties, GMU, JMU, and CNU. sigh…
He’s mentioned going TO at UVA and W&M…but he’s not sure.
This is true and I agree with you and @aquapt on letting him decide.
But your issue (short of need) is cost - so the score may impact there. But a 1600 may not get you there merit wise - no way to know.
Lots of schools have creative writing and will hit $$. Some have good dorms. Some don’t. You never know until you are there. Many go to the dream and hate. Others settle and never look back.
If Susquehanna doesn’t excite, find another. Did you look at UNCW or any other that’s an assured entry plus assured to hit cost ? If your budget is firm, you run the risk of your son at a CC next year or a school you can apply last minute like Bama (or sub in one you can apply to in April) that you know hits.
Food is interesting - I’ve not been to Kenyon but niche is pretty accurate and students give it a C+ which is quite low. But Susquehanna is far worse - C-.
So regardless of taking the SAT or not, you need to find another school - IMHO.
I’m so glad your son loved Kenyon. Just wanted to remind you/him that there are more restaurants in Mt Vernon, a nearby town, which is an easy 10-15 minute drive from Kenyon (my daughter didn’t have a car there but several of her friends did).
As for funding, they also have (or at least used to have) creative writing fellowships, so this may be another option, in addition to (or instead of) academic merit. Good luck! I’m sure he’ll get into Kenyon, he sounds like a great fit. Kenyon gave us enough money to make it affordable for us, so fingers crossed!
Iowa is the ultimate safety due to automatic admission and 48k direct costs with up to 15k scholarships for which he’s automatically considered (the minimum SAT for Iowa resident scholarships is WELL below 1420 so if I were him I’d apply today with test scores+apply to the Honors Program, he’d likely hear back before he returns to school and would have an affordable safety in his back pocket as the ultimate reassurance.)
Which among JMU, GMU, Mary Washington, and CNU (with honors at all) does he dislike least? That would be another safety.
You could also run the NPC on Gettysburg, Dickinson, and Ursinus (the former ones targets/unsure if theyd meet budget; the latter a safety with a creative writing scholarship).
I would not knock a school off because of sub-par dorms. I have NEVER met a transfer who mentioned “bad dorms” as a reason to leave. I have NEVER met a college grad who noted that a bad dorm was a significant issue with the college. An “on the margins” issue? Yes, for sure. But not significant.
I lived in nice places and awful places as an undergrad. The defining experience was not beautiful tile in the bathrooms, but the vibe. A bad dorm with a great RA? That can be a fantastic experience. A gorgeous dorm with a terrible roommate? That can be hell. A mediocre dorm which becomes a close knit tribe- even if everyone isn’t a BFF-- but they all look out for each other, make sure nobody gets excluded from group activities even if it’s only throwing a frisbee around on a sunny afternoon? Most kids would consider that a win.
It’s been my experience that the worst dorms are the most social. I don’t know why some campus tours even show dorms, they’re always the nicest on campus, like the honors dorms, most universities have some really crappy dorms as well.
Thank you! I will share this with my son. He will likely not have a car, but we don’t know that for sure yet.
We just reviewed the scholarships Kenyon offers and there’s one specifically for Young Writers graduates that he’ll be automatically be considered for and will just need to submit a writing portfolio. I think you mentioned Kenyon doesn’t stack scholarships exactly (I’m not sure I understand that completely), but it’s nice to know they have options so my son will shoot his shot!
My husband and I didn’t share this with S26, but we feel that Kenyon is the best fit for him academically. I’m grateful my son didn’t fall madly in love with Kenyon the way I did, haha.
Yes, fingers crossed IF Kenyon is indeed a great fit (financially fit) for him (us)! Thank you!
Dorms don’t matter. Food, on the other hand, does. However, it’s not a sufficient reason not to apply to a college that offers the right major/vibe and is affordable .. whereas it can be a differentiating criterion among acceptances.
I agree with this! Food matters for sure! S26 has been reading Niche as a guide and looks at dining food reviews. Unfortunately, Susquehanna got a C- rating for dining hall food. BUT the school remains on his list because of their fantastic CW program.
), S26 understood the purpose of the college essays.