Hello,
I am writing to try and gauge what kind of colleges (mainly US) my little brother can get into.
He is a student at an international school where he is taking the International Baccalaureate. His final year is coming up -
with his junior year exams completed, I think he will be predicted around 26-30 (just passing or slightly above).
Small factsheet to give you more info on him:
- IB predicted 26-30
- SAT achieved 1250 (did equally well on both sections, i.e. 620/630 on each; should be able to bump up to 1300+)
- Captain of sports team at school
- International background
- Possible mitigating circumstances: transitioned to IB from american system after moving from US this year, parents divorcing
He is aiming for US colleges, but I am also curious what his options could be abroad (notably Canada). NYU is a target for him, but it seems like a very long reach - as an aside, is there anything he can do in his final year to really boost his profile ?
Any guidance would be hugely appreciated.
He can (1) try to improve his test scores, and (2) do his best in preparing all parts of the applications (including the essays). There’s not much he can do at this point to significantly improve his GPA/rank or ECs. He could pursue another leadership position next Fall (if he thinks the time commitment wouldn’t cause his grades to suffer).
NYU would be a reach. Many other colleges outside the US News top ~50 are more or less likely to accept him, but not necessarily with very generous financial aid. If cost is an issue, you might want to consider public colleges that have relatively low non-resident sticker prices. Examples:
Truman State ($20K-$25K)
the SUNY schools ($30K - $40Ks)
the California state university system (~$35K+)
http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-public-colleges/index.php
If those sticker prices are too high, then he could try his luck with the “Colleges That Change Lives”
(https://ctcl.org/category/college-profiles/)
Most of those are small private colleges that accept B - B+ students and offer fairly good financial aid.
Seconding CTCL colleges!
Run the NPC on them all, as well as Drake, Butler, Kalamazoo, Hobart/William Smith, St Thomas, Hamline, Loyola Chicago, UNC Wilmington and Asheville, College of Charleston, Temple?
Increasing his Sat score, perhaps presenting a couple Sat subject tests, would be what helps him most.
Thank you for the response ! Cost is not too much of an issue, he is fortunate enough that his family is in a good financial position. We just want him to go to the best college possible - would the likes of Fordham or Occidental College be within reach ?