If you can afford a tutoring company, that may pay off in the end (as merit can be tied to scores). Even with that I would suggest doing mock tests where your student starts on a Saturday 8am at their computer and does the exact same start, break and end times. Do that a couple of times. These tests are learning about how much time you have to do a problem before you need to move on. Digital SAT is a different approach because it changes based on your answers.
If you have a low GPA, a higher standardized test score can open doors. IME the low GPA is pretty common with boys as (my opinion) most schools are geared towards the female brain these days and do little to get through to boys.
Also, make sure your son takes the actual test a few times. Some tests the stars align and you get your best score ever, or your best score on a section and can super-score it. Itâs worth the extra attempts.
HTHs.
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S23âs school suggests using a tutoring company over Khan to target areas of weakness rather than just doing a general course. They felt that it was better to figure out what skills to target to raise scores (was it a knowledge area or test taking skills they were weak in and which specified skills should they focus on in those areas). I canât tell you if it was good advise or not since we went completely TO.
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D25 has chosen to drop to only doing high school dance team vs. doing both that and the competitive studio team. She ended with a silver globe at Dance Worlds so it was a perfect way to conclude her studio dance âcareer.â
Academically sheâs hanging in the 3.0-3.4 range and I suspect she will stay there. Sheâs looking forward to her senior year classes. School ends early this year end of May due to ongoing construction and expansions happening.
I know summer visits are not preferred but our hope is to try to get a school or 2 at least to see if she can decrease her list at all which is currently still at 16. I would say this is my ranking at the moment. She thinks she still wants to start with a criminal justice major (with anything family or childhood related minor as a bonus). She is still undecided if she requires school to have a dance minor or if she is willing to do a team or club.
- Maryville Uni MO
- Bellarmine
- U of Southern Mississippi
- Wayne State
- ULL
- Oklahoma City U
- Rider
- Stockton
- Lindenwood
- Shenandoah
- Le Moyne
- Western Carolina
- Jacksonville U
- SEMO
- U Missouri-Kansas City
- Dean
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Dean seems to be your outlier as itâs the only one in New England. Iâd just go ahead and knock that one off your list unless you need it as a safety. Iâm assuming youâre from quite a bit away and there really isnât anything by Dean to be of any interest to a college student. Yes, you COULD go into Boston, but you probably wonât. Itâs in a strip mall type suburb with not much to do for the college crowd.
Are any of her choices rolling admission. My son knocked a lot off of his list after getting his first couple of rolling admission acceptances.
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Iâd have to look. I had Dean on the bottom for similar reasons. I think she got something from them for dance but I donât think its a good choice for her.
Sheâs toured LeMoyne and Jacksonville U and liked the size of them. We drove through Bellarmine but havenât officially toured but she said it looked okay (sheâs been to Louisville a few times with dance so I think it isnt so âscary.â I have been to ULL with her brother and think it could be a good fit. I worry UMKC will be too urban for her.
My vote is for a trip to Missouri to visit Maryville (your current #1) and Lindenwood (#9) as theyâre in the same metro, and then drive an extra two hours to visit Southeast Missouri (#14). You and your family could decide whether there was enough interest/time to add U. of Kansas - Kansas City (#15).
Alternatively, U. of Southern Mississippi and U. of Louisiana - Lafayette are about 3.5 hours from one ahother and those are currently #3 and #5.
Or a flight to Philly could result in visits to Rider (#7) and Stockton (#8) which are about 1.5 hours from each other, and potentially adding on a 4h addition to visit Shenandoah (#10) with a departure from D.C.
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Howâs everyone hanging in there? Is anyone else crossing their fingers and trying to not freak out about a certain class? Hereâs its ChemistryâŠ.
4 more weeksâŠ.
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S25 has been catching up with his classes since his surgery and that is going better than I thought it would, but the DSAT is proving to be difficult. He is doing some individual test prep work with a local teacher, but not putting in a ton of hours. Itâs always a balance with anxiety/ADHD related issues.
He did surprise us by going to his jr. prom (stag) and even participating in the grand march (he has not attended a single dance). We have a month of school left. He will be working, participating in a college essay workshop and a creative writing workshop this summer and attending the last session at his overnight summer camp.
He visited our local flagship with school and appreciates that it could work for him as a safety. Iâm still getting him to think about a âlistâ. So far I know it should be in the northeast, MAYbe Ohio, or Minnesota (for St. Olafs) and welcoming to neurodivergent types.
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ditto
Rest of things are pretty under control, but chem, keep us all up at night 
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The Chem Regents in NY is three weeks from today (which is also my 2023âs 19th bday. Next year 2025 graduates on 2023âs 20th bday lol). I am legit sweating about this test. I guess at this point sheâs got to put the work in or not. SighâŠ.so stressful!
ETA: To add to the stress, our cat is very ill and on borrowed time. 2025 is a sensitive little soul and he is her baby. Itâs going to be really bad. Iâm praying to the kitty heaven gods he makes it though the RegentsâŠ
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Just found out my D25âs high school participates in our stateâs new direct admissions program. The process happens automatically unless a student opts out. Basically, her high school sends her transcript to all ~50 of the participating colleges (both 2 year and 4 year schools), and then a few weeks later she receives a list of all the schools where she meets admissions criteria. At that point, students do have to submit an âofficialâ application online, but this application is streamlined and applying is free. A few of the schools might require a few additions to the application for certain majors, but many do not.
I looked at the list of participating colleges, and most of the schools that D25 is considering are on the list. How easy!
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This is fantastic! (Thatâs kind of a lame comment, but I canât help thinking how pleasing it would be if that were the case for us! 
) That must feel good, particularly since so many of the schools she wants are on the list. Woo hoo!
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Welp.
We have about 6 more days. I may not make it. S25 20 minutes late today because he claimed he could not find clothes. 
He has a couple more things to submit for make-up work from surgery and then exams.
Took SAT June 1 and it was tough.
Howâs everyone else doing?
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Hang in there! 6 more days!
D25âs school has been out for a week, and all is very relaxed around here. We decided not to do the SAT or ACT. Sheâs not a bad test taker, but none of the schools she is interested in require tests or seem to give merit for it (unless maybe scores are sky high, which hers wouldnât be.) So the choice was easy in our case. I know itâs a different ballgame for kids in certain states where scores are required for admission, or highly preferred. Best of luck to your S25 on getting a good score back!
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After some chats, this is where the list stands right now, I think.
D25 is doing online summer school, hs dance team practice, coaching youth dance, and working about 2 nights a week.
Ranking?
Lindenwood
U of Louisiana-Lafayette
Stockton
U of Southern Mississippi
Maryville University
Iowa State
Rider
Wayne State U
Mercyhurst
Central Michigan University
Western Carolina
Adelphi
Wayne State College
Kansas State U
(Do we keep these on the list?)
Saint Josephâs University
Southeast Missouri State
U of Nebraska-Omaha
Shenandoah
Creighton
LeMoyne
U of Missouri-Kansas City
Minnesota-Mankato
University of North Texas
U of North Carolina-Greensboro
Kent State University
Is there a uniting theme for the ones that have (provisionally) fallen off the list? I had thought LeMoyne was a front runner.
My daughter and I both really like LeMoyne. I am a huge fan of Jesuit colleges and she liked the compact size and people were really nice. When I started putting together a list for her, she wanted out of our state but the close proximity to her brother was a plus. Now that college is more real for her, she is thinking that she may want her own âplace.â
She will likely still apply to LeMoyne but she will need to weigh the dance options/opportunities. She has been telling me for years she wants to be a cop but this mama was smart and looked beyond that. She only wanted to be a cop to help people and she simply wasnât aware of all the opportunities. She is now considering a degree in family studies with potential to be a child advocate or child life specialist. She thinks becoming a guidance counselor or paralegal would be interesting as well. So basically she is undecided so we may need to ensure the college she chooses has lots of options for her.
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I would keep St Joes on the list and go test optional. It has Criminal Justice, Family studies, Soc, Psych, Child Development, etc. The 25% GPA is 3.4 but thatâs a weighted GPA so figure. 25% are around 3.0-3.1 unweighted.
It is within the city of Philadelphia but not downtown - more suburban Philly. The downtown campus is more for health sciences. Itâs diverse and has a religious affiliation but you can as much or as little with that as you want.
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If youâre looking at NJ schools you should check out Montclair. They have a dance program and plenty of âhelpingâ majors to consider. My D25 daughter toured the campus in April and itâs quite nice. Its student body is very diverse and Montclair is designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution. Best of luck with your search!
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