This is 100% my D25. After going through 4 years of an ultra competitive magnet school that is obsessed with elite college admissions=life success, she’s totally over it.
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What about University of Denver as a safety? Has a lot of what you are describing and kids are definitely a mix of all types.
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This is my DS. Decent grades. Not interested in applying to a bunch of reach schools. Wants a bigger school with D1 sports.
Got into a bunch of schools already. Asked him if he wants to apply to a reach school. He said no. Not sure what a reach would be for a kid like him? Thinking he will end up at Pitt.
Love this idea. I forgot about University of Denver. We will definitely check it out. Thank you!
Good thought; I forgot that one (even though our S25 has applied there already as his smallest school).
University Park’s more like “city neighborhood” than urban, for what it’s worth. Probably 15 minutes to LoDo on the light rail, and easy access to everything the Colorado outdoors has to offer, too. Pretty good with merit money, as they know they’re competing with not just Boulder but other publics, and that a lot of parents won’t fork over $75k/year for a private university without some name brand/“elite” reputation there. Have heard (not verified by personal experience) there’s a zip code effect in merit offerings and they’re not automatic based on stats. One other concerning factor: I put very little into the USNWR rankings generally, but it’s worth noting that in 2021 DU was at 80, dropped to 93 and then 105 before the new methodology was introduced into the rankings last year and they plummeted further to 124. Don’t know precisely what led to all the movement pre-2024 (can theorize the same things that hit a lot of other not T20 private unis hurt them in the new methodology), but it’s obviously not welcome news to DU.
And I can verify U of Denver has ‘weather.’ Sunday was 80 and gorgeous, yesterday a little windy, today rain and dark, and tomorrow it may snow. By Saturday, back to the mid-60’s. And on any of these days you’ll find people wearing shorts and flip flops, hats and gloves, puffy jackets…whatever you like.
Now the dogs will all have their sweaters on.
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Oh, wow, this thread is great, and I’d somehow never seen it before.
Similar story to lots of folks. D22 was super motivated with great grades and scores, very focused on the competitive LACs.
D25 is bright, but not as focused on academics as her sister (3.6UW at a rigorous private school and high 20s ACT), more into sports and really good ECs revolving around what she wants to do, and it’s honestly been more fun. She knows she wants to go into sports journalism at a big D1 school with lots of stuff going on. Much more focus on “which schools have the right programs for me?” Rather than trying to maximize “What’s the best school I can get into?”
Lots of big state schools each of which she has a decent, though hardly slam-dunk, chance of getting into (Pitt, Clemson, Penn State, VT, Purdue, James Madison, etc), plus a couple local safety schools, and while PSU is the favorite she’d be pretty happy at any of them. Wake Forest is the one true reach school she applied to ED, not so much because it’s obviously the favorite (though she’d love to go) as because ED was the only way she has any shot at all, so why not roll the dice?
Almost done with applications, her mom and I are just hoping she gets into the safety schools for the reassurance, and then a couple of the big schools so she feels like she’s the one making the final choice.
The whole process has been a lot more fun this time around.
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Been reading here and thought I would chime in with my ds story. He has a 3.5 at a private NYC school. His school is IB but he only takes one IB (so doesnt have the “rigor”) and is applying test optional (didnt take any). He is a kid who prioritizes being happy. School is a necessity to him - no joy other than the social which is where he thrives. For a while - was not sure if he would choose college route but his friends are academically driven which has kept him on track. This year he has matured a lot and now is showing academic interest and more drive. At first his only criteria where big fun west coast school. We encouraged him to also look elsewhere as the UCs are very competitive for OOS etc. In early October took a trip to visit two medium size schools are our and his school counselor’s urging (because we all think he would be better off at a school where the teachers will notice if he doesnt show up). Much to his and our surprise - he loved Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in LA so much that he decided to apply ED. He plays a sport year round and has been captain of his school team since sophomore year (will play club in college) and has some good other ECs. His essays were good I think and so will be his recs. Here is the final list he applied to:
LMU - applied ED
University of Arizona - admitted with merit
Michigan State University - admitted with merit
SDSU - applied
Cal State Poly - applied
Cal State Pomona - applied
Ohio State - applied EA
University of Oregon - applied EA
Look forward to living this journey with this group. This is my third and last (sniff sniff) child to launch!
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The last post inspired me to add my son’s journey so far. He attends a large Title 1 public high school in NYC. His grades and SAT are in the top 10% for his school, but he is applying TO everywhere with a 3.5uw GPA with a strong upward trend and the most rigor he was allowed (the school only allows 2 APs per year). He had a 3.7 junior year and currently has a 4.3. He is also trans and is submitting an art portfolio wherever it’s allowed, but he is applying for political science. His essays are very strong, recs are also strong (the best one from his AP Government teacher), and he has an optional recommendation he is sending to every school from his principal, who only writes 2-3 per year.
Applied to one school ED and a few more EA that we won’t hear from for a while, but so far:
Pitt - admitted (no word on merit yet, but it is rolling merit through March)
UNH - admitted with merit
SUNY New Paltz - admitted
SUNY Purchase - admitted
Seton Hall - admitted to Diplomacy & IR with merit
Susquehanna - admitted with merit
University of Scranton - admitted with merit
The ED school is a big reach, but I am all for him shooting his shot!
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Has she looked into Indiana U. or U. of Missouri? Both are well-known for their journalism programs, and IU’s football team is currently 8-0, though, admittedly, that’s the first time they’ve started off that well in many decades.
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Adding to this thread as all of these recent replies have been helpful. S25 is at a private Jesuit HS. Solid kid but no standout with GPA just above 3.7 at end of Junior year. Late diagnosis of ADHD so now with meds and weekly EF coaching he is doing awesome, over 4.0 current semester. Waiting on his latest SAT’s which are coming in very late as tomorrow he has EA deadlines. 720 EBRW and 590 Math. We’re hoping for a higher math score as his EBRW is in the high end or off charts for his list but math doesn’t even make the 25th percentile cut! So may just go test optional? One AP so far (scored a 5) with two more this year. Planning for English major. Eagle scout, strong essays and solid EC’s that compliment his personality.
Seems destined for a Jesuit university which really fits his whole person. I know there are other non Jesuit LAC’s out there we haven’t yet discovered. We have time to add a few more schools to his list but we’re unsure where/which ones.
Univ of SF - applying EA
Santa Clara - applying EA
LMU - applying EA
Fordham (Rose Hill) - applying EA
Pitt - rolling
College of the Holy Cross - either ED2 or RD (top choice so far but reach-y with his stats)
Lafayette - RD
To add, we’re in the Bay Area. He’s said no to all UC’s due to size, even those he could get into (which isn’t many!). But we’re still having conversations around the CSU’s.
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Thanks for the suggestions!
We’ve talked about both a bit, especially Missouri’s great reputation for journalism. She decided not to apply to Missouri, because… well, we’ve had a number of cross country trips and it feels like every time we drive through the state of Missouri something bad happens. To the point that it’s a running family joke, and since she had a bunch of other good schools, she decided not to apply.
Indiana, however, absolutely was on her list until a couple weeks ago. She met with her college counselor and that night announced she was taking IU off her list and replaced it with Pitt. Were pro-ACC and she’s hasn’t visited either so we didn’t question it, but she never explained, either.
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Your kid sounds so similar to mine! 3.79UW with lopsided SAT (670R, 570M). Deciding where to submit scores is definitely challenging. D25 is worried schools will think she did really bad if she doesn’t submit. She has mainly small to medium size schools on her list and will probably skip applying to UCs because they are huge and she probably wouldn’t get in to most anyway.
NAU - already accepted with WUE scholarship
Gonzaga - applying EA
University of Redlands - applying EA
Cal Lutheran - applying EA
Cal Poly SLO - super reach
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Congrats on the acceptance and WUE scholarship! My S25 connected with a U of Redlands rep at a college fair and was excited. We haven’t yet visited but could add it as an RD. Lots of boys from his HS matriculate there and have good experiences.
We’re a bit back and forth about Cal Poly SLO. It’s popular at his HS and he feels swayed to apply but, like you said, super reach for him. Thought about Cal Poly Pomona but I’ve heard nightmarish experiences related to securing housing after freshman year!
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Would ask your college counselor and consult Naviance or equivalent re: whether to submit scores, but I did a little quick research on Gonzaga ('cause I like it and wish our S25 had lobbed in an app).
Looking at our kids’ high school, it appears there have been some submitted 26’s on the ACT (the equivalent of a 1240, from what I can tell) with weighted GPA’s that are lower than your daughter’s unweighted who have been accepted. There have also been some even lower submitted ACT scores that got acceptances. The only rejections (on the scatterplot, at least) have been students with GPA’s down in the straight B range or below. Small grain of salt in that this is a Jesuit high school, so Gonzaga may take a different approach to those applicants when looking holistically than they would with kids from other schools. But that data doesn’t make it look like it would hurt her to submit.
But remembering the current adage of “if it wouldn’t help to submit, then don’t”: looking at Gonzaga’s Common Data Set, among those in this year’s freshman class who submitted SAT scores, your D would be a little higher than the 25th percentile in composite, closer to the 50th in reading and below the 25th in math. Also based on Gonzaga’s CDS, her GPA looks like it would put her in the top half of the incoming freshman class there this year. Add to that that (a) only a quarter of the class actually submitted SAT scores with another 9% submitting ACT, and (b) Gonzaga’s got a 70% acceptance rate, then my (I am NOT a professional) Magic Eight Ball comes up go test optional.
Good luck all the way around!
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I actually have some info on this! Gonzaga is one of my S25’s top choices. He’s my 4.0 kid I mentioned up the thread a little bit. The admin officer he spoke with told him not to submit his mid 1300s SAT (it’s either 1340 or 1380 I have a serious mental block about it) and only submit if he gets it way up.
My guess is that they are trying to juice their scores a little bit so their range is really high, but S25 decided not to submit anyway.
We adore Gonzaga, I’m hoping that S25 keeps it as a serious option.
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I’m a Redlands alum from back in the dark ages. It is a great school and has grown a lot in the last 30 years.
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Thank you. Our school counselor would be clueless and we don’t have Naviance. She will probably submit scores to Redlands and Cal Lutheran, but not Gonzaga.
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Thank you for the intel! Gonzaga is one of her top choices. I think it will come down to that and Redlands in the end, but we will see!
I don’t think that’s how test optional works. Basically her grades, ECs, essays etc have to be really good because that’s all they have to go by. They just assume your child didn’t take the tests, not that they scored worse than other kids. Otherwise no test optional kids would be accepted, which is not the case at all. Most test optional schools take at least half of their incoming class with no test scores. You can check the school’s common data set to look. There are exceptions, but generally that’s how it works.
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