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<p>For every person who discriminates against a person due to an accent, there are scores who love to hear various accents (and scores more who don’t even notice). And with that said, I bet that 0% of the people who might discriminate against a person with an accent are in higher ed admissions.</p>
<p>thanks missy, I was not worried about discrimination, just thought it was weird that it became SO prominent while I was one the phone.</p>
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<p>Yeah, the phone is weird that way. My mother and her sisters have not lived in Kentucky since about 1948. It is only on the phone that I notice the “Kentucky” in their voices.</p>
<p>missypie - I am also worried about my son’s class rank. Because of the economy we lost about 30 kids (private school) before junior year and I am sure there will be more this year. Out of about 200 kids this can really hurt. Here is my beef…when they send out the transcripts this fall they will use current enrollment instead of the enrollment from end of junior year - so it can only get worse. And as luck would have it, the kids that left/are leaving are all lower GPA than my son. He should make the top 15%, but 10% is now out of reach - and top 10% seems to be a critical benchmark.</p>
<p>D finished her last final yesterday. Sat around mindlessly watching the tube yesterday afternoon/evening - she is so glad to be done. Grades are trickling in online - so far so good. She’s a bit worried about US History and Chem - of course, those are not up yet !</p>
<p>Funny - she took Stat earlier this year - a non weighted course and scored a perfect 100. But it actually lowers her GPA - we had a good laugh about that one. She took Sociology this term and definitely won’t get a 100 - so another one that will actually drop her GPA!</p>
<p>momofsongbird - we are in the same boat as you. D is going to apply to a few reaches (highly selective schools), but her top choices are schools where her stats are higher than the reported averages. Hoping that she will actually get some merit money at these schools. And even without the money aspect, one of these schools was actually her favorite on the tours!</p>
<p>Kathiep’s recent post about why her son is looking at a school with “low admission requirements” prompts me to go on a bit of a tangent, but it might be helpful because I sense there may be some folks newer to the process here and some students.</p>
<p>My D is looking at schools beneath her stat-range because we want merit money, plain and simple. Her GPA is 4.3 (on 4 point scale, ACT 34, and she will be NMSF (PSAT 220, cutoff in our state is 214). She is looking at very good schools (all listed in Princeton’s Top 374), but most with mid-range stats of hs GPA 3.2-3.7, ACT 24-30, etc. My D is very attractive to these schools, not only because of academic stats but because she brings a level of musical talent that is above the typical auditioner at about half of them. They are schools that offer the small LAC, close-knit, warm community, and fairly conservative (or not too liberal) campus she wants. We are hoping for something between three-quarter tuition and full ride.</p>
<p>Will she be challenged at these schools? Sure. The admission stats only show averages and mid-ranges. There are smart kids to be found at any of these schools. Right now she’s at a wonderful college prep school and although she’s in the top 3 pct, believe me, she feels challenged. One more thought: we’re confident that she’ll be challenged by the professors, even if she o
Sometimes is the highest “stat” in the room. We’re looking at schools that subscribe to the belief that (as DaleAlum eloquently said in another thread), “18- to 22-year-olds have a lot more to learn than to teach.”</p>
<p>Another route would be to look at the Ivies and near-Ivies, and she would probably get in to some of them. But we want the merit money and believe she can get an excellent education AND be well connected for getting into grad school at these schools a notch or two down. That’s how we’re approaching it, fwiw. We’ll see how it goes.</p>
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<p>Exactly! I hope that all the kids from our HS who are hoping to be auto-admits to UT (Austin) don’t celebrate too much if they are close to the line. I was compulsive enough to make a little chart, and discovered that we lose virtually no one between first and second semesters, but have lost 10-20 people each summer. And you’re right - the higher GPA folks never seem to leave - it’s always those with a rank below your child’s! My '09 Son had exactly the same numerical ranking on his first freshman transript as on his post-graduation transcript…but he went down five entire percentage points in rank.</p>
<p>Oh, my gosh, sorry my post showed up twice! That’s what I get for posting from my blackberry and believing its prankster little messages about what went through and what didn’t. So sorry!</p>
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<p>Right</p>
<p>Actually MIT and FIT are two of the few schools that offer the courses and concentration that our students THINKS is the career choice…
Its ironic as they are so far apart in stats…</p>
<p>theb retention rate concerns me–I wonder if a) its slackers who think they are going to hit the beach daily or b) not rigorous enough and kids move elsewhere…or c) kids who do not like the heat/humidity of the FL climate and the relative remoteness of that part of Melbourne</p>
<p>This is why it’s so helpful with CC and the internet, so you can talk to people who know the schools and what’s behind the slim and generic info in their brochures.</p>
<p>Putturani - sorry my info didn’t seem to help you. Ask any questions you want of us - that’s why we’re all here.</p>
<p>My D’s specific program needs also send her from top to bottom on selectivity, retention, etc. Many wonderful arts programs are in schools that are unknown and not at the highest intellectual level. We’re just having to ask a lot of questions. Luckily she’s not really a name seeker, is kind of a nonconformist, so she’s finding some of these unknown schools kind of fun to consider (“You want to go WHERE?” people say, and she smiles). I worry a little, though. When a school is full of commuters, has mostly business, nursing, and education majors, I tend to check very hard about whether it will be a satisfying liberal arts experience. But those pockets exist, even in the lesser-known and ranked schools.</p>
<p>And they do give you way more money. That’s the big fish benefit, for sure.</p>
<p>fogfog, I am glad you brought up the retention factor because I’ll make sure to ask then when we visit. According to this site - [College</a> Navigator - Florida Institute of Technology](<a href=“College Navigator - Search Results”>College Navigator - Florida Institute of Technology) The full time student retention rate at Florida Institute of technology is 73% but (and I found this very interesting) 100% for part time students. Tech schools are not for everyone and I’m sure the beach is a big draw for many students - maybe too big a draw. I’ll let you all know what the answer is!</p>
<p>^^ Definitely
We’d love to hear what you learn—</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Just got S’s preliminary report card. More of the same, our straight B kid is still our straight B kid. Final grades for his 2 AP classes will not be in til they factor in the AP score, fingers crossed he did well on them. </p>
<p>I reviewed via Naviance the schools that S’s GC suggested S look at, they are all big, big safeties. We will have to take a good look for fit and add those that are appropriate to our list.</p>
<p>Toy Story 3 comes out this weekend. The original film was probably one of the first films that our Class of 2011 kids saw, and now the kid in the film is going off to college. I anticipate it being a total weepie. The reviews this morning are confirming that impression. The director says that they had to have the epilogue play over the credits because in test screenings the audience didn’t otherwise have time to compose themselves before the lights came up. Add in the director saying that he saw grown men weeping during the last 20 minutes, and, well, I know what we’re in for. </p>
<p>D1 has one last class to attend today before we can officially call her a senior, and D2 is now a high schooler. I hear “Sunrise, Sunset” playing in the background :)</p>
<p>Slithey, I was thinking the same thing just this morning. “Toy Story” was indeed the first movie we took our son (who is now a senior) to, and I will definitely be bringing the tissues with me!</p>
<p>Yeah, well Lil<em>Wayne</em>Fan, if you don’t want to see the parents being all goopy, don’t read the parents forum. :)</p>
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<p>Oh no! I don’t know if I can see it then. That’s only happened to me once - when I saw ET, the lights came up and I was still crying.</p>
<p>Just read a review with spoilers. I don’t think the '10 parents should be allowed to attend. The sobbing would be too loud!</p>
<p>D saw it last night, loved it. She thinks it’s sweet that kids in her class could be thought of as “Andy’s” class! We’re going tomorrow with her dad - I’ll let you know how we do!</p>
<p>D also saw TS3 last night and loved it! Good to see her hanging out with friends instead of hunkered down in her room with studies, at least for a few months!</p>
<p>^^ OMG
I just had a young lady who leaves for college this fall–tell me that she is going to a B Day party - for a mutual friend of our student–the group is going to dinner and then TS3</p>
<p>I had thought that was an odd B Day thing util I read these posts</p>
<p>TS1 was the first movie we took our student too–sat on my lap…I had pre-filled juice cups and snacks in my bag…DH, our student and I went. </p>
<p>OH NO–I didn’t realize the story line was about leaving for college-- deep breath–I guess this is what we will do this summer for our students b day with the fam–
A rising Sr we have alot ahead of us–don’t want to miss doing TS3 together–kind cool</p>
<p>I imagine how the imagineers who did the first film–if they had kids–how that played into the story line??</p>