<p>Thanks @NJMom500 for the post! That’s been our experience this year as well. </p>
<p>Congrats @NJMOM500</p>
<p>Our son got into Appalachian State and we are waiting to hear back on merit money. He has a 3.6W GPA and 26 ACT and I wish he would have taken the ACT again to get it higher but we are pleased with getting into App. We are still waiting to hear from a large state school and we think he’s got about a 30% chance. It’s definitely his dream/reach school. But all in all, everyone in my household is happy!</p>
<p>@njmom500 - what Rutgers NB school? My 3.1gpa/30act hasn’t heard yet and is stressed as many classmates have heard. (He applied to engineering/RBS/SEBS). </p>
<p>@nj2011mom: Our DD heard back from RU in about a week. She is in at RBS. engineering & Pharmacy are the toughest least number of seats </p>
<p>NJ2011mom: We heard back from the general arts/sciences school but we are still waiting on the business school. I can also tell you that we submitted our application in early October and heard back in late November while many, many others who applied any time after us (even in December) heard within a week. Here’s how Rutgers does it: if you have an “A” GPA with a certain ACT/SAT score, you pass through their analytics program and get automatically accepted and have your decision letter sent without anyone ever having looked at it. If you are a B student with decent SAT/ACT you go in the maybe pile which requires a pair of human eyes to review your application and look at everything else (ECs, Essay, etc) which can take a while considering all the applications they get. Our child was one of the only ones from our school who hadn’t heard for a period of 4 - 6 weeks … it was torture! We are actually still hopeful on the Biz school since he hasn’t gotten outright rejected ,… it’s been well over 2 months. Keep the faith!</p>
<p>Just one clarification about the tutoring since “kmanshouse” mentioned HS prep class versus outside tutoring with which I agree … we went with totally private 1:1 lessons. It was a series of 10 lessons for each test (which wound up being a total of 40 private lessons with 8 practice tests in between). It was VERY expensive and pulling that off was painful … but it wound up being one of the best investments we made. We do not think he would have ever gotten his ACT score without it and would not have been able to get into several of his preferred colleges.</p>
<p>BTW, we found out he just got into UMass with money!!! We are 6 for 6 and still waiting on the last 3!</p>
<p>Congratulations @NJMom500! It looks like all your and your son’s hard work is paying off. I agree that 1:1 tutoring is key. We didn’t have the money (I’m cheap) so I bought two copies of the ACT Red book and worked with D myself. It took five months (I have a reason for my username) but the time investment paid off.</p>
<p>We’re finding that D’s essay and/or mix of her ECs must have played significant parts in her admissions success. So far two acceptance letters mentioned her essay, one specifically quoting a line, while a third letter contained a handwritten line mentioning one of her ECs. It’s nice to know that while GPA is important, colleges do look at other parts of the application.</p>
<p>@slackermomMD- if you worked with your D on the ACT prep, you are in no way a slacker in my book. I would never have had the patience to do that. We were fortunate to find tutoring in our area that was 1:4 for an extremely reasonable price. And congrats on her acceptances so far.</p>
SlackerMomMD – I’m with “illioismom4” and would say you are completely awesome and in no way a slacker by any means! Whenever I’ve tried to work with my kids, I would quickly lose patience with them and they with me. Great job! Congratulations on the acceptances! I am also happily surprised that your acceptances actually mentioned the essay … clearly that says these schools are looking at more than just the numbers which I always hoped was the case but was never sure.
We were suprised too that one of S’s acceptance letters specifically mentioned his essay, and my nephew had a mention of an essay also. I don’t remember any of that for my first 3 kids, so maybe essays are being looked at more. Which for us is somewhat frightening since S is definitely not a writer at all…maybe it’s a good thing that he picked mostly schools that don’t require an essay.
As far as the essays go, there is no reason not to have someone help edit it. My S received help from someone who offers that service. The essay was 100% him … his ideas, his experiences, his words. The tutor simply helped him organize his thoughts, helped brainstorm an interesting opening, and pushed him to take the writing up a level with the questions he asked. Colleges want to know your kid through the essay so as long as it reflects who they are, I am of the opinion that it is OK to have someone help them tighten it up since there is so much riding on it.
Hi everyone, i am a high school class of 2015 student, who fits these descriptions quite well.
I am a 3.12 GPA student not counting senior year.
1790 SAT
good essay etc.
Applied for computer science. (A tough field)
I was extremely worried about getting in ANYWHERE. Now I realize I will have a multitude of options.
So far:
Pitt main- denied, (reconsider with mid term grades)
Pitt branch- accept with $$$
Indiana bloomington-accept
Purdue- accept
James Madison- accept
Case western- denied
Waiting from
Dayton
Miami oh
Syracuse
Binghamton
Stony brook
Virginia tech
Shippensburg
Allegheny
Rochester
Rochester institute of technology
I would be happy to talk to parents about anything.
I know this process WELL!
@SStephen2015 - Congrats on your acceptances! It must feel good to know you have options. Coming to CC is incredibly intimidating because kids with Bs think they are doomed when, in fact, D found (like you) that many good colleges like B students. Good luck with the rest of your applications. Looks like a good mix.
@sstephen2015- Yea! Congratulations on your acceptances. Great choices! Just curious what state do you live in?
In case any of you are interested, I got accepted into my top choice, Reed, with almost everything covered because I have a lot of financial need. I have a 3.2 weighted, so I am ecstatic, I thought I was hopeless!
@sunnydayfun
PA
So I am out of state
Still stressing that S1 has no acceptances. Rutgers asked him to submit 2q grades. He’s in quite a funk and 2q may not be great. One reason for his attitude is HS swim team is not having a great season (he’s a captain), so he’s in a bad mood when he gets home from meets and snaps at everyone. I just wish he had one acceptance in his pocket, as so many of his friends do.
@nj2011mom hang in there…soon the waiting will be over and then we can discuss decor for their dorm rooms.
Did he applied to any rolling admissions? I’ll ask the swim lord to look down on his team and propel them faster in the water. 
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted but have been a loyal lurker. :"> I started to get nervous about my DS not getting accepted anywhere and sort of retreated inwardly as I often do when afraid. Anyhow I wanted to send some encouraging news to those who still haven’t heard any good news, PLEASE DON’T GIVE UP!! After receiving three rejections and one summer trial enrollment offer, my DS received two acceptances in one week! He was beginning to question if college was the right thing for him and feeling an overall dissatisfaction with life. I even began to worry he wouldn’t get in anywhere at all. Boy let me tell you these acceptances came right on time! So please don’t give up hope. There are schools out there who want our babies and will let you know it soon enough!
And then there’s my son, who was accepted months ago to a direct entry nursing program at one of our state universities. I paid the admission and housing deposits (both non-refundable) and he chose his room in November. He has now decided he wants to commute to the local community college. Because - hold on to your hats for his reasoning - this way he can get a car. I guess a set of wheels trumps education. :((