<p>You can search the CC thread in the link above but I have found that the easiest way to the most up-to-date Common Data Set is to do an internet search for “college_name common data set”. I’ve used it mostly on public school websites so I don’t know if it is as successful on sites for smaller LACs. I also always wonder how up-to-date the information is posted on other sites. By going directly to the source, you know exactly what year it is for. And, even in the actual Common Data Set, the tuition data is always at least a year old so best to go directly to the college website for that.</p>
<p>Crepes: You are correct. Absolutely addicting, especially for us data-driven folks!</p>
<p>As far as the common data set. They are very informative but I agree can be overwhelming. The easiest way to find them is just google “common data set University of X”</p>
<p>suzy …especially the financial aid section. It’s enough to send you screaming to the rafters. My favorite:n) Number of students in line a who had no financial need and who were awarded institutional non-need-based scholarship or grant aid (exclude those who were awarded athletic awards and tuition benefits) aghh. It’s worse than taxes.</p>
<p>If you want more torture, go to colleges’ IR (institutional research) page. Sometimes the only thing there is the CDS and a fact book, but often you get access to troves of data broken up finely the way you’d like to see it.</p>
<p>If you can’t locate a uni’s CDS, it could be because they don’t make it public. UChicago is one example.</p>
<p>celesteroberts - I need a translator for the financial aid section of the CDS. I had to look at it three or four times before I could figure out who was getting what. I am suspicious of colleges/universities that don’t release the CDS; not many colleges do this although plenty make it very difficult to find. </p>
<p>D is upset by her ACT scores. Good news, they didn’t go down. Bad news, they didn’t go up. She studied and truly thought she would go up two points. I told her to take a break from it and retake in June. She gave it two tries; I don’t want her to be a serial test-taker. Her score is always in the middle 50th percentile of each school, but she was hoping (and so was I) to hit the 75th percentile or higher - at least get above the median score.</p>
<p>I think in the spring, I’ll look for a tutor or class. Right now, she needs to focus on schoolwork.</p>
<p>twogirls, how did you find a tutor for your daughter?</p>
<p>We found our tutors ( one for CR/ English/writing and one for math) through a friend who I worked with who lives in my town. Many in our community use them. There are also a few other names floating around. I am happy with them. There is also one guy about 45 minutes away who supposedly tutors only for ACT science and some people go to him 2 or 3 times. My kid seems to do fine on that section on her own. Some people use C2 and swear by it, but the reviews on CC have not been good.</p>
<p>Basically they give her structure. She keeps taking practice tests and they keep reviewing the tests every week. The math tutor says that kids in pre-calc do not need a math ACT tutor- they just need to practice taking the tests. The math on the ACT is more straight forward than the SAT. </p>
<p>My daughter has a friend who is flipping out because she has not taken any SAT 11’s yet and another friend told her she should take the math now which is crazy- why now and not at the end of the year when pre calc is finished? The girl went to guidance where of course she was told not to worry. I am glad my D has 2 under her belt. She says she may take math or physics in June but if she chooses not to, it’s fine. </p>
<p>I have 3 goals for this school year: get her through these tests, make a list of schools where she stands a decent chance of merit, and remind her to ask for LOR ( spring). I do not get involved in her school work or studying for APs- she does a great job without me. </p>
<p>We will celebrate on February 8th at 1:00 when we will declare these tests to be finished… Hopefully LOL.</p>
<p>Wrights, I was so happy to read your update. Thanks for posting it and continued positive vibes to your S. </p>
<p>I dragged myself to the college information night and found it surprisingly informative.
Here is what I learned (in no particular order):</p>
<ol>
<li><p>VISIT SCHOOLS. So much for my philosophy. The counselors pushed this one hardest of all. They believe it’s the best way to generate a viable list and that while kids don’t need to see the very schools they will attend, they need to experience a variety of environments. For those of you who have recently visited with older sibs, it’s fine but for people like me, who haven’t visited extensively in umm 5 or 6 years, we need to get out there. </p></li>
<li><p>ACT/SAT. The ACT is now universally accepted and has edged the SAT out as the more popular test. Most kids at D’s school take both with about 3/4 taking the ACT. As a group, the kids seem to prefer the ACT. Interesting. They recommend that kids take 3 SAT subject tests in different areas but said that no schools currently require three subject tests. (They didn’t address the ACT including the subject test requirement this time but once in the past recommended taking the subject tests anyway.) If applying to MIT or a similar math/science school, you must take Math II and either Physics or Chem.</p></li>
<li><p>Common App: They claim to have had no problems with the common app this year. Essay questions are released on August 1 and what this school does that’s great is to start the kids working on essays in AP Lit once the AP exam is over and also offering an “optional” essay writing workshop in August. It’s an intensive 5 day event where counselors and some local admissions people review the essays and help the kids organize their applications. Apparently most of the class attends this workshop. They also require a senior college counseling class that begins late spring of junior year.</p></li>
<li><p>ED/EA: The vast majority of the class applied somewhere either ED or EA. The feeling is that there may be an advantage to applying ED (does not apply to EA) if the student is in range for admission because the student is someone they might well have accepted anyway and is agreeing to commit to the school. It will not, however, bump a marginal candidate up. As we’ve all said before, the admissions rates look high because this group includes recruited athletes (in some pools, it’s as much as 40%!) and development kids. </p></li>
<li><p>The UC application sounds bizarre.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Oh one more thing: they tell the kids they must get their letters of recommendation from a junior year teacher who has taught a core class. I’ve never heard such a thing before! I’m going to seek clarification on that but it probably won’t affect D anyway. One dad was grumbling because the kids can’t get an academic recommendation from an engineering teacher–that’s regarded as an elective and has to be submitted as an extra. Core=world languages, English, Math, History, Science, or most AP classes. As such AP Comp Sci is a core class but Intro to Comp Sci is not. The typical anti-humanities bias reared its ugly head when someone asked incredulously why Intro to Comp Sci wouldn’t be considered a core when British Literature is. Yeesh. It’s no wonder that most of the kids at D’s school can’t write a coherent paragraph!</p>
<p>Thanks 3girls!! We actually enjoy college visits- it’s the only time we get away LOL!!
Most kids here take both tests at least twice and end up sending the ACT. My older daughter did better on the ACT. Not sure how D15’s scores will pan out- right now both tests seem about the same. I have not heard any problems from our school with the CA but a bunch of people at work had issues. Thanks for the info!!</p>
<p>3girls thanks so much for the detailed report. It sounds like your school provides a lot of support for college…the extra essay help sounds especially useful to me.</p>
<p>D needs some teacher recs for summer programs so I suggested she ask for those soon, and let those teachers know that she intends to ask them for college recs too and let them write one, or write two knowing the first will be followed by a second, or whatever.</p>
<p>How many rec letters do they need for college application? I’m thinking two from teachers and one from a counselor, am I right? D. is taking 7 courses but only has 5 teachers – Physics and enviro have the same teacher, English and journalism have the same teacher. Plus she is taking psych and French, which may not count as core? So that left English teacher and physics teacher (which she doesn’t like) and calc teacher. She doesn’t want to do sciences. She is a humanity kid. So physics teacher may not be the good person to ask a letter from anyway? Any thought or suggestions?</p>
<p>Re: three subject tests. Check Hopkins & Georgetown as I believe both require three. Agree that VERY FEW schools require more than two, and that it is only the most selective schools that require them at all.</p>
<p>Two teachers and a counselor should do it. I think a junior year teacher is ideal but not necessary if she has another who might write a better rec for her. French is core by all standards I’m aware of.</p>
<p>G-town *recommends *3, does not require. Hopkins doesn’t require any but applicants are “strongly encouraged to submit two SAT subject tests”.</p>
<p>Max, that “core” requirement is something I have never heard before. It is just something imposed by my D’s school. Your D should choose teachers who know her best and who have had her in an academic class. You need 2 teacher recs and 1 counselor rec…unless you are applying to the UCs where no letters are allowed at all!</p>
<p>thanks 3girls for passing on the information. I don’t think D’s school even has a college information night, so this is really helpful.</p>
<p>thanks twogirls for the tutoring info. I was hoping D could be done with the testing but I think things will work out. One of D’s friends went to SAT prep class taught by a private tutor but her score didn’t go up much.</p>
<p>JHU changed theirs this year. Still last year it was ‘strongly recommends 3 SAT subject’. I’m sure of it. It was a school we looked at.</p>
<p>Some schools D applied to last year specified the letters come from core subjects. A 12th grade teacher is fine also, but have to be the kind of kid who makes a good impression fast and makes strong bonds with teachers early so they can say something meaningful after 2 months. If you know a former 10th grade teacher will be teaching one of your 12th grade classes, that works too.</p>
<p>My interpretation of ‘recommends’ in college admissions is that one really should do as recommended. My S isn’t applying to either of these schools so this is just info I have picked up along the way from talking to friends.</p>
<p>Re: LORs from core teachers. Our HS also strongly suggest that LOR writers be Jr year core teachers.</p>
<p>@Wrights–I’m so happy everything is working our for your son and family. Like others, I often thought about how you and son were doing. And, as I stated before, it will get easier over time for your son.</p>
<p>-Congratulations to everyone whose child rocked the ACT & SATs.</p>
<p>-To those with children that did not make their goal, it is not the end of the world, and try not to let them harp over the score. Try to have have take the other test. It worked for BHG, and she is super pleased about last April’s ACT score and looking forward to adding a point or two if she can this winter.</p>
<p>Regarding SATIIs, BHG took the Latin and World History SATIIs last December & did awesome. She finishes Advanced Chemistry the end of 1st semester and will take the Chemistry SATII in January & Biology M in June. Then we’re done with SATIIs.</p>
<p>Regarding ACT testing. BHG currently has a 31 ACT, and will sit the Feb & April testing dates. She’s registered for the December date, but has performances that day and may not sit that test date depending on if she’s doing the matinee or evening performance. </p>
<p>Regarding CDS–I LOVE reading the CDS for each school and comparing current year data to previous years data. Did the test scores go up, down or stay the same for matriculated students? What about GPA? Is the acceptance % higher for females or males? How much non-need aid awarded & percentage of freshman & upperclassmen receiving non-need aid not based on need? How many transfer applicants & how many accepted? The CDS’s pack a lot of information. I save a copy into a favorites folder created for each school on BHG’s list. The only school we could not find is College of Wooster.</p>