@jcmom716 How does that work? A B for 1st semester and a B+ for 2nd would result in an A for the year?? (I’m honestly curious)
Does anyone know anything about Kent State – and Bowling Green, for that matter? They both have awful reputations (Kent read, Kent write), but they both seem like decent-enough schools.
@Kardinalschnitt LOL It may look confusing what I wrote. Our high school has quarters and the final grade looks at each qtr grade plus the mid-term. He had calculated he would need a high B last qtr to get the A for the year.
My daughter knows students at both Kent State and Bowling Green. Bowling Green has a strong education program, Kent State has strong nursing and other programs. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.
@mstomper just saw your comments…very sorry and hugs!
@jcmom716 Ah! Thanks! I was really thinking I need to send my dd to your high school! 
It was really my bad reading comprehension, though. I will definitely PM you if we start considering either of those schools again.
@mstomper Very sorry to hear about your ds. Didn’t mean to pass you over!
@mstomper I’m very sorry to hear about your S16… I hope some time, some healing, and some reflection can get you all through this and hopefully to the next stage.
Just wanted to put this out there…
Even with merit Duquesne will end up in the $32K range. DD’16 was accepted there with a healthy merit offer.
Our experience with DD’16 (3.5 uwGPA/4.6 wGPA/#100 of 618(?)/25 ACT/1650 SAT)… she applied to 12 schools and was accepted at all (so there is definitely hope for the average stat kid), most offered good merit (between $10 - $18K) but in the end only one came in under $32K.
Drexel was the most expensive even with a nice merit package. Quinnipiac offered the most money but was still the 2nd most expensive. Purdue, Pitt and University of the Sciences offered no money. Wooster was very generous and a serious contender. Seton Hall, Baldwin Wallace, Duquesne and Marquette were all solid offers. Ohio University was the most affordable (We’re OOS and I am an Alum, so she got a very very generous offer that included a $$$ for being an offspring), it ended up being nearly identical to what we would have paid for her to attend an instate flagship. (I am missing one school, but I can’t for the life of me think of it)
Please keep in mind that most merit scholarships are offered with a requirement to maintain a minimum GPA. It is important to remember when you are calculating your expenses that maintaining the expected GPA may or may not be easier than you think. DD’16 is keeping her head above water as far as the GPA requirement for her scholarship. Really her grades are not that much different than they were in HS, maybe have gone down bit, she is a B/C student now, where she was a solid B student in HS. Tuition has gone up 3% for next year but the merit award stays the same so don’t forget to calculate tuition hikes! DD’16 did not qualify for financial aid and was unable to score any outside scholarships, particularly when in competition with her higher ranking classmates.
DD’16 ended up at Marquette University with a $15K merit award and an offer for a campus job. She is very happy and it is a great fit for her.
Our DD’18 is very similar stat wise to her sister. I know, realistically, she will fare just fine in the admissions game, but it sure hasn’t stopped me from stressing about it!
@mstomper That must be so hard. I hope things will work out with your S16 and he can find a new situation where he can thrive.
Super annoyed today. Ugh. Dd had SAT this morning. We live an hour away from school by public transportation, and the stinkin’ doors opened at 7:45. Plus, she has to be at an event for mandatory service from…9pm to 10:30 pm. Yesterday she was saying she wasn’t feeling motivated for the test. What?? Ooh, I know it’s her immaturity showing. She is always such a composed and mature teen, but stuff like this shows me we still have some work to do. Or, I don’t know. I’m unsure how the value of this test escapes her! Anyway, she claims she bombed the reading section, which was the first section of the morning. Says her performance went up as she started to wake up, and that she probably did well on math.
Should she re-take in June or wait for October? Man, it’s expensive! I don’t know how many times we can afford to let her take it.
The above is just a rant, letting off steam. If anything, how she does on this will be one very easy way to decide what she ends up doing – and that’s what I said to her face, that it’s her choice.
@Kardinalschnitt if she is ready - prepped and right frame of mind - I would take it in June and October if needed. Sure the test costs add up but they are drop in the bucket compared to what’s coming and an excellent score can mean the difference between local CC (which is fine) and attending a better school possibly with merit.
@my2caligirls Yeah, I know in the end it pays off. Just…we have extra international processing fee, so it’s about double what it is in the States. Anyway, you’re right.
@Kardinalschnitt my DD’18 is retaking SAT in June…wish we would get today’s test scores back before then! and probably again in August./Oct depending on the June results. She claimed her brain was fried from the AP’s this week (and I don’t doubt that it was) she did not real prep for this sitting of the SAT. She felt she needs to focus on the non calculator math/math sections for the next test. Also felt the SAT was “easier” and less rushed than the ACT (which she is also taking in June). Now the waiting for the scores.
D is doing the June SAT and perhaps take a shot at the ACT.
Then, she can take the SAT again in August after summer prep, and very possibly again in October, unless the June ACT results are better. If the ACT is better, maybe she can take it once more, twice if necessary if specific merit is on the line.
Crazy.
Sometimes I hate this. I just want her to get a good education and be able to support herself without monster debt and without us risking our own ability to provide for our other kids’ educations and our old age. Why does it have to be such a game?
She got a mailing today from Princeton admissions. Seriously? She loves Princeton and visits their campus and museum every year. There is a long list of reasons why it would be perfect for her but it’s not going to happen…so why kill a tree?
Thanks for the input everyone. It’s nice to hear everyone else is taking this thing multiple times.
@MACmiracle It’s precisely the game aspect that she is unwilling to play. I know a lot of smart kids are like this. But I also know those smart kids need to smarten up and “get over it,” though I may be projecting there because of my own experience (I wish I had gotten over it earlier).
My husband seriously scoffs at the whole thing, which I find mildly annoying, though I know he’s completely right. He just laughed outright when I told him that investing in the test (or tutor) is worth it if you save thousands on tuition, “Oh so people do it for the money?” This is the reaction of someone who has to be told what this test even is – and still does not understand what it’s about.
At our high school, students mainly take the ACT. There are a decent number of smart students, but only a very small number hire tutors or do major test prep. Our local library does offer a free test. Move over one district and others in the area, and we find many kids paying for tutors for test prep, a physics class, etc. I don’t know if it’s been worth it for them or not. The few where I know the specifics on ended up going to state schools.
What does help if looking for merit, is researching the scholarship levels. My daughter who is finishing her freshman year, first scored in the mid-20’s on her ACT. She knew the budget and the merit scholarship levels at her top choice. She studied, took some practice tests, and scored 3-4 points higher to get the higher merit and the school within budget. Maybe @Kardinalschnitt if you can show your husband a few college choices and the difference in merit, it could help?
Currently, there are no ACT test dates at either of the local test centers for the next school year. I hope that changes. Also, I completely forgot that the June SAT has been cancelled here. No SAT till next October. Argh.
@jcmom716 Yeah, our high school is high income. I don’t know if all the tutoring helps, either. The schools kids get into are selective, mainly Oxbridge/UCL/Ivies/UMich/UCLA and the ever-popular, for some reason, NYU.
I’ve explained it all to my husband, but he is 1) very French 2) a former poor kid
D18 took the SAT with essay on Saturday, felt good about it. She’ll retake it again in August just to have an idea of what her numbers are going to be like in general. She’s scheduled for the ACT in June, wasn’t happy with her score (26) for the one earlier this year.
My response above got cut off. I was saying more about my husband and his socialist ideals. It sounds weird to end with “former poor kid,” but that’s not how it ended, though now I don’t know what I was saying!
When is it too late with the SAT? I took mine at the end of senior year as far as I remember. I had zero guidance and did literally everything on my own.
My son got his ACT score back. It’s a good score but the kicker is it’s the same score he got on the mock ACT he took with no prep. Guess those 100’s of $ we spent on a tutor were a waste of money. 
It’s really hard for me to understand how he didn’t improve his score at all after all that prep. Disappointing.
@persimmony Sorry to hear about the ACT. I had heard the ACT seemed harder than previous year, but don’t know. Maybe request a copy of the answers? With the booklet and answers, it may help to look over what type of questions were missed. Is there a pattern, certain section, or certain type within math, etc.? Then those could be studied. Sometimes kids have so much going on that the third time is the charm.
@jcmom716 Yes, they give you tons of detailed info on how you did, which is good. Don’t know how test compared to previous years. I don’t know if he should take it again or not. Maybe? If he gets a better score, it might be worth it, but he did already get a pretty good score…I think (?). Maybe not for the most selective schools, but that’s not in the cards anyway.