D18 took SAT in May just for the for the essay Scores came in this morning - got 7 7 7 on essays but his other score was 40 points less than his ACT equivalent Now he thinks his favorite colleges won’t like him because he didn’t top the ACT score
Do essays drive other people nuts? My son had a 4 on the AP English Language exam and got credit for a semester of college English, but he got like 7 on the SAT essay, when it was out of 12.
As for Parchment being useless, I can’t agree with you that the SAT essay and LOR’s could be that stellar to override GPA and SAT scores. I do think stellar extracurriculars like wining national recognition in math or science or sports will of course matter.
My son is not taking AP classes until next year, and there are fudge factors in Parchment to model that. But I think that is what would kill him when his application is reviewed. It’s odd even schools like Boston U. say they want to see As and Bs, preferably in AP classes, but not Cs in AP classes. I just don’t think most kids taking many AP classes are looking at BU.
I’m using Parchment mainly to get an idea of schools that we have no idea how to rank with each other Comparing selectivity of his safeties is important to us as well.
Re: Parchment, I agree that the SAT essay doesn’t mean much, if anything. What I understand from reading these boards is that the ACT/SAT essays are often used as a validity check. Colleges compare them with a student’s Common App essay and/or supplemental essays to make sure the writing styles are consistent. Students often have lots of “help” with their application essays.
But, also from reading these boards, I understand that the common app and/or supplemental essays really do matter, quite a lot. Especially in these days of holistic admissions.
I’ve looked at Parchment and it’s interesting to look at, but I’m not sure I trust their probabilities. For instance, it says D18 has a 100% chance at Mount Holyoke. I don’t believe that. But it is interesting that you can browse through some of the stats for recently accepted and rejected students. There are, for example, some rejected students for Mount Holyoke that had been given 90%+ chances of getting in. So there’s a reality check.
Do schools have access to the actual written text of the SAT essay? Or just the score?
90% chance means out of 10 who apply with the same stats, one would be rejected and the other nine would be accepted. Any place with a low, less than 20%, acceptance rate can throw a monkey wrench into predictions. Remember that diversity is usually a goal for a class, which can be difficult.
The text of my son’s SAT essay was posted by the College Board, so I would bet they do have access to it.
http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/online-sat-essay-viewing.pdf
http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/essay-view-request.html
Yep, colleges have access to the essays. I doubt they read all of them, though. @-) Can you imagine??
@rhandco, I used to think the same thing as you about BU, but our GC told us that it’s become significantly harder to get into. Look at its website, average undergrad admittee now has an ACT of 32, is in the top 7 percent of his/her class, and has an A- average. So many kids want to go to school in Boston, and as admissions for the tippy top schools are becoming crazy to get into, I think a lot of great kids overflow into what used to be second tier schools and is raising them up. I bet 15 years from now, there are going to be a lot more schools in the first tier than what we think there are now.
@JerseyParents they will love him - just send the ACT.
I found Parchment interesting in looking at 2 schools and seeing what percentage of applicants chose one school over another. Some were obvious and some not so much. If the results are statistically valid they show the percentage in color, if not it’s black (i.e., not enough data points).
I agree - BU and a bunch of other schools are going up, and a few schools I thought were “top” aren’t appearing that way when I do searches and look at stats.
I don’t think you can go wrong with BU, but I recommend that anyone whose child is interested in BU should check out the campus. It is a bit unusual compared to other campuses my son toured.
Bearcatfan mentioned AP Spanish. Our school doesn’t have that. What year is that equivalent to? IV, V? Our school goes up to VII but that’s a little misleading because the only difference between VI and VII is that one deals with Spanish literature and the other with Latin American literature. Kids take either one, depending on what fits in their schedule.
My DD wants to self-study and take the Spanish AP test. I wish she could just take a class. Her school isn’t offering it. I’m not sure why they can’t if it’s online.
She might be a “SSL” during that last block. It would be Spring semester senior year.
This is her senior schedule. Is it rigorous enough? She has 3 APs so far.
- AP Physics
- English 101
- Intro to Theater
- AP Government
- AP Calculus BC
- Journalism
- Intro to Business
- SSL in Spanish Class (this is Student Service Learning position, helping in class. This spot is where she expected to have AP Spanish. No other good classes available without blowing up schedule)
@Astro77 that looks like a well rounded and rigorous schedule to me. Is the English 101 a Duel Enrollment course? It’s very similar to my daughter’s schedule…gone are the days of getting a little break in Senior year haha.
Yes, it is a dual enrollment course. She is still sad about the AP Spanish class, both from a class rigor and enjoyment standpoint. She loves languages!
But we do want to make sure it won’t look “slacker” to colleges, thanks @AmyBeth68.
Are 6 AP classes and one DE a good amount?
Uh-oh.
One of the colleges we are visiting - Monday, ironically - is on track to be placed on fiscal watch. The board announced a bunch of cuts yesterday (yet to be approved by the state) including to the program D is interested in. That program is actually at the bottom of the list of cuts, but it’s there. Believe me, I will be asking the hard questions. It is a smaller state school that over the past couple years overspent wildly - those administrators are gone.
I went back and forth this morning on whether to even do the visit. It is two hours away and we are staying overnight to combine it with a touristy thing we’ve always wanted to do the next day. So I guess I lean towards keeping things the way they are and seeing what’s going on. When I called to arrange all this they couldn’t do enough for us, so maybe on the micro level things will look different.
I am very risk-averse, however. I’d rather spend more on a program that will still be intact and respected in five or six years rather than roll the dice. So part of me thinks this visit is a waste, while another part thinks it’s just another data point in the grand college comparison. I don’t know whether to mention it to D - maybe things will right themselves and she’ll hate it anyway, lol.
Ugh. What to do … or think.
I think it’s worth the trip to see for yourself and hear what they have to say.
After all, you have no idea which other schools on your list could be placed on fiscal watch tomorrow or next month. At least here, you can ask and see what they say.
Knowledge is power. Go get the knowledge.
Thanks @bjkmom . I guess it threw me for a loop when the board met yesterday (I’m not sure I heard much about it before since we live two hours away, but now I am following the local news in that area).
I hate risk, even though that is what life is full of. I need to be talked down from the ledge a bit … I have gone into one casino in my life, and decided I could save some time by setting fire to my money in my own driveway, lol.
It’s a good program that produces good nurses. It scares me a little that the folks quoted in the article say they might need to consider more cuts, and possibly entire departments or programs. Ugh.
If anyone wants more details, it’s Wright State University, near Dayton Ohio.
“After all, you have no idea which other schools on your list could be placed on fiscal watch tomorrow or next month.”
Good point. If you’re looking at Ohio public universities like I am, this might give some insight into that possibility.
I did see that, @gclsports. I guess you never know.