@eh1234 With your son’s great test scores he will likely qualify for some great merit at a lot non-super selective schools. If he’s not really a huge studying kind of kid, this works out in your favor. He will get into some decent schools, you’ll get some $$ for sending him there, he’ll be happy because it’s not so cut throat and intense, and he’ll probably thrive there and do great!! All without any pressure!!
Personally I think you are in a great position. If you don’t add a bunch of “reach type” schools to his list, your application season becomes easy and less stressful, and it becomes more about “show me the $$!!”. That’s the fun part.
My son’s friends are decent students and they are hoping to get into some schools like Columbia, U Mich. NYU, BC, NEU, some Nescac schools, My son doesn’t really know exactly how competitive and stressful an environment he would like, and unless he improves his CR section on the SAT we won’t have to worry He should be able to get into schools like RPI,WPI, UMass right now. If he does better on his tests he might be able to reach higher. He will also likely be recruited for a sport and that might help him, but I’m not exactly sure where that would help him unless he gets his test scores up a bit.
I think a lot of it will play out this Spring when he has test scores and new track times in hand.
@RightCoaster - You raise a good point. I would just like to see him study for a test, just once. I thought it might happen by the middle of junior year, but so far, nope. He did his history end of quarter project (which was due at midnight yesterday) between 10:53 and 12:00:59. His grades are usually pretty good, in spite of it all.
I like the idea of RPI and WPI for engineering if he goes that route, but I get the sense that those schools are filled with the kids who do robotics, science olympiads, win science fairs, develop apps, etc. Maybe I should look at RIT for him. He is a good math student and getting an easy A in AP physics but doesn’t do any STEM ECs . He has 3 or 4 music ECs and enjoys napping. I want to put him into an engineering summer program but he wants to go to a double bass camp! (but he doesn’t want to major in music).
Has your son tried an ACT test? My kid found the math to be about the same as the SAT, but the English and Reading were easier.
@eh1234 my son took the ACT without any prep really and he did worse on the math section a bit, did so so on science, and English a little better. He said he didn’t really like the ACT. I think he just got a hard test, but not being prepared did not help. He was baffled by the science jargon and knew immediately he did not do great on the test.
I think he could do OK on it if he took it again. But we are hoping he just ups his CR section a bit on SAT, and if he improves in the math section it’s gravy. We are not that overly concerned about the whole thing, we know his score is good enough to get into some decent schools.
Regarding WPI and RPI, I’d say only about 1/3 of the kids are full fledged “super nerds” for lack of better term. There are plenty of kids that are there that have sorts of interests including theatre,music and sports. But most of the kids also have an interest in science/math things. Both of those schools have competitive sports teams, business kids, etc. My older son who is not really a science and math kind of guy liked the vibe of the kids there, but wanted more of a city scene, so chose NEU. But he liked RPI a lot and was really considering the business school and maybe playing lax there. My son19 is involved with robotics and math team and loves it, but spends just as much time on sports teams. It’s a good balance. Those schools are pretty good “matches” for him on all levels.
You should check out RIT, it’s bigger and they have a wide variety of programs to study. We might check it out too. Maybe they have some music programs there? I have not looked into that as my kids did not get involved with music in high school.
We are making a game of all the college mailings…D19 has a map on her computer and marks down every state she gets snail mail from. She trying for all 50 states, don’t think it will get that far, but it’s keeping the whole college thing light and airy but still in the back of her mind. Now emails are a whole 'nother story!
I met with the guidance counselor today. I wanted to make sure we were on track and find out if there was anything she needed, and I wanted to see the Naviance letter of recommendation process for myself. She had a sample student ID set up as a senior and showed me how it all will look when we start applying places.
I said I had been mildly disappointed in DS19’s PSAT scores and she told me he had the highest verbal score in the school. We talked about the ACT and SAT test schedule and test prep plans. She told me again that nobody from our school has ever gone to an Ivy. I want to break that record.
Just skimmed through the last several pages of this thread, and was surprised to hear all the trash talk about ivies. Some posts seemed to imply that students would only apply because they were interested in prestige. In reality, the ivies are excellent schools that give a lot of need-based aid. Glad to hear that @ninakatarina’s S might be looking at an ivy. Our S19 will likely apply to a couple as well. I hope we can be supportive of everyone’s choices. There are legitimate reasons to apply to and attend ivies, community colleges, LACs, CTCLs, state schools, and everything else I’ve left out of this list. We have a big group and it is probable that just about everything will be covered. As someone said eloquently above, the parent lists are about encouragement and support.
@EastGrad Hm. I hope none of my posts implied that kids should look at schools because of prestige or that Ivies aren’t awesome schools. For us, and most of our neighbors, Ivies are full price though so that has to be considered. That being said, some of them may be a fit for S19 and they would probably be some of the few that we would consider paying full price if he got in. The two that are most LAC-like are Brown and Dartmouth and we are looking more into seeing if it makes sense to apply.
And to each his own of course! Our D21 will have a completely different list than S19. She has different strengths and weaknesses, different likes and dislikes, is way more outgoing, etc etc.
Clearly everyone brings their own experiences to the table which does influence their perception of what goes on here . The truth is people chose the schools they choose for very personal reasons. For some people , it is all about prestige , ranks , etc. For others , it is about finances , course of study, proximity to home. For others, it may be about the social aspects and sports. That said, whatever the reason, no one should have to feel like they need to justify their choices, certainly not to strangers on the Internet . IMO , CC is skewed to higher achieving students . There seems to be a lack of understanding that there are many students who are not targeting highly selective or selective schools . Those parents should also feel welcome to participate in a forum such as this. Comments like "with test scores and GPA like that, they should be targeting schools x,y or z " can make people who are not targeting schools x,y and z less welcome here. We’re all trying to do the best for our children . A little support for each other would be terrific , no matter what schools are on the radar.
I belong to the 2016 parents group. We were able to form a cohesive group despite the varied educational choices our children made. We support one another . We respect one another. We celebrate our kids successes and grieve their disappointments. I have been terribly spoiled by being a member of that group. I was hoping for a similar experience here, but to be honest , I’m less hopeful everyday.
I don’t know. I guess I’m missing it. I don’t feel like anyone is being judgemental. I think all of us should be able to share our stories no matter what they are. I love learning from parents who have been through this rodeo before. Being new to this, I don’t have a lot of advice to give. And I think it’s fun to learn about all different kids. Gives me perspective. I’m here to seek advice and help my kids. I don’t know if I’m looking specifically for emotional support.
I don’t want to get too personal with too many of my local friends about the college process since it just complicates the friendships. I’m learning a lot here and, to me, that’s the point. I appreciate all of the posters who have helped us in so many ways already.
Am I rooting for all of the kids on this thread. Absolutely!!
@homerdog when acceptances, denials and waitlists start rolling in, most people appreciate the emotional support. Seeing other members who you have come to know over several years feeling badly because their child was rejected from their first a choice school can be emotional for some. You are right though, people have different uses for this forum.
What I see on the last few pages are parents who are seeking to reassure their non-Ivy caliber kids that their non-Ivy options are good options, and a parent whose child is actually being teased by his friends because he does not plan to apply to Ivy league schools even though he has the right stats. The fact that these kids are looking down on top 10 LACs because they have minimally higher acceptance rates than Ivy schools tends to support a conclusion that at least some Ivy-league applicants are obsessed with prestige. Of course, that is not the case with all Ivy-bound students (or their parents). No one is questioning that Ivy league schools are an excellent option for many of the best and brightest students, especially if they have financial need.
I personally hope that all your 2019 kids who decide to shoot for Ivy league schools are successful with their applications. This is not a particularly vocal contingent of parents on this thread at the moment but I hope no one feels like they can’t post about their kid’s journey through the Ivy application process - I like to hear about these accomplished kids. My own kid’s search and application process is going to pretty boring!
@carolinamom2boys I am sure that is very true. Our family will probably be going through this without discussing it with many friends (maybe that’s true for most people?) so being able to write about set backs here will be terrific when that time comes.
@eh1234 ok. It’s our S19 who has the friends who are into prestige…as are their parents. It runs rampant here. I hope I made it clear, though, that we are not one of those families. S19 has already visited a few LACs in the 40-60 ranked range and found terrific things about them to love!
It’s funny because I tend to forget that Cornell is an Ivy since I grew up not super far from it. I’ve known people who went there, worked there and living walking distance from there. It’s just another option for us. I think d19 is lucky in a way that between finances and major, her choices are limited enough that she isn’t concerned with which colleges friends are considering or whether she should try for a bunch of super reaches.
I really appreciate hearing about all of the journeys. Be it the pursuit of prestige or the most affordable options or whatever. My kid is not at all interested in prestige. And there is no peer pressure in that area. It’s about fit, distance from home, and meritmeritmerit for us. And I’ve learned so much on CC about options for him. Our short list of LACs was made possible by what I learned here.
That said, I understand the pressure too. I was raised in a very prestige-focused part of the Northeast. The junior year spring break college visit road trip was a given. My parents were very involved. I didn’t have Ivy stats. My first choice was Skidmore but I didn’t get in and ended up attending one of the five other schools where I was accepted. I had visited them all before applying. My son actually has similar stats to mine but the college application landscape is so different now.
My husband (who I met in college!) did not have that experience at all. His parents did nothing. He was completely on his own. Didn’t visit any schools before appying. And we ended up at the same Jesuit school. So the fact that I’m taking our son to visit yet another college tomorrow seems excessive to him. But he’s rolling with it.
My hope is that this thread is about sharing the ups and down as our 2019 grads prepare to take their next steps, no matter what that might entail. And offering support along the way. Because we clearly all have amazing kids.
@homerdog I only meant to say that the only sign of anything that would be considered “trash talking” were comments made by your son’s friends about selective LACs! (which maybe didn’t show them in the best light, as potential Ivy-bound students). I have yet to see any signs of Ivy-trashing or prestige-obsessed parents in this thread.
He should be able to get into schools like RPI,WPI, UMass right now. If he does better on his tests he might be able to reach higher. He will also likely be recruited for a sport and that might help him, but I’m not exactly sure where that would help him unless he gets his test scores up a bit.