@Titan431, Do Not Give Up! There are always choices. And there’s nothing wrong with starting at a community college and getting those core classes done there. It is easy to transfer from a CC and they don’t care about SAT scores when you transfer (depends on when you transfer I think). What state are you in?
@Titan431 look up a thread in the Parents Forum with the title containing “3.0 to 3.4 GPA” for 2018 and 2017. You may be pleasantly surprised about the list of colleges that kids got into and got decent merit money from. You have a chance. Also look up ‘test optional schools’.
Here’s a thread for you:
@Titan431 There are hundreds of colleges that you can attend with those stats. You’re SAT score falls in the 62% percentile . While you wouldn’t know it by College Confidential standards , not everyone is searching for a highly selective college experience where one needs a 1500 on the SAT to attend .
@Titan431 what state do you live in and what major? Do you have a budget? Some of the more experienced parents here might have some ideas. And as was already mentioned, community college can be a great option. I have lots of family members who were very successful going to community college and then transferring to a 4 year college.
Hi new here. Just trying to figure all this out. We are in the Hudson Valley region of NYS. Hoping to get into a highly selective school that will cover close to or 100% of our financial need. If that doesn’t happen then it’s Empire Scholarship to a SUNY though we’d still have to pay tuition! Last resort is local CC where 100% of expenses will be paid if my daughter stays in the top 10% of her graduating class. Right now she is number 16 out of 229 students.
She was in the 95 percentile on the PSAT.
GPA: 94.7 unweighted and a 99.8 weighted
EC: Varsity swim team, Winter track. Takes several dance classes at local dance school, licensced life guard and water safety instructor. Internship currently with a local PR Firm
Active in leadership program she attends through the local chamber of commerce
Tutors math after school one a week
HOBY alumunus
Soon to be inducted into the National Honor Society (our school doesn’t induct until the spring of Junior year!!)
I feel like she has some good ECs but could probably use more community service.
Next, is to find every possible scholarship out there and get started on the application essay and make it shine!
@infinitewaves You are writing that parent recommendation early! We will get it as a summer assignment.
My kid is great, I love him, but I don’t have any anecdotes that will demonstrate his college readiness, maturity, work ethic, intellectual curiosity, etc. I am dreading having to write it up.
School was closed for phantom ice today. There was dry pavement this morning with plain rain in the afternoon. But we have 12 snow days built in so it’s no big deal.
@Kjskies228 welcome!
Your D sounds like a great kid and there are a lot of options available to her. I take it she wants to stay somewhat close to home, since you’re not looking at the out of state schools from the automatic full tuition scholarships list?
You said “I feel like she has some good ECs but could probably use more community service.” I hate to contradict you in our first interaction, but I have to take exception to that. At this point in her high school career, if she isn’t passionate about a particular form of community service investing time in it will look like resume padding. What she needs to do is concentrate on excelling in the things that she enjoys doing and has been doing for a while, and pare out things that she doesn’t like to do and is only serving time in.
Thank you ninakatarina. I understand what you mean about resume padding. I agree. Excel in what she likes. I had read somewhere yesterday that extracurriculars in the Performing Arts can look bad on a college application is that true? She loves dance but it’s not something she’s going to do for career. It’s just something she’s passionate about. She does want to stay somewhat close to home. Her grandparents are in their early 80s and she wants to be able to come visit them once a month or so on the weekends.
On the parent brag sheet request from the GC - in our case, you are basically providing the meat of the GC’s letter, since in our HS, they handle around 150 kids - across all grades - and they may not have been assigned to your kid all 4 yrs ergo - they know next to nothing about my kid. At least I will assume they know very very little - especially anecdotes that make the LOR come alive. I would definately put every effort into that brag sheet as you can.
@Kjskies228 welcome, there is a great thread on merit if you are interested:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-for-good-merit-aid.html#latest
@amandakayak Thank you! I have figured out how to reply back to people. Lol.
Welcome, @Kjskies228 - one thing on your post: I am not sure I’d go gangbusters on finding every scholarship known to man. The best aid – merit and need-based – comes from the institutions themselves.
Unless your kid gets, like, one of the handful of mondo national scholarships that pay for everything, your time would usually be better spent on things like test prep, which can increase merit aid.
Some schools allow stacking of outside scholarships; others do not, and when you get them, they simply reduce their aid to you.
It’s a school-by-school call you have to make - many schools don’t spell this out on their websites.
@Gatormama Wow! That makes sense! Thank you, I have so much to learn.
@Kjskies228 Welcome! I’m not sure where you heard performing arts doesn’t look good on a college resume but I don’t believe that is true. They want to see what a student does outside of school that makes them different or unique, or what a student is passionate about. So if your student is passionate about dance colleges will like that. Colleges are looking for a student with experience in something besides studying. For this and many other reasons I think performing arts is a great assest to an application.
@Boilermom I read that in an article yesterday, but am relieved to hear that is not true. I’ll see if I can remember the article.
Probably an article by someone who didn’t get the lead in the school play their senior year. 
Luckily you are in an area of the country that has a lot of good schools she can go to and stay close to home.
My kid is a theater enthusiast. I haven’t sat down and counted his productions recently, but he has a lot of credits. He wavers between thinking he will major in drama and move to Hollywood after college, or he will minor in drama and major in psychology and move to New York after college, or during college. I continually bite my tongue to keep from shrieking about the low percentage chance of making a living in a pure acting career.
But theater has given him great memory skills plus he is not at all fazed at the thought of interviews or auditions.
Artistic achievements on a high school resume can be really powerful, and provide great fodder for essays.
@ninakatarina Good luck to your son and to you too as you support him in the best way!
S19 is in marching band, concert band, pep band, and stage crew. Performing arts are about creativity and expression. And managing schedules. And working well with others. And being able to perform in front of a crowd. All skills that will benefit our creative kids no matter what they do.
He intends to major in English/writing, not music. But his music/theater ECs speak to who he is and what he’s passionate about.
I’m with @dfbdfb . 
I hope that performing art related ECs are worthwhile because that is all my S19 does (orchestra, pit orchestra, jazz band, honors orchestras, first all-state audition coming up). To the extent that he has a passion, music is it.
He probably wishes he could study music in college, but I gather from reading the music major forums that you have to make a decision to do that way before junior year and invest a ton of $$ in it every summer to even have a shot. He’ll at least play in ensembles in college while he majors in . . . . something.
I located where I found that quote. It’s from some article that over over-exaggerated different things that may affect your child getting accepted into a particular College. It’s from 2010. I don’t think that it’s points are but I just wanted to post it here so I could hopefully put people’s concerns to rest. It’s a silly article.
If you’ve never participated in 4-H or ROTC, your chance of being admitted to an elite college is at least 60 percent higher than if you won awards or served as an officer in these organizations.
Not all extracurricular activities are equal. “Excelling in career-oriented activities is associated with 60 or 65 percent lower odds of admission,” write the authors of the book in which this stat appears. “These activities include ROTC and co-op work programs. They might also encompass 4-H Clubs, Future Farmers of America, and other activities that suggest that students are somewhat undecided about their academic futures.” Odds-improving extracurricular activities include science/math clubs, debate teams, and “computer activity,” but another odds-lowering behavior is “intense involvement” in the performing arts.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/college-admissions-15-ways-to-predict-where-youll-get-in