<p>I guess I should start reading this thread from the beginning - sure a lot of pages though. </p>
<p>I’ve got a junior D with a 3.7 uw GPA, pretty good PSAT scores (will make commended), who is mad as all get out at her parents for moving her between freshman and sophomore year. (She’s sure she’d have a 4.0 & a better chance at the colleges she likes if we hadn’t moved. May be true - no way to know.) I’m on here this morning trying to find colleges to suggest to her. She wants to head back to the Northeast (loves snow and cold); thinks she’d like Brown or Tufts.</p>
<p>I do hope this thread keeps going…I feel like there are many Super!Student threads, and a few “average” student (for lack of a better world) threads but had trouble finding the sweet spot for my D’s needs. She has a 3.85 Weighted GPA, with a fair number of honors classes. Too early to tell on the scores, and she’s light on ECs. She’s really struggling for a B in APBio this year, her first AP class. Our HS is fairly well-regarded, and the Naviance scattergrams (I looked at a few just to get an idea, picking mainly on where I know there is a HUGE data set from our town) show that that she’s at just about a match for Mt. Holyoke, a slight reach for Colby (but has a hook there) and Boston College is out of sight.</p>
<p>Suggestion from a CC old timer here. When you read the posts on this thread, look at the posting date. This thread was started in 2008. Just be alerted that some things may be different from that time.</p>
<p>Zparent, you can definitely get into Tufts with less than perfect grades. They really are looking for kids who they think are a good fit and care a lot about essays and recommendations.</p>
<p>Thanks, mathmom, I’ll make sure she hears that. I had her look at the ‘match’ section of Naviance too & that was somewhat comforting to her. Nice to see a long list of places that accepted kids from her school with similar stats, even if a lot of the schools are in regions she won’t consider.</p>
<p>ZParent, a 3.7 UW is an A- in most people’s book, and I’m guessing her weighted GPA is even higher? Combine that with commended test scores and you really don’t need the B+ thread. There will be plenty of opportunities for your D. Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Interesting reading posts about student either deciding academics are now coming first at college or senior year (over sports or other HS/college distractions). Some students are not applying themselves academically in HS (nor did so in middle school or elementary school) and then all of a sudden realize that college doesn’t have the ‘slack’ that their HS had, esp if they are attending a more selective school or challenging major. Student may have a big head over high ACT or SAT. Some students go from being ‘the smartest one in the group’ to realizing that college means working those brain cells and their stats are not so ‘phenomenal’. Student social skills, ability to handle distractions. Goal setting. Consequences. Is parent a money tree or money is meant to be budgeted and not ‘thrown away’? My two DD had to work up to ACT score for great merit scholarship money; they had always been hard-working in school so they understand work-reward and controlling their ‘destiny’. If parent is paying for some of the college or providing support in other ways (car ins, health ins, cell phone plan, etc) parent has a say even with child legally being ‘an adult’ i.e. 18+. Communication. Is parent emulating good behaviors? How influenced will student be by any negative influences at various schools. Can’t control everything, but one parent posted that student got lucky with studious room-mate and serious dorm wing.</p>
<p>Lafalum - maybe you’re right, I have no idea where the dividing line is between B+ and A-! Her report cards recently are primarily B/B+, with A’s in the less demanding classes and A’s before we moved, but maybe I should start a thread more specific to her situation since hating her high school is part of the problem.</p>
<p>Hi,
S moved from a public school to a highly competitive, all-boys catholic high school. He had hard time with adjusting his study habits and struggled with discipline. I also have to say that some of the teachers are not the best. I think the overall school strategy is “swim or sink” – those who cannot keep up leave the school and those who stay keep the school competitive. </p>
<p>His GPA continues to improve. Now he is junior and half year GPA was 3.6</p>
<p>I wanted to ask about AP classes </p>
<p>S was thinking of taking an AP class to help him with the college application. His school however told him that he needs GPA 3.75 to qualify for AP class. Some of the parents on the forum indicated that kids with GPA 3.0 took AP classes… how was it possible? Were the AP classes offered at school? Did they need to be approved in any special way?</p>
<p>AP depends on the school. At our large, public high school, the counselors do steer students away from taking APs if their gpas are low or if the kids take a great many APs, but I also know that a student could persuade a counselor to let him take an AP with lower grades. Kids with 3.0 averages can take APs. In some cases, like AVID, a college readiness program we have for first generation college applicants, kids are encouraged to take just one AP in an area in which they are strong.</p>
<p>Thank you!
I talked to our guidance counselor few days ago
one can “just” take the AP exam in May to have the credit for the AP class… especially if the class is not offered at the HS. But I am thinking that taking the AP exam in senior year in May would not help much → all the college applications are already sent out by Jan/Feb, right? </p>