Class of 2024 (and beyond) parents - any questions?

[VandVsmama]

ODD applied to 7 colleges, has acceptances so far from 5, will hear back from the last 2 in mid-Jan & early Feb. All of the places she applied were either safeties or matches. No reach or lottery schools.

 

[Lumpy1106]

My best advice on the number of schools you apply to is pick a handful (2 or 3) "safety" schools you are 100% happy to attend and equally likely to get accepted to, then pick as many as you want "dream" schools with low acceptance rates that you'd be ecstatic if you got in, then visit them all.

And as far as those "dream" schools are considered, unless you are going in to Engineering, or getting an MBA, or dreaming about going to Med school where the Undergrad school reputation really means something - maybe really think about why those schools are so important to you. A history degree is a history degree - why knock yourself out getting in to UCLA to get one (for example)? There are TONS of less competitive schools where you can get a history degree that are far easier to get in to, housing is far cheaper (housing costs in Westwood are IN-SANE BTW), etc, etc, etc. I mean, UCLA is a gorgeous campus - but so is Sonoma State.

Just one example, I'm sure you have similar examples in your state.

 

[mjkacmom]

My best advice on the number of schools you apply to is pick a handful (2 or 3) "safety" schools you are 100% happy to attend and equally likely to get accepted to, then pick as many as you want "dream" schools with low acceptance rates that you'd be ecstatic if you got in, then visit them all.

And as far as those "dream" schools are considered, unless you are going in to Engineering, or getting an MBA, or dreaming about going to Med school where the Undergrad school reputation really means something - maybe really think about why those schools are so important to you. A history degree is a history degree - why knock yourself out getting in to UCLA to get one (for example)? There are TONS of less competitive schools where you can get a history degree that are far easier to get in to, housing is far cheaper (housing costs in Westwood are IN-SANE BTW), etc, etc, etc. I mean, UCLA is a gorgeous campus - but so is Sonoma State.

Just one example, I'm sure you have similar examples in your state.

Actually, for med school, it’s the opposite. Best bet is to attend a less selective school where you can have a great gpa, which is the most important part of the application, plus high MCAT scores. Paying the big bucks and getting a lower GPA at a higher ranked school will have a negative affect on med school admissions. GPA/MCAT are the most important factors. Also, keep in mind the vast majority of students planning on attending medical school don’t, and you can major in anything in undergrad for med school provided you take the core classes needed for med school admission. ETA, engineering or CS are majors where the only need is that they’re accredited, no need to attend a selective college for those either. Now, investment banking is a whole different animal, if you do not attend certain schools go to plan B.

 

[Skippy918]

So I am on a college admissions Facebook group and so far I’ve seen several posts with people asking if their kid should take the sat again when they got over a 1500. I’m scratching my head thinking won’t that score get you in anywhere?

meanwhile my son got an 1130 on the Psat as a 10th grader and it has me wondering if that’s a decent score or not. I know he has multiple opportunities to improve, but I’m still worried about the actual sat.

 

[Southernmiss]

1130 on the SAT is equivalent to a 23 on the ACT

It may get a student in to a less competitive school, but won't be enough for merit $ at a university

 

[Southernmiss]

Entrance into medical school is complicated and competitive with so few seats available in the country.

Our son had a great GPA from our state's flagship school and a very good MCT score and was still not admitted his 1st year after graduation.

He needed clinical experience in a medical setting. For him, he worked as an ER tech for a year. He also had interesting life experiences through travel during his gap year that helped make his interviews interesting and made him remembered.

Several of his med school classmates also had a year or more as EMTs, techs and other medical related jobs before getting in.

He did lament not having a good undergrad research lab experience for his resume and would have benefitted from a better experience, but the whole covid story and a personality conflict with his lab professor prevented that.

But he was accepted to 2 med schools his second application cycle. The school he chose is the perfect med school environment and culture for him in a city he loves and he is now thriving.

 

[mjkacmom]

So I am on a college admissions Facebook group and so far I’ve seen several posts with people asking if their kid should take the sat again when they got over a 1500. I’m scratching my head thinking won’t that score get you in anywhere?

meanwhile my son got an 1130 on the Psat as a 10th grader and it has me wondering if that’s a decent score or not. I know he has multiple opportunities to improve, but I’m still worried about the actual sat.

Not anymore. There are students with 1450 who are now going TO. For top schools, 1500 is the minimum these days. My nephew had a 35 ACT, 1540 SAT, but a B average, only had one acceptance.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

So I am on a college admissions Facebook group and so far I’ve seen several posts with people asking if their kid should take the sat again when they got over a 1500. I’m scratching my head thinking won’t that score get you in anywhere?

meanwhile my son got an 1130 on the Psat as a 10th grader and it has me wondering if that’s a decent score or not. I know he has multiple opportunities to improve, but I’m still worried about the actual sat.

I think I might be in that same group. While my DDs SAT score went up considerably from her PSAT, it also wasn’t 1500+ like a lot of the people in that group. The group was recommended by a friend, but every other post seemed to be whether or not a 1545 was good enough for anything, which got me scared. This was also the group that agreed with DDs research stating kids these days should apply to 20-30 schools. I did learn a bit about schools good for merit aid from that group and things like early decision vs. early action, but it seemed everyone in there was strictly looking at Ivy/Near Ivy and how to bring down costs from $60-80k per year. Ultimately, while the PSAT can be good for some kids, most kids take some kind of course before the actual SAT, so you’ll usually see scores go up…sometimes by a lot.

I’ve also seen a number of kids with high scores denied if they weren’t well rounded and involved in all kinds of things. High school quality also can be a factor. It’s one of my beefs with our state’s admittance mandates. A kid with a 3.75 at a high rated high school can be much more appealing than a kid with a 4.0 at a lesser high school…something our state ignores with its auto admittance rules when it’s normally a significant factor.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I think I might be in that same group. While my DDs SAT score went up considerably from her PSAT, it also wasn’t 1500+ like a lot of the people in that group. The group was recommended by a friend, but every other post seemed to be whether or not a 1545 was good enough for anything, which got me scared. This was also the group that agreed with DDs research stating kids these days should apply to 20-30 schools. I did learn a bit about schools good for merit aid from that group and things like early decision vs. early action, but it seemed everyone in there was strictly looking at Ivy/Near Ivy and how to bring down costs from $60-80k per year. Ultimately, while the PSAT can be good for some kids, most kids take some kind of course before the actual SAT, so you’ll usually see scores go up…sometimes by a lot.

My daughter took an SAT prep class over the summer and it wasn't much of an improvement in score. Spent $4000 and that was the cheapest option. Of course they wanted us to sign up for the $6000 or $8000. There were 2 advisors offices and when I'd be waiting, I could hear their conversations. Heard a lot of "went up 10 -20 points a lot. I don't regret taking it, we had to try and if we didn't would always wonder if it would of made of difference. I do regret the $4000. I read a lot that these services "over promise and under deliver." I know it works for some, but it didn't for us.

 

[mjkacmom]

My daughter took an SAT prep class over the summer and it wasn't much of an improvement in score. Spent $4000 and that was the cheapest option. Of course they wanted us to sign up for the $6000 or $8000. There were 2 advisors offices and when I'd be waiting, I could hear their conversations. Heard a lot of "went up 10 -20 points a lot. I don't regret taking it, we had to try and if we didn't would always wonder if it would of made of difference. I do regret the $4000. I read a lot that these services "over promise and under deliver." I know it works for some, but it didn't for us.

My older kids tried courses, very little improvement. Got them private tutors, what a difference. The next 3 had tutors and their score improved a lot. They didn’t need much help with content, but with strategies, and timing. One on one did the trick, even my twins had separate sessions to work in their issues.