1. Where do I find College Confidential? On the Disboards?
2. She is looking into other state universities, most definitely.
3. GPA is 4.0. No Honors or AP. We know that it's what colleges want, but made the decision not to put that much work, pressure, & stress on her. I've said this several times to college advisors during visits, "what do you want to see? On level courses with straight A's and 4.0 GPA? Or AP/Honors with B's and C's? " Most responded, "we just want to see good grades." But, we'll see about that. She just finishe 11th grade. We can help her with most of college tuition. She will come out with some student loan (depending on school). If it's a local, easier to get into college that just on ok school, we can cover that. She's interested in STEM: Engineering, math, physics.
4. I live in GA. We have HOPE scholarship and Zell. Zell is harder to get. Only looked into one out of state school so far. I think they said they will take some HOPE but not very much.
5. Haven't heard of "Colleges that change lives" schools. Thank you, I'll look into that.
6. She did do some Kahn Academy. Didn't help much.
7. Her first SAT was 1050. Second she dropped to 1010. Whn we went to the tutoring center yesterday, she took a 3 hour mock SAT and scored 910. Going in the wrong direction.
8. I do think she can get some merit scholarship at 2 schools she looked at. But then again, I hear merit scholarships are few and far between. The tutoring center said that most of GA colleges are requiring SAT scores.
Thank you for responding to my post. It's been a great help. I appreciate it.
Some people aren’t good test takers. And some are average students. And that’s ok.
And I agree that now, your DD is probably getting nervous while taking the test. It happens.
Sometimes we need to step back and look at the big picture.
Your daughter sounds a lot like mine. She took just one AP class, for the same reason. (I had twins, and her brother took none.) We figured they had their whole lives to be under pressure, they might as well try to enjoy their HS years without the added stress. That was our personal philosophy. She had a good GPA, but her SAT scores were never great. They both took a prep course at school, but not sure it really helped. (DS, especially, hated it.)
To complicate matters, she had her heart set on one program, at one school. It was the only school she applied to, but did put down a Plan B major (which was a good move). We later learned there were 4500 applicants to that program alone, and that they admitted students to it based on their SAT scores (which seems crazy, but it was true, told to me by the head of Admissions). So needless to say, DD didn’t get into the program - but she did get into the school, probably based on her GPA. And fortunately, the first year classes for the program that she did get into were the same as in the first year program she wanted, so that worked out.
She busted her hump freshman year, did well in all the classes, and reapplied to the program. (Which was a little pain as she had to take another test, too, to get in, which she passed.) And fortunately, she did get in, though some of her friends in the same boat did not. I honestly think part of the reason she got in was subjective - people in the program were making these decisions and it helped that she’d joined a club for the major and made herself useful. So by the beginning of sophomore year she was in the program she wanted, and she finished it without any difficulty once in, other than it being a very rigorous program.
What was really interesting to me was that some of the students who did get in right away, based on their SAT scores, either dropped out or dropped back, when they couldn’t pass some of the classes. I doubt that it was that they didn’t have the smarts; I think more that it was perhaps they didn’t apply themselves like they needed to. DD was at an advantage that way as she knew she’d been fortunate to make it in, she wasn’t going to let it slip away at all. Out of 160 students that started, only half finished. She got her BSN and is two courses shy of her MSN now, will be done this fall.
I think her experience shows some of the ridiculousness of going just by SAT scores. As I said, not everyone is a good test taker, however, they may have the stamina and what it takes to pass a program once admitted. I think she went into it with a healthy mind and was laser focused on what she needed to do.
DS made it in (even though his SAT scores weren’t great, either, and his GPA wasn’t even as good as DD’s), played his sport for four years, and got his bachelor’s, as well.
Neither of my kids got a penny of scholarship or merit money from the college. They each got a little from their HS. Both came out of their bachelor’s programs with just a small amount of debt. DD’s master’s has been mostly paid for by her employer and a scholarship she won at her work. They both went into it with the idea of keeping costs as low as possible, and they did.
So what advice do I have? Well, first, I just want to say, try not to sweat it too much. There is a program out there for every student who wants to go. Try to be realistic. I never read on College Confidential. I looked at it a few times and it stressed me out. I’d been through the college process (sometimes by the seat of my pants) so I knew what needed to be done and what they were looking for. They stuck local (Boston) and it was a great choice for the college experience (even though they commuted). Dates walking around Boston and games with the city skyline backdrop were really nice. Again, look at the big picture. Try not to go by what friends are saying and doing, everyone is on their own path. Hope this helps. Neither of mine were rocket scientists but both have nice degrees and are thriving in their fields.
