Starting down the college path for my kids, clueless!

[LilyWDW]

First off, relax. Unless she is going for early admission, you don't need to stress until after January.
Good luck!

These days (at least in my area) many freshman classes are getting close to filled during early admission. Your chances at being accepted decrease the longer you take to get those applications in. The sooner, the better.

Also, OP... a good number of schools will figure their own GPA based off of their own criteria. So, if her school is known for padding scores, they might know about it and weigh her GPA accordingly. Meaning... her GPA in the eyes of that school may actually be lower then what her high school says.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

These days (at least in my area) many freshman classes are getting close to filled during early admission. Your chances at being accepted decrease the longer you take to get those applications in. The sooner, the better.

Also, OP... a good number of schools will figure their own GPA based off of their own criteria. So, if her school is known for padding scores, they might know about it and weigh her GPA accordingly. Meaning... her GPA in the eyes of that school may actually be lower then what her high school says.

Yep. Heck they cannot even fit the current freshman this year at some of the schools around here. I can't imagine the kids applying for next yr. It is going to rough for spots.

When my dd applied we sent it in on the "GO DATE".

OP your stepdd needs to be applying to her safety schools ASAP.

 

[disykat]

Here's what I would do. Let her choose her own colleges to apply to, but within perameters. These are the guidelines we gave our son.

* give her a budget of $500 for application expenses.
* Tell her you expect that 75% of her applications will be to colleges where her scores fall above the 25% of accepted students.
* Tell her the maximum you can afford per year. Our son knows that if his expenses are going to be over 22K a year, including transportation etc., he has to get quite a chunk of financial aide/merit aide to consider those schools. Basically, we can pay what it costs to go to a state school and he'll have to make up the rest.

 

[TLuvsD]

Re Financial Aid

The real answer for financial aid is, it varies. Some schools require only the FASFA, which may not require your information. Some schools require the FASFA and PROFILE. Some schools have their own documents. It varies is the best answer, especially in a divorce situation, where the student lives in one state (residency) and wants to attend out of state schools.

Really, you needed to talk about how much you will contribute to her college expenses long before now. But, that's water under the bridge. The financial aid folks expect you to contribute based on income and some savings (ie they think people should save for college). Financial Aid can be grants, but most likely will be loans, work study. Not free money.

I'd give her a budget for applications, the financial picture and some guidance. She needs a list of schools that includes some reaches, some likelys, and some safetys. And that list needs to take into consideration the financial picture.

 

[SondraC]

Thanks to everyone for all the info so far!!

I have been all over the college confidential site that was mentioned. Lots of great help there too!

 

[golfgal]

Thanks to everyone for all the info so far!!

I have been all over the college confidential site that was mentioned. Lots of great help there too!

While the college confidential site is very helpful, keep in mind that there is an element there that thinks that if your child doesn't go to an Ivy League school they might as well not go to college at all, so take some of that with a grain of salt.

 

[jsmith]

I know everyone has talked about grades, and SATs-but what else does she have on her resume-activites? a job? music? sports? Admissions is going to look at all of that-and she needs to be really realistic about scholarships-not loans or need based aid-but scholarships-the truth is alot of them are awarded based on enthicity and such-not ability.
the schools she is looking at are all high dollar-the University of Colorado is going to run about 45K a year for an out of state student-it costs us an average of about 20K a year and we are colorado residents and our boys lived at home the first two years-and she wont get admited as an out of state student with that SAT-or at all if she doesnt apply soon-even a good portion of students graduating in Colorado with good grade profiles dont get admitted. I think she really needs to re examine what she is expecting.

 

[punkin]

While the college confidential site is very helpful, keep in mind that there is an element there that thinks that if your child doesn't go to an Ivy League school they might as well not go to college at all, so take some of that with a grain of salt.

Yes there is that element, but for the most part the parents' forum is very down to earth.

Look with a 1500 she should not even be considering Berkley as a reach...unless of course her parents are donating a building or endowing a chair. She should be looking at places like Cal State - San Marcos (well within her reach). Maybe some cold water from the knowledgeable folks at college confidential will be good for this child.

 

[agnes!]

Like I said, this post about applying to college is one of the best posts on the subject I have ever read here on the DIS:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37329144&postcount=27

These are also by the same poster in the same thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37371023&postcount=50
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37377954&postcount=56

The thread is: "Moms with HS Seniors" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2505225

There was a lot of good advice in that thread, thought some folks here could benefit from it.

agnes!

 

[bballmom56]

While the college confidential site is very helpful, keep in mind that there is an element there that thinks that if your child doesn't go to an Ivy League school they might as well not go to college at all, so take some of that with a grain of salt.

Very true. That's why I mentioned the threads titled 3.0-3.3 gpa parents thread and there is also one for 3.3-3.6. Wonderful people on those threads with very realistic views who have done TONS of research on colleges that fit that profile.

OP ~ there are also many colleges that will waive application fees for 1. applying online or 2. if you do an official visit or 3. if you visit during an open house., and there may be other reasons, too. My kids applied to six schools between them and we never paid an application fee.

 

[Cooky]

.

 

[SondraC]

OP here. Well here is exact numbers (we text her and asked her for her college board login info, she asked why do we want it??)

06/2010, SAT Subject Test 620 Literature 560 Mathematics Level 2

05/2010, SAT Test 540 Reading 530 Math 480 Writing

Oh, and she also said " I checked I can pay app fees with a cc, so I just need your #"

 

[WheresFigment?]

With those scores, the only school I would consider a "likely" is University of Colorado. The rest are all pretty serious maybes.

Good luck to her, but students have gotten better and admissions have gotten tougher. The stats on my school's page on the college board's website do not nearly reflect who is actually getting admitted. The freshman class my last year there was 10x better than my class.

Also, remind her that while it might seem like getting in is the only goal, remember she needs to hack it at whatever school she chooses.

She lives in CA, has she even visited some of these schools? My parents had a firm rule that I could not apply anywhere I hadn't visited and preferably spent a night with a current student.

 

[TLuvsD]

There is no way I'd hand over the cc number. I'd send a check for half the cost of the college applications (include the cost of sending the SAT scores).

With those scores she needs to look at the California State University schools and the community colleges. Perhaps UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz or UC Merced if the SAT scores improve... but I'd suggest picking 2 as reach type options.

Does she have an amazing, unusual extra curricular activity? Has she won awards for her work on the student newspaper/yearbook (if she does that, seems reasonable as a student interested in journalism).

You might look at the Colleges that Change Lives book, it's generally avaliable at most libraries. Also check college board for journalism majors with her stats....remember private schools can cost less if they really want the student (grants, etc).

Check the collegeconfidential.com parent forum thread for students with similar grades etc, as mentioned by a pp. There are a lot of colleges in the US, she may have more options than any of us are aware of....but the schools on her list don't seem to be very likely, except perhaps Univ of Colorado. If she's accepted there, how will the bills get paid?

 

[LilyWDW]

OP,

To put it bluntly, let me tell you what my parents would have said in this situation.

"Before we give you anything to pay application fees, we need to know you understand 100% what you are getting into. So, we need to to answer the following questions:

One, what are the admissions requirements? Including SAT/ACT, GPA, class requirements, dates and the like.

Two, what are the average scores like for those who did get accepted? This can be found online.

Three, why are you picking these schools? What do you know about them?

Four, how do you expect to pay for this? Have you looked into scholarships?"

If I couldn't have answered these questions, I would not be allowed to apply. Simple as that. It is throwing away money on application fees if she doesn't know anything about the schools.

 

[ctinct]

OP, golfgal and TlovesD (not sure if I got the second screen name totally right) both gave you some good info about financial aid. I'd like to add a little bit, since my daughter and I are going through the process now. If a non-custodial profile is required, the school will expect your husband to help. Many, many private schools require this. Most public and some private schools require just the FAFSA. I have run across a very few schools that require a CSS (profile) form from JUST the custodial parent, but not many. Perhaps it would be best if your stepd limited herself to FAFSA only schools, and your husband could help out regardless.

Personally, I don't think 8 schools are too many to apply to. My dd is applying to six right now, and may add a few more from schools that are sending her free applications just to see where the total cost of attending would be lowest after all aid. (All six schools are schools she would be very happy at, with the "possible" exception of one). Your stepdd may want to see if there are any rolling admission schools she is interested in, just so she can try to get an admission under her belt. Some schools also have early action (NOT early decision), which is non-binding, but lets you know of the admission decision earlier. Be aware, though, that those deadlines are coming up. DD is applying to a school with a Nov. 1 deadline for EA. Also, as many on this thread have mentioned, CA schools are having lots of issues right now.

I'm curious why your sdd has chosen the schools she has. Honestly, the best thing my dd and I have done over the last year is visit schools. Fifteen of them! But, she discovered a few things about herself that she didn't know, and her top choice is a school that wasn't even on her radar before our visit. There are many good schools on all levels. She doesn't have time on her side, but I really think she needs to nail down what she wants (large school, small school, Greek scene, very serious school, very social school, etc.). She would probably be wise best to find a few schools, at least, where she is above the average applicant, score-wise. Berkeley is a tougher school to get into, as are Pitt and NYU. Good luck to your family on this exciting journey.

 

[agnes!]

Bumping this back up to page one.

agnes!

 

[SondraC]

Can someone please explain "weighted" & "unweighted" for GPA?

Thanks!

Sondra

 

[SC Minnie]

From what I understand an unweighted GPA is all A=4, B=3, C=2 etc. For weighted GPA honors or AP courses are given a higher point A=5, B=4, C=3 etc

So a weighted GPA could be higher than a 4.0 if the student had A's in honors or AP classes.

 

[agnes!]

Can someone please explain "weighted" & "unweighted" for GPA?

Thanks!

Sondra

Sure. Some high schools give out weighted GPAs on their transcripts (harder courses are worth more numerically, some do not (an A is an A and only ever worth 4 points, regardless of the class taken). Many colleges/universities will re-calculate their own versions of GPAs to keep high schools from puffing up their stats. Colleges also will take into account a student's choice of courses when looking over a transcript... Did the student take any challenging courses like Honors or APs or IBs, or did they play it safe and take easy courses even though advanced classes were available.

If the student has taken AP(Advanced Placement) or IB(International Baccalaureate) they are usually given some kind of a 'bump' (usually 1 point) for that grade, some schools also give a smaller bump (maybe .5) for an Honors or Advanced class. The way this works is if the student takes AP Calculus and gets an A, that grade will go into their high-school calculated/weighted GPA as a 5. If a student takes General Ed. Math and gets an A, that will go into their GPA as simply a 4... the harder class if given more weight when added into the GPA, otherwise students might resort to padding their schedules with easy classes (multiple classes of PE perhaps) so they can get that numerically-perfect grade.

agnes!