College Admissions Questions (2 Viewers)

[TennesseeJed]

ETA...Marquette may be another place for consideration

lol - my parents ruined Marquette for her - they both graduated and pushed hard - too hard. I think she was also put off by the downtown location. Penn terrified her when we visited, and since then she has decided to stay away from schools directly in big cities. But, great suggestion!

 

[SteelCurtain]

The decision about whether to submit SAT scores is basically a math problem. The issue is that we generally don't have all the data we'd need to solve the problem, so we have to make some educated guesses and assumptions.

My assumptions:

• People who do well on the test all submit their scores
• Many people who do poorly on the test will not submit their scores
• Those who do better on the test will also be higher achievers over all. There will obviously be many, many exceptions in both directions, but generally speaking, there are going to be big differences in the groups averages of kids getting 1500s vs. 1300s vs. 1100s across everything - grades, awards, extracurricular accomplishments, essay quality, etc.

If you agree with those assumptions, then the takeaway is that the overall pool of candidates who submit SATs is going to be much stronger than those who don't submit SATs.

A few years ago, someone posted data on a number of colleges showing the school's acceptance rate for candidates who submitted SATs vs. those who didn't submit SAT's.

There was one school (Vanderbilt I think) where there was almost no difference - like 7% for no-test candidates and 6% for test candidates. That's insane. It means that they're taking almost as many of the kids who averaged something like 1500 on the SAT as those who probably averaged like 1200-1300. For someone applying there, it probably only makes sense to submit a score if your kid is in the high 1500s.

Other schools had more reasonable ratios (maybe accepting at 1.5x to 2x the rate for those who submit scores). In that scenario, i think you submit if you're at or above the median acceptance score and probably don't if you're below it.

If the ratio gets up to 2.5x+ then you probably should submit as long as you're in the range that has any shot at all at being accepted.

I agree with all your assumptions.

I don't know if you saw my post earlier about this topic but one piece you may not be considering when saying it is insane is that the schools have decades of historical data to look at and analyze. And many have found that the SAT's have little correlation to a students success both at college and beyond.

I think testing will always be around because the top tier schools still need some way to differentiate so many near perfect applications. But for the rest, it would not shock me if test optional continues to grow.

Yeah, that's fair.

Although for a highly selective school like Vanderbilt, it may be that the reason that SATs didn't correlate to success was that everyone they accepted had high SATs. So there may be no real difference between kids who get 1400 and 1500 on the SATs, but plenty of difference once they start letting in kids who didn't submit the test but got an 1100.

For Vanderbilt, I wonder how Early Decision plays into those numbers. In other words, what is the mix of scores submitted vs. no scores submitted for ED applicants vs. non- ED applicants. Because that’s the most significant variable (15.7% acceptance rate vs 4.2%), depending on the mix may make it difficult to draw any conclusion from the data.

Good point, although like all of this semi-incomplete data, there might be confounding factors. I don't have super high confidence in this, but suspect that ED applicants skew stronger than regular decision applicants at most schools.

This would be an incorrect assumption. ED admit rates are higher, not because the pool is stronger at a majority of places. It is higher because schools will bend a bit more for ED students as they have a commitment from those students and are a sure enrollment (which leads to higher yield and lower admit rates.)

Plus, all those development cases where some donor is advocating for a kid? Those kids enhance their chances by going ED.

All committed athletes are also pushed to go ED so they can't back out of their athletic commitment (not as big of a deal at D-1 because the kids sign an NLI.....but at D-3 schools, there is no athletic commitment mechanism, so they push ED.)

 

[SteelCurtain]

The decision about whether to submit SAT scores is basically a math problem. The issue is that we generally don't have all the data we'd need to solve the problem, so we have to make some educated guesses and assumptions.

My assumptions:

• People who do well on the test all submit their scores
• Many people who do poorly on the test will not submit their scores
• Those who do better on the test will also be higher achievers over all. There will obviously be many, many exceptions in both directions, but generally speaking, there are going to be big differences in the groups averages of kids getting 1500s vs. 1300s vs. 1100s across everything - grades, awards, extracurricular accomplishments, essay quality, etc.

If you agree with those assumptions, then the takeaway is that the overall pool of candidates who submit SATs is going to be much stronger than those who don't submit SATs.

A few years ago, someone posted data on a number of colleges showing the school's acceptance rate for candidates who submitted SATs vs. those who didn't submit SAT's.

There was one school (Vanderbilt I think) where there was almost no difference - like 7% for no-test candidates and 6% for test candidates. That's insane. It means that they're taking almost as many of the kids who averaged something like 1500 on the SAT as those who probably averaged like 1200-1300. For someone applying there, it probably only makes sense to submit a score if your kid is in the high 1500s.

Other schools had more reasonable ratios (maybe accepting at 1.5x to 2x the rate for those who submit scores). In that scenario, i think you submit if you're at or above the median acceptance score and probably don't if you're below it.

If the ratio gets up to 2.5x+ then you probably should submit as long as you're in the range that has any shot at all at being accepted.

I agree with all your assumptions.

I don't know if you saw my post earlier about this topic but one piece you may not be considering when saying it is insane is that the schools have decades of historical data to look at and analyze. And many have found that the SAT's have little correlation to a students success both at college and beyond.

I think testing will always be around because the top tier schools still need some way to differentiate so many near perfect applications. But for the rest, it would not shock me if test optional continues to grow.

Ha...as if anyone can legitimately differentiate between candidates whose scores are 1500 and a 1480. It's like saying a kid with a 90% in a course is different from a kid with an 89%, yet one gets an A the other gets a B. But that 90% kid and the 99% kid both get A's. It's all nonsense.

I agree but this is the system we have and I doubt I will see any major changes in it in my lifetime.

I disagree. I think major changes are on the horizon. Not necessarily with the super selectives, but for the other 95% of colleges, change is a-coming.

Direct Admissions will become a major factor at many schools in the next decade.

And are you ready for Artificial Intelligence to be reading admission applications? I hope so, because it is already starting at some places (including ones mentioned on this thread) and will be done by a majority of schools within 3-5 years. (I'm not suggesting AI will be making admission decisions immediately....although, it wouldn't surprise me.)

 

[zoobird]

The decision about whether to submit SAT scores is basically a math problem. The issue is that we generally don't have all the data we'd need to solve the problem, so we have to make some educated guesses and assumptions.

My assumptions:

• People who do well on the test all submit their scores
• Many people who do poorly on the test will not submit their scores
• Those who do better on the test will also be higher achievers over all. There will obviously be many, many exceptions in both directions, but generally speaking, there are going to be big differences in the groups averages of kids getting 1500s vs. 1300s vs. 1100s across everything - grades, awards, extracurricular accomplishments, essay quality, etc.

If you agree with those assumptions, then the takeaway is that the overall pool of candidates who submit SATs is going to be much stronger than those who don't submit SATs.

A few years ago, someone posted data on a number of colleges showing the school's acceptance rate for candidates who submitted SATs vs. those who didn't submit SAT's.

There was one school (Vanderbilt I think) where there was almost no difference - like 7% for no-test candidates and 6% for test candidates. That's insane. It means that they're taking almost as many of the kids who averaged something like 1500 on the SAT as those who probably averaged like 1200-1300. For someone applying there, it probably only makes sense to submit a score if your kid is in the high 1500s.

Other schools had more reasonable ratios (maybe accepting at 1.5x to 2x the rate for those who submit scores). In that scenario, i think you submit if you're at or above the median acceptance score and probably don't if you're below it.

If the ratio gets up to 2.5x+ then you probably should submit as long as you're in the range that has any shot at all at being accepted.

I agree with all your assumptions.

I don't know if you saw my post earlier about this topic but one piece you may not be considering when saying it is insane is that the schools have decades of historical data to look at and analyze. And many have found that the SAT's have little correlation to a students success both at college and beyond.

I think testing will always be around because the top tier schools still need some way to differentiate so many near perfect applications. But for the rest, it would not shock me if test optional continues to grow.

Yeah, that's fair.

Although for a highly selective school like Vanderbilt, it may be that the reason that SATs didn't correlate to success was that everyone they accepted had high SATs. So there may be no real difference between kids who get 1400 and 1500 on the SATs, but plenty of difference once they start letting in kids who didn't submit the test but got an 1100.

For Vanderbilt, I wonder how Early Decision plays into those numbers. In other words, what is the mix of scores submitted vs. no scores submitted for ED applicants vs. non- ED applicants. Because that’s the most significant variable (15.7% acceptance rate vs 4.2%), depending on the mix may make it difficult to draw any conclusion from the data.

Good point, although like all of this semi-incomplete data, there might be confounding factors. I don't have super high confidence in this, but suspect that ED applicants skew stronger than regular decision applicants at most schools.

This would be an incorrect assumption. ED admit rates are higher, not because the pool is stronger at a majority of places. It is higher because schools will bend a bit more for ED students as they have a commitment from those students and are a sure enrollment (which leads to higher yield and lower admit rates.)

Plus, all those development cases where some donor is advocating for a kid? Those kids enhance their chances by going ED.

All committed athletes are also pushed to go ED so they can't back out of their athletic commitment (not as big of a deal at D-1 because the kids sign an NLI.....but at D-3 schools, there is no athletic commitment mechanism, so they push ED.)

I think you're kind of making my argument for me. I know that everyone SAYS that schools tend to favor those applying ED. But if I look at the numbers, and a school has a 20% acceptance rate for ED and a 10% acceptance rate for regular decision...and I know that the ED pool included more athletes, more legacy kids and the fact that less serious students typically aren't taking advantage of applying ED to the same extent as more serious students...I'm not sure that it's actually providing the boost that the numbers superficially would suggest.

 

[SteelCurtain]

The decision about whether to submit SAT scores is basically a math problem. The issue is that we generally don't have all the data we'd need to solve the problem, so we have to make some educated guesses and assumptions.

My assumptions:

• People who do well on the test all submit their scores
• Many people who do poorly on the test will not submit their scores
• Those who do better on the test will also be higher achievers over all. There will obviously be many, many exceptions in both directions, but generally speaking, there are going to be big differences in the groups averages of kids getting 1500s vs. 1300s vs. 1100s across everything - grades, awards, extracurricular accomplishments, essay quality, etc.

If you agree with those assumptions, then the takeaway is that the overall pool of candidates who submit SATs is going to be much stronger than those who don't submit SATs.

A few years ago, someone posted data on a number of colleges showing the school's acceptance rate for candidates who submitted SATs vs. those who didn't submit SAT's.

There was one school (Vanderbilt I think) where there was almost no difference - like 7% for no-test candidates and 6% for test candidates. That's insane. It means that they're taking almost as many of the kids who averaged something like 1500 on the SAT as those who probably averaged like 1200-1300. For someone applying there, it probably only makes sense to submit a score if your kid is in the high 1500s.

Other schools had more reasonable ratios (maybe accepting at 1.5x to 2x the rate for those who submit scores). In that scenario, i think you submit if you're at or above the median acceptance score and probably don't if you're below it.

If the ratio gets up to 2.5x+ then you probably should submit as long as you're in the range that has any shot at all at being accepted.

I agree with all your assumptions.

I don't know if you saw my post earlier about this topic but one piece you may not be considering when saying it is insane is that the schools have decades of historical data to look at and analyze. And many have found that the SAT's have little correlation to a students success both at college and beyond.

I think testing will always be around because the top tier schools still need some way to differentiate so many near perfect applications. But for the rest, it would not shock me if test optional continues to grow.

Yeah, that's fair.

Although for a highly selective school like Vanderbilt, it may be that the reason that SATs didn't correlate to success was that everyone they accepted had high SATs. So there may be no real difference between kids who get 1400 and 1500 on the SATs, but plenty of difference once they start letting in kids who didn't submit the test but got an 1100.

For Vanderbilt, I wonder how Early Decision plays into those numbers. In other words, what is the mix of scores submitted vs. no scores submitted for ED applicants vs. non- ED applicants. Because that’s the most significant variable (15.7% acceptance rate vs 4.2%), depending on the mix may make it difficult to draw any conclusion from the data.

Good point, although like all of this semi-incomplete data, there might be confounding factors. I don't have super high confidence in this, but suspect that ED applicants skew stronger than regular decision applicants at most schools.

This would be an incorrect assumption. ED admit rates are higher, not because the pool is stronger at a majority of places. It is higher because schools will bend a bit more for ED students as they have a commitment from those students and are a sure enrollment (which leads to higher yield and lower admit rates.)

Plus, all those development cases where some donor is advocating for a kid? Those kids enhance their chances by going ED.

All committed athletes are also pushed to go ED so they can't back out of their athletic commitment (not as big of a deal at D-1 because the kids sign an NLI.....but at D-3 schools, there is no athletic commitment mechanism, so they push ED.)

I think you're kind of making my argument for me. I know that everyone SAYS that schools tend to favor those applying ED. But if I look at the numbers, and a school has a 20% acceptance rate for ED and a 10% acceptance rate for regular decision...and I know that the ED pool included more athletes, more legacy kids and the fact that less serious students typically aren't taking advantage of applying ED to the same extent as more serious students...I'm not sure that it's actually providing the boost that the numbers superficially would suggest.

If you take the same student and they were to apply ED instead of EA/Regular, then I would estimate at 90% of colleges and universities, they are receiving a positive bump in review for going ED.

Colleges have all kinds of reasons to give preference to ED students. Why do you think they would NOT give preference?

 

[bigbottom]

Every professional admissions consultant I’ve talked to has stated without reservation that applying Early Decision materially improves your odds of admission to competitive institutions over applying regular admission, even after taking into account legacies and athletes.

 

[Drunken knight]

This week we found out she got into Cal State SF, and Cal State Channel Islands...14 more to go, but she is relieved that she is in nursing programs.

 

[Brony]

I have daughters that are senior and sophomore in HS, so in the thick of this for the first time with my senior. She's applied to nine schools. Heard back from 2 already with 2 acceptances which takes a lot of the stress off.

Question for you that have gone through this: Is there much surprise to the final cost vs. the published cost while you are in the evaluating phase? I've heard that some private schools have a list price and then you get offered a net price, but I don't know how often this happens and if it's restricted only to private schools. Assume no financial aid. My daughter is a B+/A- student, so no Rhodes scholars coming our way.

Good luck to all other parents navigating this process this year!

 

[belljr]

I have daughters that are senior and sophomore in HS, so in the thick of this for the first time with my senior. She's applied to nine schools. Heard back from 2 already with 2 acceptances which takes a lot of the stress off.

Question for you that have gone through this: Is there much surprise to the final cost vs. the published cost while you are in the evaluating phase? I've heard that some private schools have a list price and then you get offered a net price, but I don't know how often this happens and if it's restricted only to private schools. Assume no financial aid. My daughter is a B+/A- student, so no Rhodes scholars coming our way.

Good luck to all other parents navigating this process this year!

This is how it worked for us (both private schools). You needed to have your FASFA completed (this is delayed this year so not sure if this is still the case).

So about 2-3 weeks after weu received her acceptance letter - that also contained a merit award. We received our financial package. This had any merit awards/grants/other scholarships received plus whatever financial aid (we got none) and her potential loan amount if she wanted.

This was the price we ended up paying give or take a few hundred bucks.

 

[Brony]

I have daughters that are senior and sophomore in HS, so in the thick of this for the first time with my senior. She's applied to nine schools. Heard back from 2 already with 2 acceptances which takes a lot of the stress off.

Question for you that have gone through this: Is there much surprise to the final cost vs. the published cost while you are in the evaluating phase? I've heard that some private schools have a list price and then you get offered a net price, but I don't know how often this happens and if it's restricted only to private schools. Assume no financial aid. My daughter is a B+/A- student, so no Rhodes scholars coming our way.

Good luck to all other parents navigating this process this year!

This is how it worked for us (both private schools). You needed to have your FASFA completed (this is delayed this year so not sure if this is still the case).

So about 2-3 weeks after weu received her acceptance letter - that also contained a merit award. We received our financial package. This had any merit awards/grants/other scholarships received plus whatever financial aid (we got none) and her potential loan amount if she wanted.

This was the price we ended up paying give or take a few hundred bucks.

OK thanks. Was the new net cost similar to the published tuition, or was it a big discount? I guess why I'm asking this is to figure out if it's prudent to start having financial trade-off conversations and debate now. Or to wait until we get the final net cost before ruling a school in or out? I'm sure it's probably both, but I don't want to be overreaching that school X is off-limits because of published cost and then have to eat those words if the real cost comes down later. My daughter has only applied to public schools.

 

[Galileo]

I have daughters that are senior and sophomore in HS, so in the thick of this for the first time with my senior. She's applied to nine schools. Heard back from 2 already with 2 acceptances which takes a lot of the stress off.

Question for you that have gone through this: Is there much surprise to the final cost vs. the published cost while you are in the evaluating phase? I've heard that some private schools have a list price and then you get offered a net price, but I don't know how often this happens and if it's restricted only to private schools. Assume no financial aid. My daughter is a B+/A- student, so no Rhodes scholars coming our way.

Good luck to all other parents navigating this process this year!

This is how it worked for us (both private schools). You needed to have your FASFA completed (this is delayed this year so not sure if this is still the case).

So about 2-3 weeks after weu received her acceptance letter - that also contained a merit award. We received our financial package. This had any merit awards/grants/other scholarships received plus whatever financial aid (we got none) and her potential loan amount if she wanted.

This was the price we ended up paying give or take a few hundred bucks.

OK thanks. Was the new net cost similar to the published tuition, or was it a big discount? I guess why I'm asking this is to figure out if it's prudent to start having financial trade-off conversations and debate now. Or to wait until we get the final net cost before ruling a school in or out? I'm sure it's probably both, but I don't want to be overreaching that school X is off-limits because of published cost and then have to eat those words if the real cost comes down later. My daughter has only applied to public schools.

I know when my kids got their acceptance letters, they were informed of their merit scholarships at the same time. Once we knew of that "discount", the final price to be paid was pretty predictable and in line with published costs. There are a few things that can cause some variation...room and board can shift the cost a little depending on living accommodations and meal plans chosen. Also, the course load can cause variation. My son at Purdue pays a set tuition regardless of how many courses he takes, but my daughter at Ohio State is charged per credit hour. Taking a bigger course load will cost more. So your final bill may vary based upon choices you make after enrolling.

 

[SteelCurtain]

I have daughters that are senior and sophomore in HS, so in the thick of this for the first time with my senior. She's applied to nine schools. Heard back from 2 already with 2 acceptances which takes a lot of the stress off.

Question for you that have gone through this: Is there much surprise to the final cost vs. the published cost while you are in the evaluating phase? I've heard that some private schools have a list price and then you get offered a net price, but I don't know how often this happens and if it's restricted only to private schools. Assume no financial aid. My daughter is a B+/A- student, so no Rhodes scholars coming our way.

Good luck to all other parents navigating this process this year!

This is how it worked for us (both private schools). You needed to have your FASFA completed (this is delayed this year so not sure if this is still the case).

So about 2-3 weeks after weu received her acceptance letter - that also contained a merit award. We received our financial package. This had any merit awards/grants/other scholarships received plus whatever financial aid (we got none) and her potential loan amount if she wanted.

This was the price we ended up paying give or take a few hundred bucks.

OK thanks. Was the new net cost similar to the published tuition, or was it a big discount? I guess why I'm asking this is to figure out if it's prudent to start having financial trade-off conversations and debate now. Or to wait until we get the final net cost before ruling a school in or out? I'm sure it's probably both, but I don't want to be overreaching that school X is off-limits because of published cost and then have to eat those words if the real cost comes down later. My daughter has only applied to public schools.

Go on to the schools website and do a search for "Net Price Calculator". All colleges are required by law to have this. It may be buried or pretty up front on the Admissions or Financial Aid pages. Filling this out should give you a pretty good idea on what the costs will be.

 

[belljr]

I have daughters that are senior and sophomore in HS, so in the thick of this for the first time with my senior. She's applied to nine schools. Heard back from 2 already with 2 acceptances which takes a lot of the stress off.

Question for you that have gone through this: Is there much surprise to the final cost vs. the published cost while you are in the evaluating phase? I've heard that some private schools have a list price and then you get offered a net price, but I don't know how often this happens and if it's restricted only to private schools. Assume no financial aid. My daughter is a B+/A- student, so no Rhodes scholars coming our way.

Good luck to all other parents navigating this process this year!

This is how it worked for us (both private schools). You needed to have your FASFA completed (this is delayed this year so not sure if this is still the case).

So about 2-3 weeks after weu received her acceptance letter - that also contained a merit award. We received our financial package. This had any merit awards/grants/other scholarships received plus whatever financial aid (we got none) and her potential loan amount if she wanted.

This was the price we ended up paying give or take a few hundred bucks.

OK thanks. Was the new net cost similar to the published tuition, or was it a big discount? I guess why I'm asking this is to figure out if it's prudent to start having financial trade-off conversations and debate now. Or to wait until we get the final net cost before ruling a school in or out? I'm sure it's probably both, but I don't want to be overreaching that school X is off-limits because of published cost and then have to eat those words if the real cost comes down later. My daughter has only applied to public schools.

Go on to the schools website and do a search for "Net Price Calculator". All colleges are required by law to have this. It may be buried or pretty up front on the Admissions or Financial Aid pages. Filling this out should give you a pretty good idea on what the costs will be.

Yes and no..... this is a reasonable idea for many schools but I got more than the anticipated amount (although we are playing a sport) so I don't know if the coaches pulled extra strings behind the scenes

 

[Drunken knight]

This week we found out she got into Cal State SF, and Cal State Channel Islands...14 more to go, but she is relieved that she is in nursing programs.

just got into U of Portland with a $104k scholarship

 

[NutterButter]

Hey all, long-time lurker, but I have a question - noticing many of the engineering students in this thread.

Daughter is a senior who is interested in biomedical engineering. I think she has picked the reach schools she wants, and the safety schools - but I am not sure she is thrilled with her target schools.

She will be a competitive applicant at any school (4.0 unweighted, 36 ACT, 13 AP classes, good extracurriculars). She has identified certain characteristics she wants - mid-size-ish school (7-8k), good academics, but not cut-throat, and good research opportunities. We visited a few east/northeast schools, and she mostly decided that was not for her - different reasons for each, but after those visits her search was focused mostly in mid-west.

Her reach schools are Northwestern, Vandy, and Washington University St. Louis. Her target schools are primarily state schools - Michigan (between a reach and a target), Purdue, Illinois, NC State - and Lehigh. When push comes to shove, I don't think she really wants the size of the state universities - so, has anyone come across good engineering programs at mid-size schools? She is a bit introverted, and while the state schools are all very good - I am worried the size will overwhelm her.

Thanks!

I don't know if this is too far east for her, but has she considered RPI?

My niece and nephew were both top students and loved their experience at RPI.

Thanks! I will ask her if she has looked at RPI - I don't recall it coming up in discussion.

Emory and Wake Forest would seemingly be another ones if you’re looking for smaller research schools.

We toured Emory - overwhelmed by Atlanta, and never warmed to the school itself. They have the 2nd campus away from Atlanta, but she was not a fan of doing 2 years there, then coming to the Atlanta campus as a new student.

I know she looked at Wake - I will have to ask her - it might be that she opted for NC State over Wake. State had a specific program that caught her attention.

Carnegie mellon? My Alma mater. I can put in a good word with absolutely no one.

 

[Orange&Blue]

I have daughters that are senior and sophomore in HS, so in the thick of this for the first time with my senior. She's applied to nine schools. Heard back from 2 already with 2 acceptances which takes a lot of the stress off.

Question for you that have gone through this: Is there much surprise to the final cost vs. the published cost while you are in the evaluating phase? I've heard that some private schools have a list price and then you get offered a net price, but I don't know how often this happens and if it's restricted only to private schools. Assume no financial aid. My daughter is a B+/A- student, so no Rhodes scholars coming our way.

Good luck to all other parents navigating this process this year!

This is how it worked for us (both private schools). You needed to have your FASFA completed (this is delayed this year so not sure if this is still the case).

So about 2-3 weeks after weu received her acceptance letter - that also contained a merit award. We received our financial package. This had any merit awards/grants/other scholarships received plus whatever financial aid (we got none) and her potential loan amount if she wanted.

This was the price we ended up paying give or take a few hundred bucks.

OK thanks. Was the new net cost similar to the published tuition, or was it a big discount? I guess why I'm asking this is to figure out if it's prudent to start having financial trade-off conversations and debate now. Or to wait until we get the final net cost before ruling a school in or out? I'm sure it's probably both, but I don't want to be overreaching that school X is off-limits because of published cost and then have to eat those words if the real cost comes down later. My daughter has only applied to public schools.

I know when my kids got their acceptance letters, they were informed of their merit scholarships at the same time. Once we knew of that "discount", the final price to be paid was pretty predictable and in line with published costs. There are a few things that can cause some variation...room and board can shift the cost a little depending on living accommodations and meal plans chosen. Also, the course load can cause variation. My son at Purdue pays a set tuition regardless of how many courses he takes, but my daughter at Ohio State is charged per credit hour. Taking a bigger course load will cost more. So your final bill may vary based upon choices you make after enrolling.

my kid is interested in engineering and i want him to attend purdue even though it's out of state

 

[The Z Machine]

Hey all, long-time lurker, but I have a question - noticing many of the engineering students in this thread.

Daughter is a senior who is interested in biomedical engineering. I think she has picked the reach schools she wants, and the safety schools - but I am not sure she is thrilled with her target schools.

She will be a competitive applicant at any school (4.0 unweighted, 36 ACT, 13 AP classes, good extracurriculars). She has identified certain characteristics she wants - mid-size-ish school (7-8k), good academics, but not cut-throat, and good research opportunities. We visited a few east/northeast schools, and she mostly decided that was not for her - different reasons for each, but after those visits her search was focused mostly in mid-west.

Her reach schools are Northwestern, Vandy, and Washington University St. Louis. Her target schools are primarily state schools - Michigan (between a reach and a target), Purdue, Illinois, NC State - and Lehigh. When push comes to shove, I don't think she really wants the size of the state universities - so, has anyone come across good engineering programs at mid-size schools? She is a bit introverted, and while the state schools are all very good - I am worried the size will overwhelm her.

Thanks!

Colorado School of Mines
Rice?
RPI?

 

[Galileo]

I have daughters that are senior and sophomore in HS, so in the thick of this for the first time with my senior. She's applied to nine schools. Heard back from 2 already with 2 acceptances which takes a lot of the stress off.

Question for you that have gone through this: Is there much surprise to the final cost vs. the published cost while you are in the evaluating phase? I've heard that some private schools have a list price and then you get offered a net price, but I don't know how often this happens and if it's restricted only to private schools. Assume no financial aid. My daughter is a B+/A- student, so no Rhodes scholars coming our way.

Good luck to all other parents navigating this process this year!

This is how it worked for us (both private schools). You needed to have your FASFA completed (this is delayed this year so not sure if this is still the case).

So about 2-3 weeks after weu received her acceptance letter - that also contained a merit award. We received our financial package. This had any merit awards/grants/other scholarships received plus whatever financial aid (we got none) and her potential loan amount if she wanted.

This was the price we ended up paying give or take a few hundred bucks.

OK thanks. Was the new net cost similar to the published tuition, or was it a big discount? I guess why I'm asking this is to figure out if it's prudent to start having financial trade-off conversations and debate now. Or to wait until we get the final net cost before ruling a school in or out? I'm sure it's probably both, but I don't want to be overreaching that school X is off-limits because of published cost and then have to eat those words if the real cost comes down later. My daughter has only applied to public schools.

I know when my kids got their acceptance letters, they were informed of their merit scholarships at the same time. Once we knew of that "discount", the final price to be paid was pretty predictable and in line with published costs. There are a few things that can cause some variation...room and board can shift the cost a little depending on living accommodations and meal plans chosen. Also, the course load can cause variation. My son at Purdue pays a set tuition regardless of how many courses he takes, but my daughter at Ohio State is charged per credit hour. Taking a bigger course load will cost more. So your final bill may vary based upon choices you make after enrolling.

my kid is interested in engineering and i want him to attend purdue even though it's out of state

Good value for out of state option. With my son's merit scholarship, I pay Purdue about the same amount as I pay Ohio State (I live in Ohio)

 

[El Floppo]

Any good news EA/ED ?

 

[Drunken knight]

This week we found out she got into Cal State SF, and Cal State Channel Islands...14 more to go, but she is relieved that she is in nursing programs.

just got into U of Portland with a $104k scholarship

just found out she got into ASU

 

[NutterButter]

A month ago, got our first acceptance to Loyola Chicago. Came with 112k in merit aid. Sounds like its more of a fallback, but since Rutgers isn't in the cards, I now know that our new minimum next year is 40k. How low can the minimum go and then how far will my daughters choice diverge from that. That's the game I play.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

A month ago, got our first acceptance to Loyola Chicago. Came with 112k in merit aid. Sounds like its more of a fallback, but since Rutgers isn't in the cards, I now know that our new minimum next year is 40k. How low can the minimum go and then how far will my daughters choice diverge from that. That's the game I play.

I expect you're familiar with the Loyola campus there but if not, I'd just say that my wife and son were blown away when we toured it. He ended up not going there but it was a close call. If he'd have received that level of merit scholarship money I think he'd probably be there now.

 

[NutterButter]

A month ago, got our first acceptance to Loyola Chicago. Came with 112k in merit aid. Sounds like its more of a fallback, but since Rutgers isn't in the cards, I now know that our new minimum next year is 40k. How low can the minimum go and then how far will my daughters choice diverge from that. That's the game I play.

I expect you're familiar with the Loyola campus there but if not, I'd just say that my wife and son were blown away when we toured it. He ended up not going there but it was a close call. If he'd have received that level of merit scholarship money I think he'd probably be there now.

We're not. Chicago right bc I think there's a few loyolas? We visited a few northeastern schools being from NJ but the plan was to see the type of money we receive and then make spring visits to the few if any we haven't seen that were on the short list. But thank you for the info. I'll pass it along to the two people that have a lot more say in this process.

 

[TennesseeJed]

A month ago, got our first acceptance to Loyola Chicago. Came with 112k in merit aid. Sounds like its more of a fallback, but since Rutgers isn't in the cards, I now know that our new minimum next year is 40k. How low can the minimum go and then how far will my daughters choice diverge from that. That's the game I play.

Daughter got the same scholarship. It was kind of funny because they do rolling admissions - she submitted her application on a Thursday morning, got the acceptance/scholarship on Friday

We did not tour Loyola, but did drive past the campus on way to Northwestern - and as @CletiusMaximus said very nice - and that was a driving factor in daughter submitting an application..

So far, in at Loyola, Kentucky, and Louisville.

She is a semi-finalist for Park Scholarship at NC State - which is a full ride, plus computer, incidentals and study abroad

She has applications in at Purdue and Illinois and we expect decisions in January.

But the big news is that she ultimately decided to do Early Decision 2 at Vanderbilt - with the decision due in early February. It took her a bit to reach a decision on her top school - but she was getting anxious when some of her classmates were getting early decision results, and she wanted to have her best chance at getting in - both overall, but also in not having to compete directly with her classmates, some of who have Vandy in their regular decision list.

She still has to get the Northwestern, and WashU applications completed - but fingers crossed for her that they are not needed.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Side note on the Vandy Early Decision - daughter will be a national merit finalist - and Vandy offers a $6000/yr merit scholarship for that distinction - but, that will be applied before her need-based financial aid is awarded - so its not really a scholarship, as much as it is just a reallocation of the funding sources.

 

[El Floppo]

Side note on the Vandy Early Decision - daughter will be a national merit finalist - and Vandy offers a $6000/yr merit scholarship for that distinction - but, that will be applied before her need-based financial aid is awarded - so its not really a scholarship, as much as it is just a reallocation of the funding sources.

that's awesome!

Not clear- she got in ED to Vandy? or she finds out in Feb?

Do you know what her PSAT score was to make her a finalist? we think my son is on the cusp (did better on the SAT than PSAT, strangely).

and he's also looking at Vandy which has a solid music program.

eta- he's a Jr... so for next year.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Side note on the Vandy Early Decision - daughter will be a national merit finalist - and Vandy offers a $6000/yr merit scholarship for that distinction - but, that will be applied before her need-based financial aid is awarded - so its not really a scholarship, as much as it is just a reallocation of the funding sources.

that's awesome!

Not clear- she got in ED to Vandy? or she finds out in Feb?

Do you know what her PSAT score was to make her a finalist? we think my son is on the cusp (did better on the SAT than PSAT, strangely).

and he's also looking at Vandy which has a solid music program.

She finds out in February - she was going to do just regular decision, but opted for Early Decision 2 - which is still binding, but just a later deadline.

So she obviously took the PSAT last year - I don't recall her total score, but the national merit uses a selection index that is 2x Reading and Writing Raw Score plus your 1x Math Raw score - and then divide by 10.

Then to complicate things further - the national merit cut-off varies by state - based on the top 1% in each state.

For my daughter, her selection index was 219.

I think Floppo Jr will need a 220 in New York.

This is a good blog that tracks the data pretty well, to come up with projected numbers for each state:

National Merit Semifinalist Cutoffs Class of 2025

Compass has analyzed the October 2023 digital PSAT results to see how scores will impact the class of 2025's National Merit hopes.

www.compassprep.com

 

[TennesseeJed]

I should add - that based on that blog - PSAT scores were a bit higher this year, than last. So last year (Class of 2024) - the commended cut-off was 207, and they expect that number to rise to 209 this year, with most states seeing a bump in the score required for national merit semi-finalist.

Once you are a semi-finalist - it is mostly a formality to becoming a finalist - write an essay, get a recommendation from school counselor, and get a conforming score on the SAT/ACT

 

[El Floppo]

Side note on the Vandy Early Decision - daughter will be a national merit finalist - and Vandy offers a $6000/yr merit scholarship for that distinction - but, that will be applied before her need-based financial aid is awarded - so its not really a scholarship, as much as it is just a reallocation of the funding sources.

that's awesome!

Not clear- she got in ED to Vandy? or she finds out in Feb?

Do you know what her PSAT score was to make her a finalist? we think my son is on the cusp (did better on the SAT than PSAT, strangely).

and he's also looking at Vandy which has a solid music program.

She finds out in February - she was going to do just regular decision, but opted for Early Decision 2 - which is still binding, but just a later deadline.

So she obviously took the PSAT last year - I don't recall her total score, but the national merit uses a selection index that is 2x Reading and Writing Raw Score plus your 1x Math Raw score - and then divide by 10.

Then to complicate things further - the national merit cut-off varies by state - based on the top 1% in each state.

For my daughter, her selection index was 219.

I think Floppo Jr will need a 220 in New York.

This is a good blog that tracks the data pretty well, to come up with projected numbers for each state:

National Merit Semifinalist Cutoffs Class of 2025

Compass has analyzed the October 2023 digital PSAT results to see how scores will impact the class of 2025's National Merit hopes.

www.compassprep.com

thanks so much!.

my wife is all over this... I'm always catching up, or just oblivious... .so this is great info.

I recall my wife mentioning the 220 score as the cut for this year. I think that's where he is right now... so there's not any wiggle if it goes up a point (and there were more NYC kids born his year than any in history, so test scores have trended higher at every point of his test-taking life here). he's much stronger at math than english... which also doesn't help.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Side note on the Vandy Early Decision - daughter will be a national merit finalist - and Vandy offers a $6000/yr merit scholarship for that distinction - but, that will be applied before her need-based financial aid is awarded - so its not really a scholarship, as much as it is just a reallocation of the funding sources.

that's awesome!

Not clear- she got in ED to Vandy? or she finds out in Feb?

Do you know what her PSAT score was to make her a finalist? we think my son is on the cusp (did better on the SAT than PSAT, strangely).

and he's also looking at Vandy which has a solid music program.

She finds out in February - she was going to do just regular decision, but opted for Early Decision 2 - which is still binding, but just a later deadline.

So she obviously took the PSAT last year - I don't recall her total score, but the national merit uses a selection index that is 2x Reading and Writing Raw Score plus your 1x Math Raw score - and then divide by 10.

Then to complicate things further - the national merit cut-off varies by state - based on the top 1% in each state.

For my daughter, her selection index was 219.

I think Floppo Jr will need a 220 in New York.

This is a good blog that tracks the data pretty well, to come up with projected numbers for each state:

National Merit Semifinalist Cutoffs Class of 2025

Compass has analyzed the October 2023 digital PSAT results to see how scores will impact the class of 2025's National Merit hopes.

www.compassprep.com

thanks so much!.

my wife is all over this... I'm always catching up, or just oblivious... .so this is great info.

I recall my wife mentioning the 220 score as the cut for this year. I think that's where he is right now... so there's not any wiggle if it goes up a point (and there were more NYC kids born his year than any in history, so test scores have trended higher at every point of his test-taking life here). he's much stronger at math than english... which also doesn't help.

Thats awesome!

I hope the 220 number holds for you. My daughter had the same issue - stronger in math.

 

[El Floppo]

DO you guys know anything about the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Scholarship?

We got a letter about it this week... open to HS Juniors and carries a bunch (100?) 1k scholarships, some (10?) 5k scholarships and 5 FULL scholarships for all 4 years at any school of your choice.

 

[TennesseeJed]

DO you guys know anything about the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Scholarship?

We got a letter about it this week... open to HS Juniors and carries a bunch (100?) 1k scholarships, some (10?) 5k scholarships and 5 FULL scholarships for all 4 years at any school of your choice.

That is not one with which I am familiar, sorry

 

[SteelCurtain]

DO you guys know anything about the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Scholarship?

We got a letter about it this week... open to HS Juniors and carries a bunch (100?) 1k scholarships, some (10?) 5k scholarships and 5 FULL scholarships for all 4 years at any school of your choice.

Not familiar with it. Any scholarship application which requires an application fee is a huge red flag. I'm not saying this one does, but since I haven't heard of it, I thought I would just give you a warning.

 

[El Floppo]

DO you guys know anything about the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Scholarship?

We got a letter about it this week... open to HS Juniors and carries a bunch (100?) 1k scholarships, some (10?) 5k scholarships and 5 FULL scholarships for all 4 years at any school of your choice.

Not familiar with it. Any scholarship application which requires an application fee is a huge red flag. I'm not saying this one does, but since I haven't heard of it, I thought I would just give you a warning.

Only fee I saw offhand was requiring the applicant to read Coolidges autobiography... But that's not really going to them necessarily

 

[NutterButter]

Daughter got accepted to the University of Vermont which is her preferred choice although that still might get trumped by a more prestigious school, but that will be a tough decision b/c she really loves Vermont. 100k merit scholarship so the new leader in the lowest net price clubhouse is Vermont at 36.4k.

 

[The_Man]

Daughter got accepted to the University of Vermont which is her preferred choice although that still might get trumped by a more prestigious school, but that will be a tough decision b/c she really loves Vermont. 100k merit scholarship so the new leader in the lowest net price clubhouse is Vermont at 36.4k.

Congratulations! My younger kid is a junior at UVM and is having a great experience - he picked it over Tulane and Boston University, so prestige doesn't always have to be a determining factor. My wife and I lived in Burlington for the late 90s and still have friends there, so we visited as a family often when my son was younger and that familiarity probably helped shape his decision. Plus it's a great place, he's going to stay there and work this summer.

It's not huge - about 12,000 undergrads - but I was very impressed with the Living/Learning Communities they offer for fresh/soph year that help kids immediately find a group of friends and make a big place smaller and more comfortable. It's kind of a scramble to find good off-campus housing for Junior year but they've begun building a lot more beds that might come online in time for your kid to benefit.

My son was recently accepted into UVM's accelerated Master's in Teaching program - for each of his final 3 semesters, he'll take one master's course that will count toward both his BA and MA degrees, then do a 1-year Master's that gets him teaching certification. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.

 

[NutterButter]

Daughter got accepted to the University of Vermont which is her preferred choice although that still might get trumped by a more prestigious school, but that will be a tough decision b/c she really loves Vermont. 100k merit scholarship so the new leader in the lowest net price clubhouse is Vermont at 36.4k.

Congratulations! My younger kid is a junior at UVM and is having a great experience - he picked it over Tulane and Boston University, so prestige doesn't always have to be a determining factor. My wife and I lived in Burlington for the late 90s and still have friends there, so we visited as a family often when my son was younger and that familiarity probably helped shape his decision. Plus it's a great place, he's going to stay there and work this summer.

It's not huge - about 12,000 undergrads - but I was very impressed with the Living/Learning Communities they offer for fresh/soph year that help kids immediately find a group of friends and make a big place smaller and more comfortable. It's kind of a scramble to find good off-campus housing for Junior year but they've begun building a lot more beds that might come online in time for your kid to benefit.

My son was recently accepted into UVM's accelerated Master's in Teaching program - for each of his final 3 semesters, he'll take one master's course that will count toward both his BA and MA degrees, then do a 1-year Master's that gets him teaching certification. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.

Congratulations to you as well. We all love there and Vermont in general. We mostly go up in the warmer months though so I was curious what its like during the winter. The daughter is gonna be in the area for New Years so I told her to swing by to get a feel. She's been going to a two week camp there for a few years and was actually up there for the entire summer as counselor so she's made a lot of friends that go there. I'm glad to hear that your son is having a great experience. I did a similar program when I was in college. Was a great decision to be able to knock out a masters with just the one year of cost.

 

[The_Man]

Daughter got accepted to the University of Vermont which is her preferred choice although that still might get trumped by a more prestigious school, but that will be a tough decision b/c she really loves Vermont. 100k merit scholarship so the new leader in the lowest net price clubhouse is Vermont at 36.4k.

Congratulations! My younger kid is a junior at UVM and is having a great experience - he picked it over Tulane and Boston University, so prestige doesn't always have to be a determining factor. My wife and I lived in Burlington for the late 90s and still have friends there, so we visited as a family often when my son was younger and that familiarity probably helped shape his decision. Plus it's a great place, he's going to stay there and work this summer.

It's not huge - about 12,000 undergrads - but I was very impressed with the Living/Learning Communities they offer for fresh/soph year that help kids immediately find a group of friends and make a big place smaller and more comfortable. It's kind of a scramble to find good off-campus housing for Junior year but they've begun building a lot more beds that might come online in time for your kid to benefit.

My son was recently accepted into UVM's accelerated Master's in Teaching program - for each of his final 3 semesters, he'll take one master's course that will count toward both his BA and MA degrees, then do a 1-year Master's that gets him teaching certification. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.

Congratulations to you as well. We all love there and Vermont in general. We mostly go up in the warmer months though so I was curious what its like during the winter. The daughter is gonna be in the area for New Years so I told her to swing by to get a feel. She's been going to a two week camp there for a few years and was actually up there for the entire summer as counselor so she's made a lot of friends that go there. I'm glad to hear that your son is having a great experience. I did a similar program when I was in college. Was a great decision to be able to knock out a masters with just the one year of cost.

Yeah, the winters are no joke. For my son, the very early darkness and the bad weather that extends into March are both challenges, much more than the snow or extreme cold during the depth of winter. He took up snowboarding last year (students can get a season pass to Sugarbush for $500 through the Ski Club) and that helped but climate is the one part of UVM that's been a struggle for him. While I don't love his apartment this year, he's happy with it and he locked up a great spot for senior year that he'll keep for his grad school year, so even that aspect of school life has worked out ok.

 

[NutterButter]

Daughter got accepted to the University of Vermont which is her preferred choice although that still might get trumped by a more prestigious school, but that will be a tough decision b/c she really loves Vermont. 100k merit scholarship so the new leader in the lowest net price clubhouse is Vermont at 36.4k.

Congratulations! My younger kid is a junior at UVM and is having a great experience - he picked it over Tulane and Boston University, so prestige doesn't always have to be a determining factor. My wife and I lived in Burlington for the late 90s and still have friends there, so we visited as a family often when my son was younger and that familiarity probably helped shape his decision. Plus it's a great place, he's going to stay there and work this summer.

It's not huge - about 12,000 undergrads - but I was very impressed with the Living/Learning Communities they offer for fresh/soph year that help kids immediately find a group of friends and make a big place smaller and more comfortable. It's kind of a scramble to find good off-campus housing for Junior year but they've begun building a lot more beds that might come online in time for your kid to benefit.

My son was recently accepted into UVM's accelerated Master's in Teaching program - for each of his final 3 semesters, he'll take one master's course that will count toward both his BA and MA degrees, then do a 1-year Master's that gets him teaching certification. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.

Congratulations to you as well. We all love there and Vermont in general. We mostly go up in the warmer months though so I was curious what its like during the winter. The daughter is gonna be in the area for New Years so I told her to swing by to get a feel. She's been going to a two week camp there for a few years and was actually up there for the entire summer as counselor so she's made a lot of friends that go there. I'm glad to hear that your son is having a great experience. I did a similar program when I was in college. Was a great decision to be able to knock out a masters with just the one year of cost.

Yeah, the winters are no joke. For my son, the very early darkness and the bad weather that extends into March are both challenges, much more than the snow or extreme cold during the depth of winter. He took up snowboarding last year (students can get a season pass to Sugarbush for $500 through the Ski Club) and that helped but climate is the one part of UVM that's been a struggle for him. While I don't love his apartment this year, he's happy with it and he locked up a great spot for senior year that he'll keep for his grad school year, so even that aspect of school life has worked out ok.

That's the experience I had the few times I was up there in the winter. Its probably better in burlington, but in other parts, once darkness hits, it seems like the whole state shuts down and its just pitch black everywhere. We're from standard cookie cutter suburbia so we're used to street lights and strip malls and all that being everywhere. Love that place during the daytime but once night hits especially in winter, its eerie. My daughter does love to snowboard so she'll be doing that a lot.

 

[Drunken knight]

This week we found out she got into Cal State SF, and Cal State Channel Islands...14 more to go, but she is relieved that she is in nursing programs.

just got into U of Portland with a $104k scholarship

just found out she got into ASU

We just found out she was accepted to her #1…… U of Hawaii. We are pretty excited

 

[MAC_32]

Daughter got accepted to the University of Vermont which is her preferred choice although that still might get trumped by a more prestigious school, but that will be a tough decision b/c she really loves Vermont. 100k merit scholarship so the new leader in the lowest net price clubhouse is Vermont at 36.4k.

Congratulations! My younger kid is a junior at UVM and is having a great experience - he picked it over Tulane and Boston University, so prestige doesn't always have to be a determining factor. My wife and I lived in Burlington for the late 90s and still have friends there, so we visited as a family often when my son was younger and that familiarity probably helped shape his decision. Plus it's a great place, he's going to stay there and work this summer.

It's not huge - about 12,000 undergrads - but I was very impressed with the Living/Learning Communities they offer for fresh/soph year that help kids immediately find a group of friends and make a big place smaller and more comfortable. It's kind of a scramble to find good off-campus housing for Junior year but they've begun building a lot more beds that might come online in time for your kid to benefit.

My son was recently accepted into UVM's accelerated Master's in Teaching program - for each of his final 3 semesters, he'll take one master's course that will count toward both his BA and MA degrees, then do a 1-year Master's that gets him teaching certification. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.

Congratulations to you as well. We all love there and Vermont in general. We mostly go up in the warmer months though so I was curious what its like during the winter. The daughter is gonna be in the area for New Years so I told her to swing by to get a feel. She's been going to a two week camp there for a few years and was actually up there for the entire summer as counselor so she's made a lot of friends that go there. I'm glad to hear that your son is having a great experience. I did a similar program when I was in college. Was a great decision to be able to knock out a masters with just the one year of cost.

Yeah, the winters are no joke. For my son, the very early darkness and the bad weather that extends into March are both challenges, much more than the snow or extreme cold during the depth of winter. He took up snowboarding last year (students can get a season pass to Sugarbush for $500 through the Ski Club) and that helped but climate is the one part of UVM that's been a struggle for him. While I don't love his apartment this year, he's happy with it and he locked up a great spot for senior year that he'll keep for his grad school year, so even that aspect of school life has worked out ok.

That's the experience I had the few times I was up there in the winter. Its probably better in burlington, but in other parts, once darkness hits, it seems like the whole state shuts down and its just pitch black everywhere. We're from standard cookie cutter suburbia so we're used to street lights and strip malls and all that being everywhere. Love that place during the daytime but once night hits especially in winter, its eerie. My daughter does love to snowboard so she'll be doing that a lot.

Yes- in Burlington during winter is fine (I also have family there). Once you're 2 miles out of town outside of the lit ski slopes it's desolate and dark for > an hour in every direction. It's beautiful in summer/early fall, but once on the other side of peak not-so-much.

 

[jabarony]

Has anyone used online SAT prep courses and/or tutoring - Study Point, Kaplan, Princeton Review and the like? Any feedback on their usefulness? Which programs are the most helpful? Thanks.

 

[bigbottom]

Has anyone used online SAT prep courses and/or tutoring - Study Point, Kaplan, Princeton Review and the like? Any feedback on their usefulness? Which programs are the most helpful? Thanks.

We didn’t use any online prep courses, so my reply isn’t really responsive to your question. But one recommendation I would make is to find past versions of the exam (there are online sources or at least there were 5 years ago - and you can buy books that have full past exams). And then I would have your child take the actual exam sections under testing conditions. It doesn’t have to be all the sections in one shot, but it helps if you do that at least once.

 

[El Floppo]

Has anyone used online SAT prep courses and/or tutoring - Study Point, Kaplan, Princeton Review and the like? Any feedback on their usefulness? Which programs are the most helpful? Thanks.

We didn’t use any online prep courses, so my reply isn’t really responsive to your question. But one recommendation I would make is to find past versions of the exam (there are online sources or at least there were 5 years ago - and you can buy books that have full past exams). And then I would have your child take the actual exam sections under testing conditions. It doesn’t have to be all the sections in one shot, but it helps if you do that at least once.

This is exactly what my kid did... Helped him a lot. I think he found a lot of them and took as many as he could... Either in parts or fully, as you described.

 

[El Floppo]

This week we found out she got into Cal State SF, and Cal State Channel Islands...14 more to go, but she is relieved that she is in nursing programs.

just got into U of Portland with a $104k scholarship

just found out she got into ASU

We just found out she was accepted to her #1…… U of Hawaii. We are pretty excited

Amazing! Congrats!

My very gb who has lived in the East Bay for years just sent his youngest to U of HI this year.. she loves it. Was also her top choice.

 

[Drunken knight]

This week we found out she got into Cal State SF, and Cal State Channel Islands...14 more to go, but she is relieved that she is in nursing programs.

just got into U of Portland with a $104k scholarship

just found out she got into ASU

We just found out she was accepted to her #1…… U of Hawaii. We are pretty excited

Amazing! Congrats!

My very gb who has lived in the East Bay for years just sent his youngest to U of HI this year.. she loves it. Was also her top choice.

Ty…. She is fluctuating. ASU is now #1, with the possibility of sdsu sneaking in.

We are going to head out to phx in Feb, and mix in a little Cabo afterwards.

 

[El Floppo]

This week we found out she got into Cal State SF, and Cal State Channel Islands...14 more to go, but she is relieved that she is in nursing programs.

just got into U of Portland with a $104k scholarship

just found out she got into ASU

We just found out she was accepted to her #1…… U of Hawaii. We are pretty excited

Amazing! Congrats!

My very gb who has lived in the East Bay for years just sent his youngest to U of HI this year.. she loves it. Was also her top choice.

Ty…. She is fluctuating. ASU is now #1, with the possibility of sdsu sneaking in.

We are going to head out to phx in Feb, and mix in a little Cabo afterwards.

My friends daughter has suffered with some pscho-emotional issues her whole life. Told her folks she wanted to go to school someplace where the place would make her happy to wake up to every day... So far so good.

 

[shuke]

Has anyone used online SAT prep courses and/or tutoring - Study Point, Kaplan, Princeton Review and the like? Any feedback on their usefulness? Which programs are the most helpful? Thanks.

We used a local source for my son. It brought his ACT score up 5 points.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Has anyone used online SAT prep courses and/or tutoring - Study Point, Kaplan, Princeton Review and the like? Any feedback on their usefulness? Which programs are the most helpful? Thanks.

Just to echo what a few others have added - we bought a couple of books that had full tests.

For our daughter it was less about learning any new material, or test-taking "tricks" - as much as it was getting accustomed to the timing and rhythm of the test. So, just having the timed practice tests was enough for her to find the right pacing - particularly on the math part, where she is smart - but can be very deliberate (i.e. takes too much time).

 

[NutterButter]

This week we found out she got into Cal State SF, and Cal State Channel Islands...14 more to go, but she is relieved that she is in nursing programs.

just got into U of Portland with a $104k scholarship

just found out she got into ASU

We just found out she was accepted to her #1…… U of Hawaii. We are pretty excited

That would be my #1 choice as well but that's speaking as a 46 year old