Any College Admissions Experts Here?

[aigel]

Originally Posted by McLovin

If it’s scholarships your after, she’s already in the money at places like LSU and Alabama (and others). She’ll likely end up getting full scholarship offers at those places.

This is a good example that I will use to demonstrate my point:
Say she gets into MIT or Caltech over LSU or Alabama, would you let her go to LSU or Alabama because it is free? Do you even talk to her about LSU and Alabama now if she has a crack at a much higher level school? I sure would not try to slow her down at this point. And if she makes it to MIT or Caltech, I'd man up and pay for it!

G

[PorscheGAL]

I respectfully disagree about paying MIT or Caltech. At a yearly cost of nearly $75K, that is a cost beyond what most can pay out of pocket. Yes MIT can open some doors but in the length of a career, most would argue that it is not where you went to school but your ability that will get you where you want to be.

We always told our son, the college to attend is the cheapest that has your degree. That enabled us to use money to enhance his experience. He got a full ride to a state school but has spent time in two countries and will be in 2 more next year taking classes. Could he have gone to an Ivy League, yes, but then we would not have been able to pay for the foreign travel.

To the OP: admissions people will look at her grades, class rank and her test scores the most to determine acceptance and scholarship amounts. Your daughter is on the right track. I think she would do well no matter what high school she attends with her test scores. So, where would she be happiest? Where will she get to experience the most of what she wants to experience? You are only in high school once. There is a good chance any teen will never play in a band or play a team sport again after this time. If that is something she wants to experience, go to the school that allows that.

Good luck to you and your daughter!

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

I respectfully disagree about paying MIT or Caltech. At a yearly cost of nearly $75K, that is a cost beyond what most can pay out of pocket. Yes MIT can open some doors but in the length of a career, most would argue that it is not where you went to school but your ability that will get you where you want to be.

We always told our son, the college to attend is the cheapest that has your degree. That enabled us to use money to enhance his experience. He got a full ride to a state school but has spent time in two countries and will be in 2 more next year taking classes. Could he have gone to an Ivy League, yes, but then we would not have been able to pay for the foreign travel.

To the OP: admissions people will look at her grades, class rank and her test scores the most to determine acceptance and scholarship amounts. Your daughter is on the right track. I think she would do well no matter what high school she attends with her test scores. So, where would she be happiest? Where will she get to experience the most of what she wants to experience? You are only in high school once. There is a good chance any teen will never play in a band or play a team sport again after this time. If that is something she wants to experience, go to the school that allows that.

Good luck to you and your daughter!

^^^^ That is the best post ever on this topic ...

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

I respectfully disagree about paying MIT or Caltech. At a yearly cost of nearly $75K, that is a cost beyond what most can pay out of pocket. Yes MIT can open some doors but in the length of a career, most would argue that it is not where you went to school but your ability that will get you where you want to be.

We always told our son, the college to attend is the cheapest that has your degree. That enabled us to use money to enhance his experience. He got a full ride to a state school but has spent time in two countries and will be in 2 more next year taking classes. Could he have gone to an Ivy League, yes, but then we would not have been able to pay for the foreign travel.

To the OP: admissions people will look at her grades, class rank and her test scores the most to determine acceptance and scholarship amounts. Your daughter is on the right track. I think she would do well no matter what high school she attends with her test scores. So, where would she be happiest? Where will she get to experience the most of what she wants to experience? You are only in high school once. There is a good chance any teen will never play in a band or play a team sport again after this time. If that is something she wants to experience, go to the school that allows that.

Good luck to you and your daughter!

Thanks. We have full faith in her decision making with respect to her academics. She’s completely a self starter there. I didn’t know a subject matter SAT was even a thing.

Saddling myself or her with a $250,000 debt for a nameplate doesn’t seem like it’s in anyone’s best interest.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mepstein]

When our kids were going to college, we didn't look at scholarships, we looked at the schools financial aid package. You can get an idea of what the school will actually cost you by using the schools online financial calculator. It's on every schools website. Some of the most expensive private schools are actually some of the most affordable based on their financial aid packages. Google "top 50 affordable colleges" or similar terms.

My kids both attended top rated schools. We paid my kids tuition except for their govt loans. My son had no trouble paying off all his loans the first year out of school. Daughter graduates this year.

Oh, the name of the school matters a lot. My son is looking at Stanford, Wharton and Harvard for his MBA. He doesn't really care what the school cost because he knows it's an investment and will come back in multiples.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by mepstein

Oh, the name of the school matters a lot. My son is looking at Stanford, Wharton and Harvard for his MBA. He doesn't really care what the school cost because he knows it's an investment and will come back in multiples.

The Ivy and Ivy likes are a different conversation and part of what he's getting from those schools is key to many doors.

When it comes to class rank, many of the kids my daughter is competing against would list attendance at Kumon Learning Center as their extra-curricular activity.

She works hard at her school work because she enjoys it and that's good enough for me.

[mepstein]

Originally Posted by wilnj

The Ivy and Ivy likes are a different conversation and part of what he's getting from those schools is key to many doors.

When it comes to class rank, many of the kids my daughter is competing against would list attendance at Kumon Learning Center as their extra-curricular activity.

She works hard at her school work because she enjoys it and that's good enough for me.

I agree that name is probably more important with grad school. And we have always encouraged our kids to do what they love. My son flipped the end of his sophomore year to a physics major. People asked what kind of job he would get from that. I replied that I didn't care, he was doing what he enjoyed. He accepted a job with a good six figure salary the end of his junior year from a company he interned with over the summer.

But look at those financial aid calculators. They tell the real story when it comes to the cost of college.

[mepstein]

I also worked at Sallie Mae for 2 1/2 years. I always felt parents made the mistake of letting their kids choose and fall in love with a college and then trying to figure out how to pay for it after they were accepted. That would be like me going to a Porsche dealership and picking out a GT3RS and then looking at my bank account - LOL, ain't gonna happen. Some of my kids friends are millionaires and at least one is a billionaire but that's not us. So we looked at a list of the top 50 most affordable colleges and chose from there. Luckily my kids had the grades and test scores to make it work.
If finances are a parameter, you have to put it out there before the student applies, not after. Just don't make the decision based on the retail price of the school.

[aigel]

Some of you really have an issue with reading comprehension. Let's spell it out again:

If you do not have the money to pay for a top school, they will lower the cost to a level that's affordable to you. If you do not have the funds to send them for a semester abroad, the school will pay for it.

Of course it is possible that you all have the money in the bank but aren't ready to cough it up???

I hire people in high tech - it does make a big difference where your degree is from, especially if I have two otherwise equal candidates, the one from the better school will get the job. I.e. Stanford vs. Univ. of Alabama. Yes, these schools put out different candidates.

Unless you have seen it play out, you probably underestimate the power of the network of a top school. Nowadays it is electronic. You can reach out to the entire alumni network, not just people you went to school with. And they take their alma mater very serious.

So, back to the OP, here some points on the two schools:

Advantages Regular HS
- The regular high school will give your kid more opportunity to shine. This means school rank as well as the ability to get more attention by the counselor(s) and the teachers, including letters of recommendation.
- The regular high school has more AP classes. These in my book are worth more (both for college admission but also personal academic benefit).
- Generally it sounds like something she wants to do to have a more rounded experience.

Advantages Specialized (current) HS:
- The current specialized high school will be on college's radar. They know exactly what schools are higher ranking and it will count.
- The current school sounds like it is loaded with striving kids, this will help pull up the average, less distractions, more positive peer pressure to do well.
- Changing schools half way through will be challenging both in terms of curriculum, GPA arithmetics as well as making new friends

I am not sure if there is a clear path that's better on which HS to attend. If your daughter feels she is missing out in non-academic areas by not going to the regular HS, then I would advise to change. If her concerns are maximizing her chances into a good school like MIT or Caltech then she should stay where she is at and strive for the best academics and bolster her extracurricular expanding something she has been doing for some time already, i.e. a sport, an instrument, a volunteering position, internship etc.

Hope this helps.

G

[aigel]

Originally Posted by wilnj

Saddling myself or her with a $250,000 debt for a nameplate doesn’t seem like it’s in anyone’s best interest.

As advised, go to a cost calculator of any of the top schools and you will see that this will not be necessary.

G

[aigel]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

I respectfully disagree about paying MIT or Caltech. At a yearly cost of nearly $75K, that is a cost beyond what most can pay out of pocket. Yes MIT can open some doors but in the length of a career, most would argue that it is not where you went to school but your ability that will get you where you want to be.

The only people that argue this are the ones that didn't go to MIT or Caltech. Sure, you can make up for going to an average school, but why put yourself into this position out of the gate if you have the ability to start out at the top?

G

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by aigel

As advised, go to a cost calculator of any of the top schools and you will see that this will not be necessary.

G

Thanks for that. Very interesting, my 2017 return is a bit of an outlier so I'll need to study that a little more but using same values for CalTech (out of state) and Rutgers (in-state), the cost is the same.

[mepstein]

Originally Posted by wilnj

Thanks for that. Very interesting, my 2017 return is a bit of an outlier so I'll need to study that a little more but using same values for CalTech (out of state) and Rutgers (in-state), the cost is the same.

The best schools want the best kids and they adjust the students cost to get them. It pays off for the school when those kids enter the workforce, make money and then give back to the schools.

[RWebb]

Cal Tech will be tough with a 91 percentile, as will the other elite schools - not impossible tho

one step down from 'top 10' schools is very doable, and UNC fits there

another option is going to an xlnt. liberal arts college instead of a research univ. - might be preferable if not a science major and certainly not a bad choice even if she is

at a small school the faculty will actually pay attention to her as they don't have graduate students
OTOH, at a research univ. she can learn from faculty who are on the cutting edge of science and see what grad. students, post-docs do as well

so, that's the trade-off

[wilnj]

My plan is to sit down with her and start exploring the college options later this school year looking to plan some campus visits for the summer into next year.

The origin of my question has been answered, ultimately it will be her decision but this thread has given me a lot to review with her if she is still interested in making a change.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[aigel]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Cal Tech will be tough with a 91 percentile, as will the other elite schools - not impossible tho

Usually the PSAT is taken without much study, so that's a good number and usually a student with such a PSAT can get to the 98th percentile in junior year on the SAT with some work.

G

[aigel]

Originally Posted by wilnj

My plan is to sit down with her and start exploring the college options later this school year looking to plan some campus visits for the summer into next year.

The origin of my question has been answered, ultimately it will be her decision but this thread has given me a lot to review with her if she is still interested in making a change.

Awesome! My advice is to cast a wide net. Picks from a slam dunk safety school to some top schools in the country should be on her list. Nothing is more fun than working with a motivated kid and telling them the sky is the limit!

G

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by aigel

Usually the PSAT is taken without much study, so that's a good number and usually a student with such a PSAT can get to the 98th percentile in junior year on the SAT with some work.

G

She sat for the PSAT as a freshman because she was curious about it. Who decides to volunteer for a test on a Saturday morning just for the giggles?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mepstein]

My son and his friends started taking the SAT’s in 7th grade.

[Cajundaddy]

It really circles back around to what she would like her college experience to prepare her for. Choose a school that meets those goals and figure out how to get there. For some, an AA degree or state school is plenty. Others will benefit a great deal from Harvard, Yale, or MIT if they have the right stuff to get in.

My wife and I had a career path in mind and an Ivy League education would have been completely superfluous. Two of our kids benefited from a highly rated UC education. One went for a masters in education and chose an elite school to boost her resume. This was an effective strategy as she prefers to move around and not stay in one school for a long time. She always gets on the short list of candidates for a position and is usually their 1st choice. After 10 years of teaching she is now considering teacher development. In her case the elite school masters degree quickly paid for itself in opportunities.