Advice for me and my Jr in HS

11,018 Views | 56 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Macarthur
Macarthur
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Basics:
Took SAT and ACT cold turkey to find out which one he wanted to focus on
SAT 1400
ACT 32

right at top 15% in class in top performing school with lots of AP classes, etc.

Very good musician which will have several auditions for music $

Major: not too sure.
Was intrigued by the Geology IT program at Tx State
Natural sciences
Engineering in the mix

Music minor most likely.

Schools:
UNT (strong music program)
Tx State (decent music Geology)
UT (music & science)
TCU (family legacy)

A&M - not much interest by my son due to having to be in corp for marching band.

Anyone have any experience that is similar and what his odds are at getting some $ at the schools. Any thoughts or experience with those other schools, etc.

Thanks
Macarthur
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Let me also add that if the threshold is close to what it was last year, he will be a national merit finalist.
powerbelly
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AG

Quote:

UNT (strong music program)
Tx State (decent music Geology)
UT (music & science)
TCU (family legacy)
Of those options, UT all day, but if he is a Merit finalist there will be good scholarships available that should even the cost quite a bit.
Macarthur
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powerbelly said:


Quote:

UNT (strong music program)
Tx State (decent music Geology)
UT (music & science)
TCU (family legacy)
Of those options, UT all day, but if he is a Merit finalist there will be good scholarships available that should even the cost quite a bit.



Yes I would agree with that. As much as I do not like the university of Texas, I know how great of a school It is. However I have read a lot about how stingy they are.
HECUBUS
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AG
tu pulled a major SNAFU this year and has done their best to keep it hidden. I lost what little respect I had for tu as their academics are as big of a clown show as their athletics.

We have a senior and many of his friends and classmates were caught up in this. At first I thought people were buying their way in as dozens of low performers got accepted. Conversely, dozens of high performers got CAP'ed.

Then a story came out about a supposedly isolated case in Highland Park. Seems someone in admissions accepted the kids to be CAP'ed and CAP'ed the kids to be accepted. Where did VY work?

One of our son's friends found 'a guy' to help him appeal for thousands of dollars. He got in. It turned out that everyone that appealed got in. They also mysteriously extended their appeal deadlines this year. I've heard the same at Roundrock, Westlake and Highland Park. I guess it wasn't so isolated. The good news is a lot of smart kids dodged a bullet an ended up at ATM. The kids that really wanted tu and were qualified appealed and they all got in. A bunch of kids that have no business getting into tu did. It's a win, win, win.

I've only seen a handful of mentions about this. We know to avoid all things tu. We live in Austin and they have ripped us off hundreds of dollars in kid's sports camps. I had a least a little respect for their academics until this. Some kids/parents were hit hard.

https://texadmissions.com/blog/2019/4/2/ut-admits-record-number-on-appeal

That link is worth a read if you want some entertainment about this from someone who claims to have a lot of experience with appeals.

I believe back in 2015, they sent out a bunch of acceptances and retracted them after making a similar mistake. Maybe that along with the recent pay to get in as a tennis player scandal is why they are keeping quiet.
Duncan Idaho
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I am of the firm belief that the most important consideration for what school a kid goes to is "what employment/grad school opportunities will I have in 4 years" basically what companies recruit from that school matters more than how good the program is, how much they like the school, or how much scholarship money they are getting.

Yes you can be successful starting off at a mediocre company with a mediocre job after graduating from a mediocre school.

But for every time you replace one of those mediocres with a great and you drastically increase your chances of being successful.

To give you an idea of how important that first job is, I still get credit for working for a big 6 out of school. There are simply certain companies that only recruit from certain schools and if you land a job with them directly out of school, you are on a different playing field.


HECUBUS
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AG
Jr firstborn, that was us last year. We visited a bunch of schools of all kinds. It was fun. When it came down to crunch time, our senior started looking at things that mattered.

He actually found his school after applying to a bunch of others that he had no intention of attending.

What finally mattered.
1) top ten in his field
2) accepting of all his college credit (60+ hours)
3) good medical school on campus
4) honors, honors and honors
5) good size with all the basic college experiences
HECUBUS
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AG
Threshold last year was 1480 for semi finalists , for commended it was close to 1400, maybe 1410 or 1420. Easy to google that.

I have no idea what the SAT requirement was after the PSAT. Ours did 60 points better on the SAT taken two weeks after the PSAT.
Macarthur
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That's crazy.
Ol Jock 99
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AG
What does he want to do with music? Performance, teach, HS band? Tceh has a very good HA band program. If he wants to perform, especially if he's classical, look east.
Macarthur
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Ol Jock 99 said:

What does he want to do with music? Performance, teach, HS band? Tceh has a very good HA band program. If he wants to perform, especially if he's classical, look east.
He wants to perform and compose. I worry about the practicality of music and he has a good stem brain.
Ol Jock 99
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AG
What instrument? My kids go to a really good music school (they are the slackers) that puts a lot of kids at top end music colleges.

Your concerns aren't unwarranted. Professional musician is a tough life. Even for those that "make it".
Macarthur
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Ol Jock 99 said:

What instrument? My kids go to a really good music school (they are the slackers) that puts a lot of kids at top end music colleges.

Your concerns aren't unwarranted. Professional musician is a tough life. Even for those that "make it".
He's a percussionist
Stressboy
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AG
Macarthur said:

Basics:
Took SAT and ACT cold turkey to find out which one he wanted to focus on
SAT 1400
ACT 32

right at top 15% in class in top performing school with lots of AP classes, etc.

Very good musician which will have several auditions for music $

Major: not too sure.
Was intrigued by the Geology IT program at Tx State
Natural sciences
Engineering in the mix

Music minor most likely.

Schools:
UNT (strong music program)
Tx State (decent music Geology)
UT (music & science)
TCU (family legacy)

A&M - not much interest by my son due to having to be in corp for marching band.

Anyone have any experience that is similar and what his odds are at getting some $ at the schools. Any thoughts or experience with those other schools, etc.

Thanks



Have a friend whose kid was Allstate and chose A&M engineering but also plays in the A&M wind symphony. Kid is very happy. If they are not going the music career path then this is a good option.
DrZ
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AG
What is Geology IT?
Geology is not listed on Texas States list of undergraduate degrees. Geography is. Geography IS is also listed.
Both are very weak degrees in the job market.
Your son has a great resume. Do not let him go to Texas State. A music degree from NT is better than that.
On his list the clear winner is UT.
TCU will throw money at him.
NT is only for music.
Texas State is last place by far.
one MEEN Ag
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AG
Macarthur said:

Basics:
Took SAT and ACT cold turkey to find out which one he wanted to focus on
SAT 1400
ACT 32

right at top 15% in class in top performing school with lots of AP classes, etc.

Very good musician which will have several auditions for music $

Major: not too sure.
Was intrigued by the Geology IT program at Tx State
Natural sciences
Engineering in the mix

Music minor most likely.

Schools:
UNT (strong music program)
Tx State (decent music Geology)
UT (music & science)
TCU (family legacy)

A&M - not much interest by my son due to having to be in corp for marching band.

Anyone have any experience that is similar and what his odds are at getting some $ at the schools. Any thoughts or experience with those other schools, etc.

Thanks

A&M has a non-marching orchestra. Buddy did that in college and completed a hard STEM degree. If music is his passion, but it won't be his career I would recommend that.

Macarthur
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DrZ said:

What is Geology IT?
Geology is not listed on Texas States list of undergraduate degrees. Geography is. Geography IS is also listed.
Both are very weak degrees in the job market.
Your son has a great resume. Do not let him go to Texas State. A music degree from NT is better than that.
On his list the clear winner is UT.
TCU will throw money at him.
NT is only for music.
Texas State is last place by far.
It's Geographic Information Science. I haven't done a ton of research into it, but it was being presented as one of the top in the nation and the guy running the program is highly sought after.

It also appears that there is a robust job market for this degree plan.

I would agree that, all things being equal, Texas State would be last on that list.

Macarthur
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one MEEN Ag said:

Macarthur said:

Basics:
Took SAT and ACT cold turkey to find out which one he wanted to focus on
SAT 1400
ACT 32

right at top 15% in class in top performing school with lots of AP classes, etc.

Very good musician which will have several auditions for music $

Major: not too sure.
Was intrigued by the Geology IT program at Tx State
Natural sciences
Engineering in the mix

Music minor most likely.

Schools:
UNT (strong music program)
Tx State (decent music Geology)
UT (music & science)
TCU (family legacy)

A&M - not much interest by my son due to having to be in corp for marching band.

Anyone have any experience that is similar and what his odds are at getting some $ at the schools. Any thoughts or experience with those other schools, etc.

Thanks

A&M has a non-marching orchestra. Buddy did that in college and completed a hard STEM degree. If music is his passion, but it won't be his career I would recommend that.



thanks.
Macarthur
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Stressboy said:

Macarthur said:

Basics:
Took SAT and ACT cold turkey to find out which one he wanted to focus on
SAT 1400
ACT 32

right at top 15% in class in top performing school with lots of AP classes, etc.

Very good musician which will have several auditions for music $

Major: not too sure.
Was intrigued by the Geology IT program at Tx State
Natural sciences
Engineering in the mix

Music minor most likely.

Schools:
UNT (strong music program)
Tx State (decent music Geology)
UT (music & science)
TCU (family legacy)

A&M - not much interest by my son due to having to be in corp for marching band.

Anyone have any experience that is similar and what his odds are at getting some $ at the schools. Any thoughts or experience with those other schools, etc.

Thanks



Have a friend whose kid was Allstate and chose A&M engineering but also plays in the A&M wind symphony. Kid is very happy. If they are not going the music career path then this is a good option.

Finally talked my son into adding A&M to his ACT distribution. I think this is the way he is going...Engineering and Music that is.

His first choice is still UT as he's a city boy. But I made him understand that if he does want to go engineering, A&M pretty much has to be on his list.


He's scheduled to take the ACT again in July. Found out (he was afraid to tell me) that he forgot his calculator in the car when he took the last one. So he got his 32 ACT without a calc. Hoping he can really improve on that this time...
Macarthur
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got his new score back. He got a 35. obviously, very proud.

Any thoughts on how much merit $ might be out there? Lots of AP classes. Ledership and acomplishment in music, also.
Oogway
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Congratulations to him, he did very well.

How was his PSAT? National Merit often accrues scholarships, but even without it, high test scores overall don't hurt. However, merit aid is very institution dependent. For example, full tuition scholarship at UT-Dallas vs a smaller scholarship at UT. Whenever one is submitting apps, always tick the box to be considered for scholarships and go for it.
I'm sure others will have more detailed advice.

Good luck to him!

Macarthur
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Oogway said:

Congratulations to him, he did very well.

How was his PSAT? National Merit often accrues scholarships, but even without it, high test scores overall don't hurt. However, merit aid is very institution dependent. For example, full tuition scholarship at UT-Dallas vs a smaller scholarship at UT. Whenever one is submitting apps, always tick the box to be considered for scholarships and go for it.
I'm sure others will have more detailed advice.

Good luck to him!



He got a 1470 on his PSAT
Oogway
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That number, is that something new with the PSAT where they've scaled it similar to the SAT? The cut-offs that my children have talked about (for Texas) were in the 200s. As in 212 I think was commended and 221 was NM. (For 2019 last year-it may go higher or lower depending) We had our children take care of that on their own (prepping/scores/applications) so I am not super familiar with the scoring other than what is generally a high percentile.

If your child is a rising senior, they should find out after school begins if they are in the NM candidacy pool and that can increase their prospects. Either way, there are many good schools for a student such as your son.
Macarthur
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Oogway said:

That number, is that something new with the PSAT where they've scaled it similar to the SAT? The cut-offs that my children have talked about (for Texas) were in the 200s. As in 212 I think was commended and 221 was NM. (For 2019 last year-it may go higher or lower depending) We had our children take care of that on their own (prepping/scores/applications) so I am not super familiar with the scoring other than what is generally a high percentile.

If your child is a rising senior, they should find out after school begins if they are in the NM candidacy pool and that can increase their prospects. Either way, there are many good schools for a student such as your son.
https://www.compassprep.com/psat-national-merit-faq/

my son is at 221, which has been the cutoff for the last two years. So if it says the same, he's in.
Oogway
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That's great! It really comes down to visiting the schools and narrowing down which one is the best fit for him. If he has been to all of the campuses already, some other things he might wish to do is pore over their degree plans and see exactly what his path would look like.
Macarthur
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Tell me about the environmental engineering program and future job prospects. Son has shown some interest there.
lost my dog
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Macarthur said:

Tell me about the environmental engineering program and future job prospects. Son has shown some interest there.
It's a new degree program in the Department of Civil Engineering. The department has always had a environmental track, but because of demand (student and employer) the degree was created. There is always demand for environmental engineers in the state of Texas, and Civil Engineering has tight relationships with employers.

If you want more details, contact one of the advisors in Civil Engineering
Macarthur
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Thanks.
Macarthur
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My son will be a national merit semi finalist. Obviously great news.

His application to A&M has been submitted. Looking to go engineering.

35 ACT and NMSF lots of AP classes and strong band EC's.

Do you think we can expect some merit $ ?
HECUBUS
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AG
Congratulations. Don't expect anything other than crickets from Texas schools. Meanwhile out of state schools will roll out the red carpet.

It's a numbers game. There are tons of like qualified kids in Texas. Top flagship ACC, Big ten, PAC 12 and out of state SEC schools will offer you more. That was our experience. You can also chose to pay twice as much at a name prestige school.
Macarthur
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Tech offers full cost of attendance for national merit finalist. UTD and UNT do, as well.

https://www.depts.ttu.edu/admissions/NationalMerit/

https://honors.utdallas.edu/nmsp/scholarship

https://www.unt.edu/nationalmerit



Oogway
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Macarthur said:

My son will be a national merit semi finalist. Obviously great news.

His application to A&M has been submitted. Looking to go engineering.

35 ACT and NMSF lots of AP classes and strong band EC's.

Do you think we can expect some merit $ ?
Congratulations to him! You must be very proud of his achievements. This was our family's experience:

Also NM, won't go into the rest but similar to yours as far as testing, extracurriculars, etc.

Attended the Scholar Day (or whatever it was called) invite from UT and A&M prior to making decision.

Offered nationwide and as Hecubus mentioned, many programs waived tuition, but really preferred to attend in state.

Offer from both UT and A&M were similar and by combining scholarships covered tuition so it came down to deciding on which school was the best fit. Selected A&M and never had a regret.


Both A&M and UT are competitive and receive applications from outstanding students statewide. I'm sure those that award scholarships would love to have as many students as possible receive them, but many of those scholarships rely on donors, the real driving force behind any great school. If you know a donor, thank them! If you are a donor, thank you!

Good luck to him!
Macarthur
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Oogway said:

Macarthur said:

My son will be a national merit semi finalist. Obviously great news.

His application to A&M has been submitted. Looking to go engineering.

35 ACT and NMSF lots of AP classes and strong band EC's.

Do you think we can expect some merit $ ?
Congratulations to him! You must be very proud of his achievements. This was our family's experience:

Also NM, won't go into the rest but similar to yours as far as testing, extracurriculars, etc.

Attended the Scholar Day (or whatever it was called) invite from UT and A&M prior to making decision.

Offered nationwide and as Hecubus mentioned, many programs waived tuition, but really preferred to attend in state.

Offer from both UT and A&M were similar and by combining scholarships covered tuition so it came down to deciding on which school was the best fit. Selected A&M and never had a regret.


Both A&M and UT are competitive and receive applications from outstanding students statewide. I'm sure those that award scholarships would love to have as many students as possible receive them, but many of those scholarships rely on donors, the real driving force behind any great school. If you know a donor, thank them! If you are a donor, thank you!

Good luck to him!
Thanks. He wants to stay in state so we're really pretty much just looking at UT, A&M, Tech, UTD and maybe SMU or TCU (family legacy). TCU doesn't have engineering so it's down the list.
histag10
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AG
Congratulations to your son.

Here is a link to what is guaranteed of NMSF at TAMU:

http://scholarships.tamu.edu/Scholarship-Programs/National-Scholars#0-NationalMeritScholars

Being a finalist would also mean that your child (as an engineering major) would also potentially qualify for some of the partner foundation scholarships. You can visit scholarships.tamu.edu for information on each of these programs.
Macarthur
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histag10 said:

Congratulations to your son.

Here is a link to what is guaranteed of NMSF at TAMU:

http://scholarships.tamu.edu/Scholarship-Programs/National-Scholars#0-NationalMeritScholars

Being a finalist would also mean that your child (as an engineering major) would also potentially qualify for some of the partner foundation scholarships. You can visit scholarships.tamu.edu for information on each of these programs.

Thanks!
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