My junior son just made a 1500 on the SAT to go with a 35 on the ACT. He takes challenging classes (AP Chemistry, AP Spanish IV, AP History...), but doesn't study a lot and never will. He's very interested in science, but the rigors of a traditional STEM program probably won't work well. You know, the kind of kid who can name every flower in the field, but doesn't turn in the biology assignment.

Anyway, we're definitely willing to chase money if anybody knows a place that pays for super smart kids with average grades.

If he gets National Merit there might be some money but typically you need both. Merit money is tough to come by and especially if you don't have grades.

FWIW I have known some kids like your son and typically they do best in smaller engineering focused schools. They challenge them but in interesting ways that keep them engaged. Colorado School of Mines. Olin. Rose Hulman. Embry-Riddle. All have strong outcomes and are challenging but focused on STEM. You have to work and study but often a kid just needs to do things that interest them and not have to study a bunch of stuff they aren't interested in.

There is no path that doesn't involve work and study but you can find places that allow kids that need to stay engaged to flourish.

Yeah, I don't want to spend big bucks on a lost cause. It has to be a good fit.

I would try some aptitude testing this summer - AIMS, Johnson O'Connor, etc. Don't just rely on the cheap entry level stuff they do at schools. That might help him find his passion.

Also, prepare yourself for how competitive the landscape is currently - a 1500 alone is not going to get him into a top 30-40 school. Focus on best fit over US News ranking.

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Also, prepare yourself for how competitive the landscape is currently - a 1500 alone is not going to get him into a top 30-40 school. Focus on best fit over US News ranking.

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Yeah, this has been my experience. We preach to our youngsters that getting that Eagles Scout or Volunteer award or other extracurriculars will make the shine.

In reality, they mean nothing as admissions offices seemed completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of applications. The approach they deploy to actual holistic review is pretty sketchy, and therefore things like GPA tend to be the easy method to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Go watch the College Confidential podcast on UT-Austin admissions this year for a peak into the sausage factory.

And A&M is not interested in much of all except meeting the Top 10% rule and spamming out Blinn Team offers to anyone outside that rule. I know four kids that were just outside the Top 10% at elite private schools who got the Blinn Team offer for May while getting into McCombs. That is insanity.

Senator Blutarski said:

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I would try some aptitude testing this summer - AIMS, Johnson O'Connor, etc. Don't just rely on the cheap entry level stuff they do at schools. That might help him find his passion.

Also, prepare yourself for how competitive the landscape is currently - a 1500 alone is not going to get him into a top 30-40 school. Focus on best fit over US News ranking.

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Don't want a top 30 or 40 school. Sorry, I thought I made that clear. Most of those places are pointless, since you can just go there for free to get a doctorate if you need to. And if you just want a bachelor's, paying $300K for a hyper-competitive environment isn't a good fit for many kids.

My daughter got good money to go to a small private, and now A&M is giving her $35K to get her doctorate.

Other daughter is taking the full ride at Tulsa.

My son needs a place where he can follow his interests without worrying about a room full of geniuses who study all night.

I kind of think wildlife and fisheries, or some kind of naturalist.

Windy City Ag said:

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Also, prepare yourself for how competitive the landscape is currently - a 1500 alone is not going to get him into a top 30-40 school. Focus on best fit over US News ranking.

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Yeah, this has been my experience. We preach to our youngsters that getting that Eagles Scout or Volunteer award or other extracurriculars will make the shine.

In reality, they mean nothing as admissions offices seemed completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of applications. The approach they deploy to actual holistic review is pretty sketchy, and therefore things like GPA tend to be the easy method to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Go watch the College Confidential podcast on UT-Austin admissions this year for a peak into the sausage factory.

And A&M is not interested in much of all except meeting the Top 10% rule and spamming out Blinn Team offers to anyone outside that rule. I know four kids that were just outside the Top 10% at elite private schools who got the Blinn Team offer for May while getting into McCombs. That is insanity.

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Yeah, Big Box U would be a pretty bad fit. And so many of those kids are just great at taking care of their business, making A's, and grinding...who knows how many actually want to be engineers. Give me the kid from Lamar, Texas Tech, UH, UTA...let me see what's in their DNA, their background, their curiosity...lots of hidden gems.

Every school posts their middle 50 test results. Start there and make sure your student is among the top quarter. Typically, it is a good indicator that your student may find some merit dollars.

94chem said:

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My junior son just made a 1500 on the SAT to go with a 35 on the ACT. He takes challenging classes (AP Chemistry, AP Spanish IV, AP History...), but doesn't study a lot and never will. He's very interested in science, but the rigors of a traditional STEM program probably won't work well. You know, the kind of kid who can name every flower in the field, but doesn't turn in the biology assignment.

Anyway, we're definitely willing to chase money if anybody knows a place that pays for super smart kids with average grades.

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Your son sounds as if he struggles with some ADHD/executive function skills. I would explore that some more and possibly hire an EF coach.

An EF coach? Yeah, we're drugged out for 3 generations on the ADD stuff. I've never popped any of that stuff, but would like to know what all fuss is about.

I've seen many college students who weren't good at the "daily work" but who could and did do well in courses where the entire grade is 4 exams. Perhaps this will be true for your son. I took several of those kinds of courses in college.

Our oldest is mechanical engineering sophomore, and there have been few courses (perhaps none) that have been "exams only," and this semester is an absolute grind. He'd say this is the first semester he's had to pretty much study/do homework/write lab reports non-stop. I'm saying this to indicate that engineering is not a "4 exams" major at TAMU.

We have one like that. They're living at home in CC with a 3.9. Going from ACCto university is a good path with these issues. Ours did the minimum in HS, didn't even take an SAT or ACT. Now that she sees college is just a matter of showing up, doing all the homework and studying for tests, she has become quite independent and is ready to leave the nest. We have been pleasantly ecstatic. No way she would have survived semester one on her own. ADHD hit in 7th grade.

Windy City Ag said:

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Quote:

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Also, prepare yourself for how competitive the landscape is currently - a 1500 alone is not going to get him into a top 30-40 school. Focus on best fit over US News ranking.

---

Yeah, this has been my experience. We preach to our youngsters that getting that Eagles Scout or Volunteer award or other extracurriculars will make the shine.

In reality, they mean nothing as admissions offices seemed completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of applications. The approach they deploy to actual holistic review is pretty sketchy, and therefore things like GPA tend to be the easy method to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Go watch the College Confidential podcast on UT-Austin admissions this year for a peak into the sausage factory.

And A&M is not interested in much of all except meeting the Top 10% rule and spamming out Blinn Team offers to anyone outside that rule. I know four kids that were just outside the Top 10% at elite private schools who got the Blinn Team offer for May while getting into McCombs. That is insanity.

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This is because for some insane reason Mays is still first come first serve instead of moving to holistic like Engineering has. The result is it gets almost completely full on Top 10% so if you are outside of that you have almost no shot, no matter what the rest of your resume is. There simply isn't space. Engineering is holistic so they don't use up all the slots the same way and look at all applicants not just first come. Hopefully this changes for next year as they have been talking about it.

https://www.usu.edu/admissions/costs-and-aid/


Utah State will give full rides for SAT scores along those lines (see link above).

(and they will help you establish in-state residency for the sophomore-senior years).

94chem said:

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My junior son just made a 1500 on the SAT to go with a 35 on the ACT. He takes challenging classes (AP Chemistry, AP Spanish IV, AP History...), but doesn't study a lot and never will. He's very interested in science, but the rigors of a traditional STEM program probably won't work well. You know, the kind of kid who can name every flower in the field, but doesn't turn in the biology assignment.

Anyway, we're definitely willing to chase money if anybody knows a place that pays for super smart kids with average grades.

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Try University of South Florida in Tampa. Pretty low tuition for out of state and known to offer scholarship to smart kids. If he's an A-B student taking APs with 1500 SAT I think he'd have a good shot there. Might try University of Florid or University of Central Florida too. Florida is known to be cheap for out of state. All three have engineering schools.

bmks270 said:

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94chem said:

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My junior son just made a 1500 on the SAT to go with a 35 on the ACT. He takes challenging classes (AP Chemistry, AP Spanish IV, AP History...), but doesn't study a lot and never will. He's very interested in science, but the rigors of a traditional STEM program probably won't work well. You know, the kind of kid who can name every flower in the field, but doesn't turn in the biology assignment.

Anyway, we're definitely willing to chase money if anybody knows a place that pays for super smart kids with average grades.

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Try University of South Florida in Tampa. Pretty low tuition for out of state and known to offer scholarship to smart kids. If he's an A-B student taking APs with 1500 SAT I think he'd have a good shot there. Might try University of Florid or University of Central Florida too. Florida is known to be cheap for out of state. All three have engineering schools.

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I wouldn't consider UF as an option here. UCF and South Florida, yes, those schools are viable options.

Thanks, y'all. I'll look into this stuff.

aggiejohn said:

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https://www.usu.edu/admissions/costs-and-aid/


Utah State will give full rides for SAT scores along those lines (see link above).

(and they will help you establish in-state residency for the sophomore-senior years).

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He goes to XC camp every summer in Fort Collins. He would love Logan, UT. So would I...

Sounds similar to me in HS. I made high SAT scores - but made "decent" grades (mostly A/B, but not to my dad's standards of all A's).

I was later tested at A&M my senior year (which really didn't help with the rest of college - except for graduate school) - my reading comprehension was the issue. I was at my age level for reading comprehension, but above my level by 20-25 years for cognitive ability. Think fast computer with slow internet connection. I also worked full time in college, and had to go with my dad to clean bathrooms at 2:30 in the morning during high school (which also didn't help with my grades). I am almost entirely a tactile-kinesthetic learner - deaf in one ear (so not auditory) and not visual.

It may pay to have him tested - to see if they can determine where the problem lies. It was well worth it to me for graduate school - graduated with a 4.0. Drive was never the issue. Understanding - reading comprehension (and for all of us, living in severe poverty) were the issues.

One of our neighbor kids sounds like your son. He enlisted in the Marines, spent 4 years in Hawaii, came home completed jacked and motivated, and is a junior/senior at A&M now.

Come to the University of Arkansas and major in Biological Engineering. Our department will take care of him. UofA is 35% Texans; good scholarships are available.

Not to derail but this thread came to mind over the weekend. My nephew seems to be the complete opposite. His test scores, lets just say are BELOW average, however, his unweighted GPA is a 3.8 in mostly honors and duel credit classes at a "larger" private school in the Dallas area. A few years ago this probably wouldnt be an issue with test optional, however, not sure what his options are going to be given the competitive nature of college admissions?

BoDog said:

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Not to derail but this thread came to mind over the weekend. My nephew seems to be the complete opposite. His test scores, lets just say are BELOW average, however, his unweighted GPA is a 3.8 in mostly honors and duel credit classes at a "larger" private school in the Dallas area. A few years ago this probably wouldnt be an issue with test optional, however, not sure what his options are going to be given the competitive nature of college admissions?

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He will have a ton of options. Really all of this is about the Top 50 schools or so for the most part. There are tons of schools with 75% plus acceptance rates that are great schools. Even at A&M it just means you are looking at an alternative path like PSA and there is nothing wrong with that.

If they have strong study habits and discipline that is going to serve them better than just testing well also.