Feelings not hurt at all :), I just wanted to clarify where things stand for us. Just as you have expressed, I have serious doubts based on that one test score, because she doesn’t really have any other hooks that make her particularly attractive over other applicants (not a sports recruit, not a minority, etc). We likely won’t qualify for aid, so maybe being full pay will help. I just don’t know, this whole college game has become so tough, none of these schools are a sure thing anymore.
I’ve just seen so many female students get rejected/wait listed by their top choice. Sorry, especially white females too. There was a link to an article (I think from an admissions counselor from Kenyon) that wrote about this- To All The Girls That I’ve Rejected. I guess they should have written in “women” instead but wouldn’t have been too catchy I guess. I’m sure that she will do well where she lands.
And, @goingnutsmom, every point you made was valid and logical. You were only trying to help us by encouraging us to be realistic and to come up with a solid plan for other options should Vassar not work out. I very much appreciate you taking the time to post on this thread. It shows that you care about kids and want to help, so thank you.
Apple23 - My son graduated yesterday from Vassar and I have a daughter entering Colby in the fall. I’ve been in your shoes twice. The schools you mention all take a very holistic approach to admission. One test score does not define any individual. If your daughter loves Vassar and can communicate that, they will consider that. Apply EDI. Show passion. I feel knowing this school for the past 4 years that will go far in the admissions process (which really is such a crapshoot). I say apply and be supportive. Reach for it and post again to let us all know how she does. I am rooting for her she sounds like a perfect fit for Vassar and they would be lucky to have her!
Perhaps add Union College to the list. Excellent school, very strong academically and also test optional.
I have the same dilemma as the OP (thanks, LKnomad, for the helpful test prep recommendations) and we’ve been looking at the test-optional schools closely as a result.
We attended a college fair in LA a couple of weeks ago hoping to get more info about my personal favorite, Haverford, and came away pleasantly surprised by Sarah Lawrence College, Macalester and Kenyon. My daughter’s a STEM person so, despite SLC’s record of 100% placement in med school in recent years, she wasn’t interested in SLC - but perhaps OP daughter’s might be? There’s a brief thread from last year:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sarah-lawrence-college/1632182-film-at-sarah-lawrence.html
I had crossed off Kenyon after racing from the Oberlin info session Christmas week to Gambier trying to beat the setting sun. The winding country roads and apparent lack of a college town were big turn offs for me and my daughter. We wondered whether anyone who couldn’t land a campus job could find any meaningful work close by. But Jennifer Delahunty, the admissions dean who wrote the NYT piece, convinced us to give it a second look. She’s approachable and literate, citing PF Kluge’s “Alma Mater” and having authored “I’m Going to College - Not You”. A focused application highlighting strong writing skills may overcome meh board scores.
And Macalester sold us on its cosmopolitan vibe and location. Art lovers would have a field day being so close to the Walker, among other world-class institutions.
Meant to say that Jennifer Delahunty was literary, not literate!
@winnvanmeter If you are in LA you might want to take a look at the Colleges that Change Lives tour that will be in town on July 26th.
@LKnomad - thanks for the tip! We’ll be on the East coast visiting schools then, but I’ve been keeping tabs on those schools too. The past year has been an education for both of us - in a good way.
There are hundreds of colleges, many of them ranked, that don’t require you to submit standardized test scores. Here’s a list.
http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf
I wanted to offer an update to my daughter’s college journey. As stated before we visited Vassar twice. She loved what she saw. We put her on the mailing list three times. On our second trip we asked for the new view book and were told they would be mailed the following week. This was in October of 2014. We did not receive it.
In the meantime visited many other colleges. She found many she could see herself attending. She applied to Bates, Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Connecticut College, Grinnell, Hamilton, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Union, Skidmore, Wesleyan…and Kenyon ED2. We did not get to visit all of them, but picked based on websites, online reviews, literature she received, college guides, and consultation with her guidance counselor.
Vassar fell off the list when she started scrutinizing English departments. Although Vassar’s is incredibly strong, and certainly renowned for its options and opportunities, she did not find as much in their course offerings that matched her personal literary interests as she did at the other schools.
Kenyon in particular has all that she is looking for. She had a great visit and interview and was excited to learn about the possibility of being an associate at the Kenyon Review. I am thrilled to report that ED2 at Kenyon worked out, and she is headed to Gambier for college.
Interestingly, Vassar’s view book showed up in the mail on January 15, well after the application deadline. Perhaps they mistakenly put her on their high school class of 2017 mailing list.
mega-congrats to you daughter @apple23. It is amazing what happens on the journey, isn’t it? Well done to your daughter for continuing to look until she found the right place for her 
I know some recent Kenyon English department grads who absolutely loved their experience there, and I hope your daughter’s experience will be every bit as good.
Congratulations!
Even though your daughter’s heart was once set on Vassar, she kept looking for other possibilities. I applaud her flexibility and open-mindedness.
Congrats to her, indeed! S eventually opted to be closer to NYC, but Kenyon was very high on his list! (Loved that several departments, including English, hold their classes in some really beautiful old houses).
Glad this worked out for you, OP. Kenyon is a fine school.
Best advice I can extend is read, “The Gatekeepers.” It provides great insight into the selection process at highly selective schools. Bottom line is that grades, class rank, and SATs are almost too important to overcome. There are smaller factors such as diversity, talents, first-generation, and the essays, but the schools are shopping for themselves (and I don’t say that in a pejoritive sense). They want students who will improve their campus and their standing (and possibly their endowment); so they start with certain baselines to ensure you can do the work and so they can maintain the “highly selective” status, and then they will look at discriminators. The problem is that unless a student attends a nationally known high school, a 3.8 is a 3.8 (but Vassar will recalculate your GPA), there are thousands and thousands of 3.8 GPA students in the country. The SAT distinguishes which 3.8s are inflated. Bad test taker? There is no relief for that from Vassar, but Wes may be test optional. There are lots of test optional schools with great reputations, you can look them up. Frankly, Vassar has a reputation as a “Sister School,” but that reputation was crafted decades ago. Visit the campus today and see for yourself; there’s not much growth, the dining facility is Spartan, the town is at odds with the school, and you will ask yourself, “Where are the kids? (Lisa Kudrow attended Vassar and discusses how she did little her four years but stay in her room)” That said, the library is beyond stunning, but be wary choosing a school solely for the grand library entrance. There are dozens of liberal arts schools that have a much greater vibe for students and a much more energetic staff; Vassar targets a certain kind of student and not every student is served well by trying to become that kind of student. Sorry if it sounds like I’m knocking Vassar, it is a pretty school and kudos to the hard-working kids who are accepted, but I don’t think their standards are flexible and students shouldn’t be despondent if they can’t get it…it might be in their best interest to look elsewhere.
Did you read the thread?
Wondered the same… @DrivingDad, the OP just revived the thread to post where her D was attending. And it isn’t Vassar (sounds like her kid didn’t even end up applying).
Link?
Commencement Address
May 23, 2010
by Lisa Kudrow '85
http://commencement.vassar.edu/ceremony/2010/kudrow.html
Miscellany News, Volume CXXVI, Number 11, 5 December 1997
http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany19971205-01.2.52
Huh?
http://alums.vassar.edu/news/2014-2015/150728-science-bldg-blurb.html
See more at: http://vq.vassar.edu/issues/2011/01/a-look-ahead/a-bridge-to-discovery.html#sthash.QDFdO95r.dpuf
http://vq.vassar.edu/issues/2011/01/a-look-ahead/a-bridge-to-discovery.html
If Christopher Newport and George Mason are more to DrivingDad’s liking than Vassar, well that seems to be comparing apples to oranges.