Junior at an independent school in NYC. Prefer a liberal arts college in NE. Interested in English and history.
School does not weight or rank. Got a 34 ACT on first sit. Struggled for first year of HS. Pulled up grades for 1st semester sophomore year, then only credit for second semester. 4 As/2 B+s 1st semester junior year.
College track courses, but not intensives. School does not offer APs.
Student government, club leadership, debate camp while recovering from a back injury after freshman year, then worked as an enviro fellow at an NYC park last summer. Planning to do same this summer.
Will be full pay.
Interested in Bates, Colby, Davidson, and Kenyon - all reaches? What might be some likelies?
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If you can explain freshman grades well on your application Sarah Lawerence might be a match.
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How difficult is your high school? If your school has a track record of competitiveness, your GPA can be at least somewhat understood (though not explained away) by the schools you are applying to. Your schools are all reaches, but they are really reaches for everyone. You have a shot, since liberal arts schools value stuff like essays and ECs as much as they value grades/test scores. If you write some good essays that show you are an interesting person, you can get into a school like Kenyon or Davidson. However, keep working on your grades.
Good luck!
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What is your weighted GPA? My junior son has a 3.85 UW with several honors and AP’s and and I think all of the schools you have listed would be way out of reach for him. They attract many students who have ivy-caliber stats.
Slightly out of NE, but for some matches I would look at Gettysburg, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, and Hobart and William Smith. If you’re willing to look in OH, I would also look at Denison and College of Wooster. Wheaton (MA) and Ohio Wesleyan would be a likelies. Conn College and Trinity would be reaches but maybe slightly less of a reach than the ones you have listed.
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Can you afford $80,000 per year without taking on debt? Are your parents okay with this?
Colby seems like a very high reach.
Have you been able to identify any safeties that you would be okay with?
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Look at the CTCL schools:
https://ctcl.org/
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TY for sharing your insights. Son has no honors and no APs (not offered at school). Also appreciate the suggestions. He has been cool on PA schools, but will nudge him.
Fortunately I will be full pay.
I know I need to think about safeties. Just started the process. Looking at top end then working down.
I think the hardest part is going to be the disconnect between his GPA and ACT. Schools that would be matches with the test score will be reaches with the GPA. With a valid reason and strong upward trend in grades, it may be a bit less difficult. I would suggest Wheaton (MA), Bennington, or Clark in New England. Maybe also look into Muhlenberg, Hartwick, Bard, Monmouth, or Hobart & William Smith if PA/NJ/NY are ok.
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Thanks for taking the time to respond. Do you think an undiagnosed LD the first half of his freshman year would be a valid reason? With medication and extra time for science/math, his grades shifted from 5 Bs/1 A (9th) to 4 A-s/2 B+ (10th) to 4 As/2 B+s (so far as junior). Dropping 9th, he has a 3.6ish GPA, but more like a 3.3 if cumulative (9th-11th).
Also appreciate the suggestions.
I do think an LD can justify academic performance but I guess that brings up questions regarding his need for support services or accommodations in college. Not all schools are created equal in that regard and it may add another layer to consider in finding the right “fit”. It may also require a deep dive to get the right information because some schools say the right things and use the right buzz words on their websites but the actual experience can stray from that quite a bit. You know your S best but if that is something that should be considered, let us know so you get the best advice we can give 
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Where does that 3.3 place you in the class? I know they don’t rank, but there must be some sort of guidance to colleges regarding what percentile of the class a 3.3 is.
If you didn’t prep for that ACT on which you got a 34, you could probably get it up to a 36 with some self prep, which would help even more with admissions. You cannot go back and fix previous grades, but you could kick it into high gear for the rest of the semester, and try to pull out straight A’s this semester.
Muhlenberg and Bard have acceptance rates in the 60% range. They’d be likelies for you. Also St. Lawrence U, maybe Berea. But your ACT score, even at 34, puts you more in the range of more selective schools - and don’t underestimate the desirability of the fact that you are willing to pay full tuition.
Or save yourself about 200K, and go to SUNY New Paltz or SUNY Genesco. Better yet, if you can bear to go to a big state school, SUNY Binghamton.
I do think that if you can get great grades this semester and in the fall, and if you have it in you to prep and bring that ACT up to a 36, and you get great letters, that you have a shot at schools that are in the 25-30% acceptance range, what with your upward trend in GPA and great ACT. But you asked for likelies. I’d say for you that would be schools that accept 50% or more of applicants, on average.
DK where that places in class - maybe in 55-65 percentile. There are a lot of 4.0s.
Prepped for ACT since January. The April test was hard, so might not do as well on an easier version as per tutor and college counselor. The English/reading/science scores are pretty much maxed out, but math score was highest it has ever been - 2-4 points higher than any practice test. Probably no way to eke out another point. Might be able to turn one of the B+ to an A-, but no way to pull down all As.
Got it on looking at the 50% range for likelies. Top preference is a 34% acceptance rate.
Thanks!
If that 34 was earned with hard prep, then I totally agree, don’t take it again. She’s done with standardized tests, and a 34 is a great score for anyone. If you are not applying for financial aid (because you know you won’t qualify for any), then definitely indicate that on the common app. I suspect that some schools that say that they’re need-blind are not really need-blind, because I know of underqualified younger sibs of full pay students, who got in, when they were not expected to get in. i specifically saw this happen at Middlebury, which is supposedly need blind.
Just doing a quick search, the average GPA For acceptance for the schools you have listed are between 3.88 (Bates) and 3.98 (Colby). I just don’t think a 3.3 is going to cut it esp with no honors or AP’s. Lots of kids struggle freshman year but unfortunately most schools (except the UC’s) count freshman grades. I would certainly have your son apply to one to two of his dream schools but I would really start looking at much more likely options. Hobart, Marist, Dickinson, and F&M are all beautiful schools with a real New England feel to their campuses. St Lawrence is another good suggestion. Even some of these might be low reaches with his grades but his ACT score and being full pay might help him tip the scales.
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Thanks for the suggestions. Just redid the GPA with an online calculator as the first time I just did on the back of an envelope. He has a 3.48, not a 3.3. What hurts him is that his school was credit only for spring semester 2020 due to COVID. If they had gotten grades for that semester, he may now be over a 3.50.
So the four schools he has suggested to us to date still seem beyond his range. Frankly his ideas are going to evolve as he gets more into this process. There is still time though not as much to see schools due to COVID.
Thanks again for posting.
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I think pretty much every college mentioned such as Franklin and Marshall…Dennison…are a reach. The Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin are non starters. That doesn’t mean you can’t apply but I don’t see them as possible.
Schools like Muhlenberg, Hobart, Allegheny, and Ursinus would be targets. If you’d expand your geography there’d be more.
With a low GPA and little rigor, top schools are out. Because you are full pay you’ll get in at many schools. And most schools are outstanding if the student is motivated to take advantage.
Good luck.
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First, motivation wasn’t the issue with the first year grades. If anything, his strong upward trend has shown that he has focus and depth. Second, on recalculation, the GPA is 3.48, though still far below some of the schools he has suggested to us. He has at least one more semester of grades for this school year (getting credit only for second half sophomore year didn’t help). Third, hope full pay can boost him for schools in the 3.5 and up range. Ideally he can find something that doesn’t have a social scene dominated by Greek life.
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The reality is a 3.5 today isn’t competitive for top schools. Rigor is a must. I’m not getting on the student. The stats are the stats. Success is based on the child, not the school. Whether you go to Allegheny or Haverford, a student can find success.
You will have better odds at lesser schools and may even get merit aid as many discount to fil seats.
You will be fine. Just ensure you apply to target and safety schools, not just reaches which many above listed.
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The lack of grades sophomore year sucks but Covid has done a number on kids mental health and grades across the board. My S22 did not do well with hybrid learning. He has mostly maintained his grades but actually got a D in one of his honors classes last semester. Learning math via zoom is not his thing and I just see his overall motivation slipping away. Other kids I know love remote or hybrid learning and have actually excelled. It’s a lot of what-if’s if covid did not exist but unfortunately it is what it is.
Wheaton, St Anselms, St Michael’s, and Marist are all LAC’s that have little to no Greek life. Conn College also has no Greek life but as mentioned that would be a low reach.
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