College suggestions for my lovely slacker daughter

<p>Gearing up for round 3 of this adventure, my daughter has given me some challenges her older brothers didn't pose. First, my slacker sons refused to even consider going anywhere outside of California for college. D has allowed as how California is hard to beat, but she might be willing to attend a college in Boston or New York City if everything else fell into place. I've got a pretty good idea of what's available here in California; I'm less up on the east coast.</p>

<p>My boys had no clue as to majors; D is currently directed towards pre-med. One thing she shares with her siblings is the (only too accurate) profile of a slacker: test scores higher than expected from her GPA. She has had a 3.5 UW GPA every year in high school. Her weighted GPA has climbed year by year as she's taken more challenging courses - three AP's, one honors, and a community college course in this last year, for a weighted GPA of 4.1 for her junior year; overall, though, her weighted GPA is only about 3.9. All of her SAT subscores - reasoning and subject - are in the high 600's. But the discordant note is her outlier ACT score - 34. This has caused me some head-scratching.</p>

<p>Her EC's are unremarkable - she was a year-round athlete at a fairly high level until a series of injuries over the years (two broken collarbones, torn ankle ligaments, dislocated kneecap) made her look to other activities this year. No clubs, no music, no non-athletic awards. She participated in a school-wide program to raise awareness of the perils of drinking and driving, she'll be a class officer next year; nothing to write home about. We haven't pushed her to build a "college resume" by participating in activities designed to look good on a college application, and she hasn't elected to do those things on her own. Outside of school she devotes most of her time to social activities and continuing in her sport at a less intense level. Her summer job is lifeguard/swim instructer. A garden variety BWRK.</p>

<p>Another factor I'm cognizant of is simply the fact that she's female, and attractive. Although she has a lot of self confidence. I'm concerned about her going over to "the blonde side" and relying on her looks to get by, instead of taking the harder but ultimately more rewarding route of digging down to take advantage of her brains. Her looks would take her a long way. I'd like to see her in a college environment which would discourage that.</p>

<p>So, <exhale> what college suggestions do the knowledgible elders of CC have for me to pass on to my delightful daughter?</exhale></p>

<p>Have an extremely curvy, slender brainy daughter who opted to go to Barnard to be taken seriously (in my experience of my own youth professors are often the most serious problem solved by girl's school.)</p>

<p>Kluge:</p>

<p>If your daughter is happy with CA, why bother with East Coast colleges as they are not as good value financially? I would think that she would have plenty of choices in CA?</p>

<p>Posted accidentally. It worked for her. I don't think she has quite profile for Barnard (but who am I to say?) but there are other women's schools. Lots of girls don't like this option.</p>

<p>I feel fairly certain that her blonde CA looks, though they will be much appreciated, won't be as much of an issue in NE, especially when everyone is bundling up for winter.</p>

<p>However, many brainy women have used their looks as an entree (especially in your neck of the woods) and then gone on to do amazing things so it's not the worst thing in the world. Hedy Lamar invented sonar or radar or something like that during WWII.</p>

<p>Of more concern is her lack of interest in EC's, not just for college resume. The society is so competitve, complex and specialized that kids are investing themselves in their activities earlier and earlier. Can you get her involved with something this summer so she begins to define herself?</p>

<p>I would help but I don't know anything about the northeast. But your daughter sounds like a lovely wonderful person. She'd make a good addition to UFlorida (I have two sons going there). :)</p>

<p>What kind of school is she looking for? Large and urban? Small and isolated? "Preppy," intellectual, active, laid back, serious? What does she want to get out of college? What experience does she want to have? What does she want to study?</p>

<p>I think she's going to have a number of good options, so let's try to narrow the field down a bit before specific recommendations.</p>

<p>I think Mythmom's suggestion for looking into women's schools is a great one (and something that never would have occured to me).</p>

<p>kluge,
i'll throw out some suggestions for the middle part of the country...........
univ. of kansas
baylor univ.
hendrix college in arkansas
univ. of nebraska - lincoln
univ. of oklahoma
univ. of iowa
southwestern univ. in texas
univ. of texas</p>

<p>be sure to check into honors programs and honors colleges.</p>

<p>east coast and se suggestions - william and mary, univ. of virginia, unc-chapel hill, duke, emory</p>

<p>Corranged - Large, urban. Definitely not small and/or isolated. Pre-med. Beyond that, I don't think she really knows. She's grown up in a typical affluent suburb, inhabited by generally "preppy" if somewhat shallow middle class kids. She really doesn't know anything else. She has discovered that she enjoys the company of other bright young people, but she doesn't always hang out with the most studious types. What can I tell you? She's 17, and unformed. I'm repeatedly amazed at the posts of the bright young people who write here on CC about their plans and aspirations. None of mine had a clue while in high school. One thing did make me smile - an adult friend made a corny joke about going to college "to get your MRS" and the look of horror and disgust which flitted across D's face before she turned and made a noncommittal response warmed my heart. </p>

<p>Mythmom: I'd love to do that (she did do some pretty good photo work, and had a teacher who was ga ga over it - but he retired, and she wasn't all that personally inspired by it) but she's really going to have to define herself, and although I'd love to help out (as a resource) I just don't know where to start.</p>

<p>Marite - of course you're right. She probably will end up right here. UC Santa Barbara like her brother is one pretty likely outcome. Berkeley and UCLA are pretty much out, due to her grades. I'm just interested in making sure she has an opportunity to consider all her options before making an important decision.</p>

<p>Condor: Large cities on the east coast was the best I could do for horizon-widening!</p>

<p>Kluge: I am on east coast and have widely researched colleges here (both as parent and community college professor). Would gladly make recommendations if I knew more of what your daughter is thinking about.</p>

<p>I didn't notice before that you were the dad. Amusingly, both D and her roommate have dads that favored Smith. Obviously, both of them favored Barnard. Both these schools (along with Wellesley, Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr) have women's success as their central mission.</p>

<p>If she's sufficiently science oriented and doesn't like the idea of a girl's school she could help out at the boy heavy schools like RPI or WPI. Both are in small cities that aren't particularly attractive. The girls at WPI, in particular, seemed very nice and enthusiastic. Our tourguide was an avid participant in their extracurricular theater. You don't have to be an engineer at either school, though a liking for more hands on learning and an interest in co-ops is a plus.</p>

<p>Now that I've read intervening reply I would suggest:
NYU
Barnard
Fordham
BU
Brandeis
Bryn Mawr (just outside Philly)
Wellesley (just outside Boston
Sarah Lawrence (just outside NYC)
Drew (just outside NYC & merit money.)</p>

<p>Have her develop a portfolio of at least 8 photographs presented in slide format for admissions supplements. </p>

<p>For pre-med good summer options are: shadow a physician, lab research, hospital volunteering, or summer program. (NSLC is an option, there are others. There may still be remaining spots. NSLC has health care programs in or near D.C. -- There are programs in CA as well.) These have advantage of jumping off point for admissions essays.</p>

<p>I know CA schools are very numbers driven; private east coast schools ask for more than numbers. I know your schools are excellent and a more appealing option than SUNY schools were for my kids so I'm not advocating or disagreeing with Marite, just answering particulars of your posts.</p>

<p>My son, who graduated h.s. yesterday, adored the NSLC health care program. Suturing pigs' feet is one of the highlights of his life. He is shadowing his pediatrician three mornings a week this summer.</p>

<p>Oh, I forgot. American University and GW.</p>

<p>Kluge -- go to Boston and visit colleges with your daughter. It is a great trip. I did it with my daughter and she didn't end up applying to any colleges in the Boston area, but it was still a great trip.</p>

<p>If she likes the big UC's, they are probably her best bet. My own daughter didn't want to go to a big school, so we took a really close look at smaller schools, mostly in the midwest, and she is going to go to College of Wooster in Ohio. Some of these smaller schools are a GREAT place to go for pre-med, if your daughter is at all interested in going to a smaller school.</p>

<p>Mythmom's list seems good if she is at all seriously considering the East Coast. Another college that is close to Boston is Wheaton College -- I know a woman who went there when it was a women's college, and met a boy (it is co-ed these days) on the way there from the Bay Area a couple of years ago. We didn't visit, but might be worth a look.</p>

<p>Also, if your daughter is at all interested, take a look at Kalamazoo College or others like it. Lots of blondes there -- and the students all working quite hard. Our tour guide was a pre-med, serious blonde girl who was double majoring in Spanish (lots of double majors there because of the intense focus on study abroad), and had gone abroad twice and worked in a hospital in Ecuador as part of one of her college trips. </p>

<p>One dad I met on tour had a son there, and said it was <em>surprisingly rigourous</em>. Yes, this is a plug for Kalamazoo. I was very impressed. It is TINY, though, and that, I think is why my daughter ended up not choosing it. It was just a liitle too small.</p>

<p>mstee - you don't think I'd let this opportunity slip by without finagling a vacation trip to Boston and NYC, do you? ;) We have friends back east we'd like to visit, so we're going to try to kill several birds with one stone next fall. I actually knew some girls from Wheaton way, way back in the day (dated friends of mine.) I remember it as a beautiful, classic small college setting. But if it's still the same sort of place it was 35 years ago, I can't imagine my D going for it. Too "small college-ey".</p>

<p>Mythmom - I checked out the NSLC website - there are still some openings near here - but I know nothing about it. Can you point me in the direction of some more info regarding this program? It might be a good way to crystalize D's thought about medicine as a career - one way or the other!</p>

<p>Would she be interested in Vanderbilt? Very good for pre med.</p>

<p>Kluge -- enjoy your trip! We had a great time visiting Brown and Wellesley when we were in the area -- lovely colleges in lovely settings. And yes, visiting Harvard was fun too, even though we both knew she was not even going to consider applying there.</p>

<p>I'm still thinking of a way to get to NYC. I still have two more kids left. I'll get there somehow. We have friends in Poughkeepsie. Hey, why not visit Vassar?</p>

<p>Enjoy your trip stay on the west coast. The weather is better she will be miserable elsewhere!</p>

<p>Re Vassar, mstee, they are up in the 3.8 range for acceptances.</p>

<p>Without a "demonstrated passion" (icky phrase), Barnard may be a bit of a reach but it sounds like a great idea. </p>

<p>When I read your D's profile I immediately thought "Emory". Not sure why.</p>