<p>Thanks Emmybet, my husband knows a young man at Luther and although he really likes it, it would be all wrong for my daughter. I think she would love Macalester. Maybe that could be her true reach if she is willing to try. Right now, the list is Knox, Lawrence, Willamette, University of Puget Sound, College of Wooster (mom’s new choice). Maybe Hendrix if I can recover from the Arkansas thing (Yeah, I know she’s not taking me along!)</p>
<p>I think she should try for Macalester. I think some of the LACs can understand that maybe it’s just not really that important if one subject is a disaster, with their more holistic approach. It was obvious to them that the girl we knew wasn’t going to continue with it, and she’s happily studying literature, etc. Also Macalester is definitely in the most exciting location compared with Lawrence and Knox. I hope she’s REALLY prepared for snow!</p>
<p>Macalester is going to be a stretch, but I would look at Coe, they give good merit aid at her score levels, Knox, Beloit, or even Lake Forest. Both Luther and Simpson are going to be more conservative then she may want ( I am basing that on your comment about Luther, Simpson is pretty similar).</p>
<p>If she is on the “crunchy” side, Earlham might be one to consider. It appears that only one quantitative reasoning course is required, and that could be a statistics class related to other subject matter.</p>
<p>You mentioned that St. Olaf was too “conservative” for your daughter. How did she conclude this? Did you visit? My DD is a first-year there and I while I think most of the kids are on the clean-scrubbed side, they are definitely not conservative! The music scene is very progressive (OK GO is performing there next Friday), the campus is drop-dead gorgeous, the food is amazing, the financial aid wonderful–don’t drop it off your radar based on vague impressions and not actual experience! My DD can’t say enough about the support of her teachers, the kindness of her classmates and the amazing opportunities to participate in so much. Lots of personal attention and a school that grows body, mind and soul, like so few schools do.</p>
<p>Thank you for this post. Except for the mega-watt personality, you are describing my junior d, who has more of an artistic, droll take on life. Also looking for an LAC, or perhaps a slightly larger college, but on the West Coast. But, I’ll be sneaking these other options in, not that I want her that far away, but I want her at the best possible place for her, where she can grow her talents and “curb appeal.” And yes, we may also want to look at formal testing… for her information, and how best to learn.</p>
<p>Did anyone mention fairtest.org which gives a list of all colleges that don’t demand standardized tests for admission? You might find some great possibilities there. (Lawrence University is one, I think.)</p>
<p>Hendrix is a great school. I have a Jewish friend at Cornell Coll in Iowa now and she loves it- she’s a totally zany, off-the-wall kid- thriving in the one course at a time system.</p>
<p>Hi everyone, OP here</p>
<p>I seem to be a few timezones behind some posters so I am slow to comment sometimes. DD will not even consider Cornell College because she can’t bear hearing “Oh, Ivy League” for the rest of her life and having to explain (This is her opinion and I kind of understand). And, I have heard St. Olaf kids described favorably as a blend of progressive to traditional kids but (according to what I have read on St Olaf website) religion classes are required and they are New Testament based. I understand this issue is not at all a concern for most but she is not too happy with it.</p>
<p>Also, can anyone give me first hand info onapplying to test optional schools? On the one hand, it seems like a good idea but do they “pressure” you for scores or think there must be something wrong with you, (and you"ll probably be addressing it somehow anyway) Is it better to just put the info out there and let them see her strengths and weaknesses? Are admit rates different ie worse for kids who don’t submit scores?..or is this the “unknowable”!</p>
<p>They simply eval your app w/o the scores. Our school only requires them (from kids who did not submit them,) well after the admit- to continue their own long-term research that scores are NO predictor of coll gpa or grad rates. Don’t worry, she’s strong eno in the other areas. Bear in mind, when you see scores on the admissions site, they’re broken into CR, MA etc- the kids who got 750 MA may have done much lower in CR. Or the reverse. (Our GC suggested only the kids who score significantly well submit them with the original app- which leads to misperceptions.) Help her write a fab essay.
You’re right about the confusion re Cornell U vs Cornell Coll.</p>
<p>I think that Baldwin Wallace is a good possibility for her and would be nice/fun for your theater girl. It is test optional and not far (50 miles) from the College of Wooster; you could come to Ohio and visit both. The campus is lovely. These two colleges are not Back East; both are west of Cleveland. :)</p>
<p>(I noticed that MTH 137 at Baldwin Wallace fills their core requirement and appears to be aimed at students who do not have traditional quantitative skills. The catalog says it is “activity based.”)</p>
<p>Catpb… I’m glad you posted about St.Olaf. If you look on the website, it seems to me anyway, to be overly religious. I took it off my S’s list because we are NOT religious in any way, but have friends of all faiths. My S actually wants to major in Religion as a more historical aspect, along with Philosophy. Everything else about St. Olaf sounds amazing and I only hear positive things about the niceness and inclusiveness of the kids there. Do you think my outdoorsy, laid-back, quirky, somewhat conservative, S would fit in there? He wants small discussion based classes, with a lot of professor interactions. Also a place that would embrace his love of the outdoors. He is not artsy or musically inclined, but would love to hang out and listen to a band with friends. He does not drink, or is he much of a party boy. He loves discussing ideas. You may have turned my mind around on this school.</p>
<p>Poppymom - no idea, but D is applying to some schools that just switched to test-optional and honestly, we just went ahead and sent the test scores in; they were good, so why not.</p>
<p>We know several students at Chapman University in Orange, CA, and your D sounds like she would be a good fit. Very strong in film and performing arts. Good in communications, I’ve heard. Very active Jewish community. Quirky-liberal student body. Larger than a LAC but still on the small side with plenty of individual attention. One kid I know got great merit aid for NMF and another for talent (voice), but doesn’t sound like your D would fit either of those categories. </p>
<p>I also put in a vote for the SAT with perhaps a prep session or two beforehand. The math is significantly less advanced than on the ACT and is probably more coachable.</p>
<p>Hi Poppymom! Given your family has been through this process before, as a member of a ‘first-time’ family, I’m a little cautious in offering my two cents’ worth. In an attempt to look beyond name recognition alone however (which we haven’t always been successful with, quite frankly), my family commenced a comprehensive college search a while back to aid our D - and ourselves - in considering ‘fit’ as the overarching means to help understand what possibilities might exist and which types of programs, etc., she might consider most appealing. In other words, we first tried to go as wide as possible in exploring, before scaling back. As you know, and now we do, too, there are some very interesting options available.</p>
<p>I realize you cited both Lawrence University and the University of Puget Sound in your original post, and that other posters have since mentioned Colorado College and referred to ‘Colleges That Change Lives’. So, I don’t want to duplicate or overlook various personal preferences and caveats, but I am wondering whether Scripps College (one of the Claremont Colleges), the University of Denver, Lake Forest College (which we don’t know anything about beyond its website) or even the Evergreen State College (one of the CTCL) and Whitman College (which evidently does have some Greek component, and could be a reach) have been considered?</p>
<p>In any event, good luck to you and your family with your daughter’s on-going considerations.</p>
<p>“thinks schools dominated by Greek systems are the devil’s spawn.”</p>
<p>Hey, good insight.</p>
<p>Cornell college sounds like a great place that an interviewer might mistake for an Ivy League.</p>
<p>Whitman and Kenyon are very competitive (at least the last year) – but Evergreen and University of Puget Sound and Lewis and Clark are all delightful possibilities. </p>
<p>Please do talk to DD about “the Greek system is spawn of the devil.” Ouch. That is both judgmental and hurtful – and very, very ignorant. For fun, see “Legally Blonde” which is hilarious – and all about a girl making her way in the world in her own fashion (which, in the case of “Elle” means being a dedicated sorority girl.") There’s lots of ways to be in the world – and being rude and snide about a path that works for someone else is just . . . well, rude. </p>
<p>We have had several young friends do well at colleges that spring from the Jesuit tradition, even if the young person has no religious background. Several teens have loved Seattle University and Williamette College is a perennial favorite. One teen is having a great time at Juniata, which he likes for the abundant musical groups. </p>
<p>Good luck in the hunt!</p>
<p>St. Olaf thoughts:
I lived in Minnesota until I left for my work, and we go to MN often. I have known a few students over the years who have gone to St. Olaf (just north of The Cities) and I do not consider St. Olaf to be a “religious college.” Stereotypes of St. Olaf would be, say, a good school for singers because the choir travels all around the world or the school with all the blonds - but a college full of lively students. A “religious college” would be, like, Bethel in Arden Hills (just north of The Cities).</p>
<p>Pitzer in the Claremont consortium would be a better bet than Scripps I think. I would look for a college with no core requirements so she doesn’t have that math requirement hanging over her head.</p>
<p>Is the no back east her idea or yours? I won’t post some eastern ideas I have, but if this changes, let us know.</p>
<p>I understand, because we are in the NE, and only one of my two was willing to look at anything outside the NE, and that was U of Chicago. I thought the geographic preference would be in their favor in they did, but no dice. They were staying regional.</p>
<p>Trinity in St. Antonio is a nice school.</p>
<p>I teach at a CC and supervise many transfers, so I have seen many students with issues like the one you describe. I would have her explain her processing problem in beautiful, eloquent English so the adcom really sees what she can do and understand that the 16 math really is an isolated processing problem. Good luck.</p>
<p>Mythmom, do give eastern ideas–we’re in the same boat and D does not want to leave the east coast. Thank you!</p>