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<p>There are so many of these that it probably makes sense to approach the problem differently. It probably makes more sense to start by determining the kind of college or university that seems right for this student (large university, smaller university or small college? artsy or technical or political? urban, suburban or rural?) and then find institutions within those parameters that fit the applicant’s academic credentials. Lots of good universities and colleges will fit them. Just not University of Chicago.</p>
<p>But if you’re looking for names, the suggestion is kind of an old saw on College Confidential, but lots of folks swear by a book called Colleges That Change Lives and its associated web site: [Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives. One Student at a Time.](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/).</p>
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<p>Not the impression I meant to give. </p>
<p>A 35 on the ACT with a 3.6 GPA will just about never compete with a 35 and a 3.9 or a 4.0 (which is more like what Chicago takes these days). But it will just about always be better than a 29 on the ACT and a 3.6 GPA–especially if there is an extenuating circumstance such as chronic illness or undiagnosed learning disability to explain relatively lower grades in the early years of high school.</p>