My daughter is very strong in the humanities (English, History, Spanish), but very weak in science and math. Her GPA is
3.4 unweighted (3.7 weighted). She has gotten all A’s (and a few A-'s) in her English, history and Spanish classes. She has also taken both AP English classes and AP European history and got A’s in all 3 of them. She got a 5 on AP language last year and her teacher told me that she’d gotten the highest score of anybody who’d taken the class in the past 4 years. We don’t know yet how she did on lit and Euro since she just took them this year, but the teacher she had for lit said she was amazed by her writing. However, her math and science grades aren’t great. She mostly gets B-'s and sometimes C+'s in those classes. She has a 770 for the writing/reading section of the SAT, but only a 550 for math. A math teacher at her school tried to help her do better on the math section, but it only creased by 10 points (it was around 540 before), whereas even not doing anything increased her writing/reading section by 25 points (it was 745 the first time). I’m sure she’d get glowing recommendation letters from her english and history teachers, and I’m sure she would write a great essay for her application. I’m just wondering what kind of schools she has a real shot of getting into. She likes schools like Middlebury, Swarthmore and Bowdoin. I don’t know if she has a shot at those or not. She’s a smart girl, her GPA is just weighed down by the classes she’s not good at. She’s also black and latina, I’m not sure how great a difference that will make.
As a hooked applicant her chances are increased, but I think it is doubtful at a top-10-15 LAC with a lot of B’s and C’s and a 550 Math score. Understanding that she can’t make the recorded B’s and C’s go away, if she can show an upward GPA trend in the Fall and a achieve a 650 Math score she may have a shot at a top-20ish LAC.
I think her lopsidedness could be a problem at those schools. They are small enough that they are likely to find applicants with the same attributes as your daughter but with higher scores and grades. It doesn’t mean she shouldn’t try, but that’s going to be a heavy headwind. Some of those schools do a special diversity weekend program in the fall which I believe are by invitation. She could apply and see if she is invited. If she’s not, that would be an early answer on her chances.
I think those schools are out of reach. Yes, being African American is helpful, but only in the context that if your child already has the stats, it gives her an advantage over other non-hooked applicants. Remember, a college like Bowdoin has a 14% acceptance rate. They will deny a lot of well-qualified students.
There are many other great LACs. Have a look at this thread, because there are some excellent LACs mentioned that are probably better fits for her. I think she can realistically consider the 20-40 range of LACs. Also consider the Colleges That Change Lives, especially if you are looking for merit money.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1995442-lacs.html#latest
Perhaps if she takes a math subject test (maybe IC) and scores around a 720ish or higher she can somewhat show that her grades don’t necessarily define her math capabilities.
My opinion is that they are high reaches. Her match schools are probably in the 30-50% acceptance range for smaller LACs.
@boeing717 I recently got into Bowdoin with a 580 SAT math score and a 750 english. I had a 3.7 UW GPA and two C+'s in math classes but high scores in my english and history classes and good extra cirriculars as well as being hispanic. Took four AP classes but no AP tests. So, from someone who was in a similar position, it’s certainly possible!