<p>I'm impresses with the help and information members of this group provide. My D is a Junior with a 3.39 GPA - unweighted. It will be higher if weighted. She has taken several AP and Honors courses but has not taken advantage of all offered. She has no ECs except for lettering in golf two years. She comes from a very small school and is only in the top third of an outstanding class. </p>
<p>Her SAT was 1980 and Her ACT was 33.</p>
<p>Now what? We think she needs a motivating nurturing school and she wants to be where it is warm. She is tentatively majoring in Spanish. She is currently in Costa Rica on a Spanish immersion trip.</p>
<p>We have looked at Eckerd and Univ of Tampa and Florida Gulf Coast University. She likes FGCU because the housing and location are great. I am not sure that it has any type of rep at all though. Also - I am kind of assuming that given her interest in Spanish and Culture, any LA school would provide a good education.</p>
<p>What about Loyola Marymount or University of San Diego? Both lovely little schools in SoCal. My boyfriends goes to a great school in California called Chapman, she might want to look into that too. (He is majoring in film, and chose Chapman over USC.)</p>
<p>Look into the book Colleges That Change Lives. It has a lot of small, nuturing, rigorous schools that are not very selective...yet. I think Eckerd is included in it and it has a lot of other great suggestions.</p>
<p>Thanks. I will check out that book. It's good to have some input from the west coast. We know more about Florida here in MN so it's hard to know where to start and we don't want to focus only on what we are familiar with!</p>
<p>Does anyone think her high test scores will help overcome a sparse application or help her receive any scholarships?</p>
<p>Some places are more numbers driven than others. Her scores are high enough that she will have many places available to her.</p>
<p>Maybe she has more ECs than you think -- there is more than just what is done through the school. Any activities or passions outside of school?</p>
<p>I know there are schools that offer money for those with particular test scores. (For instance, my daughter's safety offered her money due to her ACT score, which was lower than your daughter's.)</p>
<p>There are college search sites where you can input scores, GPA, major, any preferences as to size, location, and the like, and get a list of schools (like <a href="http://www.petersons.com;%5B/url%5D">www.petersons.com;</a> College Board and Princeton Review also have search functions).</p>
<p>Having the courage to go to Costa Rica on a Sp. immersion is a big deal. Since she wants to major in Spanish, it's very clear that she's pursuing her passion in languages. Her ECs are more impressive than you realize.</p>
<p>Since she likes Spanish and warm weather, in addition to the places in Fla. and Calif. that you're considering, I suggest also looking at colleges in Texas. Also try the "colleges that change lives" website for suggestions and try the Parents Forum here on CC for good advice.</p>
<p>Is she a rising junior, or a rising senior? Even with that 3.4, she will get into basically any school outside the top 25, and even a few top 25s. Not many people score that high on the ACT, schools will admit her based on her ACT.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. You're right. I Should give her more credit. She is brave, that's for sure.</p>
<p>She will be a senior next year. So her GPA will be what it is, right? Although she does have AP Biology planned for next year. So that will be on the schedule. Obviously, she's a smart kid. She loves what she loves and doesn't much care about anything else. So, We need personal attention from professors and an excellent language/study abroad program.</p>
<p>What is her weighted GPA? Do you know her rank? That also makes all the difference in the college admit process, not just UW GPA :) Her ACT is good for many excellent schools, I wish her luck (I'm a senior next year myself!)</p>
<p>The thing about the ACT though is a lot of colleges only count the reading and math sections. I was surprised to find out that when evaluating my application, they only considered those two portions. So submit it if those sections are very high.</p>
<p>This is the first I've heard that "a lot of colleges only count the reading and math sections." Which colleges are these (if you know) and how do you know this is the case?</p>
<p>This indicates two schools (that the poster knows of) take the English and math (not reading and math), a minority take the highest subscores of all four subsections from different test dates, and a majority look at the highest composite score from a single test date. I believe you can simply ask a school and it will tell you its policy. At least, folks on CC have reported success in doing this ...</p>
<p>I don't doubt you ... what school is that, if you don't mind saying? Just to add to my knowledge base :) Have you heard of other schools that do this?</p>
<p>You are right -- people can just check with potential schools!</p>
<p>Indiana was the one that did this. But i'm not 100% sure that they do this for admissions (and even if they do, don't worry, it's easy to get in there). When I went to sign up for classes and met with an advisor, they brought up a file that had my name, my ACT math and ACT reading score, as well as my placement exam scores.</p>
<p>Thanks -- that's nice to know. People often worry so much about the science portion. I guess if I had read your information I would have seen you were at Indiana!</p>
<p>After a summer in Costa Rica, she may be rethinking the "warm weather" requirement, and the distance from home. She should really look at Macalester and Beloit as they are close by and have highly motivated students and strong foreign study programs.</p>
<p>Thanks - Beloit seems great, Macalester maybe too close to home. You're right. Her thoughts about where she wants to live may be completely different when she returns.</p>