Some of your suggestion read to us as very, very stretchy. Sarah Lawrence, Denison (which was acknowledged as a stretch), Wooster, Beloit? She liked Sarah Lawrence a lot before we had the really reallys of her GPA in mind. Am I misreading the data for these schools? Mt. Holyoke was also a favorite. Thoughts on it for her?
Again, many thanks to you all for being willing to confirm our choices and offer some additional ones. This is a huge help.
"I’m not sure why Milikin is on the list (your D would be a shoo-in here; it is not a reach). I’m from IL, and it’s the one school on your list that is not at all like the others. Really, though, for a full-pay family looking for merit, the midwest and south (regions derisively referred to as flyover country) should be your target. The schools in these areas are already 10-15K cheaper than schools in the northeast, and merit is typically plentiful. Your post says that money is not an issue (or am I misreading), but most families won’t turn down savings!’
With that GPA, if it is based on a 5 pt scale, might be a reach school. Her activities fit well into Millikin since they are a big theatre school. As for merit aid, her GPA will hurt her but her ACT will help. Millikin has reduced their merit aid in recent years. She might get a university grant.
If she only excels in classes that she is interested in, then she might have trouble at any school she goes to.
4 pt. scale
@GloriaVaughn I feel pretty strongly that broader offerings and more choice in classes will make her college experience a bit more of a grade success for her than high school. I am certain there will be trouble spots but I think the college experience will be a better fit for her than high school.
@sarapheena The 4 pt scales makes her GPA better. She will probably do well in her major but may be turned off in the gen eds. Illinois does require two semesters of writing to graduate. While mine was in the honors sessions, she found them boring but knew she had to get the grades for the honors program. One thing Millikin does have is the Office for Student Success. If her GPA falls below a certain point they will get hold of her and make her take a seminar and meet with them. Besides the standard writing and math labs, they also offer one on one tutoring for any subject. They usually have a list up for the classes that the majority of students struggle in, but if a class isn’t listed, you contact them and they will find a tutor. All of this is at no cost to you. Best not to wait until she is in over her head to ask for help. Millikin does make an effort to help students who need help but they also expect the student to make an effort. They also expect you to go to class (sizes are small enough they know when someone is missing) and to stay off your cell phone while in class. Profs make it clear to the students that they will deduct points for those things which can add up to a full letter grade. Dd was surprised that a lot of her friends didn’t take notes in high school but had guided notes. Most of the classes at Millikin, you take notes directly from the lecture, so no guided notes.
Since she’s into theater, another public LAC to look at would be Southern Oregon U. It’s in Ashland, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It has just over 5K undergraduates, a gorgeous campus, and a progressive/artsy vibe with a very active theater community. I know several kids who love it there and who came home after their first year very excited about their classes, internships, and leadership opportunities. The admit rate is 78%; the GPA cutoff for automatic-admit is 3.0UW, but supplemental materials are accepted for holistic eval of applicants with under-3.0 GPA’s, and given your d’s scores and other strengths, and the likely grade-deflated context of her school, I would expect her to get in if she submitted recommendations, writing samples, etc. as instructed. The nice thing is that admissions are rolling, so if she applies early she could hear back early and have an acceptance up her sleeve.
https://sou.edu/academics/political-science/programs/political-science-ba-bs/
https://sou.edu/academics/theatre/
Portland State is similar in terms of admissions criteria, but they have a formal “matrix” requiring a 29ACT/1350SAT to get in with a 2.7 unweighted GPA, so this would be a safety. I’ve seen students apply early and be accepted before the end of September. It’s a bigger school and doesn’t necessarily fit the pattern of what your d is looking for, but the students do get involved in a lot of public-benefit work in the city of Portland - there’s a lot of cool stuff going on. My d’s friends there love it. It’s a “commuter school” with a lot of non-traditional students, but the dorm community is fun and close-knit. The rolling-admissions system can make great peace-of-mind safeties out of both schools, simply because you can find out so early and know you have a fallback.
https://www.pdx.edu/hatfieldschool/undergraduate-program-political-science
https://www.pdx.edu/usp/babs-community-development
https://www.pdx.edu/music/theater
Willamette is especially good for Poli Sci because of its close ties to state government in Salem.
Women’s college wise, consider Agnes Scott. It seems like a fit in terms of the leadership-oriented philosophy. There’s cross-registration with Emory (and a jointly developed Public Health major should that be of interest - lots of public policy work to be done in that field.
https://www.agnesscott.edu/politicalscience/majors-minors.html
https://www.agnesscott.edu/publichealth/majors-and-minors/index.html
https://www.agnesscott.edu/theatre/majors-minors.html
Clark, in Worcester, MA, is great for kids who want to change the world. They look for that.
Another school to look at is UNC-Asheville. Nice setting, smallish public school, progressive vibe.
ETA: looks like it’s already been mentioned so +1.
If your D is open to considering schools on the West Coast, I recommend looking at Willamette. They are across the street from the Oregon State Capitol so have a great poli sci progam with lots of internships and they have a great theater program (one publication, I forget which), named them #1 for theater. While their average gpa is 3.82, they have a 70-something percent admit rate.
@sarapheena Here’s the info on Bard’s Alternative Admissions process. It bypasses grades and test scores, but it’s intense: http://www.bard.edu/admission/bardexam/
“The examination is composed of 20 essay questions in four categories: Social Studies; Languages and Literature; Arts; and Science and Mathematics. Applicants are required to complete three 2,500-word essays; each must be in answer to a question from a separate category, thereby covering three of the four categories.”