<p>AA daughter has excellent grades 4.6 weighted but low ACT(25). Extremely driven and smart, just not a great test taker. Please suggests schools that would be a good fit for someone who doesn't want to go to local state school, but not high enough stats for highly selective schools... Thanks : )</p>
<p>Does your daughter have any other test scores that can make up for a low ACT? Maybe AP Exams or SAT Subject Tests? A 25 SAT isn’t exactly “low” but it could be a lot better. Btw, Colleges only look at UW GPAs (at least most do) so an UW GPA would probably be a better indicator of a potential college. Off the top of my head, some colleges that are still relatively selective but not to the extent of the ivies would be Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, UCs, Duke (maybe), etc. Posting more of your daughters stats would be convenient as well (ECs, Leadership, Tests, etc)</p>
<p>UW GPA is only 3.8. Her EC are not stellar, but in context of her school very good. Not very many opportunities and not much encouragement for minorities at her school. She is definitely the #1 AA in her school. She has been in student goverment, marching band, diversity groups, etc. Received a scholarship for a college science program last year. She just got deferred at WashU and is very, very bummed out… Looking for another school similar that woud be a good fit.</p>
<p>Florida schools (:</p>
<p>Howard University and Spelman College.</p>
<p>In what part of the country do you live? Are finances a significant factor in the decision making process?</p>
<p>She has recently decided to apply to both Howard and Spelman… Problem is, I hear neither school is generous on scholarships/aid. We make too much for grants, etc…But don’t really have a lot of money to pay for college. I hear private selective schools are more generous which is a big reason she’s applied to many selective schools. If that wasn’t an issue I think both schools would be a great fit for her… She also wants a school that is more diverse. She was deferred at Wash U (1st choice). Anybody know anything about Case or Boston… She wants a good program, but wants a place where she can be around other AA’s too. :)</p>
<p>Forgot to mention… We live in the midwest, but location is not a factor for her.</p>
<p>Howard Scholarships. Raise the ACT by a point and you get tuition. Nothing lost by taking the tests again.</p>
<p>[Grants</a>, Scholarships & Fellowships - Howard University](<a href=“http://www.howard.edu/financialaid/grants_scholarships.htm#Freshman]Grants”>http://www.howard.edu/financialaid/grants_scholarships.htm#Freshman)</p>
<p>I think February test will be too late for scholarship consideration… Plus, she barely got a 25. Her Science and Math schores were low and English and Reading were good.</p>
<p>What is this based on? What kind of things does she like? I mean most people on this board would only suggest ivies/well-known lacs,and other large schools. I think your daughter does have a good shot at a lot of schools, however part of the choice should be based on fit and not ranking/prestige.</p>
<p>Dont know what the application deadlines for these schools, but there a whole bunch of test-optional schools that your D might conisder, including Bowdoin(ME), Connecticut College, Wake Forest (NC), Bard (NY), Lawrence U (WI), Wheaton (MA), Guilford College (NC), Hampshire (MA), Wilberforce (OH), St. Lawrence U. (NY). </p>
<p>Go to the Fairtest.org for a full list, although many are specialized tech, religious, or art schools. Some are clearly more selective than others, but I believe none require an ACT or SAT. Obviously a strong package otherwise helps.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice… A lot of our decisions have been based on ranking I would admit, however, a lot of it has to do with aid packages. Like I said earlier, I keep hearing that private schools offer more aid than public. Also, she wants to go into medical field, so she’s been looking at schools that have medical schools. We figure, if the school has a medical school it might give it’s students some preference or at least prepare you for the MCAT’s. Obviously, if she got a 25 on the ACT she’s not the best test taker… I’m worried she will have to go throught this testing issue all over again with the MCAT’s in 4 years! I will look into the schools that BigApplyDaddy suggested.</p>
<p>Here are a few schools to check out:</p>
<p>*Mount Holyoke (test optional)
*Smith
*Bryn Mawr
*Agnes Scott
*Simmons
Beloit
Bard
Bryn Mawr
St. Olaf
Gustavus Adolphus
Drake U
Cornell College, IA
Denison
Dickerson
Kenyon
Colby
Oberlin
The starred schools are women only colleges that your D’s ACT composite score falls around the 25th percentile, give or take a few on either side. Also, go to the CC home page & use the tools there to plug in her stats, intended major, and etc., and see what you get. </p>
<p>I have a ways to go as my D is only a freshman, but we’re making lists of schools based on various grade and test score scenarios.</p>
<p>Test-optional is definitely the way to go; check the fairtest site for a full list. OP should remember, however, that many of the top test-opt schools (Bowdoin, Smith, etc.) are known for generous need-based finaid, but offer little merit money. And to get the limited merit $, OP’s D would have to be one of the top candidates in a fairly competitive pool.</p>
<p>The second-tier test-opt schools (Goucher, etc.) offer more merit money that the top schools; scholarship grants range form a few thousand dollars to half- or full-tuition. But while the fairtest schools are test-op for admission, many require candidates seeking merit awards to submit test scores. And even when scores are not required for merit $, students with good scores submit them voluntarily - - as a way to stand out from the pack. </p>
<p>Finally, check the fairtest annottions; some schools are test-opt only to the extend of accepting SATII or AP/IB scores in lieu of the SATI.</p>
<p>Smith would be a great choice.</p>
<p>Hampton has a scholarship for a 25 ACT. I agree you should have her test again in February with the help of a prep class.</p>
<p>Agree with mini that Smith would be a good choice in terms of bang for OP’s (or anyones) education buck. And like mini, I put my money where my mouth is - - my D (who rec’d a very generous finaid awards each of her four years) is entering her final semester at Smith. </p>
<p>OP’s D should definitely apply to Smith, but if the family is looking for a large merit award, Smith is probably not the best bet. The applicant pool is quite competitve, and students seeking the top awards often voluntarily submit strong test scores. This means it could be more difficult (thought by no means impossible) for OP’s D to get a top merit award Smith than at a school with a slightly less competitive applicant pool. Indeed, this is consist with the conventional wisdom regarding merit money: if you’re seeking a large/top merit scholarship, apply to a second- or third-tier school where you will be at the top of the heap.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how large a merit award OP’s family is seeking, but I don’t recall the top test-opt schools offering a lot of half- or full-COA scholarships. At Smith the 50+ schoarships awarded to incoming first-years range from $15-20K, plus a $2K research stipend - - less than half the COA, but an undeniable bargain for top-drawer academics and a tony credential. (For my D, the need-based package made Smith no more expensive than in-state SUNY tuition).</p>
<p>Retake the ACT and get a higher score.</p>
<p>How has your daughter found her social life at Smith? I would love for my daughter to attend Smith or Wellesley, but she isn’t feeling it socially. She has no problem doing girls school if boys are directly across the street (Spelman and Barnard) but otherwise…</p>
<p>Mommie dearest, co-ed schools are not across the street from Smith, but nearby in Amherst (Amherst Colelge, UMass, Hampshire) and there’s a free PVTA bus connecting all of the five-college schools. It is, no douby, more difficult to meet guys at Smith than at a coed school, but the Smithies interested in meeting guys don’t seem to have much of a problem in that regard. And far more important than dating, D has a very close circle of Smith friends; every vacation she vists and hosts classmates across the country (in fact she’s out of town for 5 days at a Smith get together).</p>
<p>Smith was a perfect academic fit for D, but the fact that her bf of 2 yrs in school 15-20 min away cinched the deal (she applied ED). Recent alumnae tell me that many of the young women who choose Smith have boyfriends, thought not as close by as D’s bf. After D and bf broke up, she dated casually for a couple of years; she currently has bf who is a senior at Williams.</p>
<p>D took only a couple of courses at UMass and Hampshire - - in part b/c PVTA is great of socializing, but less so for scheduling classes, and in part b/c Smith offered more courses of interest to her. Also, since D had a number of school/camp friends attending college in the area, she didn’t really need to take classes elsewhere as a way to meet students on other campuses. </p>
<p>One of the best thing about is N’hampton (“Noho”). It is an absolutely delightful college town (lots of shopping and restaurants/cafes), so regardless of what school the students attend, they tend to hang out in Noho.</p>
<p>If you have further questions, please send me a PM. You should also post on the Smith board, which is quite active (and which counts several AA alumnae among its “regulars”).</p>
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<p>Oops! I thought Mommie dearest was the OP; I didn’t mean to hi-jack the thread.</p>