<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I am looking for a college that is located somewhere in the Eastern part of the United
States. My high school gpa is a 3.3 and my act score is a 15. I am a member of my school's
BETA Club if that helps. </p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>Is that ACT score a typo?</p>
<p>Your GPA is decent but your ACT is on the low side. Study and take it again. Aim for 24+.</p>
<p>Look at some score optional schools. [SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest)</p>
<p>Hey you guys, I’m actually doing this for my cousin. I’m a junior member hear but I didn’t
want to use my account. She made this account last night and I just asked the question for her. The score is not a joke and she honestly tried her best. I don’t know of any colleges that will take that score. </p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad-most sat/act optional schools require an essay in lieu of standardized test scores and I’m not sure her writing is up to par. </p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>Well if her writing isn’t up to par to write a basic essay, she may want to consider a community college as it sounds like she’ll need serious remediation.</p>
<p>I highly, highly suggest that she takes the ACT. I Doubt any college will accept her with that score, most public states would require stellar GPA and other stats with that score. Aim for something at least in the mid 20’s. If she can’t pull out a good score CC may be the only option.</p>
<p>No, there are plenty of colleges that will accept her with that ACT. Even more if she does score choice. The biggest issue I see is that the OP doesn’t think the applicant has the potential to write a simple essay, which indicates a need for serious remediation. Studying for the ACT won’t fix the fact that this person sounds seriously under prepared for college across a variety of areas (most notably basic math, writing, and reading comprehension).</p>
<p>@whenhen, </p>
<p>The problem is that she wants to go to schools like Duke and Hopkins because those were the schools that I got into. However, I got a 34. She keeps asking me what I got but I won’t tell her because it would appear to be a cheap shot, no?</p>
<p>She was willing to “settle” for Howard but Howard doesn’t seem to take scores of 15 into consideration. I am urging her to reconsider her other colleges but her mind is set. I don’t know what to do. </p>
<p>(and omg, I put “hear” instead of “here” in my post above. Whatever, we all make typos).</p>
<p>And a community college would seem like a great idea. It’ll boost her academic performance and maybe she can go to a better graduate school. I just have to convince her to take that route because she’s quite vain. </p>
<p>In other news, I’m loving the username she chose -_-</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s a cheap shot, but you might want to show her the school’s common data sets. She should be able to realize that no one (or almost no one, haven’t checked the CDS’ of the schools recently) got in with her ACT. </p>
<p>You might also want to show her this: [Score</a> Information | National Ranks for Test Scores and Composite Score | ACT Student](<a href=“ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT”>ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT)
The reality is only 16% of students did worse than her on the ACT, and given the dismal state of American education, that’s saying something about her preparation for any regionally accredited school. </p>
<p>If she wants to go to Howard, would she be willing to consider other HBCUs such as Virginia State? I’d also show her some of your college course work and ask if she could write or do math at the level than JHU requires. </p>
<p>Again, given how seriously under-prepared she sounds for college, I’d recommend the CC route because she will almost certainly need A LOT of remediation and it’s far cheaper to do it at a CC than almost any other school she can get into.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!
And whenhen, I’ll do what you said and I’ll update you. Oh, and I looked at the stats for Virginia State and it seems like an attainable school for her :)</p>
<p>All of you are amazing!</p>
<p>u of akron
Youngstown state
barry university miami shores,fl</p>
<p>One last thing, and one that you may not want to tell her. The odds that she’ll graduate in four years are very very slim. That’s why I think it’s so inappropriate to choose a four year school from the get go when her ACT score limits her to schools that either give poor need based aid (see Zobroward’s recommendation of Barry University which graduates students with a high debt load) or essentially function as four year community colleges. </p>
<p>It’s better to start at a cheaper community college, where the remediation services are typically inexpensive and plentiful, and then move onto a four year school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions zobroward. </p>
<p>Whenhen, thanks and I absolutely agree with you, I just don’t know how to tell her. She has so much pride and would rather go to a four year college than go to a cc. She said that she’s thinking of retaking the ACT but if her initial score was a 15, I’m not sure how much better it’ll get. I’ll try my best to explain this to her and like I said, I’ll keep you updated. :)</p>
<p>There’s isn’t enough data to say she won’t do well in college. </p>
<p>ACT has very little time. Students are under extreme pressure so that might be the reason she didn’t do well. Tell her to take the SAT or ACT again. </p>
<p>What classes is she taking in high school ? Any AP classes ?</p>
<p>Unfortunately the UCLA Graduation Rate Calculator appears broken. However, showing you the data isn’t necessary because as the cousin of the OP stated, the OP can’t even write a simple application essay. Understand that if a student can’t write a 500 word essay, s/he will not do well in college. Almost every class I’ve been in required quite a few essays and papers, most considerably longer than a few hundred words. Additionally an ACT score of 15 indicates serious difficulties with rudimentary math concepts. Not things like calculus but adding complex fractions. </p>
<p>Sure she might have had a bad day. I’m as skeptical of standardized scores as just about anyone, but I also recognize that they can be a useful indicator of how “ready” a student is for college. I’ve also tutored students who, if I were to guess, would probably score about what the OP did. Even though many dreamed of going to college, they were not ready for it. Not even close. I’ve seen seventh graders with better preparation than many of those students (and they were the ones who didn’t drop out!) </p>
<p>The reality is, the American K-12 system is atrocious, which is part of the reason why so many community colleges and less selective state schools spend so much money on remedial classes. It’s also why graduation rates at many unselective state schools are so low. A majority of the students come in with pathetically poor academic skills and it takes years to get the fraction that don’t drop out, up to speed. </p>
<p>Sorry for the mini-rant. I just get bothered when students tell an applicant who did poorly on a standardized test that all they need to do is study. In reality, it’s so much more.</p>
<p>@XtremePower, she has taken maybe two AP classes but the AP classes at her school are a joke; the average score on any AP exam at her school is a 1. To be honest, all of the schools in my hometown have awful teachers and awful implemented teaching methods with the exception of two schools. I wanted her to go to one of the better schools but she chose to be with her friends who all ended up either pregnant or unfortunately, placed into a prison. I understand that students are under extreme pressure. I was under extreme pressure along with all of my classmates and I have to agree with Whenhen that the scores generally reflect the student’s readiness for college.</p>
<p>I guess I have to be a little blunt here because I want people to suggest colleges suited for her ability and not suggest that she had a bad day. </p>
<p>*I started my summer break before she finished her finals and so she wanted me to help her prepare for her exams for AP Chem. The ONLY things that her teacher had went over with her were pretty much the periodic table and learning how to balance equations. This is what I mean when I say that the AP classes are a joke at the school. Another example of the atrocity of the AP classes at her school is the fact that she took AP World History and did not know exactly what the Protestant Reformation was.</p>
<p>*The only thing that she reads is Facebook which has hindered her writing skills. </p>
<p>Uh, gotta go…I have TMJ…I think (is it common for pre-meds to attempt to diagnose themselves with disorders? haha)</p>
<p>You might check in your state to see if any of the Community Colleges have dorms…Sometimes people who wouldn’t consider one otherwise will reconsider if they can still ‘go away’ for college.</p>
<p>She’s now considering a community college but only if she can go to Howard or an Ivy for grad school…</p>
<p>Respond please.</p>