My daughter is very strong in the humanities (English, History, Spanish), but very weak in science and math. Her GPA is
3.4 unweighted. 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 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, I’m not sure how great a difference that will make.
You might find this thread helpful -
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1871275-parents-of-the-hs-class-of-2017-3-0-to-3-4-gpa.html#latest
I think she will have some wonderful options, but Middlebury and Bowdoin are reaches for everyone so aim high but expand your list to include target and safety schools. That list will depend on your budget, whether you are hoping to be awarded some merit-based aid, what type of campus/location she wants (I’m guessing remote and in the northeast if she likes M&B), and her preferences regarding the Greek system (large presence at some schools). I would also be careful about checking gen ed requirements. Some schools are very structured in their requirements (some Jesuit schools come to mind) while others are much more flexible, thus allowing her minimize the math/science requirements (maybe URochester?). You don’t mention her EC’s, but they can make a big difference, too. It’s hard to recommend any schools without knowing more about her interests. Finally, she should keep working on her improving her math score over the summer.
The fact that she is black may make a difference, particularly if she is also first generation to attend college. I’ve seen this topic debated (hotly), and understand that there are CC threads that discuss it at length.
Your D sounds like a great student! Best of luck in your journey.
I would suggest that your daughter looks at liberal arts schools with open curriculums or ones with very broad requirements. Smith, Wesleyan, Sarah Lawrence come to mind but I’m sure there are many others.
She’ll have lots of options! Schools want to fill slots in the Humanities too, not just pre-med and engineering!
Our youngest daughter goes to a large OOS public flagship, and first semester one of her professors noted the quality of her writing in a research paper she turned in. Based on that, he recommended she apply to a undergrad fellowship program at the university.
I thought I’d mention it, because lots of big schools have paths for making the experience smaller and getting more personal attention.
Be sure to run the Net Price Calculators at any schools you are interested in, and think in terms of the FOUR year cost, not just annual cost.
Take a look at U Rochester. They are test flexible, which means you can send whichever test scores you feel best represent your strengths (APs instead of SAT, for example). Their curriculum is unique, as you delve into three different areas of your choosing (with certain parameters) instead of covering a broad range of set courses. The environment is very collaborate and supportive.
check out the “Colleges that Change Lives”
https://ctcl.org/
Check out Denison and Kenyon in Ohio. Financial aid would be a real possibility. Would she think about women’s colleges? Wellesley, Smith, and Mount Holyoke in MA would also be possibilities. Students at these schools have real access to those at other schools. Wellesley students socialize and interact with those at nearby Boston schools. I know a recent grad who had lots of friends at Harvard and MIT. Smith and Mount Holyoke are in a five-school consortium with U Mass-Amherst (state flagship), Hampshire, and Amherst. Students can take classes at the other consortium schools. They are generally close together. The two Amherst schools are just at either end of Amherst, a small New England town. Smith is a few miles away in Northampton, which is a fun college town, and a little larger. These three women’s schools have different vibes and one may suit your daughter better than the others. All are competitive but more accessible than Bowdoin and Middlebury. Bates, like Bowdoin, is in Maine and might be a possibility too. Or the Philly LACS: Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore. Good luck!
A number of the schools people mentioned have Fly-in programs aimed at diversity. Check out the list as some have summer deadlines:
http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/college-fly-in-diversity-programs/
How did she get a 745 on the SAT writing section? Scores are usually multiples of 10.