I think we are looking for a unicorn. My Junior son has very average grades - approx. a 3.0 unweighed, 3.3 weighted. This is partially a result of doing very poorly with online covid school and partially due to executive function issues and ADHD. His SATS have been 1200-1300 and he will take one more time. He is an Eagle Scout and sails. He is looking for a school with a strong sailing program. This is not optional as he really does best when he is engaged in sports and it will be a motivating factor for doing well in school. Does anyone have insight into the following schools or suggestions of other schools to look at?
Salve Regina, Roger Williams, Monmouth, Endicott, College of Charleston, SUNY Maritime, UofMaine?
Thanks!
Not so much a unicorn but more a need to prioritize a few things. Some clubs ate not funded by the school and that can be an added expense for the student/family. Some schools are better for students with ADHD/EF issues than others. Additionally, some students have a harder time academically when they have stats below the median of their peers.
D has 2 friends at Salve Regina and both were very strong academically in HS (4.0 with multiple APs, studying nursing) She knows someone at Monmouth with lower stats but the family is full pay.
Other schools that came to mind were Christopher Newport, Mercyhurst, Old Dominion but they may be tougher admits with a 3.0 UW.
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Check out St. John’s College in Annapolis. It has a Great Books curriculum that may not appeal to everyone; the acceptance rate is 60% (according to Fiske Guide 2021) and I think your son’s SAT scores are in the right range. Though croquet is their power sport, they are right on the Chesapeake Bay and have a sailing team.
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Apparently, there are some sort of coaches poll based rankings in college sailing:
https://collegesailing.org/racing/sw-rankings
But maybe looking of actual races and results may give more of an idea of how strong each college’s sailing team is.
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I’ve heard Rollins in Florida has a good sailing program – gpa and test scores seem in range, though I did not dig too deeply.
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UNC Wilmington?
D applied here, and it is so strong in so many academic areas AND with a sailing program!
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Old dominion would be a match for a student with those stats. They have a good sailing program I believe.
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What about St. Mary’s in Maryland?
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Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. They have a new sailing center completed in 2015. Eckerd College Virtual Tour in St. Petersburg, Florida.. Profile eckerd.edu/admissions/faq/. He has the SAT score and great EC’s, Eagle Scout, sailing. The professor/mentor program is a strong program. All incoming freshman are also assigned a peer mentor, this would be a big plus for your son, The John M. Bevan Center for Academic Excellence - Eckerd College. eckerd.edu/campus-life/ eckerd.edu/academics/. Lots of hands on and outdoor activities, waterfront facilities- Waterfront | Eckerd College in Florida, sustainable farm, makers space, eckerd.edu/makerspace/, sea semester. Career services meets with freshman during Autumn term and develops a close relationship with them, Career Services | Eckerd College in Florida. There is a Peace Corps Prep program, and since it operates on a 4-1-4 calendar, numerous offerings fro winter abroad programs as well as a freshman leadership training program.
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This sounds amazing! Thank you
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Agree about ODU and CNU- may be worth looking into. Good luck!
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What about the service academies? Esp US Naval and US Coast Guard?
The service academies are for students who want careers as officers in the respective branches of military service, and they are likely too selective for a student with the stats given in the first post of this thread.
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Even the Merchant Marine academy?
The USMMA does have a service obligation as described at About USMMA | U.S. Merchant Marine Academy . It is either five years as an officer in the US military, or five years in the US maritime industry with eight years as a reserve officer in the US military.
It is actually fairly hard to find the high school academic credential range of admitted or enrolled students of the USMMA.
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Hobart in NY.
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I thought about Hobart, too, but the average GPA of applicants is 3.54 and 83% of enrolled students have over 3.0. Great school on a beautiful campus but admission won’t be a given. It also prompted my question about how this student might handle being below the mid-50%.
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I agree. It really depends on the student and how he thinks he might do in that environment. (Going through a similar situation with my son right now, curious to see how things are going to shake out…)
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Linked is a list of 4-year colleges that have sailing programs and are less selective. There are over 100 names here, so there might be something to suit your son, depending on whatever other criteria you have. Additional research would obviously be needed to see the extent of the sailing programs. (FYI: Don’t know why “research” is linking to that site as I didn’t link it.)
Here are two other links that might prove useful:
I think the schools below would all have strong sailing programs and your son would have a reasonable shot at acceptance (categorized according to my fallible sense of his chances):
Extremely Likely (90%+)
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Likely (60-90%)
- Eckerd (FL)
- Washington College (MD)
- Maine Maritime Academy
- Roger Williams (RI)
- Salve Regina (RI)
- Hampton (VA)
- Old Dominion (VA)
Possible (25-55%)
- Hobart & William Smith (NY)
- Rollins (FL)
- St. Mary’s College of Maryland
- SUNY Maritime
- College of Charleston (SC)
Unlikely (Less than 25%)
- U. of South Florida
- St. John’s College (MD)
- Christopher Newport (VA)
Two other names I came across that I wanted to call out were Jacksonville (Extremely Likely) and Monmouth (Likely).
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