Yes! I have one that did community college then state U. She would not have qualified for any significant academic scholarships.
I ended up here at CC because we were hunting for big merit dollars for the other kid who did well enough on her standardized test scores to qualify for some automatic scholarships — mostly at OOS public Us.
Me!!! I found this site after googling “colleges for C students” and the B-C student threads popped up. He’s now a sophomore in college, but I’ve stuck around for D21, who will have higher stats. I originally thought her “average excellent” until I saw someone use that term for their 4.0 UW/36 ACT child. LOL!!!
Hello! Mom of “excellent average” son here! (I would say that “average excellent” may be a different, but helpful term to point out the fact that there are many, many, many 4.0/36ACT-ers out there, and those with those super high stats can’t count on standing out on just the basis of the super high stats). By “excellent average” I mean kids like ours with truly more average grades (Bs), test scores, typical extracurriculars.
Anyway! I know a few students attending the fashion program at U of Cincinnati, and I know a mom who graduated from there and went on to an excellent career. It seems like a great program, and of course it is not Ivy, Top 20, or requiring all As and all that to get in.
One site that we found helpful, since our school doesn’t use Naviance, well lets just say the site rhymes with quiche and starts with an N. You can plug in GPA and test scores, and majors, and get a list of schools and see a graph of stats of students who applied, were accepted, and were not. We found many of the schools on my son’s list this way, then went on to further research.
Let me introduce you to my kids:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1995005-time-for-another-thread-for-b-and-c-students-p1.html
I’m not sure what the nuances are but I consider my kids more than average. But we were very concerned with raising our kids to leave the nest and raising healthy mind and body kids with some decent street smarts before worrying too much if they had all As those we didn’t do a ton of hand-holding. Hindsight is a great thing and while H and I definitely have above average IQs as do our kids we had decades of knowing that strong human beings need more than to be simply “book smart”. The nice thing is you don’t get caught up in the rat race. I really love the forums but through the years I have smiled many times at the concerns that get raised…me, when my kids were 16, I was more concerned they didn’t wrap their car around a tree more than if they got an A in AP history or what not. They all went off to their respective colleges as B+ Unweighted kids with a few APs under the belt and OK above average test scores and they all 3 graduated and they all 3 found work either before or within weeks of graduating. Would I have preferred to see Boy 1 at Dartmouth rather than trekking out to Colorado. Sure. Would it have made a difference in his life trajectory. Probably not. Same with 2 and 3 and their respective paths…College is 4 short years in a very long life. And for the poster who says
that made me smile.
My sib who had super brain kids is two for two with huge high schools and two kids that were tippy top of the class all the way around turn down debt and go to average in-state publics with hefty scholarships and tons of perks and they all saved their money to help with med school and a tippy top law school that each are now attending. But those two kids KNEW they were going to med school and law school when they graduated high school and I guarantee you neither felt like an outlier in their colleges and my siblings know that it isn’t about the car stickers. It’s the end that counts the most - college is just a footbridge.
Check out the college of Textiles at NC State University
There are actually a lot of long-running threads for “average” kids. Colleges for the Jewish B student has been going for ages, some others have been mentioned above. If you post in the search and selection forum with her stats and desires, including FA info, you’ll get a lot of suggestions. Good luck.
Kent State’s Fashion School is exceptional…take a peek.
Hello! Parent of a B+ student who is not interested in prestigious colleges AT ALL. She has a strong background in music.
@engineermomof2 Check out Marist - https://www.marist.edu/-/news-marist-fashion-program-ranked-among-top-50-globally-by-business-of-fashion
I have a D19 that has good to high stats. She was shutout by two ivy’s and another top20. Life goes on. I have always had a simple goal for my kids that they become independent members of society. It is fine if they are not rich or they don’t save the world. I would rather them be happy with whatever they do in life. There are a ton of jobs in the world and you don’t need an elite education to get most of them.
It is so easy to get sucked into the arms race that is the college selection process. I have always told myself I would as a parent match my child’s intensity for whatever they are doing. If they want to go crazy and try for the brass ring I will be right there helping them along, but if they just want to take it easy and I will be more laidback.
To the OP I would just say use CC for your needs. Get the information that you need and don’t worry about what others are doing.
Parent of a mostly B+ (With some A’s sprinkled in) “average” student here! No Ivies or T20 schools being sought here…no research projects, he doesn’t have 300+ hours of community service, hasn’t started any non profits or interned for any Congressman. He’s just a good all around kid, rising junior with test taking anxiety and no idea what he wants to major in or do when he grow up lol. We think he’s kind of neat 
That being said, I’ve learned ALOT from my short time on CC, especially in the specific college forums for our state’s public universities which is where he probably end up going.
The uber high stat, high achieving posts don’t bother me, good for them!
Good Morning @engineermomof2 ! There is a college for every kid out there! I know. I teach at a College that is not super competitive from an admissions standpoint, but fantastic students–I should be grading papers right now:-). They are hard working kids-- some very bright who wanted our school for a particular major, some because we offer great internships, some who need academic support, and others because of our size and location. There are also kids who were just square pegs in round holes in our public education system and because of that, didn’t get a chance to mature or demonstrate what they are capable of achieving in that four year snapshot that is high school. It’s also very diverse with lots of first gen kids. I love teaching there.
Personally, I am also the mom of four and this site was recommended to me because my third is a musical theater kid and I was pretty clueless about that path. Even in those discussions, every kid is uber talented and I wondered if my son was making a mistake. That being said, my oldest went to “my” college because he was that square peg in a round hole and did not excel in high school though he is a bright kid. Today, he is receiving his M.S. in Computer Science from BU, that he earned while working full time. Crying just thinking about it.
My second sounds like your child. Very good student, A’s and a few B’s, but worked very, very hard to achieve them. Above average, but not amazing test scores. Attended a CTCL college and then went to get an MAT from Brandeis and is teaching in an urban middle school. I am kind of glad I didn’t discover this site when looking for her, because I truly would have freaked out a little too–and I teach at a college!
My third, as I mentioned is getting a BFA is MT. My fourth was the really great student and did apply to one Ivy and three of the T20’s (I didn’t even know they had a name until a few months ago) and actually reading about the number of qualified students applying gave me a better perspective on her chances. That is not to say she (well me) wasn’t crushed when she got rejections, but we (I mean me) was a little better prepared and there are some very empathetic people on this site who made her (well me again) not feel so alone in that rejection. My daughter actually had a better grip on how competitive the schools were and, though disappointed, she was fine. I was more surprised (okay mad) by some of the target schools who wait listed her.
Sorry I made this about my kids, but was hoping to be helpful!! Please feel free to message me if you want information about where I teach–we have a pretty robust fashion program!!
@JWU1964 nice post. Congrats on your children finding your path.
Funny you mention it and what a great observation.
In the real world and even the vast vast majority of employers and academics, you would get a few strange looks if you threw out HPYSM, fought over whether you should add a C to that or not, said you attended a “Tippy Top” or T20 T10 or whatever.
I can’t imagine the looks on the highly trained professionals I work with if someone suggested we hire candidate x over candidate y because their school or major was three, twenty or 50 slots higher than another candidate in usnwr or Forbes. Niche and others are unheard of in these circles. However these metrics are common battlegrounds here in CC to help decide on a school or demonstrate superiority.
It is the interview and relevant experience. Once you have the base level requirements. Honestly. Mid America state gets the same exact contemplation as everyone except h y and s. Even those juggernauts are very impressive but they don’t take away the need for the other variables. Personality. Coachabity. Proven competence. These are more important.
This insanity of competition and comparison resides primarily here and on the golf course or senior night at wealthy high schools across the country.
First off… All our kids are super duper kids but reach a new level on CC. Mine included ?. I think us over engaged parents are just trying to be helpful. I have learned a lot on CC but I told my kids to stay away when looking at colleges because CC is not reflective of the real world. It is just a microcosm of it.
So my daughter started out at school in the theater design world. Even made her own prom dress that many thought she bought in high school. She also worked locally in Chicago being an assistant designer to some local designer’s in small plays to get experience so to me that is something to do like this summer to gain experience. Find someone to gain experience from even for free. So interning is usually not paid at the start.
She has friends at Parsons and Pratt and Fit for fashion design.
Look at as an example https://calarts.edu/admissions/portfolio-audition-requirements/theater/design-and-production look at the costume design one. The point is look at what the “better” schools are asking for.
My daughter was looking at lacs and Emerson which she got into but we couldn’t afford without good merit…
My daughter got into 11/12 (here I go being on CC?) schools by setting up her own interview and bringing her portfolio with her whether they wanted it or not. She met directly with the heads of the design department. Her grades were avg or less. Same with Act but she’s an extremely great passionate interview plus she has some talent to boot. So she catered to her strengths.
I bought her this book and the author is a known designer and professor to understand what a portfolio should look like Show Case: Developing, Maintaining, and Presenting a Design-Tech Portfolio for Theatre and Allied Fields https://www.amazon.com/dp/0240819268/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bZ.3CbKZFCR14
There are ones for fashion design.
So like DePaul wanted her doodles on scratch paper so don’t throw those out. They are more important then they seem. Have her take regular drawing /painting classes in the summer. They want to see all forms of art work… Get a “real” portfolio. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Have all the pictures aligned so the reviewer doesn’t have to flip it to see a picture in perspective properly.
Each page should tell a story. Have sample fabric pinned to the page with the actual piece. Take pictures and maybe use a good camera but can be worth it to hire a photographer for an hour to get really good shots of her work.
Anything she has done creatively counts even if it’s not related.
What types of schools are you looking for? My daughter wanted small and that is where she excells. Going to coffee to talk with professors etc etc.
This was mentioned early on in the thread but bears another mention - you might want to look for the “3.0 - 3.4 GPA” thread for your child’s year. I found the participants in the HS class of 2019 thread to be incredibly helpful, thoughtful and mutually supportive. Some of the more specialized threads can also be extremely helpful. I didn’t have a very good impression of CC based on what I had read about it (a lot of articles focus on the “chance me” threads and so on), but I started out looking for information about D3 athletic recruitment, and I found a wealth of information on that and just kept going. There are also a lot of threads that will provide a much-needed laugh and a weird form of reassurance along the way. (My favorites include the thread on the stupidest reason kids have for refusing to visit certain colleges.) It’s really a terrific resource, you just need to learn where to look (and where not to look!).
There are certainly mostly academic power houses, as well as over achievers, on this forum, but there are also average kids who can win some accolades as well. My 3rd daughter had a high GPA,but no APs, and only a few honors, solely electives; below average SAT/ACT; activities like theater, choir, dance and film, with no leadership positions; and she was accepted to all 12 schools she applied to, with 8 merit awards, several quite substantial. She’s chosen Temple University among choices like Quinnipiac, SUNY Purchase, and the University of New Hampshire. Not elite, but plenty to be proud of.
My son had mainly As in hs but pretty average test scores. Interesting but not ivy extracurricular and was a total jerk his junior year in hs. He was not even interested in any colleges other than land grant universities with vet schools. Saving money for his DVM was the priority. He ended up in a great program, president of his large fraternity with great grades. I know there are lots of schools out there for your daughter and a lot of us out there that feel you can get great educations and be challenged at state schools!
@engineermomof2 As others have said, there are plenty of discussions here pertaining to “average” students. My S20 has a 3.25 UW and is looking at some less competitive flagship state Us that are solid matches. He only even thought about a reach school because the GC told them they should have one, and he’s not going to bother applying to one. He’s probably only going to apply to 2 or 3 schools.
I have found CC very helpful in finding information about aid and scholarships and connecting with some people who are familiar with the schools my S is interested in.
Thanks to everyone for all the helpful comments! I have found the thread that many mentioned for “3.0+ kids in 2020” and will happily make my home there.
D(20) is looking at Kent State, FIT, SCAD, Marist, UofCinn, SAIC, Belmont (they adsorbed o’more college of design) and Auburn…pretty much in that order more or less. I am an auburn grad, so I’ve asked her to at least consider it should she change to fashion merch, but I was rather disappointed in the quality of their show this year. Kent is looking like a good fit- she qualifies for enough scholarships that OOS tuition is equivalent to instate for us, and I would love for her to have more of a “traditional” college experience. FIT looks good on paper, and shes started on their portfolio requirements, but we haven’t visited yet. Hope to get it and Marist this summer… Cost of the private schools is an issue, unfortunately, as DH has a failed business attempt that set us back a few years financially. it is what it is…
Thank you to everyone for pointing me in the right direction!!