<p>What what be a good school for someone very interested in art and philosophy, but without excellent scores and ECs? She has taken only two years of math and two years of Spanish, and does not want to take more of these classes in college. There are no APs at her school, and she has not taken part in many organized ECs. Her verbal SAT scores are excellent, but her math scores are about average. She has taken no SAT IIs or AP tests. She will have strong recs and essays.
I have suggested Skidmore, Bard, Smith, Vassar, and Oberlin. Can anyone think of others?</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence</p>
<p>A few less selective would be Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh, Colgate and more along those lines. Take a look at Trinity (CT), Connecticut College and some other places near MA</p>
<p>Denison, Depauw, Dickinson, and College of Wooster.</p>
<p>I was under the impression that most of the LAC's mentioned require more than 2 high school math and language credits for admission. Is that not the case?</p>
<p>Lehigh is not a LAC</p>
<p>Yemaya13 -
what is her GPA/class rank like?</p>
<p>but Lehigh is worth looking at. It is a decent school not terribly difficult to get into. I'd say a 1300ish sat combined with a pretty good gpa should do the trick. </p>
<p>I'd say look at Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell, Colgate, Vassar, Oberlin, Trinity (CT), Connecticut College etc..</p>
<p>I'm I missing something here? This student has 2 math and language credits in high school and doesn't want to take these subjects in college, she has no SAT IIs and is light on her EC's. Seems like many of the schools mentioned would be reaches at best. I'm not trying to be negative, but realistic. Connecticut College for one requires SAT IIs. What is her GPA? Has she taken any honors classes? You say her math SAT is "about average" that would put it in the 500"s?</p>
<p>I agree. These are not just reaches, but some of them really unrealistic reaches</p>
<p>i was under the impression colgate was fairly hard to get into...</p>
<p>Lawrence U in Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Colgate and Vassar are not less selective colleges. Both would be a super reach. I believe both require SAT II's.</p>
<p>I realize that most LACs would be reaches, but I have decided to help her in any way possible. She should have been in Algebra II this year, but there was a mistake in the class that she received. I will look into the colleges mentioned. I was hoping that her excellent writing and painting skills might balance out her lack of language and math courses, but this may not be the case. Thanks!</p>
<p>All of the above mentioned schools are highly unrealistic for this candidate. The problem isn't the language it's the math. ALL of the schools that have been mentioned above REQUIRE THREE YEARS of math, some REQUIRE 4, most PREFER 4 years of math in order for a candidate to be considered in the running. Unfortunately, this is the same at most of the liberal arts colleges ranked in the top 100 or so --- THREE years is going to be the expectation. With "average" SAT scores and no honors or AP classes, this student is going to have an uphill battle at almost any selective liberal arts school. Another issue is that most liberal arts schools will require her to take math and language to meet graduation requirements - if she's unwilling to do so in high school, perhaps a liberal arts school isn't the best route for her. Add in the lack of EC's, the lack of honors or AP classes, and "average" test scores and she is a very weak candidate for schools like Vassar, Skidmore, ConnCollege, Lafayette, etc. as well as many "less selective" schools. Excellent recommendations and talent alone aren't going to be enough for schools in that league- telling her so is doing her a dis-service in my opinion.</p>
<p>With her interest in art, I'd suggest that she consider and visit some art schools - her lack of math and language won't be a hindrance as the quality of her portfolio will be by far the most important factor in admissions. And, since she doesn't seem to like math or language, being able to concentrate on her art may be preferrable to her. Some that would be worth looking into: Maryland College and Institute of Art, Savanah College of Art, Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design - all of these will put much more weight on her art talent than on her lack of math or foreign language. At MICA, she would be able to take one course a semester at other schools in Baltimore including Goucher, Johns Hopkins, Loyola so she could perhaps satisfy her interest in philosophy that way. I believe Rhode Island School of Design has the same program with Brown university.</p>
<p>If she does want to investigate some liberal arts schools, some that may be willing to overlook her lack of math and lack of AP's/honors classes and average SAT scores might include: Hartwick College (NY), McDaniel College (MD), Otterbein (Ohio), Susquehanna (PA), Augustana College (IL), Hendrix College (Arkansas), Linfield College (Oregon), Washington and Jefferson (PA).
These are all solid, less selective liberal arts schools with decent art programs. Another option would be to consider the state university system of her state to see what is available there.</p>
<p>By the way, here is some info on admissions requirementsof some of the schools mentioned above (from US News & World Reports based on colleges' own admissions reporting)</p>
<p>Vassar 4 years of math, 4 years of language
Skidmore 4 years of math, 4 years of language
Bard 4 years of math, 4 years of language
Connecticut 4 years of math, two years of language (prefers 3)
OBerlin 4 years of math, 3 years of foreign language
LEhgih 3 years of math, 2 foreign language
Dickinson 3 years of math, 2 foreign language (3 recommended)
College of Wooster 3 years of math, recommends 4, 2 years of language, recommends 3</p>
<p>One final thought - if she's still a junior, it's not too late for her to make up for the lack of math - she could do summer school or take a math class at a local community college. She really does need to show math through at least Algebra II on her transcript, however.</p>
<p>I just checked the schools that were suggested, and I found many that do not require 3 years of math and language (although most would still be reaches).
Are these schools in the right categories (considering what you know)?</p>
<p>possible matches/ realistic reaches Skidmore, Clark, and Lawrence U.
realistic reaches Smith, Bard, Sarah Lawrence, Hampshire
big stretches Vassar, Oberlin, and Connecticut College</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I looked in my Princton Review book, and it says that Oberlin recommends, but does not require 4 years of math and 3 years of languages. I have the 2003 edition though, so it may have changed.</p>
<p>Skidmore is not a realistic reach unless her grades and SAT scores are in the upper quartile or higher of their accepted students range - they recommend that applicants have FOUR years of math - that is what the typical admitted student has. I believe Lawrence also recommends 4 years of math, but may only require 3. Clark is not known for its art program. Hampshire might be a possibility however as it is an alternative school. Another possibility might be Bennington in Vermont - very art-focused school that may be willing to overlook the lack of math if there's evidence of talent. <a href="http://www.bennington.edu%5B/url%5D">www.bennington.edu</a></p>
<p>Her verbal scores are above the middle 50% for Skidmore, and her gpa is higher. The math scores are within the range. Lawrence recommends 3 years each for math and language. Would Skidmore be a realistic reach?</p>