<p>Yes, we have a D that probably will have a low SAT. She's a struggling soph. and has never scored well on standardized tests. That being said she has her heart set on college. She's attending a small private school now. Major unknown - probably humanities.</p>
<p>Ok, we make too much for federal aid and would like to find an affordable (30K or less) small college that has EASY entrance requirements. We're from the South and she'd prefer an urban setting like Boston. Any advice?</p>
<p>I can’t imagine you will find 30K in the Boston area. COL is so high there–do you realize what you’ll have to pay, besides tuition, for room & board?</p>
<p>You say “struggling”…does she not do well in school? (I mean, she doesn’t just score poorly on standardized tests, but they reflect her actual abilities?)</p>
<p>Without any other information, my first reaction is to recommend a community college near home and see how she does first. Of course, it’s relatively early in her HS career. Would tutoring help her overall performance?</p>
<p>Does she have a learning disability? We need a little more information in order to make a recommendation. Some colleges have LD programs which help students with LDs be successful, and sometimes a student will be admitted through this kind of program on a conditional basis if they have low SAT scores. Typically these programs do cost extra though. In the Boston area, I believe Dean College has a program like this…but I also believe that the program, and the college itself, is quite expensive.</p>
<p>Has she been tested for learning disabilities? It seems a little early to be worrying about colleges. </p>
<p>There are lots of colleges that don’t require taking standardized tests, but they’ll generally want to see other evidence of merit such as copies of graded papers and the like. Check out the list here: [SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest) Only Fisher College and the New England Conservatory (LOL) are listed in Boston, but Holy Cross in Worcester (1.5 hours away) is also on the list for MA. I don’t know if any of them are inexpensive, especially in New England!, and I don’t know how averse you are to a package that might include loans.</p>
<p>I have a DD who is also not very good at standardized tests because of anxiety issues, but I will say did much better on the ACT than the SAT. it is definately worth taking both and also a prep class. you would not believe how much you can actually teach to these tests. There are boatloads of colleges in the NE where SAT scores do not have to be tip top, and it will largely depend on what she wanst to major in, what size she is looking for and where. Definitely check out some of the b student threads. ALso, I know you said northeast, but College of CHarleston is in an urban setting and does not have too stringent entrance requirements.</p>
<p>She currently does attend a school for LD. She has slow processing issues but with a normal IQ, coupled with test anxiety. We’ll for sure use a test prep and whatever else that could be of benefit. I’ve heard about private test/college advisers. Have any of you used this type of service? She did attend BU’s art school this summer for 4 weeks. She’s also been to FIT’s program in NYC. So, she has the up East bug. I’m open to visiting ANY college that might be of benefit.</p>
<p>We’ve felt the sting of being labeled “LD” I just don’t want to spin our wheels in a direction that ultimately will be a dead end.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification.</p>
<p>If she is gifted in the arts, you may be able to think in a different way…i.e. the best training for her career vs. a generic “humanities” degree that is a mile wide and an inch deep.</p>
<p>Take a look at Lesley in Boston and its affiliation with the Art Institute. The ticket price is high but the list of merit scholarships have rather low criteria:
Academic GPA 3.5 and higher PLUS SAT Composite 1700 (CR/Math/WR) or ACT Composite 25 $17,500
Academic GPA 3.0 and higher PLUS SAT Composite 1650 (CR/Math/WR) or ACT Composite 24 $15,500
Academic GPA 2.7 and higher PLUS SAT Composite 1400 (CR/Math/WR) or ACT Composite 20 $13,000</p>
<p>I think they also have an LD program (not sure on this) and are located in Cambridge!</p>
<p>There are many colleges that are SAT optional. [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>u of central arkansas in conway,ar (nice town near little rock)
framingham state in MA if she wants to be near boston</p>
<p>Another one to think about in Philly</p>
<p>[The</a> University of the Arts](<a href=“http://www.uarts.edu/]The”>http://www.uarts.edu/)</p>
<p>Have you had a meeting with her team about this? The staff at that school are well-acquainted with the post-high school options that their graduates pursue, and will have useful ideas for you. You also need to be very straight with her about the financial issues. If your family is likely to be full-pay, then just exactly what will full-pay mean? 30k from the parents plus maximum Federal loans ($5,500 freshman year, going up a bit after that) plus whatever she can save with summer and school year jobs could bring your real total to more like 40k. If you don’t want her borrowing anything, then make sure that is clear from the get-go.</p>
<p>Right now she has the “Up East Bug”. If none of those schools will work with your budget, the time to start getting that message across is now. Her real best option may be closer to home.</p>
<p>She could check out york college in PA - it’s not in a big city but is within 1-3 hours of baltimore, nyc, philly, and DC. we used to take weekend trips all over. You can PM me if you have questions on this. It’s a LAC with low cost admission and you don’t need exceptionally great SAT’s.</p>
<p>I think it’s really, really hard to lob ideas out for colleges when we have no idea more than you think she’ll have low test scores. Does she take a fairly normal curriculum, I’m assuming no AP classes is that accurate? “Low test scores”…what does that mean? Do you think she’ll be below he 50th% or are you thinking College Confidential low which is typically higher than the average student. There is an excellent thread for parents of 3.0 students that has many possibilities. Perhaps if you give alittle more info we can come up with other possibilities.</p>
<p>Another vote here for SAT-Optional schools. [The</a> National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org%5DThe”>http://www.fairtest.org) There are nine institutions on the FairTest list that are located in Boston (or its inner suburbs).</p>
<p>To put it frankly (as we tend to do in the Northeast) you have both an SAT problem and a financial problem. You are budgeted for state directionals (and in many cases, in the northeast, you will pay more than $30,000 per year to attend a directional as a non-resident student). Lower-tier northeastern schools often hand out merit aid like water at a marathon, but it’s meant to bring their price down to where they clear the market. They know they are competing with directionals, and yet their discounts often leave a middling student paying more than the state directional price range. These are tuition-driven schools that need full payors and also need to fill their seats. If you borrow, it’s just as good to them, but it’s not the same for you.</p>
<p>You must also think realistically about her odds of successfully completing a bachelors degree in 8 semesters, particularly with the distractions of being away from home, when most kids with her academic background and additional challenges do not. That affects your budgeting enormously.</p>
<p>Some time at community college would permit her to bypass the SATs or ACTs altogether, as they are usually not required of transfer applicants who have a good 3-4 semester track record at community college, when it is time to move on to a four-year school. It would also stretch the budget and permit her to be sure that she can do a full load of college-level work.</p>
<p>Take a look at Mt. Ida in Newton and Regis in Weston. Both are located in suburbs of Boston, but both offer bus service to the T (local public transit) so travel into Boston is available. May still be out of your price range, but you may be offered something because you would be offering both schools geographic diversity.</p>
<p>Weston is a great town. If private schools turn out to be financially feasible, you might also consider Lasell.</p>
<p>To put it frankly (as we tend to do in the Northeast) you have both an SAT problem and a financial problem. You are budgeted for state directionals (and in many cases, in the northeast, you will pay more than $30,000 per year to attend a directional as a non-resident student).</p>
<p>Yes, that’s the problem.</p>
<p>You have to figure about $15k+ just for the room, board, books, fees, and transportation. Then you have to figure at least $25k-35k+ for TUITION. Then you have to figure another few thousand for “personal expenses.”</p>
<p>Frankly, I don’t think it’s a good idea for your D to be too far from home. I wouldn’t want her to go more than 3 hours away from your home. </p>
<p>What are the schools that are in your state?</p>
<p>The SUNYs are around that range but I’m not sure where she would be accepted and if any are commuting distance into NYC.</p>