<p>Hi -- I'm new to this board and was referred by a pal who relied on it as her sons were heading off to school.
I have a perfect brilliant rising senor daughter who flunked English (then got a 5 on the AP English test) last year and withdrew from advanced chemistry. Her other grades weren't anything to crow about either. She basically took a year off school without actually taking a year off.
Her SATs are 800 reading 670 math 760 writing. For extracurriculars -- she picks string beans at an organic farm and has been a theatre techie, and plays piano and cello.<br>
She swears she is turning over a new leaf this year in school and wants a small (loving!) liberal arts school that will consider her in spite of the meltdown. She will write one heck of an essay. (She just finished the first draft of a young adult novel she's writing...)
She also is considering taking a year off school.
She has identified Goucher, Smith and Wellesley (her sister is there, and they are kind to sisters, but yeah -- it's a reach) ... Oberlin as a big reach because of the creative writing. Creative writing is a possible major, also French or history. We're in PA, but she would consider another region.
Ideas?
Thanks!</p>
<p>what is overall gpa??a being 4 and b being 3...i think that everything else other than gpa seems good to go...</p>
<p>"Colleges that Change Lives" by Loren Pope was written for students like your daughter. She is obviously quite talented, but she needs a nuturing environment on which she can thrive. I think a CTCL school will see that in your daughter.</p>
<p>Some PA LAC's:
--Dickinson
--Bryn Mawr (if Wellesley, Smith, and Oberlin made the list, BMC should be on there, too)
-- Ursinus (a College That Changes Lives)
--Allegheny (also a CTCL)
-- Juniata (CTCL)</p>
<p>If she's interested in continuing with organic farming, she should consider the five college consortium, especially Hampshire, more seriously.</p>
<p>Look into Lawrence University. They have a decent theater program, an organic garden, lots of music and some students from PA. They are a CTCL school. Appleton is a nice college town.</p>
<p>Check out Bard, Bennington, and Marlboro. All three are small LACs with great writing programs, and I've heard of them taking chances on bright students who've made mistakes in high school. (Bennington and Marlboro are both in Vermont, which could provide some great opportunities related to organic farming.)</p>
<p>Also look at Beloit College in Illinois, halfway between Chicago and Madison, WI. It's known for individualized learning and strong liberal arts. Their acceptance rate is fairly high, but the group of applicants is self-selected. There are a significant number of farms and nurseries in the area.</p>
<p>Her idea of taking a year off to do something productive sounds like a good one. My S was very similar to your D: a high scoring student whose grades kept sliding, and even continued sliding senior year. </p>
<p>He claimed he wanted to go to college right after h.s. though I suggested a gap year. However, he didn't get around to applying to college (and I didn't help), and then opted for a gap year volunteering with Americorps, and living at home. He always had loved volunteering, so Americorps was perfect for him.</p>
<p>A year later, he's now happily off to college, and seems to have matured a great deal. His Americorps job, which he loved, taught him that he would need to learn to meet deadlines. By the end of his Americorps year, he was eager to go to college, and also seemed to be very serious about it.</p>
<p>He chose to go to Rollins, a LAC college just outside of Orlando, with small classes, a rigorous curriculum, and professors who care a great deal about their students. US News ranks it #1 for masters level colleges in the South.</p>
<p>Due to his scores and tough h.s. curriculum, S could have gone to a higher ranked place, but this college was his first choice. The college also encourages and enables volunteering, so he should be able to pursue that interest, too.</p>
<p>Rollins requires a lot of writing, so it also may be a school your D would enjoy. Check out the range of RCC (freshman seminars) that are being offered this year to get an idea of the kind of interesting courses that are there. All freshmen have to take a one-semester freshman seminar course. Those are creatively taught by the school's best teachers, and those teachers also serve as the students' advisors for the year. Students are asked to list 6 RCC courses that interest them, and they are guaranteed to get one. No more than 17 students are in each RCC.</p>
<p>The offerings change every year, but this will give you an idea about the range of offerings: <a href="http://www.rollins.edu/explorations/rcc/%5B/url%5D">http://www.rollins.edu/explorations/rcc/</a></p>
<p>A plus of Rollins is that the college is gorgeous (right next to a lake) and very well maintained, and it's next to a beautiful town with lots of shops, eateries within walking distance. It's also about a 10 minute drive from Orlando.</p>
<p>Hi -- Probably around 3.5 given all the advanced classes (weighted on a 5 scale) and good grades freshman and sophomore year.</p>