Please Suggest Colleges

Parents Forum
1

<p>I've posted here before, but I have a better idea of the type of place I want to go now.</p>

<p>I'm a pretty average student, and my SAT reflects that. I have taken both Geometry and Algebra II since the SAT, however, so my score should be much higher when I retake this fall. </p>

<p>Verbal: 640
Math: 520 (this WILL rise to at least a 600, hopefully higher)</p>

<p>My GPA is 3.3
I have spent two years at a boarding school in Massachusetts and one year in homeschool. Next year I may be attending an early college entrance program in TX, but just to finish my senior year. Most students there apply as freshman to colleges.</p>

<p>I don't have a great list of EC's, I haven't been able to do anything this year because I had knee surgery and physical therapy that has taken up much of my junior year. </p>

<p>JV Softball
JV Soccer
Varsity Ski Team</p>

<p>Sophomore Page Editor and Photographer, School Yearbook
Contributor, School Newspaper
110 Hours volunteered at Berkshire Humane Society
Selected by Head of School to take part in a leadership research group focusing on women - interviewed Prime Minister of Bermuda, among others.</p>

<p>I absolutely loved Smith College - it was right down the road from my boarding school. I loved the town of Northampton. I want a sort of artsy, liberal school but not extremely eccentric. I will be applying for financial aid.</p>

<p>I would like a smaller school where there is much interaction between students and teachers. I haven't decided on my major yet, but I am thinking along the lines of Art History, Philosophy, Creative Writing, etc...</p>

<p>I do not want a school that is populated by a very affluent student body. My boarding school had a very homogenous student body and I would like a bit more diversity in college.</p>

<p>Location changes every week - I'm from Texas, and I want to leave home but I know I'll be so homesick. I did go to boarding school in Mass. though and I loved it so I would certainly consider schools in the Northeast. I think I want to go to school in a great college town, but in proximity to a city...</p>

<p>SO, are these preferences reasonable? I did not hit the books as much as I should have my first two years and my 3.3 GPA reflects that. I have been working extremely hard since then, however and expect to make straight A's next year and significantly raise my SAT score. I took a practice new SAT and my predicted range was:
Critical Reading: 600-680
Writing: 590-720 (how is that big a range possible?)
Essay Score:10</p>

<p>Math: (OUCH!) 410-470
Like I said, I have taken both Algebra II and Geometry since then and am being tutored at Sylvan. That score will be higher when I retake. Significantly higher.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance,
Ashleigh</p>

2

<p>Hi Ashleigh,
You'll do just fine in admissions - sounds like you have a lot going for you. My daughter is looking for a similiar school to what you describe and, while her stats are just a tad higher, you two are probably in the same range in terms of admissions. She also is looking for a kind of artsy and quirky school and is interested in art, history, creative writing. Like you, she has great writing and verbal scores but her math....well, that's another story :) Here are some suggestions for you based on the schools we've looked at over the past year and how I'd see them with your current stats:</p>

<p>Probably reaches but worth looking at:
Skidmore (NY), Oberlin (Ohio), Kenyon (Ohio), Southwestern (Texas),
Mt. Holyoke (Mass), Sarah Lawrence (NY), Bard (NY), St. Olaf (Minn.), Hamilton (NY), Scripps (CA), Southern Methodist U (TX)</p>

<p>Matches (until your stats rise these types of schools you should focus on most):
Beloit (Wisconsin), Knox (Illinois), Lewis & Clark (Oregon), Goucher (Maryland), Hendrix (Arkansas), Wheaton College (Mass), University of Redlands (Calif), University of Iowa, College of Wooster (Oh), U of Denver (CO), Lake Forest (Il), Earlham (Indiana), Agnes Scott (Georgia)
Hollins (Virginia), Eckerd (Florida)</p>

<p>Possible safeties: Mills (Calif), Sweet Briar (Virginia),Hood(MD), Randolph Macon Woman's College (Virginia), St. Mary's U of San Antonio, PAcific U (Oregon), Linfield College (Oregon), Washington College (Maryland)</p>

<p>This is, of course, just a starting list - once you look at the information from these colleges you may find that you have some strong preferences or find others that fit you better.</p>

3

<p>You may want to take a look at The Evergreen State College (<a href="http://www.evergreen.edu)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.evergreen.edu)&lt;/a>. It is a public LAC that emphasizes creativity and has a unique interdisciplinary curriculum. It was one of Newsweek's 10 Hottest schools of 2004. It sits on a beautiful campus in the Pacific Northwest near Olympia, WA.</p>

4

<p>What about Wells in NY as a match/safety?</p>

5

<p>Wells' students can also take courses at Cornell University, it might be a very good choice. Until this year it was a women's college. It was founded by the Wells of Wells Fargo.</p>

6

<p>My daughter will be attending Hollins - wonderful program with lots of financial aid, one of the best creative writing programs in the country. While Roanoke is probably small to you, it is right next to Blacksburg, home of Virginia Tech, and there are a ton of colleges within an hour's drive. The folks at Hollins are great to work with - Torey looked there and never visited anywhere else (she'd been to Tech a number of times for 4-H and FFA stuff) Her weighted GPA was a 4.1, but her unweighted was a 3.5. SAT scores 800 (verbal) 520 (math) She has done alot of community service through 4-H and FFA, but had no school athletic participation. She is an equestrian, and despite begging and pleading with the high school AD, she could not get him to approve a riding team - lol! </p>

<p>Anyway, you can find alot of info at <a href="http://www.hollins.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.hollins.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>