Hello All, Looking for some suggestions for a B child. She is a survivor of Childhood cancer and is now going on 10 years after treatment. However she has struggled with math and her GPA is not good. She stands at a 4.5 in a very competitive school in Texas and is in top 15%. She has taken advanced courses throughout regardless of getting B’s rather than take one step below to keep her GPA up. Her unweighted is at a 3.65 with chance of dropping to a 3.5 because she may get a “C” in Pre cal for the first time rather than the “B” in math classes that she typically gets. She is mostly B student with some A’s. She does not have too many EC’s as well since she used to have to study hard to maintain her grades. Our choices are currently TAMU as a reach with UTD and UTSA as safeties but feel that other than math she is a pretty capable student. Was trying to see if other Parents have had similar challenges with their kids and what their options have been. She wants to go towards the Business route. Looking for schools that will consider holistic applications rather than just grades and where she may stand a chance. Her current list is TAMU, UT (possibly may not even apply due to very low chances), UH, UTD,UTSA, Trinity, Bryn Mawr, Smith, Mount Holyoake.
She would benefit by schools with small school classes and was looking at options to broaden her list where schools may be willing to consider taking a chance on her.
First off, I am happy to hear your daughter survived her experience with cancer. That is the most important thing! Second, being in the top 15% of your class with a 3.65/4.5 gpa and showing good rigor is not “bad” at all. Your daughter will be a good candidate at many schools, although you may need to expand your search beyond TX.
Baylor. TCU.
You correctly note that her chances at UT are very very low, and nil if she applies to the business school. Not a likely admission to Texas A&M business school either, but she could try to transfer in if her grades improve in college. The women’s schools you mention do not even have business majors. Trinity has a small business major, and I would not say it is established. UT Dallas has a good, emerging business school.
If finances allow, Baylor would be a good option. If they do not, UT Dallas or UTSA would be good bets.
Have you looked at the Colleges that Change Lives website? We really liked Clark.
For business, maybe Babson?
It really depends on where this student wants to live after graduation. Babson is a fine choice if New England is the goal, but not if Texas or nearby is.
First and foremost I’m glad your D is healthy and able to attend college.
If she wants to stay in TX, SMU might be an option to explore.
As noted above the women’s colleges you mentioned do not have a business program. Check the course catalogues/list of majors. These colleges would have economics but that is a different path (more theoretical, no business core curriculum) than getting an undergrad business degree.
Hi!
It sounds like your daughter has accomplished and overcome a lot, and I myself, am very impressed! I think explaining everything she has been through and overcome in her essays will give admissions at each school a better understanding of why her grades may have dropped, or why she may not have many EC’s. Schools nowadays are much more understanding than they use to be. They consider every factor of a persons application, including what they have been going through. I think she should apply to UT. Its an amazing school and I honestly think with a good essay explaining everything she has overcome, she has a good chance. I also recommend SMU. It is a little easier to get into than UT, but has one of the best business programs in the country! I would suggest that she apply to both SMU and UT, they are both amazing, and I think she has great chances at both. Good luck! 
Both are great schools, but a B Student is quite unlikely to be admitted to either, even with holistic admissions.
I also just wanted to add that I was just an average student with a 3.3 GPA but I had really great essays and I got into SMU! You never know, so I would apply!
Perfect, will take off some of the schools and replace with SMU and Babson. Right now we are open to having her go outside of the state. We understand UT is not likely at all but our older daughter is at UT currently and she had a great experience. Trying to convince younger one to apply even though we know chances are bleak. She had only instate TX ones as she did not think anywhere else she had a chance and I requested her to add in those from the seven sisters as I was trying to get her to expand the list. I will request her to add in SMU and Babson to the list and change out Trinity, Bryn Mawr, Smith, Mount Holyoake.
Creighton. They just completed a $25 million renovation to their business program. Smaller class sizes and the Jesuits are supportive. (I’m not baptized, don’t follow any religion and work for a Jesuit college).
OPs D is not a typical B student – she has a 3.5 unweighted GPA, is in the top 15% of her class at a competitive HS, and has a compelling backstory. IMO the biggest negative for business schools could be her math grades.
McCombs is a very unlikely admit unless top 5% of the class. SMU might be a possible reach if applicant is full-pay, but the business school there is a separate admit with much higher stats than the overall pool.
I think your school choices may be underselling your daughter’s potential a bit. Go to CollegeVine and fill out her chancing profile, including extracurriculars. The site overestimates chances in my experience, but if you focus on safeties and targets (and throw in a couple of hard targets) you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
or use your own school’s naviance, which might have more accuracy.
OP - Your D will have many good options! I’d recommend doing a search on this site for 3.0-3.5 students… There will be lists and lists of schools, including many with merit.
I’d also recommend having the guidance counselor write about the health challenges in their LOR rather than using the essay to convey that info. Also second using your school’s Naviance as it will be more accurate.
If you are open to out of state schools, there are tons of options with those stats. They are way above average. I would suggest that your first step should be to visit schools of various types and so she can get an idea of what kind of school she is after to help her narrow the list (large, medium, small, urban, suburban, rural). And you should figure out what you can and are willing to pay. Then she can make a list that at least meets those requirements, otherwise the problem is that she has too many choices.
Yes, I was talking about SMU as a possibility worth looking into - not saying it is a likely admit but simply that it is worth researching. Agree that UT McCombs is highly unlikely. I think we are on the same page.
Thank You all for the comments. I was hoping I could get her to challenge herself and expand her list with out of state options as well. I am trying to convince her that her stats are not bad and other than math where she has been a B student is okay and if she does get a C in Pre cal while bad is something she can try to explain. I was hoping for Babson like schools which are good but where she would still have a shot in addition to the Texas schools. I will review the list on CC for other search options suggested. I was also trying to see if anyone had kids with challenging situations which they had been able to explain and get into a college that one would not ordinarily associate their stats with like the poster above for SMU. I will add both SMU and Babson to the list though recognizing many of them may still be reaches. Thanks again
Your D should quality for many fine schools especially if you expand the geographic area. If you haven’t done so I’d suggest you get your hands on one or two good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review) and read up on different options.