<p>I think you ought to let the college know what you've told us. That is, write a letter of recommendation for this student (with her permission, of course). It's not conventional to have a friend's parent write a recommendation, but this isn't a conventional case.</p>
<p>It doesn't sound like the GC is in a position to know all the details and to effectively alert the college to how special this girl is, how her circumstances may require some special consideration. </p>
<p>A few years ago the paper ran a story about how the U where I work was a coldhearted, biased, arrogant place turning away good deserving kids. They profiled a former applicant who had overcome a lot of physical handicaps to attend high school and keep his grades up. He was rejected and had enrolled somewhere else. </p>
<p>Naturally the admissions office was interested in what had happened with his case, to retrace how they came to reject a kid that the newspaper sounded like a deserving, hardworking, high-potential student any campus would love to have. So they went into the old files. Know what they found when they re-read the recommendations? The guidance counselor wrote a minimal recommendation with little information, and had never TOLD the university about the students' blindness and other conditions. No one had alerted them that they weren't looking at the record of a typical student (and neither did the student). This story still makes me seethe, how unfair to him! I'd hate to have the same thing happen to your friend.</p>
<p>LP75: you and she both sound like fantastic people. Keep up the good work.</p>
<p>Here's a thought or two, but I don't know if it's too late for them to be useful.</p>
<p>Thought 1. if the girl is African-American, some of the HBCs (historically black colleges) have been conducting recruiting campaigns aimed at attracting students from outside their geographical areas. Some of those colleges in the South have been coming to Oakland and other cities here in the Bay Area looking for good students from poor families who had never considered going out-of-state. Some very good scholarships were offered. Don't know if it's too late in the year for this girl. Maybe somone else can comment. Northstarmom?</p>
<p>Thought 2. Some colleges have rolling admissions and are still accepting applications. Again, I don't know whether it's too late in the year for financial aid. Check the PR site and the NACAC site.</p>
<p>I think Hoedown has an excellent suggestion if the girl agrees. Agree that it isn't typical to have a friend's parent write the recommendation, but your insight will provide useful info. for the admissions committee.</p>
<p>If she's African American, I may have some suggestions. Either PM me or post the girl's stats and her career interests.</p>
<p>In addition to HBCUs, there are some mainstream colleges that offer very nice opportunities including excellent scholarships for high achieving black students.</p>
<p>Even if she's not black, if she's a student of color -- including Asian -- I know of one place that may be able to help her if she'd be willing to go to a Christian college. To my knowledge, she would not need to be Christian to qualify for this colleges program for students of color.</p>
<p>Just to respond to the last several posts, my d's friend is not a "student of color". She will be a first generation college student. I am hoping that counts for something.</p>
<p>Hoedown, thank you for the suggestion. I will be making my best pitch, if they will allow. I found out that I need to make a business trip next Monday to the very city where the school is located and my meeting will take only a couple of hours. D's friend is going up with me to revisit the school and we plan to meet with both Admissions and Financial Aid. I will be discussing the situation with them privately as she would be reluctant to use this for her advantage.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, thank you for your offer also.</p>
<p>Another comment I thought I would share. Once when she and I were talking about going to college, I think it was after the first college visit she accompanied us on, we discussed going to the local junior college. It is not a bad program and many "undecided" kids go there for a year or two and then transfer on to a four year school. She said that she had never thought she would be able to go on to a school other than the junior college and that to her, doing so would be like pushing the "pause" button on her life for two years. I think that remembering those words is what motivates me most to help keep her going.</p>
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I will be discussing the situation with them privately as she would be reluctant to use this for her advantage.
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<p>I'm glad you'll have a chance to tell them. I can see why she might feel like she's "using it" for her advantage, but I don't see it that way and I'll bet the college wouldn't either. These are facts about her life. These are things that (correctly) change the way her academic record should be evaluated. If she is admitted, or has a requirement or deadline waived, it won't be out of pity. Colleges don't take kids out of pity. It will be because having a full picture told them more about a student's drive and potential, more about the circumstances that explain why a deadline was missed, why a grade wasn't as high, etc. I hope she'll come to realize that.</p>
<p>I totally agree with Hoedown. Students who are admitted into a college should know that they fully deserve to be there. Colleges want to know the context in which to evaluate a student's record. Her personal circumstances are part of that context. On another thread, a poster mentioned that in his part of the country, families think nothing of shelling out %45k to prepare their kid for college. Adcoms know about such families; but they don't know about your kid's friend.</p>
<p>You're wonderful, and so is she.
Please help her remember that there are lots of scholarships she can also apply for once she's already IN college. It doesn't end after this year.</p>