<p>Trying to help out a friend's child. She has a 3.3 UW/ 3.7 W from a mediocre public school. She has one D in math and many of her Cs are also in math. However, her SATs are really bad (really, really bad). She will take them again, but there is not a chance she will improve enough to make a significant difference. Based on her scores, she has absolutely no safeties and I can't really find any for her. She is intellectually curious, does really well in her English classes and is a good writer. I suggested SAT optional schools at a reach and match level, but really are there any safeties out there for her?</p>
<p>She is willing to go anywhere in the country, but strongly prefers an Urban environment. NYC would be ideal, but any city is OK. Any ideas would really be welcome.</p>
<p>I checked those two out. The problem is with her SATs, I couldn’t even count them as safeties.</p>
<p>ETA: it looks like they may not require SATs for all kids. I will need to look further. Her scores are so bad, she is better off at schools that never even see them. Her grades are really very respectable.</p>
<p>Mom should buy her a prep book and get her to take some practice tests. Familiarity with the test/types of questions, increasing speed and confidence will help. She CAN raise her scores if she works at it. Don’t just re-take–PREP first, then retake.</p>
<p>I don’t know where you live, but there are thousands and thousands of colleges in the U.S. that are essentially open admissions, or close to it, and are fine places for hardworking kids with good grades and horrible SATs. My children’s high school has average SAT scores not much higher than the national average, including a fair number of kids with very, very high SATs. So that tells me that there are probably a bunch of kids there with quite low SATs. Nevertheless, 99% of the graduates go to college.</p>
<p>In my area, there are numerous secondary state universities in that position, and a number of small Catholic or other religious colleges and some private secular institutions.</p>
<p>Re: The ACTs. The deadline for the October ACT is tomorrow (although you can still register agter that date and pay a late fee). The registration deadline for the December ACT is November 6th. </p>
<p>BTW, when you say “horrible SATs” what do you mean? On CC it is not uncommon to see people describing a 1050 SAT score (M & CR only) as “horrible” even though that is above the national average.</p>
<p>Her scores are below the national average. We are not talking CC self-deprecation here. She took a prep class and still did horrendously. I don’t think a prep book would help. I did suggest the ACTs (my D did much better on them) but she is terrified at this point.</p>
<p>She will reach for schools like Sarah Lawrence (her writing really is pretty good), but I think she would feel better if she had a safety.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about Marymount Manhattan?</p>
<p>Does she have a learning disability? If so, can she re-take the SAT with special accommodations?</p>
<p>Anyway, I echo what JHS said: Go to an open-admissions college. There are plenty of respectable ones where she can prove herself and then transfer to someplace better, or stay for four years if she finds that she likes it.</p>
<p>A college’s College Board info page will tell you if it’s open-admissions or not.</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence is a great school! It’s an absolutely beautiful campus, close to Manhattan, and very strong in humanities/English/social issues. When we toured it, there was a group of students there doing a summer writing program and they seemed to love it.</p>
<p>We toured many schools and I can’t remember which ones were SAT-optional, but maybe a google search for “SAT optional colleges” would help? Then you can post the list for anyone else who asks?</p>
<p>Connecticut College and Muhlenberg. Great liberal arts schools which are test optional. Not in big cities, though. But, they both have beautiful campuses.</p>
<p>1.) SAT optional colleges. The number of such schools is increasing and there will be reaches, matches, and safeties (based on her grades but not her test scores) for her on the list.</p>
<p>2.) Open enrollment schools. </p>
<p>3.) Two years of cc with good grades and transfer.</p>
<p>4.) If the SAT scores are very much at odds with the girl’s grades and understanding of the material, it would be wise to test for LD’s. Not because she might get accommodations on SAT’s (with a very recent diagnosis, my understanding is that probably won’t happen), but in case an LD explains the gap. If there is an LD, she’ll be able to learn strategies to redress the problem and perform better in school, and this will help her in the rest of high school and college.</p>
<p>Drew and Fairfield are very good schools near NYC</p>
<p>There are also a great many very good schools cited on the 3.0-3.3 thread where her SATs will not kill her candiacy, given the 3.7 W–and remember, given her math grades, poor math SAT scores will not shock Admissions. </p>
<p>If she would consider small LACs outside large cities, she would find many excellent choices (e.g., Juniata) including potential safeties, e.g., Elizabethtown, Albright, Lycoming, Moravian</p>
<p>S attends HS in a northern suburb of NYC, where educational standards are very high. His SAT is very good for his GPA. Many schools we have visited have commented that based on his SAT he would qualify for scholarships, but when they find out what his GPA is, they are surprised. In my opinion, the SAT is the great equalizer - the same exam that students all over the country take. It amazes me when I talk to friends in different states whose children have GPA’s much higher than my son’s GPA, yet their SAT scores are lower. This isn’t an isolated incident. A friend who moved from NY to NC said her daughter was in all honors classes in NC and top ten percent of her class, but when she went to school in NY, wasn’t anywhere near these stats. There is huge discrimination against students in tougher school districts because their curriculum is much more difficult than in other districts.</p>
<p>Without knowing her SATs, it’s hard to make recommendations. What is her class rank? Has she considered Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts? </p>