<p>Our D was accepted at a school where she would be in the bottom quarter of students statistically. We love that she was accepted, but we are worried about the competition that she may face. Is it worth enrolling at a school where your closer to the bottom than the top of the incoming class?</p>
<p>My kids would say that it’s not worth it. </p>
<p>Both of them enrolled in colleges where they were in the top half (arguably, the top quarter) of their respective classes. And they would do it again. Why struggle when you can shine?</p>
<p>You will likely hear other opinions, though.</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted at a school where she was just at the 75%ile of accepted students…so 1/4 were definitely “better” than her on paper. She thrived there.</p>
<p>You know…what does your daughter think? Why did she apply to this school? Is she excited about going there and sufficiently motivated to do well…OR is she worried she might not do so well.</p>
<p>Some kids are late bloomers.</p>
<p>Most colleges accept students with the notion they will succeed.</p>
<p>What do you mean she is in the bottom quarter? Do you mean her SATs are in the bottom quarter? That’s not exactly the same thing.</p>
<p>There will be kids at the top 5% of the class (by numbers) who won’t perform well in college and students in the bottom 10% who do very well. It all depends on how much your daughter is willing to work in her classes and with her professors to do well.</p>
<p>She needs to decide whether she’s suited to being part of the [“Happy</a> Bottom Quarter”](<a href=“The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale ... - Jerome Karabel - Google Books”>The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale ... - Jerome Karabel - Google Books):</p>
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<p>She is in the bottom quarter of ACT scores, class rank , and GPA. Her freshman year was mostly C’s, she has done very well since. She is a hard worker, and she is intelligent, I’m just worried about how she will do.</p>
<p>Much will depend on the intensity and/or rigor of her college major and how well prepared and gifted she is in that sort of field. Considering she’s motivated and organized, a very good writer will likely thrive in a writing/reading intensive major while a great math/science kid should do well in STEM majors. The caveat is the rigor of her HS. Did she take the most demanding courses and do well on AP exams?</p>
<p>The college accepted her, so they are thinking she can do the work and add something to the class. She had a bad freshman year and has done better since then-- so there’s reason to assume she’ll keep doing better during college. I know several young women who were in this position when they started college-- both needed significant help during college-- tutoring, extra work with teachers, remedial math and writing classes. But, they both graduated in the middle of their class, made good friends, and are living happy, productive lives now.No doubt in my mind that they did the right thing by taking on the challenge. If your D likes the school and wants to attend-- she should grab the chance!</p>
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My d. was accepted at a school where her test scores (SAT/ACT) put her in the bottom quarter of the class statistically. </p>
<p>She graduated 4 years later, phi beta kappa & summa cum laude (top 5%). (She never doubted after her first semester that she was on the top end of the class academically. Colleges might do better to rely on blood alcohol testing rather than SAT’s in terms of predicting academic success.</p>
<p>she’s demonstrated an upward trend… I would assume it will continue with maturity, etc etc. This is, in fact, exactly what colleges hope to see. My D on the other hand had a very rough first semester of her senior year for a lot of reasons. I would be lying if I didn’t admit I was slightly nervous about the ramifications of the slip.</p>
<p>Take a month to just breathe, and smile, and hug your daughter, and feel proud of her.</p>
<p>I had no idea where I fell in my college class, although I can imagine I was in the bottom 1/3 now when I think about it. The thing is, I was accepted, I worked really hard, but not so hard that I didn’t also have a lot of really fun times, and my self-confidence grew. I was so proud to be at Mt. Holyoke. Still am very proud to be an alum. I did great in my major, and have continued to have confidence in myself because of my experiences in college. I think your D will surprise you and maybe herself. She should at least try if the school is affordable for you. Maybe she won’t graduate with a 4.0, but that isn’t the end of the world. There’s so much more to college than just grades! She can always transfer, but she doesn’t want to live her life wondering “what if”, I am sure!</p>
<p>calmom–heh. Yes.</p>
<p>My younger d. (in SAT/ACT scores) ranked in the bottom 15% of entering students. She ended up graduating in three years, magna cum laude, with a fellowship award as best “senior” student in the department, the business equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa, a prestigious and very competitive internship, and an almost 4.0 GPA. Upon applying to graduate school, her GMATs were even worse than her SATs. The grad school “waived” her scores, and gave her some merit aid. I don’t think she worked that much harder than everyone else, if at all.</p>
<p>Depends on the kid. We really had no doubt that ours would thrive where she went, though no idea she’d become an academic superstar (which seemed extremely unlikely to us).</p>
<p>Really interesting thread. So many thoughtful people here!</p>
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<p>LOL, Calmom…but probably true at more colleges than I’d like to admit…</p>
<p>There are students who may have higher GPA’s and SAT scores than your student merely because their parents sent them to tutoring since 7th grade, or their fancy private schools offered tons of academic and test-prep services. These students are possibly better-taught and possibly better-prepared academically. That is NOT the same as being more intelligent and certainly not the same as being generally more capable in life. In fact, the student who has had to rely on himself a lot to learn complex material, rather than getting it spoon-fed to him by tutors, may actually do better in college. I think you need to analyze your student’s actual strengths and weaknesses and especially maturity, rather than the numbers. IMO, the ability to take initiative to seek out help and advice and solve one’s own problems, and self-discipline/the ability to defer gratification are key ingredients in college success.</p>
<p>Are you basing this on a test score? Lots of studies show that SATs and ACTs do not predict success in college beyond the first year.</p>
<p>Even the College Board’s ‘study’ doesnt’ impress that much. They are only looking at first year and the coefficients are not that large. </p>
<p><a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/Validity_of_the_SAT_for_Predicting_First_Year_College_Grade_Point_Average.pdf[/url]”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/Validity_of_the_SAT_for_Predicting_First_Year_College_Grade_Point_Average.pdf</a></p>
<p>OP, the admissions officer at the school obviously saw something bright and shiny in your kid. GPA and test scores are not the only measures of success. Maybe her essay was superior. Maybe she wowed them in the interview – I’ve met plenty of students with high grades and scores who have terrible social skills – can’t make eye contact with people, carry on comfortable conversations or give a firm handshake. If your D wants to go there, by golly, give her a high-five and start choosing sheets for that dorm bed!</p>