D28 should register for AP Statistics. She’ll need the intro prob & stat background if she pursues any undergraduate research, even if just for comprehending data, or to possibly pass out of some freshman quantitative requirement. I don’t recommend skipping both math & science senior year.
Can you share her proposed 12th grade schedule? Is it
- Math - Stats
- English - non-honors English
- Social Studies - presumably Gov/Econ
- Art - AP Studio Art
- Foreign language - none
- Science - none
This is one of those situations where you probably need to sit down with her and tell her that, if she wants to go to schools A, B or C, then she needs to take certain classes her senior year.
- Math - AP Stats not all that different from regular Stats
- English - non-honors English
- English - AP Lit
- Social Studies - presumably Gov/Econ - are AP versions available?
- Art - AP Studio Art
- Foreign language - Probably not
- Science - What are the “rocks for jocks” classes you are referring to? Does your school offer any lightweight science such as Marine Bio, Anatomy, etc?
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I think your D is going to have trouble with some of these schools because her schedule is light on math and science, as well as foreign language. It doesn’t really matter if she has STEM ambitions. The point of high school (for college-bound students) is to build a solid foundation for college by training students to think, write, and solve problems across the disciplines, not to specialize. That’s why highly selective schools ask for 4 years in the core subjects (including 3 years of lab science) and at least 3 years of foreign language (or at least completing level 3, if not taking 3 full years). Granted, there’s a sliding scale and holistic admissions make possible exceptions to the general guidelines, but your daughter should think carefully about her senior year schedule if she wants to be in the running for some of these schools. I also think that her GPA and scores fall somewhat below the average admit for the most selective schools on your list, but without an SAT score, it’s hard to know where that will place her. But adding a little academic heft and challenge senior year would help a lot.
The schools you’re considering that I suspect will be out of reach based on these factors include Smith and Pitzer. Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, and Scripps will be reaches but are certainly worth a shot. Agnes Scott is a great suggestion. I would also suggest Sarah Lawrence, which is not a women’s school but has a significant majority of women students and would be a good target school. The College of Mary Washington (again not a women’s school, but majority women) might be another one to consider.
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It is super helpful to think out loud with the commentariat’s help, I am appreciating the feedback.
In response to some posts…
Full pay student. (As with older sibling, we will not complete the FAFSA or CSS Profile. No aid requested or needed.)
12th grade schedule could be something like:
English: Either AP Lit or niche elective or both (child really reluctant to take both)
Math: Stats or AP Stats (as noted above, the AP version is not offered every year). But she will take one or the other.
Science: I forgot about APES! It’s offered at her school, she is interested, and kind of wanted to take it this year but we felt like two APs was enough. This will cap the full science complement of bio, chem, and physics (this year as a jr).
Foreign language: Probably none, maybe Span 4 if the teacher changes. She would be fine picking it back up after a year, she was an excellent language student and has already stated her intent to study it in college if not again in h.s.
Social studies: Econ/Gov. Required, no AP option.
Elective: AP Studio Art.
She would have room for two more classes but wants to leave at least one period open for college applications.
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If the proposed schedule has space for two more courses, wouldn’t taking both instead of one English course be a way to fill one space and leave the other open?
Yes. But it would be a very heavy homework load of reading and writing, instead of taking a 6th class with no associated homework (yearbook or similar). It’s a tough sell.
I don’t think I mentioned as yet, student has some recently diagnosed learning differences which do impact her ability to complete homework as quickly as others. So she is justifiably concerned about the limits of time.
At many colleges, students take approximately four courses of 4 credits or equivalent each every semester or quarter. A humanities major is likely to have two humanities courses with extensive reading and writing in many semesters. So slow reading and/or writing could mean a difficult time as a humanities major. The student may want to get practice handling more than one humanities course at a time in high school before having to do that in college.
Visual or performing arts majors may not have as much reading or writing intensity, but can spend a lot of time in studio or performance.
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She might need to talk with each school’s office that handles these issues to find out how to get acomodations, if appropriate.
Does she have any accommodations in HS?
I add my recommendation for greater rigor in senior year. On average, how many APs do the top students at your D’s school take over four years? The HS counselor should know that, some schools also put it in their school profile, typically available online.
My D26 went to a Bay Area Catholic high school. Her school is well regarded, but not elite (except maybe in sports, lol).
We also visited some of the schools that you have mentioned (Smith, MHC, UC Davis, and Bryn) and D26 ultimately applied to both MHC (admitted) and UC Davis (waitlisted).
A few points to consider:
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She needs to be sure about the all-women’s school concept. My D26 was all-in on the concept at first and applied to Wellesley and MHC. Then (after applications were sent) she flipped on the point. Again, she got into both schools and did not attend. We knew lots of people who did a similar flip. Think carefully before you send the apps!
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For our high school and MHC…6 kids applied and 4 were admitted. The average admitted WGPA was 4.2 and the average SAT was 1297. Smith had 5 applicants and 2 admits with 4.01 / 1365 averages. But remember…there may be athletes or “hooked” kids who pull these averages down. Our school had no data for Bryn. But keep in mind…Bryn LIKES test scores and most of the students (85%) that they admit HAVE SUBMITTED test scores. So if you apply to Bryn…make sure your test scores are “in range.” MHC and Smith remain safe bets for going test optional. The UCs will not look at tests, of course.
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The women’s colleges are VERY left leaning. You are probably OK with this but (in case you are conservative or moderate) you should know…VERY pronounced.
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The UC admissions rates are very much affected by your daughter’s major. This information is hard to find online, but look for it. My daughter was applying for biology (pre-med), which got her a WL. If she had to do it over, she would apply to a less competitive major.
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Many on CC disagree with me but…being in the Bay Area means that, to the colleges, you have a very high probability of being full pay. Schools LOVE full pay students and the “need blind” stuff can be easily circumvented since they know the parent’s occupations, your address, etc.. I disagree with the people who say that these women’s LACs are big reaches for you. I would say that your odds at Smith, Bryn and MHC are better than you think (although worse for Smith and better for MHC with Bryn perhaps requiring an “in-range” test score).
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I agree with others who say that you should push for a bit more rigor. Schools want to see that you took a challenging curriculum. A good writer needs both AP Lit and AP Lang. Better to take hard classes and get Bs than the take easier classes and get As.
Feel free to DM if you have any questions.
Good luck!
Thank you; this is all very helpful feedback! I agree totally on being sure that a women’s college is a good fit, and I think touring in the spring will show if this is right for her or not.
Do you mind sharing where your daughter landed?
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She decided to attend the University of Richmond.
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Yes, she has some accommodations… as of 3 days ago. It truly is a new diagnosis (although not a new condition).
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I think the rigor is ok as you have it - but you have to set your expectations accordingly.
It’s not an issue for College of Charleston or WWU, which I noted or Mary Washington (Shelby posted) or Willamette or Puget Sound, etc. but it may be for Smith, MHC or the more competitive on her list, etc.
But money also matters - I hate it but it does.
There’s many LACs like a Connecticut College, Sewanee, Rhodes, Susquehanna and more that slant female and would love full pay. If she loves to read, there’s also the great books college - St John’s in Annapolis and Santa Fe - might be worth a look. And Colorado College and Cornell College (Iowa) are both one class at a time which might help depending upon learning struggles.
There are also many schools that offer additional learning disability help, sometimes with a fee - schools like Marist, Syracuse, U Arizona and more. Depending on how severe the diagnosis, finding out what supports you can get may be more important than other factors in the search. I suspect support levels vary.