That’s encouraging, thank you!
Some things to consider:
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She is only a rising junior. In my state, she wouldn’t even be taking the school-administered session of the test for another 9 months. A lot of learning can happen in that time. D24 did much better on the math section after taking Pre-Calc (I think it might have filled in some of the knowledge gaps that happened during remote learning).
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Some more selective places are going back to test required. When she is applying 15 months from now…who knows what schools might flip back to test required in that time frame. Having the best score she can reasonably get might give her more options, and some places tie merit scholarships to test scores even if they are test optional for admission.
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Test prep does not have to be expensive. She will have to want to do the work, and it was definitely work for D24, because especially for math/science there were gaps in her learning. But not a lot of work, something like 1 practice exam per month (works on timing) plus going through what she missed to learn/understand the concepts that were tripping her up.
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Don’t give up on the test without taking it a few times. IIRC D24 swung from something like a 23 to a 35 on the reading section from one test to the next. The difference? The earlier one she was not feeling well/worn down and had no time for a bathroom break because of long lines (reading is the 3rd section). Taking AP Lang junior year also really upped her game in terms of reading dense historical passages.
D24 ended up taking the ACT several times, and stopped when her score/superscore did not improve between sittings. It was never every section, but it seemed like one section or another would just click for a given session.
Even if you end up going TO for Vassar and Oberlin, I would consider having her look into applying with test scores to some LACs where her (ultimate) test scores would put her at least 50-75%, just for options.
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Another vote for straight to test optional. Many LACs were TO pre-Covid, and the others that went TO seem committed to that course in the long term.
My C24 was TO and got into Macalester (with top merit) and Wesleyan ED2; they withdrew apps from Vassar and Amherst after the Wes decision. If your kid has a high GPA/rigor along with strong ECs and recommendations, highly selective LACs are absolutely on the table. And, as others have said, there are a ton of great LACs at all levels of selectivity that would be thrilled to have her TO application.
I would not spend another minute on this, personally.
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I’m going to ask a sidebar, but related, question.
What is it about Oberlin and Vassar that appeals to your daughter?
There’s a pretty good range of knowledge amongst people here and they might be able to suggest some similar LACs to help you find some additional schools to take a look at. Here’s a wide range of criteria on different factors. for example:
- prefer college w/in X hours’ driving distance from ___ metro area or within an hour’s drive of a major airport to fly home.
- prefer to not be located in a blue or red state (based on whatever your kid’s preferences are).
- don’t want anything in state X.
- prefer a college with a good Campus Pride index score
- student has severe food allergies
- prefer a college with an active Hillel organization on campus (or student organization for fill_in_the_blank_of_your_religious_faith)
- kid thinks she really wants to major in…let’s say…engineering. Not all LACs have engineering, for example, so that might change your search a bit.
- kid has toured Oberlin and/or Vassar and really loved _special_thing about each of those schools, so would love to find additional schools that are similar to special__thing.
- any financial/budgetary constraints?
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And one of the cool things about LACs is if you like a relatively selective LAC for some specific set of reasons personal to you, there is almost always a long list of less selective LACs, possibly even merit-offering LACs, that will be candidates for a similarly-personal fit.
So you can often basically fill out a whole list of Likelies, Targets, and Reaches with LACs like that. Or mix it up with a few different types and decide when you actually get offers and re-visit, or so on.
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Those are helpful criteria, thanks! She’s only done a few visits so far, but she liked the vibe (her words) at Vassar and Oberlin. She wants somewhere that’s diverse, liberal, quirky and LGBTQ-friendly, and has an equestrian team. Possibly majoring in Chem or Bio. We’re going to do some research on Sarah Lawrence, Dickinson and Mt. Holyoke. I’d welcome additional suggestions- we are in a conservative southern state but I think she’d feel most at home in a more liberal environment, so we are looking mostly in the northeast and Midwest. I know there are lots of great SLAC out there, but sometimes it’s tough to sift through them all.
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Skidmore. Bard, Connecticut College, Bates. With the caveat that I don’t know which have equestrian teams.
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You might check this list - I see some like Mt Holyoke and Connecticut College. Skidmore and Middlebury too going up levels of selectivity and maybe not the right vibe (quirky).
Don’t overlook SUNY Geneseo as a safety - for the budget too. Goucher as well - I think I’ve read about them and ADHD although someone can correct me. Bennington is on the list too .
It’s third party so you’d have to verify each.
I’m in the South too. Maybe too conservative a state. Certainly too large a school. But sort of a huge LAC - Miami of Ohio is popular with kids here and has stables with I think 50+ horses.
Good luck.
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It really sounds like Goucher could be a great option!
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Ok one more and will stop
Agnes Scott in Atlanta has an equestrian club. Very diverse. All female. The school and city itself are liberal - I know not the state.
Lots of cross reg opportunity in Atlanta and beyond but in Atlanta Emory - 3 miles away, Ga Tech and more (Morehouse, Ogelthorpe, etc).
- Agnes Scott College
- Brenau University
- Clark Atlanta University
- Clayton State University
- Columbia Theological Seminary
- Emory University
- Georgia Gwinnett College
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Georgia State University
- Interdenominational Theological Center
- Kennesaw State University
- Mercer University-Atlanta
- Morehouse College
- Morehouse School of Medicine
- Oglethorpe University
- Savannah College of Art and Design-Atlanta
- Spelman College
- University of Georgia
- University of West Georgia
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@premed_equestrian is a student who posted here for a while. This student wanted similar things to your student, and enrolled at Northeastern. IIRC they did not make the equestrian team. They have not posted here on a while, but when they did post, they were happy with Northeastern.
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Good list, thanks! My husband went to SUNY Geneseo, it’s a great school. I’ll look into Agnes Scott, too!
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A colleague of mine’s daughter is a recent grad of Mt. Holyoke, and she had a terrific experience! Was on the equestrian team. From the Midwest. She applied test optional and did not have as good of a GPA as your daughter (she did however have a lot of rigor, full IB diploma I believe.)
Personally, I would not spend 1 minute on test prep.
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Here is the podcast @premed_equestrian did. Maybe listening will give you some ideas.
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1 of D24’s classmates is attending Agnes Scott this fall!
Great. Where from ? Lots of love on this website about the school it seems.
I see UVM on this list—another great school for OP to consider. Has a very LAC-like vibe, very TO-friendly, offers merit.
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You’ve gotten some great recs already, some of which I’ll name again. These schools are all listed as having varsity women’s equestrian teams in College Navigator (the feds’ website).
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Drew (NJ): About 1500 undergrads
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Goucher (MD): About 1k undergrads (which has cross registration opportunities with Johns Hopkins, Loyola Maryland, and others)
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Skidmore (NY): About 2800 undergrads
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St. Lawrence (NY): About 2100 undergrads
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SUNY Geneseo: About 4100 undergrads
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SUNY New Paltz: About 6100 undergrads
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It’s in the other direction, but look at Scripps - the Claremont colleges have a lot to offer!
Also FWIW- my kids both went TO. because of money to prep, because of time and stress. They are both excellent students, and had great success with applications. Does your D have any AP scores that she will report?
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She’s taken 1 so far, waiting on her score. Her school doesn’t encourage kids to take APs til Jr year. Scripps and Pitzer both on the list to research!
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