UWGPA 3.8 including BBCCCDD - what options are eliminated by these 3 C's and 2 D's?

Applying to College
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What does your D say and what does your D want?

To me, that’s more valuable than trying to answer the unanswerable… Will she get into Princeton? Not likely. They are among the most generous of the “meets full needs”. But if your D’s reaction to a lot of academic stress is to shut down- or to focus on non-classwork stuff– than it’s a terrible fit for her so it doesn’t belong on the list regardless. Have there been kids with your D’s transcript who have gotten into Princeton in the last ten years? I’ll bet yes- but with huge mitigating circumstances (grown up in a homeless shelter). And so far the only mitigating circumstances you’ve given us is that your D switched back to a less demanding school after experiencing a more intense environment. Which will be an interesting story for Bard, Beloit, etc. and less compelling for Princeton or JHU.

You’re trying to crowdsource an answer to the wrong question IMHO.

What does your D want?

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This is a website primarily of parents who have been through and follow the admissions process. You’re going to get a wide variety of opinion - none of it particularly definitive. But here’s mine. If this was my kid, I’d cross off every sub 10% school. I’m not saying there isn’t a kid there with a couple Ds, but there is a robust story on why/how they managed admission. I doubt I’d encourage them to apply to a 10-20% admission school (and this includes out of state rates for public schools), unless they really handle rejection well and have a lot of time on their hands. Yes, these are all holistic schools, but they are also schools with more applications than they can possibly accept and unless there is a compelling reason, grades are going to matter. That’s my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it. I’d spend a whole lot more time figuring out fit here, but that’s clearly a conversation you don’t want to have.

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Because you noted the grade remediation - so does a school now say, they struggled and overcame?

Who knows - that could even be seen as a mild positive if it’s an on the fence case.

I 100% agree - of course, you have a small budget, and budget is a part of fit. But this is why you should be studying Tulsa if you are NMSF. It’s a lot more likely (but not assured they accept you) vs. an UNC/UVA that even if you get in, may not give you the $$ you think or will give to you with loans you don’t want.

But I’d want to find the kind of school she wants - size, environment (urban, rural), etc. and then figure out where to apply, if any. It might be the schools she’s at is perfectly fine.

You say it’s #200 or so.

If you’re saying it’s #158 Kansas State, #183 Florida Atlantic, or #208 Mississippi State or #222 WVU instead of top 60s like Illiniois or Penn State or Va Tech or Rutgers, I’d say - so what? For most majors, is there really a difference? I’d say not. If your student is excelling where they are, that might very well be the rigth choice for them.

Going to Harvard doesn’t assure success while going to Hofstra doesn’t promise failure.

Going somewhere not right for the student though, does stack the odds against - especially when they’ve already experienced a struggle.

So budget is key, but hopefully she can find the right school at the right price - and that very well may be perhaps at the #150-200 where she is now.

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A second vote for women’s colleges. I think that is where she’ll receive the most sympathetic reception.

Their whole reason for existing from their founding is to advance the cause of women in academia, to give them a chance where others wouldn’t, to identify women with potential and to help them realize that potential, to help them succeed, to help them rise to challenges and to overcome obstacles.

Your daughter has incredible potential. I believe they will see that fact at places like Smith, Bryn Mawr, and Scripps at least as quickly as anyone else. I think that they will see that she is willing to take on challenges by enrolling in the highly selective school that she did in 10th grade. It is in their DNA to want the help a high potential student like her to learn how to overcome those obstacles and to realize her potential.

And the benefit to your daughter is that the alumnae network at Smith and the others is legendary. The helping hand to lift her higher will not end with college graduation. And the prestige of a degree from Smith, Bryn Mawr, etc. will not end with college graduation either.

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I agree with everything you’ve posted.

But in the absence of any understanding of “what went wrong” at “more competitive HS” I’d take Bryn Mawr and Wellesley off the table for now. Mt. Holyoke? Yes. A less intense vibe. And they love a good turnaround story from what I’ve seen. I think the rest are terrific choices.

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147

Thank you.

I agree that Wellesley should not be on the table. I suggested Smith, Bryn Mawr, and Scripps. I suggested these 3 because all 3 are “meets full need”, which is what was requested by the OP.

I don’t know this student at all or even enough about her to know what to recommend. I agree that Bryn Mawr is academicky, but I wouldn’t use school performance as a 15-year-old to predict how she will respond to college as an 18-year-old. But that’s just me. I do think that you raise some important questions.

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148

Not necessarily. A reader might say well, the remediated class was taken at a much less rigorous school.

I did answer directly, early in this thread

But, you are asking something that’s impossible to answer. No one here has read apps at every school you are asking about. You haven’t shared complete information (which is ok, but without complete info, posters can’t maximize the value of their responses.)

IMO, I would focus on a few things:

-what does your D want? In terms of school fit, major, career, etc. And with that said, the main fit criteria for her is financial. Make sure she understands that.

-why does your D think she received these grades? What has been the impact on her psyche from these grades?

-does she feel she understands what happened with the grades, and if so, have the causes been addressed?

-has she spoken to her HS counselor (without parents) about the college list and/or how she should cover this drop in grades in her application? What does the counselor recommend?

You don’t have to answer these questions here, of course.

IME, this run of lower grades will be enough to make her not competitive at highly rejective schools, assuming she is unhooked. Her app would not make the academic hurdle at the school where I work, even though we holistically evaluate apps. One D or F is enough for that. It’s uncommon for an unhooked applicant with one C (and all remaining grades of A) to be admitted.

As I also said earlier, I would hesitate to send her to academically intense schools, and that includes ones with admission rates above 20%, like Oberlin and Smith and Lehigh, etc.

Again, all of what I am saying is based on what you’ve shared so far, which is not close to complete info. So have her talk to her HS counselor, who should have complete info.

IMO your posts here might focus on designing her 12th grade schedule (schools want a full schedule with no drop in rigor), and finding financially feasible schools in the target and highly likely ranges where she would be happy to attend. No one here can answer which schools at which acceptance rates might result in an admit, take a shot at a few, but temper expectations. I expect her parents can be instrumental in getting her off the desire/expectation of prestige. It’s ok to still apply to some reaches that aren’t out of reach. But like I said before, I would encourage you to set your D up for long term success, as much as in your area of influence.

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149

Or the reader could note that this is the second time this student has taken this course, and been exposed to the course material. One would hope that the second time around, the student would do better.

My opinion…and it’s my opinion only. I agree with the above suggestions of the women’s colleges. I think they are excellent options and extremely fine colleges.

It’s very hard to chance a student for schools with 20% or less acceptance rate. Fact is, most of the students applying are excellent students. Even so…80% or more do not get accepted. But I do think your daughter might want to apply to a couple of those MFN schools with the higher (nearer to 20%) acceptance rates. But agree with @blossom. What does your daughter want to do…and really how many applications and supplemental essays does she feel she can do well.

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150

North Carolina schools are limited in the number of OOS students they can take, so not only is she competing with students who don’t have C’s and D’s on their transcripts, she’s competing for only 1/5 of the available freshman spots, and competing with athletes from OOS, legacies, other hooked students. The odds for UNC don’t seem good.

UVA is also a state school and state legislatures want to fund instate students. IMO they’d take an instate student with a similar transcript over an OOS one. Again, a tough acceptance.

Even if the C and D grades remain on her transcript, I think it would show improvement if she took another similar class. If one of the C’s is in Sophomore English, take a similar literature class or writing class to show she’s mastered the subject. If it is in a music or art class, take another class like that. Taking the class or a like class again could be part of an essay about a challenge.

I agree that some of the women’s colleges might be more likely to consider a comeback story, to actually look at each application rather than just the numbers on the transcript. And several of the colleges are part of a consortium that would allow her to take classes at Amherst or Harvey Mudd or Haverford.

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I once supported a family who had a child in a juvenile detention center. The student went to a virtual high school (formerly part of K12 for those with VHS experience) while incarcerated and did well, but then got out and went to a traditional high school and was challenged in school and with life. Unfortunately, the student ended up back in the detention center and finished high school there with fine grades. The student was very smart, but did not go to UNC or UVA. The student did go to community college for a year and eventually became a welder.

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Has whatever caused her to get the C’s and D’s been addressed? Does she need a structured or less structured environment? Will she qualify for support/accommodations if she needs support to succeed in college? If she is able to get accepted to a more rigorous school that is affordable, does she now have the skill base to complete assignments and succeed without parental oversight? Does she need the structure/support of staying close to home?

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153

I attended community college. I goofed off for 3 years, until I finally got serious about my education. I transferred to a state uni and got a degree that still serves me well.

I know you aren’t implying that CC is some poor substitute for a four year university. I want to emphasize that students who go the CC to uni route can do just as well as those who go to a traditional 4 year university. I was a good student for my first year at CC, until I wasn’t.

I was distracted by too much fun stuff that was going on around me when I was 18-20, and I wanted to play. Probably not the same issue that the OP’s child has. My point is, I was immature. Immaturity has different forms. Thank goodness I went to CC. My parents would have wasted so much money on my education in my first three years. Sometimes, kids need to grow up a bit before they head off to a university far from home. It would be a good idea for the OP to ensure her kid is ready for that experience. I certainly wasn’t.

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This student is already at a four year college - at least taking classes if I understand - so I’m guessing they know what college classes are like.

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Not at all.

I am trying to say that we continue to entertain a situation with 0 idea as to what we are dealing with, and that OP continues to be effective at getting us to do so. Her student could be the student I supported.

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Putting on my mod hat for a moment… Yes, we are all participating here. There are people lurking on this thread who are hopefully gaining insight from what is being discussed. So we aren’t totally wasting our time.:grinning_face:

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I am, personally, trying, but many questions asked remain unanswered - and that is purposeful IMO.

These, for example, are the right questions.

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Would hope that the parent will come back and answer many of the questions posed. It looks like the parent is reading, but hasn’t responded in several hours. What’s not clear is how much parental oversight/structure was imposed when the student went to the more rigorous school and also when taking college level courses. As is said, the parents aren’t going away to college with the kids.

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No need for me to put on a separate mod hat since I am not a participant in this thread.

Again, responses should be directed to the OP. Sidebars are inappropriate. I certainly hope the OP does return, but in the meanwhile, let’s refrain from the “Why hasn’t the OP returned” questions

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I believe the student is back to her original high school (which might be virtual?) and taking some DE classes at the hs or through the high school. With other hs students, not college students. It is a high school schedule, M-F, 8 to 3 or similar. When these were offered at my kids’ hs, they followed hs rules for attendance, rules for eating in class, walking out of a class, etc. The curriculum might have been the college’s, but the rules were hs. Counseling was done by the hs counselors, discipline by the vice principal, rules for participating in EC by the coaches or theater dept. (don’t attend all classes for the day, couldn’t participate in sports, play practice.

One option is to attend the NearbyStateU next year, on campus, but as a 12th grader so not living at the school or interacting with other college kids and not attending hs every day/all day.

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I misread then. Thx