What about the average kid?

Parents Forum
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<p>dudedad–must be frostburg, mcdaniel is private</p>

<p>baseballmom–my first was overwhelmed by all the options, gave me some guidelines (no long winters, no single sex, bigger than my HS), and told me to find some schools;
number 2 was a high SAT, low GPA (late Jr year ADD diagnosis) challenge who wanted to get out of our region and was willing to consider whatever we suggested but did not have what it took to initiate an endeavor so great;
now number 3, a HS soph with decent PSAT scores cannot wait to send reply cards from the college mail flooding our home. This one, finally, is ready to lead the search; but will still rely on mom to arrange the visits.</p>

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<p>I’ll second SBMoms suggestion to consider Hanover. It’s not in the South, but it is southern Indiana. Hanover overlooks the Ohio river, but I doubt if they have a crew team. I could be surprised. They have merit scholarships of $9-11,000 a year for students with your D’s (well above average) stats.</p>

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<p>My daughter would thank all of you (if she read this) for convincing me how above average she, especially after the talking to I gave her yesterday about her lack of effort in French class! She’s my first, so I expect her to be perfect when she’s only human.</p>

<p>Now, her brother, on the other hand just sails along LOVING math (where did THOSE genes come from?) and he will probably be the one with the straight As…</p>

<p>Parenting is like trying to herd cats!</p>

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<p>The fire may never be lit! In our family we are evenly divided between planners and doers, and I am generally acknowledged to be the Queen of Research. Daughter made all the real decisions (since she is in the doer camp) - large vs small, rural vs urban, LAC vs uni, distance from home (we parents overruled in one area, here, which could have been a mistake), program sort of.
As she expressed preferences about the first few visits she made, I narrowed down the great universe of schools, in line with her preferences. It was difficult at first to get her interested in schools that she had never heard of, but after we visited a couple she learned that many of her preferences were going to be found in schools she had never heard of, then it was easier for her to hear about them. She personally, never did the kind of research advocated on this forum, but she absorbed a lot of what she did read, she saw on visits and what I read to her (you are very powerful in this process, it is a dangerous thing, powerful even if they don’t admit your influence).</p>

<p>In the end, she did not pick the school I would have picked for her, based on her expressed criteria. But I think she made a better choice, and I think that more and more as time passes - we will see.</p>

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<p>Here it is -</p>

<p>With a Rush
W.Md. School Offers Degree Program in Extreme Sports</p>

<p>By Susan Kinzie
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 14, 2005; Page B01</p>

<p>McHENRY, Md. When they got to the river, they turned off the Phish song shaking the Garrett College van and tugged two fat rafts down for class. Matt “Jeep” Balassone looked at the pale green water churning with white rapids and said, “Holy moly, she’s running…”</p>

<p>At Garrett College, a two-year school in Western Maryland, students can raft, hike and snowboard their way through a college education, receiving a degree in adventure sports. The Maryland General Assembly took a step toward making it better, approving $845,000 in design and engineering funds this week for a recreation center for Garrett County…</p>

<p>It’s a sign not only of how popular extreme outdoor sports have become but also of just how much higher education has changed: Even the people who dream of living on the river feel like they need a college degree now…</p>

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<p>May I suggest my alma mater Blackburn College in southern Illinois? Great art program and a great deal financially for a small private school.</p>

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<p>DD is another “average” SATer…who happens to have good grades (and a high GPA), and good class rank. We are guessing her SAT scores will be in the 600ish range on each test (maybe a little higher, maybe a little lower). She is taking the test in May. So far she has visited and will apply to: Santa Clara University, U of San Diego, U of South Carolina, College of Charleston, Chapman University, and Davidson (a reach we think). She will still look at a couple of schools nearer to home (Drew and Marist). Except for Davidson, we think these are either matches or safety level schools for her…at least we hope so.</p>

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<p>

baseballmom - for many of us with an S, instead of a D, we would give one of our limbs for the “is willing” part. :D</p>

<p>We have had numerous discussions on various threads of the phenomenon you describe. The question has largely centered on what title we should give ourselves “secretary?” “application manager?” “matriculation superintendent?” and blah, and blah, and blah</p>

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<p>It’s not in the east but you might look into Univ of Denver. My D ended up applying there as a safe and ended up almost going there. She had a really hard time turning them down. A 1200 is around the average SAT score for Denver.</p>

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<p>Put James Madison University, in Virginia, in the pot!</p>

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<p>Wheaton alum here, chiming in…I also went to a girls’ boarding school…take a look at it…Wheaton turned me into a Dean’s list student from a “she’s so smart if she’d just get motivated” student because it was such a great learning environment, with faculty who inspired me. Good luck in your search!</p>

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<p>Also they may be reaches but look at some of the women’s colleges-- Smith, Holyoke, etc-- these are places that can eb a little more forgiving of some SAT scores but still offer an exceptional learning environment and incredible facilities.</p>

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<p>I think that 1200 for the SAT falls around 75th-80th percentile, more or less, depending on the particular balance between verbal & math. I agree - that is above average, and if it is accompanied by a B+ GPA or better, then there are plenty of options for the student.</p>

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<p>BTW dudedad, you may have just picked my son’s college! THANKS for this info!!</p>

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<p>To the OP: My daughter is similar to yours in terms of stats (although just a wee bit higher on grades and test scores). Her list at the moment includes: Goucher in MD, Earlham in Indiana, Beloit in Wisc., and Hendrix in Arkansas. Hendrix is on the list because we have heard it is not the typical “southern” school in that the kids are quirky and liberal and there are no frats/sororities. </p>

<p>All of these schools do accept kids in your daughter’s stat range, but chances are much better with Early Action (non binding) application than in the regular decision pool.</p>

<p>Other small schools I like for kids in this range:
Lawrence (Wisc.),
Augustana College (IL),
Colorado College,
Wittenberg (Ohio),
Hiram (Ohio),
Knox (Illinois),
Lake Forest (IL.),
Randolph Macon (VA),
Hartwick (NY),
Albright ¶,
St. Joseph’s ¶,
York ¶,
Wagner (NY),
Manhattanville (NY),
Hobart & William Smith (NY),
the College of Wooster (Ohio)
Fairfield (CT),
Ohio Wesleyan,
Quinipiac (CT),
Merrimack (Mass),
Stone Hill (Mass),
Providence College (RI),
Guilford in NC (another school that is not your “typical” southern school and attracts quite a few kids from up north),
MCDaniel (MD),
Washington College (MD),
Elon (also NC),
DePauw in Indiana. </p>

<p>If she wants a larger school,
American U,
Towson State (MD),
Penn State, s
ome of the SUNY schools (SUNY Geneseo for instance),
Indiana U,
The College of Charleston (SC),
Syracuse U (arts & sciences),
U of Miami,
Boston U,
the U of Wisconsin - Madison </p>

<p>All of the schools above are within realistic range, but some would be more likely than others. </p>

<p>If she’d consider the west coast, try Willamette in Oregon, Lewis & Clark in Oregon, University of Redlands (CA), U of San Diego, Santa Clara (CA), Chapman in Calif, Mills College (CA), Seattle U (Washington), and University of Puget Sound. The U of Oregon and U of Washington also take kids in this range. </p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>Colorado College has gotten tougher for admittance. It has “caught on”. A girl from a top private prep school that we know was rejected with 1350 and equivalent grades. It is a unique school, though.</p>

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<p>Don’t be scared off by a kid with a particular score being turned down. This is anecdotal only, but I’ve noticed a lot of chatter on these boards where kids with high stats are turned down by their matches & safeties, only to see kids with lower stats get in.</p>

<p>I think that a lot of ad coms for schools that are mid-range in terms of selectivity are getting fed up with their schools being used as a mere fallback for kids who have applied to 15 other colleges, and they may be doing a lot more to try to discern whether there is genuine interest or not. I think they are looking very far beyond the stats - to things like interviews, recs, essays - or just a sense from the transcript and EC’s of whether the kid is the type to be really likely to fit in at their school. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that for a small college, a predictable yield is important not so much for ranking purposes but for planning – if too few of the accepted students enroll, it’s a major financial setback – and if too many enroll, the school runs out of space to house them. So even when the college is not highly selective in an academic sense, it needs to be very discerning as to who is admitted, in the sense of inviting a critical mass of students who genuinely want to attend that college.</p>

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<p>SBmom -</p>

<p>You are welcome. Cool choice for your S. I’m more a level 1, lazy river tube rider (if you get my drift).</p>

59

<p>Baseballmom, or anyone…What about the only LAC in Nevada, Sierra Nevada College? This is a new one for me. Looks like a place to go if you love the great outdoors, especially skiing.</p>

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<p>Boston University has also gotten harder to get into in the last two years. It would still be on the list for a student who was seeking admission into the College of General Studies, but for the other schools SAT scores combined verbal and math would probably need to be above 1300. For the hs class of 2006, of course, the new SAT will add a new “dimension” to admissions because of the changes in the full test. DS knows students with combined SAT scores well into the 1300’s who applied to BU and were rejected this year.</p>