I know everyone talks about the importance of rigor, but what if my kid just isn’t meant for honors or advanced classes? She is in regular grade level classes and getting As, but she’s just not on an honors track and never will be. I don’t need her to get into an ivy league school, but can she even get into our state flagship? Or some small liberal arts colleges? (Not looking for ways to get her into honors classes, they would not be appropriate for her). Would love to hear where some of your “regular” kids ended up. Thanks!
3 Likes
My regular kid went to a state non-flagship. Not because she couldn’t get into the flagship (didn’t try) but because that’s where she wanted to go. And it was a great decision!
Check out the previous years threads for 3.0-3.5 to see where “regular” kids get in. I really love the 3.0 threads because they are “regular” kids and the selection process is all about fit. Even if your kid’s stats are higher, you might feel more comfortable there. Also, check out the thread for >50% acceptance.
10 Likes
I second the 3.0-3.5 threads for each grad year. If you have not seen one yet, make one! You and your kid are not alone.
S23 was in the middle of the pack in his HS class and graduated with a 3.4 UW GPA (3.7 W) and 1410 SAT. Maybe one honors or AP class a semester, involved in peer leadership group with community service but no sports and did not hold an office. Did have a black belt.
He was looking at majoring in animal or marine science, so did not get apply to any small liberal arts colleged. He was admitted into our in-state flagship as well as the flagships of neighboring states. He is now a dean’s list student at UMASS Amherst and recently entered the honors college as a sophomore. Some kids need a longer runway and that is totally fine. Some just need to get out on their own studying areas of interest. They will shine wherever they go. Look closely at the required and recommended coursework for the colleges your kid likes. The Colleges that Change Lives Book and Fairs are helpful.
7 Likes
A kid getting As in regular college prep classes is going to be a desired student by the vast majority of US colleges.
But I would definitely be cautious about what you are trying to do in college. It really depends on the state, but at some flagships, the students were mostly honors-type students, and at least many of the core classes in many majors are basically the honors-type version of those classes. If that is not your kid’s track and never will be–which is totally fine–why try to get on such a track in college?
And the thing is, after college, many employers and other next-step gatekeepers will also be fine with applicants who got very good grades at a “regular” college. So I would personally strongly consider just keeping up with that is working for her.
Now in some states, that may not rule out the flagship. At others, I don’t know if that would be such a great idea. But my point is she is on a track that can very easily lead to career success, and I would think very carefully about trying to jump into a harder track between HS and college.
2 Likes
This 
It really depends on which state you live in.
Lots of great advice by all the posters above. Best wishes to your daughter – if she’s an A student, she can definitely end up at a school she loves and is a good fit for her.
5 Likes
There are so many great “regular” colleges that serve students with a wide range of high school stats and rigor! Coming from California, I know kids who have had great experiences at less-rejective Cal State campuses (examples: Humboldt, Chico, Sonoma… and many others), and also OOS schools that offer tuition reciprocity via WUE (examples: Southern Oregon, Portland State, Boise State, Nevada-Reno, U of Utah, U of Hawaii, and many more). The CCC-to-CSU transfer pathway has served many well, too.
The CTCL schools are also great ones to consider; and there are additional, similar schools that aren’t part of the CTCL network, but have similar attributes.
While there are certainly people (especially on CC) who care more about rank and exclusivity than anything else, I think there are also a fair number of people who end up feeling drawn to the “famous” colleges mostly because it’s hard to discern what’s special about a given “regular” college. I sometimes come back to the analogy of dating - sure, people fantasize about dating a celebrity, but ultimately most people end up discovering what’s special about a “regular” person who might at first have seemed indistinguishable from scores of other regular people. Likewise with colleges - they all have different personalities, settings, academic and extracurricular offerings… the trick is to figure out what your kid wants and needs in a college experience, and find a good fit. If you talk more about your kid’s personality, interests, and goals, I’m sure you’ll get lots of suggestions about where that fit might be found.
6 Likes
Can a student without great rigor get into UCLA, Cal, Texas, Florida, Washington, Michigan? Unlikely. Can he or she get into a non-flagship, or a flagship at a smaller state like Wyo, NM, West Florida, WV? Yes.
1 Like
I think of the largest college in my state MTSU. Then there’s ETSU, Memphis. Lots of states have directionals. These schools are not overly difficult admits.
A flagship at one state could be very different than another. UNC is different than U of Idaho. Or a U of Arizona or ASU, both reputed, both not overly difficult admits.
One of our bosses went to W Georgia and yes a Vandy MBA works for them.
States are loaded with four year publics. You may not know them but a Bluefield State or Radford or Emporia State or Tarleton State or Dickinson State. Or Lander.
On another thread people were touting U of N England (private)in Maine - 96% acceptance rate.
The college confidential isn’t full of regular people. Society is though.
Most colleges don’t care about extreme rigor or ECs or more.
And they’re loaded with regular kids and some super accomplished too.
Your student will find a home. Look at your local colleges. They’re likely loaded with regular kids. Reading the CC likely put you in an alternative universe that’s not totally real.
5 Likes
SLA, yes. State flagship will be very state dependent. For example, our flagship (UNC Chapel Hill) is insanely competitive and a student would need honors and tons of AP courses to get in (and to be prepared). But there are many other schools in our state that would be perfect for most students. I think where your kid should go also depends on what you mean by they’d never be ok in honors classes. At our high school, that student would struggle in college, but in other schools, honors classes can be very challenging. All college bound students take mostly honors courses at our school, even those that are fairly average.
3 Likes
I consider my kid a fairly ‘regular’ kid. She graduated last year (D24). Had a ~3.32 UW GPA, 1200 SAT. Had some C’s on her transcript. She was accepted everywhere she applied. But the colleges were selected for specific reasons. Got merit $$ from each school also. Colleges were the following (we’re in AZ):
- U of Arizona
- ASU
- University of New Mexico (she got an AZ reciprocal scholarship here)
- NMSU - also got a similar AZ reciprocal scholarship here, making it same as NM resident in state tuition
- Centre College in Danville, KY - this school is awesome.
- Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX - 30 min from Austin airport. This school is awesome, too.
- Austin College in Sherman, TX - about an hour from Dallas airport.
She’s currently attending Austin College. The last 3 colleges on the list are CTCL schools. At Austin College, like the other 2 CTCL ones, class sizes are small…like, each of her professors knows her by name. There’s about 30-40 students max in each class so far during freshman year. She likes the vibe on campus, likes how friendly everyone is, easy to make friends, people are really down to earth there, all of the staff on campus are really helpful. Participates in the a capella choir for fun (she was a choir kid in high school).
It’s a smidge more expensive than tuition+room+board to attend ASU or Univ of Arizona, but she’s doing a student loan each year. So far, it’s totally been worth it.
Had no idea what CTCL colleges were until our school’s college counselor mentioned it at the tail end of 10th grade. SO GLAD I paid attention and looked into it.
9 Likes
Others have already addressed the state flagship portion, but not as much on the small liberal arts colleges. CTCL has been mentioned multiple times, but I don’t think it’s been explicitly stated that the vast majority are liberal arts colleges, and if they’re not liberal arts colleges, they’re certainly liberal arts-sized colleges.
If you’d like any suggestions of places that could be a good fit for your D, there would be people who would love to help and particularly love helping “regular” kids (
).
6 Likes
My oldest son is a regular kid. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to go to college until his senior year, he decided he would give it a go. He completed his first year at UT Chattanooga then transferred to UTK. He is currently a junior there.
One of my twins is also a regular kid, but knew college wasn’t for him. He is going the trade school route - pursuing his passions. College isn’t for every person.
6 Likes
CTCL is Colleges that Change Lives ctcl.org Love some of these schools.
State colleges have been mentioned. State universities in my state have direct admit programs with community colleges, another option. Priority registration, other perks.
My “regular” kid want to Lesley in Cambridge MA after struggling at Bennington.
3 Likes
Ad
Add Virginia to this list.
1 Like
And NY does not have a flagship- but it has half a dozen State U’s where a “regular” kid can get admitted and thrive. It might be a reach to be majoring in CS/theoretical physics at Stonybrook, but there are dozens and dozens of interesting majors at New Paltz, Oswego, Fredonia, Brockport, etc.
4 Likes
And there are others I would be hesitant to recommend for a kid who was not super into honors-type classes, either in general or in a certain program.
Like, William & Mary is to me an example of a great college for academicky kids, but I am not sure it sounds like a great fit for the OP’s kid (which is perfectly fine).
Or, like, I would not recommend Purdue’s First Year Engineering program to kids who are not looking for an intense start to college. But for some kids it can be one of the greatest engineering college experiences possible.
And so on. It is just a complicated system of higher education we have in the US.
But for that same reason there are so many colleges a “regular” kid can get excited about for reasons specific to them, meaning they will offer the sorts of specific academic programs they are interested in exploring at a pace and intensity that they will find suitable, combined with all sorts of other cool experience opportunities outside of classes and labs. A very complicated system in that sense is a virtue, as long as you keep an open mind about what can make the most sense for any given kid.
2 Likes
Depends on which state you are in.
The same would go for other situations where the student has to go through a secondary admission process for their major, particularly if that process is highly competitive.
1 Like
For “regular” kids with WGPA 3.5 and 1100 SAT, I would say any college with acceptance rate over 80% or outside T100 by US News ranking. Which are most colleges in US 
4 Likes
Some schools that my 3.6 test optional kid was accepted to:
Baylor
Southwestern (TX)
Hope College
Butler
Elon
Furman
Sewanee
Wofford
Gonzaga
Creighton
Trinity (TX) - this was her reach school and she attends
11 Likes