Late blooming, average student — where to go from here?

[Anonymous]

Late blooming daughter at a middle-tier private. First two years of hs were rough. GPA end of sophomore year was a 2.7. She has since turned a corner. However, with only 2 years left, unsure of how much we can realistically expect it to climb, even with the increased effort. She is an athlete (track) and fast enough to run at a smaller, less academic D3, which she would like to do, and which we would like for her to do, as it brings her joy and gives her confidence. She’s spoken with some coaches, which motivates and excites her to continue working.

Lots of sports and volunteering. She’s a good kid. Just took a while to get her act together.

Unsure of where to go from here. Do we need to be looking for colleges with a 90% acceptance rate? There has to be a home for her somewhere, right? Surely she cannot be the only college applicant with an unimpressive gpa?

Do colleges differentiate between private and public school candidates? It seems like every school we research wants a 3.5 or higher. Is all hope lost?

[Anonymous]

Well, Emory doesn't count your freshman grades. Get good grades in junior and senior first semester. Get a high test score. She should be okay.

[Anonymous]

Look at your school’s data, in particular. At our private, this kid gets into Tulane ED (with some community service work - focused on sports ok) as an undecided/humanities major.

[Anonymous]

Look at the CTCL list

[Anonymous]

Do any of the Colleges That Change Lives look appealing to your daughter?

[Anonymous]

What was her psat score?

[Anonymous]

California doesn't count Freshman grades.

[Anonymous]

You're at a private school. What does your PS counselor advise?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do any of the Colleges That Change Lives look appealing to your daughter?

Yes, several. She’s interested in a small school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What was her psat score?

1160.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, Emory doesn't count your freshman grades. Get good grades in junior and senior first semester. Get a high test score. She should be okay.

She isn’t getting into Emory.

[Anonymous]

Couple of thoughts:

A bunch of Jesuit schools might work: St. Joe's, Scranton, Loyola

Virginia's private schools: Lynchburg, Roanoke, Shenandoah

Non-flagship state schools: Salisbury, Towson, and PA schools like Westchester, Millersville, East Stroudsburg

[Anonymous]

Look at schools with 80% ish acceptance rates.

[Anonymous]

How much of a feeder or selective is your private high school? If you give us a sentence or post the profile that will tell us a lot where someone like your kid could end up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do any of the Colleges That Change Lives look appealing to your daughter?

Yes, several. She’s interested in a small school.

Focus on the CTCL schools for now. There are some that are good academically, and will provide her with room to grow. Plus, she would most likely be able to do her sport.