DD wants top SLACs But Doesn't Have Grades

[Anonymous]

Don't think she has the grades. Junior. She thinks SLACs are easier with 40 Plus ED rate. She has mostly Bs and some As (three B's to every two As). Courses are somewhat rigorous but not as much as it could be. Top local private. Excellent EC. ACT not taken but getting 31-32 on practices. Foreign background that would be considered Asian but not traditional Asian countries you would think of i.e. not Chinese or Korean.

Visited Middlebury but thought it to be isolated. Likes Amherst because less isolated. External adviser said aiming high. Wants to visit Haverford. Thoughts on other schools that might be similar to these. She wants to be a SLACer.

[Anonymous]

Wait she’s lazy about school work and then you wrap up with “she wants to be a SLACer” was this just an elaborate set up to your dad joke

[Anonymous]

If she didn't do the work, she doesn't get to reap the reward.

[Anonymous]

The advice is fairly obvious. She is highly unlikely to get into a selective SLAC. But that's okay because there are many second tier versions that will have many of the characteristics that she seeks. Remind her that she has a greater chance of doing well at one of those. You should both try hard to let go of comparing yourself to her friends, and caring what they are doing. To develop a working list of schools to visit, you can look at the rankings for SLACs and Naviance. Make sure she applies to Targets and Safeties as well as reaches. She will reap what she has sown.

[Anonymous]

With those grades she has no chance at the Midds and Amhersts of the world. Look at second tier schools like Skidmore or Gettysburg or Dickinson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait she’s lazy about school work and then you wrap up with “she wants to be a SLACer” was this just an elaborate set up to your dad joke

New poster.
Typical DCUM to leap to the assumption that the DD is simply "lazy." Here on this board anything less than sheer perfection MUST be the result of the student being lazy. No idea that the world is full of bright kids who don't get straight As for many reasons that do not include laziness.

OP, you mentioned an "external adviser" -- that person should be coming up with a list of realistic colleges based on DD's current grades etc. DD needs to apply to a couple of "reach schools" but also to some safety schools that she is very likely to get into based on current scores and grades. If the adviser isn't helping her create such a list you need a new adviser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait she’s lazy about school work and then you wrap up with “she wants to be a SLACer” was this just an elaborate set up to your dad joke

New poster.
Typical DCUM to leap to the assumption that the DD is simply "lazy." Here on this board anything less than sheer perfection MUST be the result of the student being lazy. No idea that the world is full of bright kids who don't get straight As for many reasons that do not include laziness.

OP, you mentioned an "external adviser" -- that person should be coming up with a list of realistic colleges based on DD's current grades etc. DD needs to apply to a couple of "reach schools" but also to some safety schools that she is very likely to get into based on current scores and grades. If the adviser isn't helping her create such a list you need a new adviser.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Hopefully your school has Naviance and you can show her what the results have been at her school for her GPA and probable ACT.

[Anonymous]

If she has realized that those are the colleges she wants, it is time to get her grades up.

Straight As from here on out or yes, those schools will remain out of reach. Applying ED is a double-edged sword because yes the admit rate is higher, but she would benefit from having all As in the first semester of senior year when she submits her app.

There are many great SLACs that aren't as elite as the ones you've mentioned. She needs to find her match schools, hopefully with the help of her school's college counselor or someone you hire (if she won't listen to you).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait she’s lazy about school work and then you wrap up with “she wants to be a SLACer” was this just an elaborate set up to your dad joke

New poster.
Typical DCUM to leap to the assumption that the DD is simply "lazy." Here on this board anything less than sheer perfection MUST be the result of the student being lazy. No idea that the world is full of bright kids who don't get straight As for many reasons that do not include laziness.

OP, you mentioned an "external adviser" -- that person should be coming up with a list of realistic colleges based on DD's current grades etc. DD needs to apply to a couple of "reach schools" but also to some safety schools that she is very likely to get into based on current scores and grades. If the adviser isn't helping her create such a list you need a new adviser.

Yikes dude I’m just explaining the joke

[Anonymous]

Since she's in a private school, do you have any class rank data to see how she's doing compared to her classmates?

[Anonymous]

"Top local private."

This makes a difference. What do her grades actually look like? Does she always get A's in certain subjects? Are the B's grouped in other certain subjects? Or does she randomly get As and Bs?

If she has a strong group of subjects and if she takes the most rigorous courses in that group, getting Bs in her weak subjects even if they are basically "on grade level" won't matter. If she applies to every top 50 SLAC she will get in somewhere.

If she culls through the top 50 for the 20 or 25 that she likes best (read DO NOT just apply to the top 20 or 25) making sure to have the same number in each group of 1-10/11-20/21-30, she will get in somewhere.

If she has a strong suit where she stands out, the schools will know she can do the work and if OP you can pay the bill, it will work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully your school has Naviance and you can show her what the results have been at her school for her GPA and probable ACT.

This. It really helps to use tools like this, because then it's not about a parent/friend/counselor/anonymous DCUrban Mom poster offering their opinion (which a kid is likely to ignore if they don't like the answer).
Once you have that, DD can come up with a logical plan. It can include a mix of SLACs: some reach, some likely, some safety.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like she is focused on a 40% ED acceptance rate. That stat is really inaccurate especially for SLACs. It is artificially inflated by all the recruited athletes that are included. Once you back them out, the acceptance rate is pretty much the same as RD and she doesn't have the grades for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait she’s lazy about school work and then you wrap up with “she wants to be a SLACer” was this just an elaborate set up to your dad joke

New poster.
Typical DCUM to leap to the assumption that the DD is simply "lazy." Here on this board anything less than sheer perfection MUST be the result of the student being lazy. No idea that the world is full of bright kids who don't get straight As for many reasons that do not include laziness.

OP, you mentioned an "external adviser" -- that person should be coming up with a list of realistic colleges based on DD's current grades etc. DD needs to apply to a couple of "reach schools" but also to some safety schools that she is very likely to get into based on current scores and grades. If the adviser isn't helping her create such a list you need a new adviser.

+1000

The world is also full of average kids who aren't that bright and they'll be just fine as well.