ECU has a beautful campus, is in a great town and offers a true college experience. It also has top medical and teaching programs

Agree with UMBC if DC has an interest in STEM. I expect UMBC to zoom up the rankings as cyber security becomes a bigger issue.

Anonymous wrote:East Carolina University

A very popular choice for the B/C students around here. The kids we know there are very happy with the school.

East Carolina University

Try Canada. University of Ottawa or Concordia University in Montreal are very good and inexpensive choices. Canadian colleges don't ask for essay, teacher recs or community services. They require only grades and SAT scores.

^^ oops! my bad. I thought you were from Va. No way you should consider my advise re: UVA Wise.

Are you the parent? I've tried to help others with college ideas and often they want to use the B-/C student explanation to avoid paying for college. I would say - know what you/they are -really- willing to spend. If the board knew the figure or range, we could be the most helpful.

I will offer this suggestion ~ UVA at Wise. UVA has a regional campus in Wise, Virginia (far,far away). If the student has multiple AP's, decent SAT's and GPA (B- may work. Admissions would look at academic vigor)

I would not send my kid there, just a preference, but I suggest you investigate it as a possible.

Plenty of private schools will accept you. They quietly allot 5-10% of admittees to full-paying, non-financial aid, non-athlete students. And I'm speaking of good schools such as Tufts, Bucknell, Gettysburg, etc.

I second St. Marys...great choice and they were underenrolled. I actually think it's better than UMD

Anonymous wrote:She might check out Salem College, which is a small women's college. If she's willing to go to a regional women's college, they often have slightly lower admission requirements (particularly if she can show that she has potential not reflected in her grades), and they tend to give generous aid.

There's also Meredith College in Raleigh

Anonymous wrote:All are reasonable suggestions and last year St. Mary's ran short on students so might be especially attractive this year. Just know that for some of the more regional schools (Frostburg), their cache is going to be mostly local, worth thinking about before one chooses a school. Towson likely a better choice if wanting to stay in Baltimore/DC area, though it might be harder to get into. Community College can be an excellent choice for the first two years if your student is motivated, not so good if lack motivation as many students get lost in the shuffle there.

That's right, I forgot about that. Definitely check out St. Mary's - it's a good school!

I don't care for 21:39's judgmental tone, but I think she is correct in that this decision needs to be informed by more than just the GPA.

Is this teen a hard worker but not a real student? Agree, vocational study may be the way to go. Alternatively, if she is not a great student but is goal-oriented and has a goal in mind (e.g., she wants to be a nurse), there are professional programs of study your state universities that would be worth checking out. As a VA resident, I would look at VCU, for example. Enlisting in the military or coast guard might also be considered.

Is she a B- student because she is lacking in direction? I agree that enlisting is something that should be strongly considered. Again, don't forget the coast guard as an alternative to military service.

Is she a B- student because she's a late bloomer, with better grades recently? I would consider the second tier liberal arts colleges, along the lines of those "Colleges that Change Lives," because she may thrive with the more personal attention given in a small college, and depending on her scores, activities, and more recent grades, she may even receive some merit aid. Another option is CC for a year or two, followed by transfer to an in-state 4-year college/university. Either of these avenues might also be right for a student who might have been an A/B+ student but who got side-tracked by illness, mental health issues, life events, etc., but for this kid I might lean towards CC just because she might need additional emotional/moral support for a longer period of time.