Expert: Todd Johnson - 1/19/2008

Question
My daughter (11th grade) is a B-C student (mixed grades, some A's, C's and D's) and even failed a math class, then retook it.  Most of her courses have been of average difficulty (level 3 out of 1-5) and she has not taken chemistry, physics or any higher science or math.  She has a poor short term memory, but is not considered Learning Disabled.  She is planning to take the SAT, however, based on other testing she's done, frankly I'm not expecting high scores.  

She would like to go to a small liberal arts college in the New England area. She very into srt, the humanities and enjoys writing.  She'd like to travel and is considering a helping profession or perhaps teaching English.  

What are some schools that won't overly scrutinize her grades and scores?  Also, a school that won't be too academically rigorous for a student who struggles?  We have considered community college, but she really wants the experience of going away to school.    

Thanks for your thoughts.

Answer
KD,

The primary consideration for most colleges is that the student be able to handle the course work and succeed at that school. However, there are a substantial number of colleges that are basically open enrollment, meaning that any student that applies will be accepted. Many of these are community colleges but there are other colleges that would meet the criteria you have.

I would suggest first off that she concentrate on doing as well as she can with the remaining time in high school. This will help not only her grades but also prepare her for college. Second, to find colleges that might meet the criteria you are looking for I would suggest that you take a look at the College Navigator site. It can be found here:  http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

This is a site from the federal government that allows you to enter various criteria in to find the best college for your daughter. You can limit the search to New England and then click on the "more search options" button. I would put in for acceptance rate probably 80% to 100%. These schools are likely to accept your daughter even with weaker grades and test scores.

I would not exclude community colleges as your daughter does not necessarily need to go to one close to home and some community colleges even have housing on campus to give the experience of a regular 4 year college.

Good luck in the search for the right college for your daughter. With all of the choices available in this country there is a good choice for everyone, including your daughter.