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Hello, My daughter is entering senior year – and she's beginning her list and looking at schools, Northeast, Mid-States, that offer art, drama, theatre. She likes Vassar, Sarah Lawrence, Skidmore, Barnard – but I think she needs to look at others (????). SAT's, 1st try, 590V/610M. She has a 4.0GPA/.5.0 scale, and she's in the top 5% of her class. She's taking SAT's again twice more this fall and working to get that score up. She took 3 AP's junior year and she's taking 5 APs next year. EC's are 4 yrs. cello, chamber orchestra, school orchestra, 4 yrs. drama club, on drama board 3 years, community service – painting scenery for various local drama productions, 3 yrs. part-time employment, full-time summers, member of the honor society, rowing club just recently. I think she is very talented artistically and musically and has received many acting awards and art awards. I have a couple of questions: (1) Does artistic talent increase your chances if it's in all three areas, but not "outstanding" in any one. I think she would do very well if she auditioned for theatre, but she isn't ready to commit to a major yet. She is also preparing an art portfolio. What would be her best route to being admitted to any of these schools and do you think she has a chance to with her SAT scores? (2) Can anyone recommend good schools, especially "safeties". I've read good things about the smaller liberal arts schools, but BU offers a good program. Other thoughts are Goucher, Allegheny, Carnegie Mellon, Roger Williams(????) Any advice would be much appreciated. I feel the weight of this very important decision and wish I had more knowledge about the process so I could guide her in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

By Dave Berry on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 02:47 pm: Edit

Lou, IMHO, if your daughter has one area in which she is strongest, I believe that's the area she should "market" most heavily as part of her hook. Colleges see lots of jacks of all trades, but they tend to prefer masters of one particular specialty. For her to present the image of a balanced generalist may not distinguish her enough from a competitive pool where there may be others with similar balance who have better numerical stats. Her portfolio and marketing approach will be the tools she'll find most helpful to bring out her unique qualities.

I think her current list is a good one that contains reaches, ballparks, and safeties. Here are a few more to consider and investigate:

Washington and Lee
Univ. of Chicago
Bowdoin
Notre Dame
Bard
Bennington
Boston College
Bucknell

Best wishes for your daughter's college quest, Lou. Keep us posted.

By Rhonda on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 04:10 pm: Edit

Some questions -- why is she planning to take SATs TWICE this fall? I agree she should retake, but it sounds like she's already expecting a third retake?? Also, does she have any SAT II scores? Doesn't Vassar require them? What were her junior year AP scores?

By Lou1121 (Lou1121) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 06:24 pm: Edit

We thought taking the SAT 3x would improve her score further. Her SAT II's were 590 math, 610 bio, 600 literature. I was wrong on the AP courses. She took two, one was art, the other bio and she got a score of 2....Thanks Rhonda.

By rusty rooter on Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 09:49 am: Edit

Suggest looking at quality state u's for safeties.
The seniors are supposed to feel the pressure, not the parents! LOL! Let studentt ake lead, may encourage more self-initiative. buenos suertes!