What do you do if you want to go to college in the United States, but your grades and test scores aren’t 100% perfect? What happens if you aren’t the best standardized test taker in the world, or you were feeling sick the day you had to take your SAT & TOEFL tests and your scores suffered as a result?
We’ve sourced a list of 25 A+ Schools for B Students here from Forbes for your reference. These schools all provide outstanding value for their price, are all highly reputable and prestigious US schools, and require their applicants to be well rounded.
Each of the names of these schools is linked to a profile on the school itself, and the list includes acceptance rates and the range of SAT / ACT scores the schools typically admit.
|
U.S. News rank
|
School
|
Selectivity
|
Fall 2011 acceptance rate
|
SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile
|
|
#54
|
Malibu, CA
|
more selective
|
31.6%
|
1100-1330
|
|
#58
|
New York, NY
|
more selective
|
42.4%
|
1150-1340
|
|
#58
|
Syracuse, NY
|
more selective
|
49.4%
|
1050-1270
|
|
#65
|
West Lafayette, IN
|
more selective
|
68.3%
|
1040-1300
|
|
#68
|
Piscataway, NJ
|
more selective
|
61.1%
|
1080-1310
|
|
#72
|
East Lansing, MI
|
more selective
|
72.9%
|
23-28
|
|
#72
|
Iowa City, IA
|
more selective
|
79.8%
|
23-28
|
|
#75
|
Newark, DE
|
more selective
|
58.2%
|
1100-1300
|
|
#77
|
Waco, TX
|
more selective
|
39.7%
|
24-29
|
|
#77
|
Syracuse, NY
|
more selective
|
46.8%
|
1100-1270
|
|
#77
|
Tuscaloosa, AL
|
more selective
|
43.5%
|
22-29
|
|
#83
|
Worcester, MA
|
more selective
|
67.9%
|
1080-1310 2
|
|
#83
|
Philadelphia, PA
|
more selective
|
57.5%
|
1100-1310
|
|
#83
|
Bloomington, IN
|
more selective
|
72.3%
|
1050-1280
|
|
#83
|
Milwaukee, WI
|
more selective
|
56.8%
|
24-29
|
|
#89
|
Auburn University, AL
|
more selective
|
70.0%
|
24-30
|
|
#89
|
Oxford, OH
|
more selective
|
74.1%
|
24-29
|
|
#92
|
St. Louis, MO
|
more selective
|
61.3%
|
25-30
|
|
#92
|
Stony Brook, NY
|
more selective
|
39.2%
|
1130-1330
|
|
#92
|
Fort Worth, TX
|
more selective
|
37.7%
|
24-29
|
|
#92
|
Burlington, VT
|
more selective
|
75.4%
|
1090-1280
|
|
#97
|
Tallahassee, FL
|
more selective
|
58.5%
|
25-28
|
|
#97
|
Boulder, CO
|
more selective
|
86.9%
|
24-28
|
|
#97
|
Amherst, MA
|
more selective
|
65.6%
|
1090-1280
|
|
#97
|
Columbia, MO
|
more selective
|
82.3%
|
23-28
|
– Source: Forbes
If you have struggled in the past with standardized tests and are looking for some “match schools” to which you can apply, you should take a closer look into some of these universities — especially if you haven’t heard of them before.
Although many of the most famous private schools in the United States have a longstanding reputation for excellence, the price tag of higher education has risen so much that many schools traditionally considered second or third tier are now being viewed as equal to the historically most prestigious universities in America. When selecting which schools to apply to, it is important to strike a balance between cost, quality, future prospects for employment, and other intangible factors.
If you would like any help talking through the pros and cons of the undergraduate schools listed here, or making the decision about which schools are right to apply to, feel free to reach me at david@transcendadmissions.com.