Getting Ready for College

Why Colleges Love ‘B’ Students

By Tamra B. Orr

Numbers, numbers, numbers. Have you noticed how much of our lives seem to center on them? Most of us can rattle off our home phone and cell phone numbers as easily as our names. We can list our Social Security number in our sleep. There are some other numbers in your life, however, that you might take longer to remember: your GPA and perhaps your ACT or SAT test scores. You might be one of the many young people who truly believe that if you do not have excellent grades and shining test scores you can just forget about getting into a good college. It’s time to let that rumor go the same way as dinosaurs.

Colleges love B students. You know the ones I mean: the ones who worked hard in school but had an overall GPA of 3.1 or 3.3. These are the students who might have made straight As in one area (English/history) and struggled to make a C in others (math/science — or vice versa.) These are the students who went to school every day — as well as to work or to help out at home. These are the students who did well in class, but virtually bombed most of the big tests — or the other way around. These are frequently the students who care enough about education to go the extra mile to get into college. In other words, these are often the students who are determined, responsible and mature. Sounds just like the perfect college student, doesn’t it?

While most colleges and universities admittedly have no problem admitting straight A students who aced the standardized tests, they don’t want to fill their schools with them. They want diversity on their campuses. They want students who are willing to work hard for what they want and have the curiosity and enthusiasm to do so.

If your educational numbers are not where you wish they were, don’t give in to the myth that college is not an option. It is utterly false — and what a wasted opportunity for you and the colleges out there! Instead, you simply need to put some extra effort in finding who is out there and what they have to offer. Be willing to look outside the educational box and consider:

• Very small colleges
• Community colleges
• All men/all women’s colleges
• Career-oriented colleges
• Colleges that do not use national testing scores in admissions

All of these tend to be much more open to students who may not have the highest scores but do have a true interest and desire for a college education. Many colleges also offer the incoming B student a number of ways to raise scores quickly, including tutoring services, support groups, one-on-one counseling, small class sizes and first year “College 101” orientation classes.

You may not have received a spot on your high school football team. You may have gotten turned down by the person you asked to the prom. You may even have been overlooked for the job opening at your local bookstore. However, you will not be overlooked by dozens of terrific colleges if you just take the time to find the ones most suited to your needs. Do your homework on where to find them — and watch those numbers you’ve been ignoring start to rise!

Tamra B. Orr is author of “America’s Best Colleges for B Students” and “Ace the SAT Writing Even If You Hate to Write.”