SAT Prep

[NotUrsula]

Something that can be helpful if that first math or chem course is likely to be a severe challenge is to enroll early & knock off one or two easier non-major required basic courses that summer to get them out of the way and lighten your load. Also, starting in summer tends to have much less social pressure, & you can get comfortable away from home and become accustomed to college before the herd shows up. On most campuses you need 6 hours in summer to be full-time. (Warning: never take only one really hard class that first summer term, because it will be your entire GPA, & if you have trouble, you might torpedo your scholarship or good standing status.)

It is also a bit of a well-kept secret that at some big state schools, applying for summer admission instead of fall may improve your acceptance chances a couple of notches, as the number of applicants is usually much lower for summer start. Also, some schools may waitlist you for fall but offer admission if you're willing to start in summer; that happened to DS1. (They made the offer in March, and we scrambled for the fast start. As I recall, he graduated on May 19th & had to arrive on campus for move-in on June 3rd.)

 

[robinb]

One thing to consider is if the schools that she wants to go to have specific transfer programs. My DD had test scores just a little bit better that your DD's scores but she had a lot of AP and Honors classes. She applied to the University of Wisconsin in 2016 and they offered her admittance into a program where she would go to a local community college for 2 years and she would be guaranteed transfer into the UW. She did not want to do that but luckily the rest of her application and extra curriculars were strong enough to get in. Many students with better grades and better ACT/SAT scores were denied. FWIW, she was on the Dean's List for her last 3 years so the UW knew what they were doing when they accepted her.

So, there may be a program where she can attend another smaller school and transfer as a junior.