A+ Schools for B Students

Julian Genette was feeling stressed. He was about to graduate from high school in North Seattle, Wash., and "there was a lot of pressure to go to a school that had an air of 'If you go here, then you will automatically be successful.' " But with a 2.9-3.0 GPA and 1237 on the SAT, he was afraid big-name schools wouldn't even look at him. Instead, he looked for a college to fit two key goals: staying close to home (to limit expenses) and feeding his interest in sustainable horticulture.

None seemed just right until he met a graduate of Evergreen State College. Prompted by her enthusiasm, Genette dug up more about Evergreen, which sits in a gorgeous natural setting in Olympia, Wash., and has its own organic farm. Its admissions office looks beyond high school grades, and, once you're in, you receive evaluations rather than letter grades. "Evergreen stood out," said Genette, now 23, who graduated this spring.

For students whose academic records are admirable but not perfect, the college search can be an opportunity to shake off the myopic focus on brand-name institutions. Instead, "the goal is to find that ideal fit, that great institution that is best for each individual," explains Scott Friedhoff, vice president for enrollment and communications at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. "There are just outstanding schools for every student."

Getting into Princeton or Duke will always be tough. But beyond the small roster of nationally renowned schools lie many colleges that aren't household names but have first-rate programs and strong reputations. For the fourth year, U.S. News has screened the schools it ranks to identify institutions where average students have a decent shot at being accepted.

"For a student with a B-plus average to hear that Harvard University is admitting 9 percent of its applicants, the response may be, 'How can I ever get into college?' " notes Friedhoff. But the average admission rate at U.S. colleges and universities stands at 70 percent, and the numbers for many schools speak for themselves: Allegheny accepted about 57 percent of its applicants in 2007, Purdue University nearly 79 percent—and Evergreen all but 3 percent.

A chance to shine. Most people can name a handful of big-name schools, plus a few local colleges, but that's it. Yet when counselors or others suggest great schools that are less well known, they often meet an unenthusiastic response—not just from students but from parents. However, experts say students with middling numbers only stand to gain from keeping an open mind. "It doesn't hold you back to go to a college that is lesser known," says Eileen Wilkinson, an educational counselor at PrepMatters, a tutoring and educational counseling company based in Bethesda, Md. "In fact, it can be just the opposite—it can be the thing that will assist you dramatically. There are opportunities for B students to shine and be the top of their class."

Creativity is crucial. Many schools, especially smaller ones, seek students who will add breadth and depth to the incoming class, so students who come with very specific talents or attributes may enjoy an advantage.

"We will enroll 7,000 freshmen, so I don't have to worry about having trombones for the marching band because we will get them," said Pamela Horne, dean of admissions at Purdue, a large public university in West Lafayette, Ind. "But my colleagues at Kalamazoo College [in Kalamazoo, Mich.] need to make sure they have tenors for the school choir." Some small colleges, such as Goucher, in Baltimore, a former women's college, may look for strong male candidates to improve their gender balance, Wilkinson says. Many schools try to take students from every state; others like to admit first-generation college students. And Division III institutions want good athletes, even if they might not make it to the pros.