A+ Schools for B Students

To achieve these goals, smaller schools look at students as a whole, rather than just at their grades. "If they see a student who has always been a B student, they may look at what that student might be able to contribute," Wilkinson said.

Advertising your strong points is easy. But what if your high school records reflect a challenge that brought your grades down? Friedhoff says you should be honest about it. "Don't skip over it. Address it in an interview, essay, or addendum," he says. "The important thing is to tackle it and state it as clearly, honestly, and forthrightly as possible. Don't make excuses."

Time for an explanation. Instead, students should "explain how the experience changed them and what they learned from it," says Mary Pinedo, a counselor at Gretchen Whitney High School in Cerritos, Calif. Genette, for example, explained in his essay to Evergreen that his family endured some tough times during his junior year, and his GPA reflected that. But he said Evergreen's review process allowed his skills and broad interests, from forestry to French, to let him shine nevertheless.

One thing schools don't like to see is students who take easy classes in their junior or senior year to coast or to boost a sagging GPA. "Grade-point averages only mean so much," says Doug Scrima, Evergreen's director of admissions. "It depends a whole lot on how you have challenged yourself in the coursework you have taken." Still, rather than slog through a full load of AP courses with lackluster results, create an appropriately hefty schedule that includes math, science, and a foreign language to show you're ready for college. "We want to make sure students can hit the ground running," says Purdue's Horne.

The first stop for most students applying to college should be the college counseling services available in their high schools. "The counselor is their lifeline for what they need to do to get to college," says Kay Holleman, a guidance counselor at Gainesville High School, northeast of Atlanta. While friends and relatives may be sweet or sour on schools for personal reasons, guidance counselors offer objective guidance on a range of schools—well known and unfamiliar—that fit the student's qualifications. At some high schools, this assistance starts early: Counselors at Whitney begin working with eighth graders and their parents to develop four-year plans, says Pinedo. The intensive guidance appears to help: Everyone in Whitney's 2008 graduating class will go on to college, except for one student who enlisted in the Marines, she said.

Students can start to rein in a wide-open school search by thinking about what they want to get out of a college education and what resources they need to succeed. "The idea of college selection is not to find the place where they magically become straight-A students but where they can meet their full potential," says Wilkinson. Developing a well-rounded short list means taking some leaps. "Go to college fairs, and stop by tables of places you have never hard about," Horne says. "Ask some questions, and you might get some pleasant surprises." She also recommends online search tools, such as the College Board and the Department of Education, to get basic stats and admissions requirements. Then she advises poking around the web-sites of the most promising institutions. "Take a look at the range of credentials of the most recently admitted class," she said—but remember that even if you fall below the average, that doesn't rule out acceptance.

Parental support is crucial for students with average marks. Some parents insist their children apply to specific schools, regardless of whether they are the best match. "Sometimes the pressure of a big-name school, or one that has a reputation, becomes more important than the needs of the child," says Holleman. The problem is so widespread that Friedhoff talks about it in every presentation. "I close with a reminder for parents that the process is about their sons and daughters; it is not about them," he said. "I see lots of smiles, and often I'll see an elbow from the son or daughter into the mom or dad's ribs." After all, isn't it the students who are trying to get in to school?