If you are a college-bound high school student with grades and test scores that aren’t so good, or if you have a kid or two in such a predicament, don’t panic! The Daily Caller is here to help.
Here are 16 colleges and universities to consider because they have high acceptance rates and range from good to pretty good.
South Dakota State University, located just west of Minnesota, has an acceptance rate of over 90 percent. SDSU is a strong research university. How strong? Well, dairy scientists here arguably created cookies & cream ice cream. That’s how strong. Alumni include former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Theodore Schultz, winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics.
West Virginia University, home to some 180 degree programs, has an acceptance of around 85 percent. The flagship state school with a famous tradition of couch-burning boasts among its alumni actors Don Knotts and Chris Sarandon, the guy who played Prince Humperdinck in the movie “The Princess Bride.”
The University of Akron has an acceptance rate of over 95 percent percent and over 20,000 students. Akron offers over 300 areas of study and one of the coolest athletic nicknames around in the Zips. Alumni include former Republican National Committee Chairman Ray C. Bliss.
Located in Bowling Green, Ky, Western Kentucky University is The Bluegrass State’s second largest university. WKU has an acceptance rate of over 92 percent. Duncan Hines, a real guy for whom delicious baking products are now named, is an alum. John Carpenter, the world’s greatest horror movie auteur, also attended for awhile.
Utah State University boasts over 25,000 students and an acceptance rate of over 95 percent. Alumni include Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who transferred from a lesser school. Freddy Deeb, a professional gambler who will certainly beat you at poker, also attended and nearly graduated.
The Evergreen State College is a taxpayer-funded bastion of goofy leftism with an acceptance rate of over 95 percent. The academic program is weird. Students don’t receive grades. Instead, professors write narrative evaluations of the students. Cop-killing death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal was invited to deliver the commencement address via audiotape in 1999. Macklemore, the rapper, is an alum.
The University of Wyoming boasts an acceptance rate around 95 percent, over 170 academic programs and a student body of about 13,000. Famous alumni include Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss and former vice president Dick Cheney.
The University of Montana in Missoula has almost 15,000 students, a scenic 220 acre campus and an acceptance rate exceeding 90 percent. Notable attendees include Carroll O’Connor, the guy who played Archie Bunker, and Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament. Neither graduated.
Wichita State University, famous most recently for its undefeated 2013-2014 men’s basketball team, has an acceptance rate of over 95 percent. Famous people who went to Wichita State include Bill Parcells, one of the greatest football coaches ever.
The University of Toledo boasts an acceptance rate of around 95 percent percent. Notable alumni include Fredric Baur, the guy who invented the Pringles can, and Danny Thomas, the comedian who went on to found of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
No matter what your grades are you can almost certainly find an academic home at the University of Texas at El Paso, which has an acceptance rate pretty close to 100 percent. UTEP offers over 150 degree programs. Notable attendees include Oscar-winning actor F. Murray Abraham.
Kansas State University, the oldest public university in Kansas, has an acceptance rate approaching 99 percent. Students are perennially happy and the bar scene in surrounding Manhattan is notoriously raucous. Alumni include current Governor of Kansas Sam Brownback and Erin Brockovich, the environmental activist.
Utah’s Weber State University is home to almost 30,000 students and has an acceptance rate of nearly 100 percent. It is a home to a prolific basketball team that has made frequent appearances in the NCAA tournament in recent years. Famous alums include J. Willard Marriott, founder of Marriott International.
Idaho’s Boise State University has an acceptance rate of around 85 percent. Boise State is famous for its football team and, of course, its hideous blue football field. Alumni include current Idaho Governor Butch Otter. Professional wrestling diva Torrie Wilson also attended.
Missouri University of Science and Technology is located in the rural Show-Me State town of Rolla has an acceptance rate of about 90 percent but it’s a hardcore place where you are likely to flunk out quickly if you can’t hack it — especially in engineering. Missouri S&T has a great tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day because, of course, St.Patrick is the patron saint of engineering. Former students include Jack Dorsey, the co-creator of Twitter.
Arizona State University has one of the largest student populations in the nation and an acceptance rate of over 85 percent.This mega-school is home to over 1,000 student organizations and offers more than 250 undergraduate majors. Distinguished alumni include lefty golfer Phil Mickelson. Wonder Woman Lynda Carter and gorgeous-voiced rock star Linda Ronstadt also attended.
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