Am I being too hopeful? (Rice, Berkeley, UT) Suggestions accepted!

Chance Me / Match Me
1

I am a HS junior from North TX and I’d love to attend a top tier school with a good financial aid program. Rice particularly interests me because of their financial aid. (Free tuition and board if your income is under 65k) My family of 6 has an income 48k annually. Please help me expand my options! I am currently considering Rice, Berkeley, UCLA, UT, UTD, and A&M for premed. I will also be applying for the Questbridge National College Match after prepscholar results come out. Any help is appreciated :slight_smile:

Asian Female
Rank: 41/464
GPA: 3.98
Weighted: 5.22/6
SAT: 1360 (680 + 680 although I have done a 1420 on a full practice before and got a 760 on reading so SAT will probably go up)

Freshman Year: GT Humanities Year 1/ WHAP A-, AP Human Geography A (5), PAP Biology A-, PAP Geometry A+, Photojournalism A+, Wind Ensemble (top band out of 3), Concert orchestra (bottom orchestra out of 3)

Sophomore Year: GT Humanities Year 2/ WHAP (3) A, PAP English II A+, PAP Algebra II A+, PAP Chemistry A+, Chinese I A+, Wind Ensemble, Philharmonic Orchestra (second orchestra out of 4)

Junior Year: AP Lang A+, AP Physics A, AP Enviro Science A+, AP US History A, PAP Pre-Cal A+, Chinese II A+, Wind Ensemble, Philharmonic Orchestra

Prospective Senior Year: AP Lit, AP Bio, AP Gov, AP Econ, AP Calc BC, Wind Ensemble, Possibly Symphonic Orchestra (top orch out of 4)

ECs:
Band (6-12): Flutist and piccoloist, Section leader (10) Drum Major (11)
Orchestra (7-12): Violinist, Logistics officer (10) Vice President (11)
NHS (11)
Key club (9-10)
Frisco Youth Symphony Orchestra (7-10): Flutist, Violinist, Piccoloist, Administrative Assistant (9-10)
165+ Service Hours
Possibly studying to become a certified nursing assistant

Awards:
All region band (9, 11)
State Solo and Ensemble (11)
Solo and Ensemble Superior rating for flute (10, 11)
Solo and Ensemble Superior rating for violin (9, 11)
Academic All Star (10)

Possible Recs:
AP Lang teacher: 9/10 She knows about my home life and is just overall amazing
APUSH teacher: 8.5/10 Also amazing teacher and we are super close

Hooks?
First gen college student
First gen to finish HS
Active CPS investigation against mom
I am basically the mom of 2 kids and a baby because my schizophrenic + bipolar mom is incompetent and my dad is always at work
Low income ish

2

UCLA and UC Berkeley offer little to no financial aid to out of state students so expect to pay close to full fees at $65K/year to attend. You should consider USC (University of Southern California) which is a Questbridge College partner.

3

Yea their financial aid sucks. I did find out that if you work as a TA at Berkeley then you get free tuition apparently.

4

New freshman applicants generally are not considered for upper division positions as TA’s. The jobs are competitive, plus the rents are still pricey. Can your family afford $65K per year for the first two years and then $30K+ per year for room and board, the following years?
The UT’s may be your best bet.

5

@bandissuperior: I would not count on being a TA so you should consider paying full fees for all 4 years if you are considering these schools. Also there is so much competition for top grades at UCLA/UCB if Medical school is something you are interested in pursing, you will want to attend a university where you have the best chance for a 3.7+ GPA. Keeping costs as low as possible is important for Undergrad since Medical school costs will be even higher. You need to look at the whole picture. Look for schools that will give you substantial need-based and merit-based FA, so your Undergrad costs are minimal.

You are not being too hopeful for UCLA/UCB, you are being unrealistic.

6

You’re basically going to have to limit yourself to in-state schools, private’s which are generous in merit, or some lower ranked public’s that are generous with merit.

CA public schools won’t really be an option nor would most good publics in other states.

7

@Gumbymom @ProfessorPlum168 Thanks for the tips with the UCs. Realistically do I have a shot at Rice if I do early admit? That is the #1 school I want to go to right now.

8

Rice is a Questbridge match school. This year Rice admitted 55 QB matches with full rides. Your chances might be even better than regular ED if you put Rice as your number one Questbridge choice. Look at other QB partner schools that might interest you as you can rank a large number of them. https://www.questbridge.org/college-partners

Try to pull up your SAT scores and maybe sit for the ACT also. Some do better on one test than another. You might be a great fit for the Rice MOB (Marching Owl Band) which adds greatly to Rice’s school spirit. Joining the MOB would be something you could mention on your application.