This forum helped us so much in our college application journey, I wanted to add my daughter’s info to help others. First, here is a link to a match me I made last summer.
Moving to the NE for senior year, need help with college list! [RI resident, 3.9 GPA, 35 ACT, will be NMF, parent contribution <$40k, no need-based FA]
My D24 is a high stats kiddo, but her ECs and LORs were hurt by her dumb parents moving her around the country for jobs. Freshman year online with Covid, Sophomore year in person, upper midwest top public school, Junior year southern state strong public school, Senior year RI top public school.
Major: started as pre-law/political science/global studies/international relations
Ended as business. Realizing this sooner would have changed some of her schools
Additionally, her early ECs focused on health and medicine but AP Chem changed that plan too!
Stats:
3.95 unweighted
No AP classes allowed at her school before junior year
AP Chem (4) and AP Bio (5) junior year
AP Stats, Calc AB, AP Enviro Sci, AP Gov senior year
ACT 35 one test, ACT 36 super score with 2 tests
Didn’t take the SAT
National Merit Finalist
ECs:
Won state HOSA
Merit award at first high school, student council leadership camp middle school through sophomore year, mock trial at 2 schools, HOSA at 2 schools, choir and school musical at 2 schools
Essays were excellent. I am biased, but also had CC volunteer take a look and then husband paid $ to have another pair of eyes on it. They agreed with me 
Common app essay talked about crafting and related it to moving and finding community. She spent a lot of time on the extra essays for Yale, BU, Fordham and UMass and I think they were very good.
Full pay, white, lots of degrees between parents but not from anywhere that does legacy.
We were looking for merit with a 40k total COA or less and wanted to stay in the NE
Also looking for honors programs
In October my dear husband poked his head in to say….well we could scrape together for Yale, Harvard or NYU. (Cue exasperated groans from daughter and I)
D24 had always planned on a long shot try at Yale, just to see.
Results:
SCEA to Yale Rejected
EA and ACCEPTED to all state schools:
U of Alabama $$Full COA and honors college (her true safety)
University of Conneticut 23k merit and honors college (COA 35k)
University of Maryland 5k merit and Scholars program (55k)
University of Massachusetts Amherst 16k merit no honors (COA 40k)
University of New Hampshire 14k no honors (but maybe could have gotten with follow up to AO?) (COA 40k)
University of Vermont 20k merit no honors (COA 40k)
Muhlenberg Accepted 35k merit and honors (COA 40k)
Brandeis Accepted, no merit or honors (COA 85k)
Northeastern Waitlisted
Boston University Waitlisted
NYU Sterns Waitlisted
Fordham Gabelli School of Business Accepted, full tuition NMF scholarship of 63k (COA 25k)
Showed a lot of demonstrated interest to NEU, BU and Fordham. In the end, wished she had not done SCEA to Yale and had EA to those last 4. It was clear by January that she wanted an urban school and business major. So she is very excited to attend Fordham next fall! UConn was a close second as the only northeast state school with the magic trifecta of acceptance, merit and honors. But Storrs is definitely not in the city!
Muhlenberg was an add on when D24 thought maybe she wanted a small less competitive environment. It had high rated dorms and food lol We ended up being impressed with their communications and have added them to the list for D27. (She will not have as high stats and definitely doesn’t want a city campus. Yay! Back to square one)
3 kids down, 1 to go. Phew 