Chance/match me please! Middle class from Wisconsin. 4.0 GPA, 31/32 ACT [pre-law, business, <$35-40k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Rising HS senior who attends a large public school

Major:

  1. Pre law track. I’m interested in becoming an entertainment lawyer or environmental lawyer
  2. Finance
  3. Business analytics or statistics

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.15 W on a scale where APs are graded on a 5.0 scale
Class Rank: Top 10%
ACT: 31 in one sitting, 32 super scored. English is my best score at 36. Everything else is around a 30

Classwork

Took 3 APs: Huge, Lang, and Enviro Science
Scores…
Huge: 4
Lang: 5
Enviro Science: 5

Awards: None :frowning:

ECs

Besides passive involvement in a few volunteering clubs…

I’ve played baseball my entire life and throughout high school with many hours of offseason training, summer season, and camps.

I’ve worked around 30-40 hours a week as an intern for a construction company this past summer.

I’ve played guitar for over 2 years which has become my favorite hobby and I dedicate much free time to.

I’ve started my own workout group with baseball teammates. We’ve been working out together for a few years now.

Essay and LORs

I won’t get into the fine details, but my main essay is about identity through action, and the self discovery i’ve undergone from the recollection of memories, which has been made possible from a song of the day playlist I did throughout all of 2024.

My LOR should be great. One is from my Lang teacher, the other is from my pre-calc teacher who is now a dean. They should have great things to say about me as I always worked hard in their classes and had great relationships with them.

Schools…

IU Kelley (Safety with DA)
UW Madison (Safety because of geography)
UMN (safety)
Loyola Chicago (safety)
UIUC (hard target)
UGA (hard target)
Villanova (Hard target - Reach)
Boston University (Reach)

Besides that, I’m open to any ideas!

Thanks!

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What is the highest math you are taking ?

What is your budget ? Getting into schools you can’t afford means they are high reaches. So budget is most important.

Does your school not offer a lot of APs? You have 3 - two of which are ‘softer’. Are there more ?

Chances - IU is safe but can’t say Kelley is as they’ve taken down the direct admit criteria and will be republishing. So we don’t know what it will be.

I’m reading about auto admission to Wisconsin. Are you in the top 5%? Maybe I’m wrong but it doesn’t look auto to me. But even if you get in, does that assure the b school ? No. So what if you don’t get.

UMN yes but Carlson likely but not assured.

Loyola - yes

UIUC - like you say - target. Can go either way. Same with UGA but lean against. So if UIUC is 50/50 UGA is 40/60.

Villanova and BC are both reaches.

So do you want Jesuit or large state ?

Finance as a major ??

Can’t give ideas without a budget - how much per year can your parents afford or are they willing to afford ?

The Wisconsin Guarantee – Office of Admissions and Recruitment – UW–Madison.

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My understanding is that law school is 3 years. If this is correct, then make sure that you budget for a full 7 years of university.

With an unweighted 4.0, and being in-state, I would hope that U.Wisconsin is a safety. I would also expect UMN to be a safety. I would expect IU to be a safety, although Kelley is very well regarded and I do not know whether it is also a safety. Loyola I do not know at all.

With safeties this good and an unweighted 4.0 in high school, I think that you are in great shape. You can do well starting with a degree from any of these three schools.

The rest of your list might cost more. However, you will know the answer before you have to decide which offer to accept (assuming that you avoid applying ED). At that point you can look at your budget (for seven years) and decide which offer makes sense for you.

Best wishes. I think that you have a good list and are doing well. Do not underestimate the quality of your in-state or nearby public schools.

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Hey there, thanks for responding.

For my budget, anythings possible but if tuition is over around 35-40k I’ll probably have to take on a little student loan debt.

Regarding the Wisconsin Guarantee, I’m eagerly awaiting the email that says if I’ll get in. I would lean against getting in wisconsin guarantee, but my school is definitely a feeder for UW Madison so most kids who are pretty academic get it.

My school offers many APs. Next year I’m taking AP Calc AB, AP Micro, AP Macro, and AP Stats.

Regarding math classes, I had to double up in my sophomore year to get to pre-calc in my junior year. Like I said above, I am going to take Calc AB next school year.

Thank you so much for responding!

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As for school preferences, I really don’t mind between Jesuit or large state school. I just don’t want a school to be too small. I think it would be cool to live in a city but if not then I’d want to be in a college town.

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OK - so let’s re work your list - and use $40K tuition.

Tuition is only part of it - there’s also room & board - generall - $14-18K.

Their tuition is $42,294 (this year) but tuition, room and board gets closer to $60K. Is that ok - without loans - or $35-40K is all in?? You said tuition - so I assume not all in but…if $40K is all in, then you need to take IU off.

UIUC is $38-46K tuition - Gies likely on the high side - but again, there’s room and board so you’re over $60K. Just need to clarify.

If you mean $35-40K all in, then IU and UIUC need to come off. NO need to take loans. We can fill in other schools.

Please clarify.

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In my mind, UW Madison is roughly at the same level as UGA and UIUC. And bringing cost into the equation, it’s arguably the best school on the list.
Keep in mind that top law schools expect an extremely high GPA, so you will want to investigate the GPAs of various majors at different schools before committing.

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Cost of attendance will be covered at 35 - 40k tuition. My responsibility money wise is food, books, and other resources for class like books.

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OK - so IU and UIUC need to come off. You’d be $20K+ a year in loans - no bueno.

U Wisconsin works. UMN works. I’m not sure that either gets you in the B school. So that puts you at risk.

If it was me, you’re ok with UGA - if you get merit. Getting in is unlikely though. Fine school.

Two other Southern Schools worth your research -

  1. FSU - a bit easier admit than UGA - it will hit full price and if you get your test up, you might get an OOS waiver to make it cheaper. It’s a match.

  2. Alabama Culverhouse - well thought of and assured - you will get in and you can study business - so I’d have this one on my list. It will be cheaper than UW and UMN. Why? Auto merit - you’re mid/high 20s with your 31 ACT but get it up to 32 and you’ll be low $20s - tuition, room and board is a shade over $50K but a 32 ACT (not Superscore) gets you $28K off. 31 gets you $24K off.

So UGA and FSU are nice to have but to me, Bama is the important one of the three. So far, it’s the only school you are assured of to study business.

An up and coming B School is Walton at U Arkansas - would hit the #s too.

If you want to be in the midwest, you can take a shot at Miami Ohio - it’s possible to get in your range with merit. Unlike Alabama, they don’t assure merit - so it’s a question mark but Farmer school is solid.

KU (U Kansas) would also work; great college town - you’d be in business and make budget with merit.

Want to be in a city - check out Louisville - it should work budget wise.

The goal - no loans - certainly no crazy loans like IU and UIUC would require.

I looked at Iowa Tippie - but not sure you can get there $$ wise.

If you’re open to UGA, then you should be open to Bama. So Bama is the school that makes your entire search easy - because you get in and you get business. But you can say that about KU too. I can’t assure you’d hit cost at KU but I’m pretty confident you would.

Best of luck

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I’m going to change this a bit -

Normally, COA has direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are tuition, room and board. Food is thousands - so I’m going to say your parents are/should pay - so let’s take your $40K and include tuition, room and board.

And you’re covering the rest.

That’s how I built the list above.

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Thank so much for your help!

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An FYI about FSU. The OOS acceptance rate is probably in the 10-20% range so it’s now in the low reach category for most. The minimums for the OOS waiver have gone up. A 33 on the ACT might not be enough now. They also just raised OOS tuition 10%. It’s still a very nice place to spend 4 years but the secret is out.

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Yes, you are correct - maybe it’s similar to UGA in chance then or less - but the cost is right. Perhaps UCF would be the better “alternative” then. But that’s why I put Bama on the list for sure - hits the price, will get in, and Culverhouse is a solid name. I put Bama because it’s a pure sub (but easier admit) to UGA from a campus/environment POV…and FSU has similarities.

OP can look at UTK Haslam (target) and UK too - but I’m not sure will hit price.

Thanks for pointing out - I didn’t realize the rates slipped that far. Many thought people would stop applying to schools in Florida…guess not.

Looks like aggregate stats were a 4.2 to 4.6 GPA - OP, that’s adding .5 for Honors and +1 for AP - that’s how Florida weights so you can figure out if you’re in range and a 30-33 ACT. Note this though - your ACT score - need to take out science for FSU.

“The ACT composite score (or, if using multiple test attempts, the composite superscore) used by FSU for admissions will now only include the English, Mathematics, and Reading subsections.”

And perhaps the OOS stats are higher.

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The OP might look at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Tuition for 2024-25 was about $41K; but tuition is frozen for 4 years beginning with the first year; and the OP might well qualify for scholarship money to bring down the cost. Miami University also has a very respectable business school.

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Yes, noted above. It’s worth a shot but can’t throw your eggs as a done deal. But it’s (Farmer) a fine school.

It’s $57,572 direct cost - and depending on how they weight - $20K in merit. You need a 4.3…but OP might be in the starting at $13k bucket - so then it’s too pricey. But worth a shot.

OP wants to be in a city (Miami isn’t) or college town. I guess that’s subjective. Oxford is a college town but not what I would think of as a college town. My daughter eliminated it because of that…she just thought it was a rural town. But that’s where subjectivity comes in.

Don’t know if it’ll hit the # but worthy of a common app spot if one remains!!

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Welcome to College Confidential! You are well-prepared to be academically successful in college.

Do you have any interest in playing baseball in college and, if so, do you think you would be competitive enough to be recruited? I don’t know what the recruiting calendar is like for baseball, but I just wanted to raise this as a possibility as recruited athletes can sometimes get into schools that would have been very hard reaches otherwise.

My comments below are based on the idea that you would not be a recruited athlete.

I’m not a big fan of debt, particularly when there are great options that will not require loans. If a student plans to take out loans, I generally advise that they limit themselves to the federal limit for loans which is currently $28k for undergrad (starting with $5500 your first year). Additionally, the current administration is talking of changing policies where the amount of educational loans an individual can take out over their lifetime is much more limited, which could definitely impact you if loans are needed for law school.

Due to that, I would eliminate IU Kelley, UGA, and UIUC, as I don’t see them falling within a $40k budget for you.

Has your family run the Net Price Calculator at Villanova or Boston U.? If the Net Price Calculator doesn’t come back with an affordable price, then I would eliminate those schools from contention as well.

Frankly, UW-Madison and UMN are FABULOUS options to have, especially with in-state pricing. They will be hard to beat.

Some other schools you may want to consider include:

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Butler (IN): About 4500 undergrads at this Indianapolis school. According to its NPC, you would likely be eligible for $23k in merit aid, bringing it right to the top of your budget. With likely shifts in the population of incoming freshmen, that number might rise.

  • Miami U. (OH): Thirding this school of about 16k undergrads

  • Saint Joseph’s (PA ): About 4800 undergrads at this Jesuit school in Philadelphia.

  • Saint Louis U. (MO): About 11k undergrads at this Jesuit school which had a favorable write-up in the college visit thread today.

  • Seton Hall (NJ): About 6100 undergrads at this school that is close to NYC

  • U. of Houston (TX): About 38k undergrads, the sticker price ($34k) falls within budget, and if you receive a small merit scholarship, you may end up with in-state pricing ($22k).

Likely (60-79%)

  • U. of Dayton (OH): About 8200 undergrads

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Binghamton (NY): About 14k undergrads

  • U. of Tennessee: About 29k undergrads

Lower Probability (20-39%)

Low Probability (less than 20%)

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my ACT would actually work out great with FSU. Science is my worst.

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Thank you so much I’ll definitely research these schools.

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Doing some research. Do you think Virginia Tech is a good option. I hit all the marks academically and my parents said it’s affordable with no debt.

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If you can afford Va Tech, great school - Pamplin, then you can afford many more as it’s COA is mid 50s. But it’s hard to get to.

So if you can afford this, then you can look at others - like Pitt, Colorado, Arizona/State, and more.

So you can adjust your budget upward.

This is why it’s important to understand your budget vs just guessing.

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