Chance me and Match as a student from NJ [3.7 UW, 1420 SAT, biology or neuroscience]

Chance Me / Match Me
21

@Kingo: definitely apply to Rutgers, TCNJ, NJIT, and Rowan. Apply to Honors at all if possible (although Rutgers Honors is incredibly difficult to get into).
Look into this major (on the Piscataway campus but remarkable for premeds AND as a plan B)

Next, run the NPC on colleges that are solid for science and financial+merit aid - a bit far away: Kalamazoo, St Olaf, Muhlenberg, St Lawrence..in addition to Stevens, Drexel, RPI which are good targets. (National colleges want students from all over the country so if you are from 400+ miles away it may be a nudge in your favor and lead to preferential packaging wrt financial aid.)

Only apply to 2-3 highly selective meet need universities, because at that level of income you’d get a lot of financial aid and support.

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NJIT is closer to $40,000 in state with housing, UMASS closer to $60,000.

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Wow! Thank you for the update I had no idea how much they had gone up!

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Oh wow, I forgot about the current administration. Thank you, everyone, for giving me advice I am now going to discuss this with my parents because I think I have to change everything up.

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Rutgers has an amazing genetics dept with a lot to offer undergrads. Many careers in genetics require a masters and certain degrees/careers within genetics are highly, highly competitive.

It’s a great field.

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Wait ‘til you hear about Rice, lol. When my D13 started there, full pay was only around 50K/year; they were by far the least expensive of the elite private U’s at that time. (UChicago, for comparison, hit 65K that year.) But since then, they have rebalanced their whole financial aid approach, making need-based aid more generous but getting rid of the built-in “discount” for full-pay families. The current full-pay COA figure, per Rice’s website, is $91,562/year.

Also, OP, regarding RPI and merit - a very large share of RPI’s large merit awards are granted through the RPI Medal program. These are awarded by participating high schools (to just one student per year per HS) at the end of junior year. So, if you’re already a senior and you’re not an RPI Medal recipient, you may still get some merit $ from RPI, but it’s not going to be enough to bring an 88K/year school down to the cost level of your in-state publics. Even Medalists are paying 48K/year after the 40K/year scholarship.

Definitely take a close look at MYOS’ suggestions for in-state options. Are you in the top 15% of your class (for NJ Stars)?

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Just a note that my D wasn’t nominated for the RPI medal until the start of senior year so it’s not necessarily too late, but it usually goes to the strongest stem student applying to RPI so I don’t know if that would be OP with a 3.7 from a large public HS.

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Oh, good to know, thanks!

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I’m going to echo the good advice you’ve gotten and suggest you have a frank discussion with your parents about the high cost of college, the loan limits for students/parents and the insane competitiveness of Ivy League schools so that they have a realistic picture of the college landscape. Then you need to find out what, if anything, they would be able to contribute each year towards college. It’s not at all realistic for them to expect you to borrow everything for school - the limits aren’t high enough and you don’t want to weigh yourself down in debt in any case. Once you have a number (which could include anything you make from a part time job and working in the summer - which I strongly urge you to do), then see how the NPCs match up with what you can afford.

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“There are no changes for undergraduate loans, although undergraduate loans will count towards the new lifetime limits. However, starting July 1, 2026 , Parent PLUS loans will be capped at $20,000 per student per year, with a $65,000 lifetime limit per dependent student.”

Keep this in mind!!

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I believe so, but how can I check? My school does not rank.

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Can you talk to your guidance counselor?

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Yes, I will be talking with my college counselor on Thursday! I’m not sure what to talk about. I just feel so lost on this, and I haven’t started my supplements.

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The first thing I would do is talk to him/her about NJ Stars. It sounds like it would be great for you. Your priority is cost and affordability.

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Alright thank you I’ll check this out and update this post or make a new post on what to expect

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I would also talk to your parents about college. This is going to be difficult without any financial support.

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You are fine.

Do your common app essay.

the budget is first and foremost. Those high reach schools, forgetting of your chances, what do the net price calculators say when you fill them out ?

And can your parents afford that amount without loans.

That’s step one. Do for Tufts, Princeton, Brown, and Rice as they meet need.

You can do for Hofstra too as they’ll give you a merit/aid combo cost.

If they give you an amount that’s more than your family can afford - and you can add in minimal loans, like $7k, give them the boot.

And we find others.

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SUNY apps are free right now. Take a look at the tuition match schools. Farmingdale is now a 4 year college and full COA for OOS looks like it’s under $25,000.

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They don’t know anything about the college process (not their fault, I guess, since they have work). I have to force them to make time to talk about it, and they think I only have to pay like 40 k for 4 years.

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Ty! I will do this tomorrow.

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