CHANCE ME (& narrow down my options) Delusional female psych/linguistics [MD, 3.9 GPA, test optional]

Chance Me / Match Me
1

I need help deciding which schools to ED and narrow down my choices, as I have a long list but not sure which I should go with. My main factors are strength of research/opportunities, good weather (ideally not cold), not rural, and ability to double major

Demographics

  • US Dual Citizen
  • Maryland
  • Competitive public high school
  • Legacy at UDelaware and UVA

Cost Constraints / Budget

  • Family income is in the 75k-99k range

Intended Major(s)
Psychology with possible double major/minor in linguistics

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • UWGPA: 3.8
  • WGPA: 4.7
  • School doesn’t rank
  • SAT: 1280 (I just couldn’t… My own fault, but I’m thinking of retaking it because my English was a 730, although I am so hopeless at math so it drags it down), likely applying test optional if I don’t improve in August

List your HS coursework

  • International Baccalaureate Program (Middle Years + Diploma Program), so all core classes 9th/10th were magnet/honors (ie, English, Bio, Chem, Math, etc)

Higher Level Courses: Spanish 7, Euro History, English
Standard Level: Biology (taking exam this year), Applications (Calc/Stats) Math (4), Anthropology (6)
Also TOK

  • APs: Psych (5), Gov (4), US History (4), Spanish Lang (4)
  • Other academic courses: Studio art, Law, Womens Studies, Sociology, Comp sci
  • Will be a TA for my bio teacher this year (she is writing me a letter of recc)

Awards

  • Seal of Bilteracy for the State of Maryland (in Spanish)
  • Service award given by county for achieving 250 hours of volunteering in HS
  • AP Scholar with Honor
  • Honor roll all 4 years

Extracurriculars

  • Spanish Honor Society President (10-12) (member since 9th grade)
  • Psych Honor Society Founder and President (12)
  • Club soccer captain (11, but played since 6th grade)
  • Varsity soccer (11-12)
  • Board of Education internship (10-12)
  • Healthcare club secretary (11-12)
  • Counselor at a camp doing physical and emotional therapy for neurodivergent kids (11)
  • Soccer camp counselor (9-10)
  • Volunteer middle school tutor (11)
  • Youtube Channel (9-12) (idk if I should put this, but I have like 330k total views and 700 subscribers)

This coming year I’m applying for a position as an ESOL teacher’s aide and to volunteer at a local medical center in patient care/admin work, but it’s not finalized

Essays/LORs/Other
I haven’t finished, but essay will be about how my interests in psych and linguistics tie into moving to 6+ countries as a kid/my experience as a TCK, and how I want to help people basically
LORs:

  • History teacher: 7/10, she writes a lot of them each year but I was a pretty good student and we had a good relationship
  • Bio teacher: 9/10 we are super close, she personally asked me to TA for her and saved me a spot on her list for writing recs. I started out the year rough (60% averages on exams) but showed a lot of improvement and passion for the subject, getting As and Bs the second semester
  • Psych and anthro teacher: 8/10, we had a good relationship and I think he knows my passion for the subject, straight As in both classes I took with him. He’s also my Psych honor society sponsor and my EE advisor
  • Counselor: 6/10, I mean it’s a counselor recc letter, but I went to her more than most people and she seemed to like me/be interested in my ECs and life

Schools
Please tell me which of these schools I should remove/which I have the best chance at, as I’m only looking to apply to around 10 or 11.
I am also not sure where to ED1/2…
Likely (all EA when possible):

  • Towson (in-state)
  • UMass Amherst (rural, I know, but randomly super good for linguistics)
  • UNC Wilmington
  • University of Delaware (legacy)
  • University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
  • Temple University

Toss-up:

  • University of Georgia
  • UMD, Syracuse
  • University of Pittsburg
  • Penn State
  • Clemson
  • UWash Seattle
  • University of Madison Wisconsin

Lower Probability:

  • University of Richmond
  • Wake Forest (visited and loved it)
  • University of Florida
  • UVA (legacy I think)

Low Probability:

  • UNC Chapel Hill (visited and loved it)
  • Duke (visited loved them too)
  • Emory (has a joint psych and linguistics major)
  • Stanford??

Northeastern also has a joint psych-ling major but I’m not sure about applying there
I know I need to improve my SAT but what else can I do?

2

Sorry for the confusion, I put 3.8 in my post but I meant 3.9

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I don’t chance but i would not send more than two teacher LORs.

4

You ED to the school that is your definite favorite - your numero uno - and ensuring you can afford it.

There’s no help in picking it other than you’ve visited and other places - and this is your very top choice.

And btw - you needn’t ED - that’s a personal choice. Most don’t…but yes at some schools, over half the class did. Many of the schools you listed don’t even have ED.

As for your GPA - what is your weighting system? Or how many (in #) APs have you taken - hard to count from your list. After you give that, I’ll answer more.

Thanks

PS - Delaware doesn’t do legacy - but you won’t need it to get in.

PPS - budget? Your family income doesn’t tell me your budget. So U Wash is going to be $65K for Out of State. Can you afford it? UF $45K. UVA is $80K but the difference is, they promise to meet need so have your family do their net price calculator and see what it says - and decide if you can afford it. Unfortunately, it’s down now.

Given your incomes, I’d say no - so then shouldn’t apply (to U Wash and UF).

Tell me more about your weighting though…and fill out the NPC for Wake - because it’s $91K and if it gives you a # back you can’t afford, then no matter how much you loved it, you can’t ED (because ED is binding).

Welcome | Net Price Calculator (collegeboard.org)

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Oh, I didn’t know that. I thought that it was 2 core teachers, and you could optionally pick another for some schools.
Thanks!

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I would like to ED, I don’t think I have a chance at a T30 without it. I visit more schools before I pick, right?

The only APs I’ve taken are the ones I listed. I’m not really sure how you know the weighting scale, but I think that being an IB student all 4 years/all magnet and honors for core classes would matter as much as APs.

I will do the NPC for these schools. Is there anywhere I can see for UVA if it’s down right now?
I’ll get back to you on Wake.

Are there any other schools you would recommend cutting?
Thanks so much for your help.

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Typically a supplemental recommendation is supplied it will be non-academic in nature (ex. supervisor at a job, coach, etc.). A supplemental LOR should focus on positive attributes not covered in the teacher LORs.

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ED is a binding commitment. You need to visit BEFORE you apply, as well as make sure it is your absolute number one school and also affordable. It sounds like you probably shouldn’t apply ED. Where have you visited?

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I agree with the others about ED, but I’m going to page @dfbdfb who may have some feedback on the schools from a linguistics perspective.

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Oh, I see you have a 3.8 UW and 4.7 Weighted. Looks like 4 APs, high level Spanish and other stuff.

The issue is a school like Wake is need aware - so yes, they’ll be generous to some - but it’s a rich person’s school - meaning so so many are full pay. Tufts is another. Will you be the one they decide to be generous to? I don’t know your ethnicity but you are not first gen, etc. so less likely.

But your budget will be your biggest issue and I promise if you like Wake, there’s other you’ll like too. There’s no one perfect school.

Affordability trumps everything though.

And what if you don’t get into a top 30??? So what!!

You’re majoring in psych and linguistics - two majors that affordability is yet another important thing - because you’ll likely need grad school - or come out in a low paying job.

And TO, unfortunately, is going to hurt you financially - at places with great merit.

So here’s my guesses and it’s all they are:

Towson is a safety and you should look at St. Mary’s, Salisbury, UMBC.

UMass - match - women have a high acceptance rate there. But can you afford $57K. Even with merit best case is $40K.

UNC Wimington - safety - but it’s $45K minus merit.

Delaware - likely - but it’s $57K before merit.

UIUC - match - easier given the majors. $55K

Temple - safety - you get the picture.

You need to have a chat with your family on costs - and then do these NPCs.

But I think of your likelies - you get into all except maybe UIUC.

On the toss ups -

No to UGA
No to UMD
Yes to Syracuse if you ED or are full pay, otherwise no
Yes to Pitt - but it’s $56K Plus
Yes to PSU - but same issue

Toss up to Clemson
Unlikely but possible to U Wash
No to Wisconsin

Richmond - unlikely
Wake - unlikely
UF - no
UVA - no
UNC - no
Duke - no
Emory - no
Stanford - no

Just my guesses - doesn’t mean I’m right.

In addition to your SAT score, you can find schools that are affordable.

Part of that is finding lower cost schools. The other is understanding your need profile - but look at “easier to get into” meets needs schools like Franklin & Marshall, Sewanee, Lafayette, Union. They are not easy - but easier - see what figure they give you and if they are affordable.

If it were me, I’d take a look at schools like Mary Washington and Christopher Newport, Tennesse Chatanooga, Millersville, and other schools that have low costs plus merit. Plus your in state publics.

With your 1280 SAT, you can get $16K off at UAH - so you’d be $23K-ish. Mississippi State is $18K off so low $20s. W Carolina is $20K ish all in. Miami of Ohio might be another to look at. You’ve got brilliant kids crawling on many campuses - for cost purposes.

That’s a good place to start…best of luck.

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I’ve been paged because linguistics has been mentioned, so I’ll first say that you’re a Maryland resident, and College Park has a good program in psychology and a world-class one in linguistics. (And I’m not just saying that because I’m an alum!:sweat_smile:) I wouldn’t sleep on UMBC, either, which is easier to get into and has a solid linguistics program that’s called applied linguistics, but its curriculum is flexible enough that it doesn’t have to be limited to that subfield.

Among other places you list, in order, the ones with the strongest reputations in linguistics are UMass Amherst (as you yourself note), Delaware, Illinois, Maryland (College Park), Syracuse (less well known but it’s a good curriculum and great faculty), Pitt, Washington, Wisconsin, Virginia (though their curriculum is very narrowly focused, make sure it fits your interests), Chapel Hill, Duke, Stanford.

If you’re interested in psycholinguistics, there aren’t a lot of places that can really give you that at an undergrad level. College Park is one, though.

UAH has been mentioned, but the original University of Alabama could be worth looking at, too—pretty generous merit aid, a psychology program with good research opportunities, and for linguistics there’s only an undergrad minor, but they have solid graduate programs in it with faculty who are open to working with undergrads on research.

And while I’m thinking out loud, once you get past Texas-Austin and Texas A&M, a good number of the public universities in Texas throw around waivers of their OOS tuition surcharges like candy (even leaving aside other merit aid possibilities), and lots of them have good linguistics programs (though often but not always with an applied linguistics focus).

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A lot of universities on your list are going to be out of budget.
What have your parents told you they can afford? If their income is 75-100k, in all likelihood they can afford 10-25k. It means OOS publics aren’t going to work. However meet-need privates will offer excellent financial aid.
Do you know your SAI?
If not, can you let us know?
https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/
Can you run the NPC (Net Price Calculator) on Richmond and Emory? What are the results? If they’re within budget then it opens the meet need colleges. If they’re not within budget it means you need to find merit aid and that will greatly change your list.

Your curriculum rigor is fantastic, especially for the major you’re aiming for - what scores can you expect in the 4 remaining subjects and TOK?
Do you have certificates for the languages you discovered throughout your life (/could you/?

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Take a look at Salisbury and its net price calculator.
With SAT 1280 high weighted GPA, one would qualify for academic scholarship, possibly the Presidential scholarship, $6,0000.

There is a linguistics concentration in the English department.

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I didn’t mention Bama because with the 1280 SAT, there’s only $8K in merit - and with an income under $100K, I didn’t see it budget making.

The main concern for the student - and they’ve only given a family income level and not budget - is the schools they’ve chose could eat up half the family income or more.

But we don’t have a budget figure so all I can do is guess - and that’s in part why some schools were mentioned and some weren’t, etc.

Regardless of what OP wants to study, they need to understand their monetary situation first.

For example, if I recall correctly, you live in Alaska but have found “affordable” schools for your kids, very far away in the Southern (if I recall correctly) US.

Budget driven if I recall correctly vs. I’d love to go here per se.

And while again, we only know income, I believe the reality is OP will be in that same light.

If OP could get the SAT up to 1360 (or try the ACT and get a 30), then Bama becomes much more affordable as merit would be $24K vs. the $8K currently.

Thanks

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Btw, @evander: going from 550 to 600 is the easiest thing - you don’t need to master the most complicated questions, you just need to figure out which of the easy ones you missed and practice, practice, practice using Khan Academy until you get them right again and again. Yes it’s tedious but it will reap benefits to the tune of $1,000s and better ods of admissions.
Then get your ERW 730 to 750-800.

Also, you’re a dual citizen: what other country/are universities there a possibility?

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I agree that budget and aid eligibility will be the limiting factor here. You do have good in-state public options, and hopefully those would work financially.

Have you run Net Price Calculators for the schools on your list that offer need-based aid? (Richmond, Wake, UVA, and Syracuse) If not, please do so and let us know how the numbers look. If these schools look affordable, there are probably additional options to consider that are financially similar.

Some schools on your list are guaranteed-unaffordable. At UW-Seattle, for example, merit scholarships do not exist at the level that would get you to your price point… and this is likely the case with most if not all of your OOS publics (except for UVA, which is unusual in meeting need… but this also makes is a very tough OOS admit).

Some options to consider, off the top of my head:

  • In terms of vibe, Tulane fits the pattern of schools you have loved when you visited. It offers both psych and linguistics majors. Financially, it’s similar to Syracuse - doesn’t guarantee full-need-met aid, but meets over 90% of documented need on average. It has a low admit rate but not super-high median stats. Applying ED makes a huge difference here, and EA applicants are often deferred and pressured to switch to ED2 in order to score an acceptance. If the NPC is favorable, you could consider ED, as an offer wouldn’t be binding if the aid didn’t measure up to the NPC projection.
  • In the Massachusets 5-College Consortium, Smith College and Mount Holyoke both meet need and offer psychology majors. Neither offers a linguistics major, but you could take UMass-Amherst linguistics classes via cross-registration.
  • Centre College has a decent chance of meeting your need with a combination of need-based aid and merit aid, and they offer a psych major and a linguistics minor.
  • URochester has similar weather to Syracuse (in the “con” column for you) and might be less of a vibe fit for you than SU, plus it’s a tougher admit, but URoch does meet need and it could be a great fit academically, with Psych, Linguistics, and Cognitive & Brain Sciences departments that could all be of interest, and a flexible curriculum that could make it easy to combine your interests. Even before so many schools went TO because of Covid, URoch was test-flexible, meaning that you could submit other strong scores (like AP’s) in lieu of the standard SAT/ACT. Could be worth a try if the combination of lake-effect cold/snow and a more bookish, less sports-spirit-y atmosphere would work.
  • If you’re willing to consider west coast, as your possible inclusion of Stanford suggests, you might look at the Claremont Consortium Schools. Pitzer, Scripps, Pomona College, and Claremont McKenna could all work well academically. The linguistics major is offered only through Pitzer and Pomona, but is freely available as an off-campus major at the other two. All offer psychology, of course, and all support dual majors (two majors, one combined undergrad thesis) and double majors (two majors with a separate thesis in each). All would be reaches, some more so than others. Scripps and Pitzer could definitely be worth a try; CMC might only be attainable via ED; and Pomona might not be attainable at all, but certainly no worse than Stanford! If you like the Wake/Duke vibe, CMC probably comes closest to that… but the beauty of the close-proximity consortium is that all schools and “vibes” are accessible no matter where you attend.

If you give us more info on how the NPC results look at various schools, we can fine-tune our advice accordingly.

Also, you may be aware but FYI - unfortunate timing for you, sorry: The end of legacy admissions at UVA

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UMass Amherst will have the academic focus that you want. Beautiful campus, nice dorms, great food, and you can easily take classes at next door Amherst college, if you want, and Smith, Holyoke, and Hampshire, but they’re all a shuttle bus away. However, I’m not sure that they will offer you honors college with that SAT score. They may give you anywhere from 10K to 16K in merit money. They’re rightly proud of their ling dept, so play up your intention to major in linguistics - it might get you more money.

U Md is your holy grail. In state tuition, good ling and psych. Try taking a practice free online ACT and see if you’re better suited to that. And then prep like mad, trying to get that score up. If it won’t budge, I agree, test-optional if allowed.

If you are paying for applications, I would try to pare down your list. On your reaches, I’d only leave Emory because of their joint psych/ling major, and maybe UNC CH. Northeastern won’t give you enough fin aid. The rest of your low prob you won’t get into.

If they have psych, which they must, I’d consider adding U Md Baltimore as an economic and academic in-state safety - they’ll give you money. I’d consider dropping Penn State, since they won’t give you enough money, will prob be unaffordable, and you wanna talk rural, it’s Penn State.

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I had 2 apply to UMASS Amherst, 3.95 (one B freshman year), 33/34 act, no honors, the only school besides Rutgers they didn’t get into honors. Both were offered $16,000 a year.

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Yes, UMass Amherst seems to offer a lot of OOS merit money, since even with maximum OOS merit, they still get about 10K/yr more from those OOS than from the in-staters. It seems that they are trying to balance the honors college with a mix of humanities and their STEM majors, especially comp sci, for which they are also highly ranked. If they offered honors solely upon stats, they’d have an entire honors college community made up of CS majors, I fear.

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My kids were science and business. One of my 25 year old’s best friends turned down BC for Rutgers honors college, he had similar stats as my daughters, but he’s pretty amazing, recently honored with a prestigious township award for securing grants for the town. I think some of these honors programs are really smart identifying certain students (my daughters were in honors colleges but it seemed just based on stats alone). I still think students in honors at UMASS, Rutgers, Penn State require the stats, but also something extra that makes them stand out.

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