Have you run the net price calculators to see if they’re going to hit $30K? Some of your schools have no merit aid, just need aid.
CU Boulder isn’t going to come close. For publics, you need (for flagships) to apply to schools like Alabama, Ms State, Ole Miss, U Kansas, Kansas State, WVU - they will (or could) hit your $30K - but Bama, Ms State - will hit and beat with auto merit and the others should. But no reason to apply to CU.
So CU is a high reach because of your budget.
Oberlin and Reed - I can see both happening but again, if you need merit (not need) aid, Reed - I’d eliminate.
I’d think no to the lower probability with Wes and UM your best bet. Bates would happen if you applied ED but not RD.
And again, many only have need aid - so run the NPC. Unless your math is 800, I wouldn’t bother with MIT. RPI would be a great sub and Case Western is another.
So not sure of your budget or what the NPCs say, but then do you have a safe bet? I might add a Mich State in case - especially if you need a ton - because you are dealing with, in some cases, need aware schools (they can turn you down based on need if it’s too much).
But not understanding how you came to $30K - if the schools will agree, that I don’t know - hence the need for the parents to fill out the NPC.
All Michigan schools are free. Need based calculator puts contribution between 18,000 and 22,000. Wanted more discussion of merits of application than affordability, but thanks for info.
Not sure how $18k to $22k is the same as “free” ($0).
Have you checked the net price calculators on the out-of-state and private schools (including Kalamazoo)?
If not affordable on need-based financial aid or list price, then the chance assessment must be based on getting a large enough merit scholarship, not admission.
So remove CU - and add a Michigan State or Grand Valley State, etc. Check the calculators on RPI and CWRU. You might look into the RPI Medal.
And then I agree with your classifications but I might swap out Bates for another, unless you are applying to Bates ED. But I think maybe you get into one (Oberlin/Reed) although both could happen - and unlikely the lower prob or low prob.
So, I’m assuming you’re the parent since you refer to “him” in the third person. I’m also assuming you know your own finances pretty well and that your budget has some relation to an accurate perception of what a reasonably generous, need-based college will offer in terms of aid.
I’m really intrigued by dear son’s (DS) six plays*. This immediately triggers thoughts of Wesleyan which boasts an unusual mix of traditional New England LAC and pre-professional arts school. You may want to examine the thread, “Transferring Out of Wesleyan” for the story of an artsy kid who found the atmosphere a bit too competitive: Transferring out of Wesleyan. The key quote I would draw your attention to is the following:
Obviously, the OP viewed all of that in pejorative terms but if it sounds even a little bit like it might appeal to DS, the Wesleyan adcom may also see him as a good fit.
Someone I know with slightly higher unweighted GPA but a significantly lower SAT score got accepted to U. of Colorado out of state with significant merit aid. However, it still would have been well over $30,000 per year. This was quite a few years ago and I would expect that prices have gone up. I think that admissions is quite likely, but meeting your budget is unlikely.
I would seriously consider dropping UC Boulder from your list and adding Michigan State.
780 on the math SAT is very good overall, and is very high for the vast majority of colleges and universities in the US. I think that it is probably the 25th percentile for MIT. I could say something similar about a 3.75 unweighted GPA. These are reaches.
Given that you play viola (an instrument that I quite like, and prefer to the violin) I might add that MIT has, or at least years ago had, quite a good student orchestra for a school that you would not expect someone to attend specifically for music. They also have other music groups. I for example still remember them having a very good a cappella group when I was there (I still remember them singing “M.I.T, P.H.D, M.O.N.E.Y”). There seems to be an overlap between musical ability and math ability.
I would have your parents run each school’s NPC for the private schools, and drop anything that does not look likely to meet your budget. Otherwise and with adding Michigan State I think that you have a good list.
To those suggesting changes to the application list, note that, based on the completion of the application essay, this student appears to be a high school senior.
So some credentials questions. First, what has he done for non-native languages? Second, these days a 3.75 seems a little low for a top 10 student at a typical public, but is that actually normal for his HS? Have you gotten a sense of where kids like that from his HS usually go for college?
In terms of colleges, I like the list overall, but I agree if he likes the MIT sort of structure, a place like RPI could make sense. With his mix of interests, maybe also check out the University of Rochester. And among LACs, maybe Kenyon.
Did not realize. If they strike out except K, there’s still time to add affordable, such as I mentioned. Good luck to them. Hopefully K comes in affordable and other admits happen as well.
He has taken three years of Ancient Greek online through a college. He attends an inner city high school while also attending a.math and science center.
Best of luck - but if the worst case is and not saying it will be - a late application accepting Michigan public (unless you applied to others), that’s still a good landing spot.
I hope one comes through with enough aid to meet your budget.
To clarify, all Michigan schools are free because my son goes to a public school in Kalamazoo. The other numbers are the range of contribution obtained through the different schools’ websites.
Ah. I think it is a competitive profile, but it is very hard to predict what could happen with the very low acceptance rate colleges. So unfortunately, this is pretty much about waiting and seeing at this point.