College Process Advice

College Search & Lists
1

Hello! I am currently a class of 2017 graduate and am in the process of finishing up applying for schools. I wanted to create a discussion to get any advice on the schools I applied to, and advice on if there are any other schools based on my credientiels that I should also apply too.

First, some background info on myself. My weighted GPA is a 4.08 (My school does not do unweighted GPA). I attend a reputable prep school on the East Coast. I am originally from Kansas City. Since coming to the prep school I have had a 4.3. I have taken 7 AP Classes and around 10-15 Honors classes. My ACT score is only a 29, I took it twice and didn’t study both times which I regret immensely now. The reason for that is I was planning on commiting to a school for basketball and the 29 was fine, but I got hurt and the school backed out. Like I said I am looking to play basketball in college. At first I was looking at Division one programs with alright academics, but after being hurt I have started to shift towards either doing a preffered walk on at a school like Duke, Notre Dame, Stanford etc or attending an Ivy/High academic D3. As far as EC’s go I have started an Investment Club at my school, am involved in four other orginizations and have been doing community service for 4 years at Meals on Wheels. I also have secured an Internship at an Investment Bank this summer in Kansas City.

What I am looking for in a college is first and foremost the academic aspect. I want to attend a highly reputable school, especially one with a reputation in producing students to be prepared for the business world. I plan on majoring in Economics or Finance if the school offers it. So, any schools or advice on those majors would be awesome. Second, I want to attend a school that allows the students to secure quality internships and sets them up well for after college. Third, financial aid is extremely important. Since most these schools do not offer scholarships, a lot of it will come down to financial aid packaging. Fourth, I want to be surrounded by a diverse community; the same way my prep school is set up. Lastly, I want to be able to enjoy college and have options to go out and enjoy myself on the weekends. I don’t have to attend a large party school, but being able to go out and have things to do during the weekends is important as well.

Right now I have applied to these D3 schools: Wesleyan University, Amherst College, Babson College, UChicago, U Washington St Louis

D1 Schools as a preffered walk on: Stanford, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Duke, Indiana

Safety Schools: Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska (All 3 gave me a lot of money already so would be a lot cheaper than other options).

Any advice, info or anything on any of those schools listed would be fantastic, or any advice, info on schools that I should potentially look it would be beneficial as well.

Thanks a lot!

2

Sorry, about some of the spelling and grammatical errors. For some reason, I posted my unedited version of this, instead of the one I ended up typing up. I am new to this site, so still figuring out how to work it out. Thanks for any help!

3

Haven’t you missed most of the application deadlines if you haven’t applied yet?

4

@suzy100 I got applications in by Jan 1st to all the schools I was interested in applying to at the time. I was thinking about also applying to Virginia but unfortunately ran out of time. There are still a solid amount of schools that have later application dates from what I can tell.

5

“a lot of it will come down to financial aid packaging.”

What does that mean for you?

What is your EFC and can your parents pay the EFC every year?

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@carachel2 Right now my EFC is around $45,000, but that is higher than what my parents can pay because of a trust that my Grandpa established in my name. He created the trust for me to have money coming out of college to put a downpayment on his house. But, it was required for me to put this in my CSS, so it has affected my EFC. My brother also is graduating from college this year and my prep school costs around $25,000 a year. My goal is to find a school where it will cost me between $30-$35 thousand a year. I am willing to pay up to around $40,000-45,000 though if necessary.

The other problem I am struggling with is if I get my financial aid packages back and the schools do not offer me much money, would it be better to attend one of these schools for $50,000 a year or go to a larger flagship school that is less known academically but for a lot cheaper.

7

Well–the answer may be simple.

If you get into one of those schools that costs your family $45,000 per year (your EFC) but has a total COA of near $60,000, where will the $15,000 per year difference come from? Heck…it will be more like a $30,00 per year stretch because $30,000 is their max budget!

Will your parents stretch somehow to pay for it? Will they take out Parent Loans? You yourself will not be able to borrow more than $5,500 that first year and just a bit more each year after.

You’ve asked a frequently asked question and you will get all sorts of answers. There are LOTS of kids and parents with the same issue so you are not alone. We know many many high stats kids who would be competitive for those schools but who choose not to even apply because they don’t have their EFC and refuse to go into excessive debt to pay it.

Hopefully people will weigh in and give you some good advice. Sounds like you have some good safeties so that was smart of you! And truly–as a former high school athlete, I’m very sorry about your injury. I hope your recovery is going well.

8

You need to come back in late April after you’ve had time to examine your aid packages. Affordability will determine where you go to school, not anything we say here on CC.