Feeling lost and breaking down

College Search & Lists
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@MYOS1634 Thank you for your generosity! I really appreciate your kindness. I finished my UC essays and am waiting on feedback from my AP Lit teacher.

@LoveTheBard thank you for your condolences. I will definitely take you up on your offer.

@OHMomof2 thank you for believing in me!!

@MaineLonghorn @katliamom thanks for following along this journey.

@GnocchiB thank you! I hope so too.

@aquapt Thanks!! I am so happy! Thank you for your guidance and help.

thank you everyone for the congratulations and for the condolences.

I don’t think I’ve ever cried as hard as I did throughout the afternoon and evening of Thursday. Needless to say, I was so very devastated that I didn’t become a Finalist. Hearing people say that making it to Finalist was incredibly easy because 70% of College Prep Scholars were selected didn’t help matters; I genuinely thought that not making Finalist meant I was less capable.

On the other hand, after receiving my SAT scores, I was stunned; I thought I broke past 1500, but never expected to do that well. I feel blessed that my hard work paid off. I am hoping that this means that I have a shot at my reach schools.

The nice thing is that some QB Partner schools will take the QB app for regular decision even if one is a nonfinalist. Scripps, Pomona, Rice, Carleton, Amherst, Vassar, Wesleyan, Macalester, Grinnell, Tufts, Emory, Swarthmore, Williams, Bowdoin, and Colby are the schools willing to do so.

I am incredibly psyched that Pomona, Scripps, Rice, Swarthmore, Amherst, Carleton, and Tufts are on the list.

Current plans are to apply for the aforementioned schools via regular decision. I am still in a toss up about doing SCEA or ED. I guess a part of me feels that my stats and extracurriculars aren’t enough for me to be admitted to the SCEA schools, and I feel that if I do ED, I would have a likelier chance of being admitted. The issue is that I have to decide ASAP in order for my counselor and teachers to submit their QB letter of recs to the common app.

Thanks for reading this post.

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It can be nice to have an acceptance in hand early. Perhaps to a less selective school that offers non binding ea? Some will send financial aid soon after, so you know you have somewhere to go for sure.

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I would not do Ed unless you have a clear first choice honestly.

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@Kelvin82 I am late to this thread, but if you plan to apply to USC be sure to submit before Dec 1st to be considered for a merit scholarship. I think you would be a strong contender! If nominated, you will be notified in late January, then you would attend an on-campus program and interview. Best of luck!

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I agree with @OHMomof2 – I would not do ED unless you have a clear favorite, and only if you’ve spent some time at the school and know in your gut that it’s where you want to be.

You’ve got a great SAT score, so you’ll be competitive no matter where you apply. Based on your rankings and preferences, I’d do SCEA to Princeton, Stanford, or Yale, and RD to the others – If you decide you really want Pomona, you can always apply EDII. Otherwise, Scripps is a fine safety, but you MUST show interest.

I’d also think about applying to a public through EA or rolling admissions…it’s nice to have something in your back pocket. And do heed @jmek15’s advice for USC and/or any other school with early RD deadlines for merit consideration.

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Color me really, really impressed - not just with the score but also your reaction to them and tour post here. You’re awesome. :slight_smile:
I agree: apply REA/SCEA to Yale or whatever is now your clear first choice among the “superaid” schools.
Then, make sure to meet whatever merit deadlines there are at public schools with priority admission dates (often, Nov 1st, 15, Dec 1st.)

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Oh my gosh Kelvin, I just saw both that you did not make finalist – and that you rocked those SAT scores. Wow. Just wow. Others are right – you don’t need QB now!

I am however so sorry to hear about your heartbreak on Thursday, Someday when you are facing a difficult moment in the future, PLEASE remember this experience! “At night there are tears but joy comes with the dawn.”

Stanford and Yale and (I think?) MIT have SCEA that allows you to apply to a public university at the same time.

Otherwise RD using your QB app is an awesome opportunity. Do you have time to do some soul searching and find some clear favorites? Or would you rather do a bunch of RDs to as to get to choose from several acceptances later?

And obviously – run net price calcs and save the printouts. We were always surprised at the differences between how 100% need met schools define need. Some schools include loans. That would be an easy way to shorten your list.

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Stanford, Yale, and Princeton (and Harvard, but that’s not on your list) have REA/SCEA; MIT’s is not restrictive.

All of the REA/SCEA schools allow you to apply to instate and out-of-state publics and rolling RD. Stanford’s REA is a tiny bit different as they will also allow you to apply non-binding EA to a school with a named scholarship if it is necessary to apply EA in order to be considered for the scholarship. In my D’s case, the only one that was in our radar that fit that criterion was Tulane, but my D ultimately did not apply there as she applied EA to Yale.

And I once again concur with @MYOS1634 – you rock!!

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In thinking of EA that isn’t restricted and also could be easier admits with good aid (furthering the “back pocket” idea), look at Tulane, maybe Northeastern (meets full need but with loans and not as generous a formula as the tippy tops), and may be a couple LACs if those appeal to you - Wooster (has EA), Oberlin, Kenyon…? Or one of the ones closer to home like Willamette or Lewis and Clark?

Maybe we went over this but don’t UCs meet need if you are in state? Can one of those be a real safety?

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@OHMomof2 I do plan on applying to UCs, but if accepted, I will have to pay 8K per year. It will pose a really hard burden on my mom. My safety school is CSULA, where I only have to pay 2K.

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My nephew had a slightly lower weighted GPA than you and a much lower SAT score. He was accepted with full aid (minimal loans) to Boston College, College of the Holy Cross, Occidental and Franklin and Marshall. There are about 60-65 schools that meet 100% of financial need (just google “colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated need”). He chose Franklin & Marshall and only has a $4k loan per year, the rest is covered by grants. Some schools, like Washington & Lee, meet 100% of financial need with no loans (grants only). The point is, with your grades and SAT scores there are lots of options out there for you.

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@kelvin82 sounds like you have it covered, good. FYI Tulane offered my D a full-need package without any loans (which means you can, if necessary, use loans to help with EFC). They don’t promise but they came through for her. She didn’t go, but it was her second best deal. Her stats were like yours, maybe a bit lower scores (she only sent ACT).

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@kelvin82 Wow, epic fail here. I haven’t checked College Search and Selection for months - during the summer it turns to a lull and frankly, I forgot it existed! Just caught up on everything with you, wow, those scores are incredible. Sorry about the disappointing Thursday, just know the college process is bound to have rough patches for everyone, but you are doing so many good things to keep those at a minimum. Good things await, they will come. You have some great offers for help with your essays from some super experts on here. I will throw in my hat for USC if you are still interested in applying there. I had four accepted to USC (3 went) and didn’t buy a building or anything. Have a freshman there now, so that is one place I understand. So if you need me to read anything over, or you want to ask anything specifically, I would be glad to help.

I think you are local to LA, did you sign up for an interview at USC?
https://admission.usc.edu/firstyear/prospective/interviews_oncampus.html

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@CADREAMIN thank you! I really want to apply to Princeton SCEA, but then I won’t be eligible to apply to USC for their merit deadline. However, Princeton SCEA does let me apply to a rolling admissions school, so I am thinking of UPitt. How was your children’s experience with USC?

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@Kelvin82 please call Princeton tomorrow to ask about applying SCEA to Princeton while also submitting your USC app in time for their merit deadline. I’m 99% sure that is OK under the Princeton rules. My DD applied SCEA to Princeton 2 years ago and was also allowed to apply to Wake and Vanderbilt for their merit scholarships with a December 1st deadline. It’s worth a phone call to clarify. Keep us posted!

ETA: This is from the USC website: All first-year applicants who submit a complete application by the December 1 deadline will be considered for USC Merit Scholarships and will receive notification of their status in February. Applicants who are not selected to receive or interview for scholarships will still be considered for regular admission. All first-year applicants who submit a complete application by the January deadline will be mailed an admission decision by April 1. ** USC does not have an Early Decision or Early Action program. **

As I read it, you are applying REGULAR decision to USC for the merit program – not Early Action. Therefore, that does not run afoul of the Princeton rules.

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@Kelvin82 -

You absolutely CAN apply to USC in time for the merit cut-off. It is not an “early” program – it’s just a Dec. 1st regular decision deadline. This is from Princeton’s website:

If you apply single-choice early action, also known as restrictive early action, on Nov. 1, you may not apply to an early program at any other private college or university.

USC is RD, so you’re good to go.

My D had applied SCEA to Yale (which has the same criteria as Princeton). She submitted her app before Dec. 1st to USC and was awarded a full tuition scholarship from them (the Trustee’s, if memory serves) from USC. She received her acceptance to USC in late January and had to go up for a scholarship interview/overnight in February. She had already visited the campus that fall and had done an admissions interview as @CADREAMIN recommended.

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@kelvin82 as above posters mentioned, USC does not have EA or ED so applying there with Princeton would be fine, but by all means ask Princeton if it makes you feel better to confirm yourself. Everyone should apply to USC before the December 1st deadline, there is no reason not to throw your hat in the ring for merit. It is also fantastic to find out you are in come late Jan/early Feb if you are fortunate enough to get a merit package.

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@Kelvin82, congratulations on your great SAT score. I also want to commend you for being willing to reach out for help when you were having a tough time. I look forward to hearing more about your journey.

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You have first-gen working in your favor and a 3.83 is solid. Do well on the SAT/ACT and you can apply to private schools that meet most or all demonstrated need (according to their own formulas…). Here are many of those schools in each region:

West:
Stanford
Caltech
Pomona
Claremont McKenna
Harvey Mudd
Reed
USC
Colorado College
Scripps (women)
Pitzer
Occidental
Whitman

Midwest:
UChicago
Northwestern
Washington U
Notre Dame
Carleton
Grinnell
Oberlin
Macalester
Kenyon
St. Olaf

South:
Duke
Vanderbilt
Rice
Emory
Washington & Lee
Davidson
Wake Forest
U of Richmond
Tulane

Mid-Atlantic:
Princeton
Columbia
UPenn
Cornell
Swarthmore
Haverford
Vassar
Johns Hopkins
Georgetown
Hamilton
Colgate
Carnegie Mellon
Bryn Mawr (women)
Barnard (women)
Lafayette
Lehigh
Bucknell
Skidmore
Gettysburg

New England:
Harvard
Yale
MIT
Brown
Dartmouth
Williams
Amherst
Middlebury
Bowdoin
Wellesley (women)
Wesleyan
Smith (women)
Colby
Bates
Boston College
Tufts
Brandeis
Holy Cross
Mt. Holyoke (women)
Trinity (CT)
Connecticut College

There are more private schools that are generous with need-based aid; those listed here simply comprise a large selection of the most generous.

Read up on these schools and other private schools not listed. Find some that you like and can afford (run NPC) and add them to your app list. Now, most of these are reach schools for most students, and about 15-20 are reaches for just about everyone who isn’t massively hooked, but some of them could be considered high matches or even matches for you if you do well on the SAT/ACT. And as was stated, some LACs in the South and Midwest may put a premium on your race, giving you a bit of a boost in addition to first-gen status.

Make sure you find at least one affordable safety. That may be a school offering you a great deal of merit aid, or a lower-priced state school, or a CC where you can work and save money and try to transfer to a 4-year school.

But with strong scores, you can pick some really good reaches and matches that would likely be affordable for you.

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I had my Wellesley interview today! I really loved my talk with my interviewer; it made me feel really happy that I’m applying to Wellesley.

I submitted my applications to the CSUs, and am in the process of editing my UC essays. Also, I am writing my USC essays and Why Rice essay and Why Wellesley essay.

I am currently applying to scholarships. I am working on the application for Elks and Burger King scholarship. Also, the American Federation for the Blind has a scholarship for legally blind students who wish to major in the physical sciences, but I’m not sure if I am legally blind or not.

Senior year is going by so fast, and I am caught between wishing time would slow down for me to savor senior year, and wishing time would hurry up so I could know what college I’m going to. Ah, such is life, I suppose.