<p>Student 1 - female, 1/230, white
ACT: 32
GPA: 4.2
Extracurriculars: Skiing, Soccer, Cello (4th chair orchestra), Key Club, NHS,
Awards: Kauffman Award, USSA Central Division Mid-Am Series Combined - Overall 1st Place 2011, USSA Central Division 2011 Carruthers Cup 1st Place Overall, Ussa Central Division Mid-Am Series Slalom - Overall 1st Place 2011
Student 2-female, not reported, Asian-American
SAT: 2100 630/690/790 M/CR/W
GPA: 4.2
Extracurriculars: Swimming, NHS, Spanish Honor Society, Student Council, School Lit Mag, School Newspaper, Service Leader (v.involved), Peer Leader, Art Club, Ladies of Liberty Club, Soldier’s Angel Club, Spanish Club, Tutor, Choir, Chambersingers
Awards: Kauffman Award, Coaches Cup (athletics), 1st place fiction contest</p>
<p>These are some of our reaches,</p>
<p>Tufts
Boston College
Amherst
Dartmouth
UNC
UMich instate
Vanderbilt </p>
<p>but we need some safeties/targets! What are some good safety schools with:
skiing
good english/writing program
good science
good language </p>
<p>THanks!</p>
<p>Are you int’ls? Or citizens/green card holders?</p>
<p>Do you want to attend the same school?</p>
<p>What is the budget for each student?</p>
<p>Are you going to retest…especially student #2</p>
<p>Are LACs ok?</p>
<p>We are both citizens and we are trying to attend the same college. We feel that financial aid/scholarships can cover costs, so that isn’t our foremost worry. Possibly retest. Do you tihnk Student 2 should retake SAT or give ACT a shot? Shoud Student 1 retest? LAC’s are definitely acceptable.</p>
<p>Student 2 should take both the ACT and SAT.</p>
<p>you can’t just rely on financial aid and scholarships…many schools don’t have much to give…and some may think your parents should pay more than they can. You need to get that area settled.</p>
<p>Grinnell
Mount Holyoke
Lafayette</p>
<p>Also don’t have interest in all-girls schools</p>
<p>“We feel that financial aid/scholarships can cover costs, so that isn’t our foremost worry.”</p>
<p>Money definitely should be one of your first considerations. Sit your parents down and find out what your budgets are. You absolutely do not want to be the authors of one of next April’s “Didn’t get in anywhere I like and can afford” threads.</p>
<p>Take a look at this list, and see if the two of you are in range of any of the scholarships described: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>Student 1: Capable, but worry over struggle, post-tuition payments! She is very bright and is looking into scholarships.</p>
<p>Student 2: Legitimately isn’t at all capable of paying top-school tuition, so is laying value n the need-blind under $60,000 income cap financial aid.</p>
<p>THank you so much for your concern.</p>
<p>“Student 2: Legitimately isn’t at all capable of paying top-school tuition, so is laying value n the need-blind under $60,000 income cap financial aid.”</p>
<p>Student2 needs to know that there are precious few institutions that offer that type of aid. Most will leave a frighteningly large gap between their aid package and what her family really can afford. She needs to find out to the dollar how much her family can help her. That plus any federally determined (FAFSA) aid, aid guaranteed to her by her home state because of her stats, and whatever she can make in the summers and during the school years, is her financial baseline. Her financial safety may well be a community college or public university that she can commute to from home.</p>
<p>Both of you should spend some time reading through the information at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and in the various threads in the Financial Aid Forum here. That way you will have a better sense of what you are up against.</p>
<p>So do you think that claims at universities that say they provide full meeting of shown need and free tuition for 75000 and under are just saying that?</p>
<p>“Meets full need” = “We use our own calculator and decide what we think your need is, and then we meet is as we see fit.” Often what an institution believes to be enough aid to make attendance affordable, isn’t.</p>
<p>There are five (?) institutions that have promised free tuition/fees/housing/meals for students with a family income lower than $X. Each of those places admits fewer than 10% of the applicants. Yes, if Student2 has a family income less than $X and is admitted, those institutions will be affordable. However, there is no guarantee whatsoever that she will be admitted there. She needs to have some solid safety institutions on her list.</p>
<p>A few of thoughts on safety schools. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The schools that send you mail are good places to start. They’ve solicited you, and probably know they are safety schools, and are ok with that.</p></li>
<li><p>The link to schools that offer merit aid is a good one. If you’re going to go to a safe school at least try to save the money.</p></li>
<li><p>State schools make a good choice for top students, from an expense point of view. Mich State, for example.</p></li>
<li><p>If you can make it work financially, try to do this – think of what your dream school is. Your safety school can be a school that has all of the characteristics of your dream school, but not as selective academically – for example, if Dartmouth is your dream, find a rural school that has the same feel.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>^The schools that solicit you aren’t necessarily safety schools. I got a ton of mail from University of Chicago and ultimately was rejected.</p>
<p>oh and, hello again :)</p>
<p>Hi again imasophomore!!!</p>
<p>@ everyone: We really like Middlebury. Very much. Of course Dartmouth is the “dream” because it’s an Ivy, but Middlebury is like, the maybe possible realistic dream. What schools are there that are similar to Middlebury, but with less selectivity??</p>
<p>look into reed, colby, and kenyon?</p>
<p>imasophomore:</p>
<p>You are totally legit. Those are actually schools we could be interested in! Thanks so much! Have you ever visited any of those campuses personally??</p>
<p>no, just based on my own research when i was applying transfer</p>
<p>how much do you think strong, personal essays affect admission? what did you write yours on? and is applying transfer just when you want to switch schools? where did you go before Vassar college? Sorry to bombard you with questions, but you have definitely proven to be one of the most helpful persons on here!</p>
<p>i think they help, particularly with LACs</p>
<p>for first year admission) taking my nephew around the Magic Kingdom in WDW i think…that was my common app one that went to all the schools</p>
<p>for transfer) why I thought I’d be better off transferring</p>
<p>yea…or if there are financial issues I suppose…people frequently go to CC for one or two years and then transfer</p>
<p>I was at University of Miami for freshman year</p>