I live on a farm in a rural area but I am looking for a cozy, diverse 4-year w/men wrestling [MD resident, 3.8 GPA, 1300 SAT, need full ride]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US citizen
  • Live in Maryland
  • Small, rural public high school
  • Other special factors: recruitable wrestler (I could do Dll, Dlll or NCWA); both parents are disabled veterans; low income household

Cost Constraints / Budget
Little to no money so either full rides or close to it

Intended Major(s): history? pre-med? pre-law? political science?

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.8
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.5
  • College GPA: N/A
  • Class Rank: 13th
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1300

List your HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

  • English: AP lit and AP lang
  • Math: AP Cal
  • Science: AP chem, physics
  • History and social studies: AP history, AP government
  • Language other than English: Spanish 3
  • Visual or performing arts: Reg art
  • Other academic courses:

Awards

MVP/Leadership - Marine Academy; Debate award - National History Academy; Team Captain - Varsity Wrestling; AP scholar with honors

Extracurriculars
National History Academy; 4 years varsity wrestling; 4H; Program lead at STEM camp; SGA

Essays/LORs/Other
Very strong LOR; I can write a good essay but I would nail an interview

Schools
I guess this is where I put my wishlist? I think based on my living situation I could get significant financial aide.

If a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below; also, for colleges that admit by major or division, consider that in chance estimate.

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability): Gettysburg; Washington & Lee; Naval Academy (offered a nomination already)
  • Extremely Likely: George Washington
  • Likely: Trinity
  • Toss-up: Williams (someone reached out to me); Wesleyan
  • Lower Probability: Georgetown
  • Low Probability: Johns Hopkins
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If you get accepted to the United States Naval Academy, you are going to accept the appointment. No doubt about it. I think the only types of people that decline opt for a different U.S. Academy (e.g. West Point) or a “PHYSM” option.

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Nobody would describe the Naval Academy as “cozy”. Can you give us a better sense of what you are looking for in terms of culture/environment?

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Do you mean, extremely likely from a recruiting perspective? GWU is need-aware (and your SAT is a little below the middle 50) so I would think the chances would be somewhat different between being a recruited athlete and a normal application given you need significant funding. It would be a great college for your intended majors. I am not sure I would call it “cozy” but otherwise a great option if it comes off.

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How do you know Washington and Lee will be both a sure thing for admission and affordability. I do agree that if you get accepted it will be affordable. But what is your guarantee for admission.

In terms of your academy appointment, do you want to serve your country as an officer in the navy? If not, what is the reason for this school?

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Depending on how important wrestling is to you, you might consider Franklin & Marshall, which is actually D1 for wrestling (they do have athletic scholarships) but D3 for everything else. They also offer a lot of merit and need-based aid. And I think you could fairly describe it as cozy as well with just about 2k students in Lancaster, PA.

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I don’t believe this is necessarily true. Some applicants rethink the commitment they are making to the armed forces and decide it’s not what they want to do.

@ChoatieMom

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Isn’t the Naval Academy’s yield 90+%? Why would ChickensandDucks apply in the first place?

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There have been several threads here and on the service academy forums where appointees have opted for one of their civilian school acceptances instead. When push comes to shove, some who want to serve ultimately prefer a more traditional college experience and choose the ROTC or OCS route into the military and decline an appointment; it’s not all that rare.

@ChickensandDucks, let’s be absolutely clear – no service academy can be described as “cozy.” The physical, mental, and emotional rigor of the academy programs cannot be overstated. They are brutal places. By design. The programs tear you down in your first year and take the remaining three to build you back up and shape you into a competent leader of soldiers/sailors (regardless of your major or the branch you are eventually selected for). Choosing an academy is choosing a very tough way to get through college and will test your mettle every minute of every day. For every incoming class, 200-300 midshipmen will separate before commissioning for various reasons. It takes a strong commitment to service to endure this rigor and sustain you through the service years that follow, nothing cozy about it.

Also note that although securing a nomination is a critical step in the application process, it does not guarantee an appointment, so you cannot say with confidence that USNA is assured. You must also be cleared medically and qualified academically. Those applicants who meet these three qualifications (3Q) have about a 60% chance of appointment, not 100%. Even those few who receive Letters of Assurance (LOAs) sometimes lose out due to circumstances that occur prior to I-Day, and there are even turnbacks on I-Day. It’s never a sure thing. This is why most appointees will hold on to their Plan Bs until they get through summer basic training as medical turnbacks can also occur prior to the start of the academic year.

From what you’ve posted, it appears that cost may be the primary driver. The service academies are “free” to cadets and midshipmen (and thus their parents), but there is nothing free about the commitment and its potential consequences. The decision to serve is a serious one. You may understand all this and have a burning desire to become a Naval officer, but that seems at odds with the title of your thread. Given that you already have a nomination, you are well along in your application and must know that, among the schools on your list, one of these is very much not like the others.

Good luck to you. I hope you end up with choices that meet your stated goals.

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Can you clarify what you mean by “someone reached out to me”?

I don’t think Williams (or Wesleyan) would be in the toss up category. They should be categorized as reaches.

If you are a rising senior, your school list needs a lot of refining. Can you please share what you’re looking for besides “cozy”?

As a child of disabled veterans, there should be some funding programs available to you. GI Bill, etc.

What is the status of you athletic recruitment?

The more you can share with us, the better the advice will be. Help us help you.

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Really depends on how far along you are in the recruiting process. You’ll probably have to apply ED to the target school. If, for whatever reason, that does not pan out, virtually all of the named colleges become reaches.

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Did you apply for any ROTC scholarships?

Did you apply to any D2 schools with good wrestling programs that offer scholarships?

I wish you the best with the Naval Academy. Hopefully you’ll get an appointment. Also, the head coach is one of the finest wrestlers this country has produced IMHO.

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It’s not clear OP could wrestle at the D1 level.

OP, are you being recruited at USNA?

As others have said, W&L, USNA, Williams, Wesleyan are reaches. With a 1300 SAT, I would not encourage an application to test required Georgetown or JHU.

You do need a highly likely admit that is affordable…does Gettysburg’s NPC show it will be affordable? Run the NPC to get a cost estimate here: Meadow - Net Price Calculator Note that Gettysburg only meets full financial need for students who apply and are accepted in the ED round. If you apply ED anywhere, you should not apply to USNA.

You should run the NPC at the schools that remain on your list. Are any of your non-flagship MD public schools affordable? I would not recommend applying to any schools that have no chance of being affordable.

Have you/are you taking bio? That is a must.

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I would suggest if your parents belong to the VFW or a disabled veteran organization to see if they can connect you with someone who can help advise you on potential benefits you might be entitled too.

They may also be aware of universities that give additional scholarships or support for military connected students.

There is a Maryland scholarship for children who have a parent that is 100% disabled.

My daughter ended up selecting a college where she could use the benefit from her dad’s service to cover tution. Some states have more comprehensive programs than others to assist dependents with college costs.

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For the GI Bill his parents would have needed to transfer their benefits to him while they were serving. In some cases, doing this would have made the parents extend their contacts for X number of years to allow this transfer. Many of the benefits that are extended to dependents of disabled veterans are provided by the state they are residing in currently or in some cases where their parent lived when they enlisted.

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You’re a good student, taking the most challenging classes, with a good GPA, and an SAT score that detracts from your application. You need a full ride, and you do qualify for fin aid.

Is your wrestling good enough to make you a recruited athlete? If so, this is your “back door” into the kind of schools that have enough money available to offer you a full ride. Talk with your coach about this now, get the video clips out to the coaches at lots of possible schools, arrange to go to the meets that coaches will be at. You are late to the party, in the timeline of becoming a recruited athlete, but not too late, if you can jump on it right now. If the coaches want you, you only have to pass an academic pre-read, meaning you have to be good enough, not the best academically. Your GPA and the rigor of your classes are fine - it’s the SAT that’s a problem, but not an insurmountable one. 1300 might be good enough for a recruited athlete, with your academic record.

There’s still time to improve that standardized test score. Take the free online practice ACT, under timed conditions, see if you are better suited to that test. If so, then focus your prep on the ACT, and take that in a couple of months. If not, then focus on prep for the SAT and retake that.

If you can get into the Naval Academy, it’s free for you, but is that what you want? It is the farthest thing from “cozy”.

If you cannot be a recruited athlete, you’re going to have trouble finding a full ride, unless you can bring your standardized score up. The schools that can afford to give you a full ride are very selective, but you do have time to fix your standardized test score, and the rest of the application is there.

So it’s a little bit early to be making the list, for you. You need to know if you will be recruited, and you need a better score. Recruited, and with a better score, the sky is the limit - I mean, if the coach at an Ivy wants you, and you can get that score up into the mid 1400s, you could get in anywhere that the coach wants you. If neither of those are happening, you need to look at schools that can afford to meet your financial need (run the NPC calculator on their websites) and where your stats put you in the likely category for acceptance. If you cannot get your score up, look at schools that are still test optional, that meet full need. Test optional, your application looks a lot better than with a 1300.

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Folds of Honor provides scholarships for children of disabled veterans.

VA Chapter 35 (DEA) provides a direct monthly federal education stipend for children of veterans who are totally and permanently disabled due to a service connected condition.

Various state colleges in Maryland offer special financial aid and tuition discounts for children of disabled veterans.

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Oops - i never sent this!

I am not sure if I missed something, and I don’t know if being a recruitable athlete is being factored into your list, but every school in your post is a reach…for most students but especially one with your academic stats.

Kids with higher stats and more impressive experience/activities don’t get in.

W&L’s class of 2029 has a median SAT score of 1480 for example. W&L had a 13.6% acceptance rate. Williams’ was under 9%.

I hope I am not sounding harsh! And I certainly don’t want to be discouraging, but you look like a solid student. But please do some solid research if you have not already and expand your list.

.

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If he is recruitable, and he says he is, then if he is offered a spot any of those schools is fine. To be offered a spot he will have passed a pre-read with admissions, and, given a green light from them, and coach support, admission is all but guaranteed.

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This is the OP’s first/only post, and they have not responded. @ChickensandDucks: Are you still here? Any comment?

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