Re finances, $150,000 is a lot of money, of course. However, three years at [JHU] will cost you $240,000. Have you discussed with your parents how the rest will be paid?
Yes I have. The money I currently have is from my grandmother and I will have to take 1/2 loan 1/2 parent support for the rest
I’m curious about how you ended up at your current college. Were you recruited? Did you apply last academic year for any of the colleges you mentioned in this post?
I went to SCSU because I received a full ride and at that point, wanted to be a teacher. I was recruited for Track and Field but decided to leave the team after some BAD coaching decisions that didn’t align with my beliefs.
Do you want suggestions for affordable colleges? Are you definitely applying as an athletic recruit? Or, if not recruited, are you looking for other suggestions? If so, give us some information about what you are looking for in a college, apart from a higher ranking.
I am looking for a college in the east coast that is of a higher ranking and that has good connections.
I understand that. I just wanted to ask with the current resume/grade that I have, what are some other options that are in my league. I cannot use college vine to calculate chances anymore so I wanted help from everyone else
Start with the schools you were accepted to last cycle. UConn has also been suggested. Washington and Lee, JHU, UChicago, and NYU are all high reaches without coach support. Perhaps reach out to some of the programs that recruited you last year(for track & field and/or wrestling).
I applied test optional because I didn’t take the SAT. I was hospitalized the SAT week and all the colleges I applied too ECSU, CCSU, WCSU, SCSU, UCONN and schools I was recruited too didn’t require a score
Did you just start university, or did you start a year ago? If you just started is this the college GPA for courses that you took while you were in high school, or is this what you are hoping and intending to achieve this semester and next semester?
Is the main issue here to get into a higher ranked university?
To me U.Conn looks likely. Other schools that accepted you out of high school are likely. Otherwise schools where the coaches want to recruit you for your sport might be likely.
You should try very hard not to take on debt for your bachelor’s degree if you are planning to pursue an expensive graduate degree that is typically not supported by scholarships or stipends.
The lawyers who I know got their bachelor’s degrees at a very wide range of universities.
So you intend to take loans for $45,000? You can’t do that even if you want to. Rough numbers: The most you will be able to get from the government is $31,000. You cannot take private loans as an undergraduate. Federal Student Aid
Your parents will have to pay $60,000. Are they willing to take out private loans? And who pays for law school? That’s at least $150,000. Are you willing to take on $180,000 in debt? Because that is real money and it will not disappear. Be sure you want to saddle yourself with that kind of debt because one day you may want to buy a house, or a car, or take vacations.
A full ride to college is nothing to sneeze at. You appear to be a high achieving student with good high school grades. You have a lot of good activities. There will be colleges that will give you merit aid, but not very likely as a transfer student.
Bad coaching aside, there are much less expensive ways for you to attend college. As you just started, maybe it’s not too late to withdraw with a clean record and not be listed as a transfer student. Maybe @MYOS1634 has some advice. Reapply next year as a freshman, if possible, and apply to colleges where you may get a full ride as a recruited athlete, or as just an excellent student with good stats and EC’s.
Not likely. If you have earned college credits, you are required to send transcripts to colleges when you apply as a transfer. You can’t just decide not to use those credits.
You just started college, correct? What does your college website say about last day to to withdraw? If you withdraw, you will have no credits and you should be able to start the process over, applying for spring or fall admission with no credits. Talk to an academic advisor at your college asap. Withdrawal | Southern Connecticut State University
If it is now too late to withdraw, you need to complete the semester with the highest grades possible. All credits and all transcripts must be reported to whatever college you apply to. It isn’t possible to “lose” credits, barring some kind of retroactive withdrawal due to medical reasons. Again though, talk to an advisor at your college.
A commuter campus and a history program primarily designed to train social studies teachers may not be the most nurturing environment for one who wants to study history with lots of reading and analysis of primary sources with relevant in-depth writing as preparation for Law school.
Contact Gettysburg college (admissions and coach), perhaps St Lawrence, Skidmore, Wheaton MA, Dickinson, Clark, Trinity CT (Hamilton for a big reach unless recruited). All are topnotch for History and prelaw preparation, are residential with a lot to do on campus, much more prestigious& selective than your current college. Indicate you plan on applying in the Spring for a Fall 2025 transfer.
Look into UConn Honors.
If all of these fail, you can stay one more year and try another round.
Remember to get involved on campus (leadership, history, things like International film club, plus anything the Honors college offers …)
Law school admissions and merit money is largely based upon gpa and lsat score. You should be able to earn a 4.0 at southern, for free. If you can earn a 4.0 at southern, it only shows strength, not weakness. Get a very high lsat via intensive prep, and you will get into good schools with merit money. Or transfer after your first year to uconn, where a 4.0 will be much tougher to earn, but possible.
Please save the money for law school! It is expensive, and loans are ruinous. A law degree is not an automatic ticket to high income.
You do not need to go to a prestigious undergrad to get into law school. You do need tuition money. Let go of the high school ideal of a dream college, look to the future, not to a do over for college admissions.
It’s not so much a matter wrt a dream college as it is to be in 2 different tracks of the same field (in the same way you don’t follow the Math Teacher program to become an actuary.) The history program primarily designed to train social studies teachers is not the same as a history program designed around research/law school/etc. preparation.
I don’t know whether OP can withdraw - it seems a bit late - but if not OP MUST get straight As in honors courses and be very involved in everything the Honors college + general college offer.
@MYOS1634 students from SCSU do get accepted to law school. SCSU is not just a teachers college anymore.
And students from CT do go to the Connecticut State University colleges for two years and transfer to UConn (which is a fine school for those wishing to become lawyers).
I know they do (most teachers colleges have become directionals and do a good job with a variety of subjects) but it’s just not the same academic environment and focus. I’ve taught at 2 of those and it’s not the same as what a solid residential college such as those I listed does offer. For instance, does the history first year seminar require a 10-page research paper requiring primary and secondary sources found through the library and ILL, or is it an in class exam with short answers? Is it a general survey covering 1500-1815 in the Western world, or does it go in-depth into a specific topic used as a way to teach historical methods? Is the textbook complemented with memoirs or (a) full book(s)?
It does not mean OP needs “prestige”.
SCSU → UConn would be a terrific pathway imho. (UConn is a strong university).
OP needs to find a college where they won’t need to take on debt and will serve their needs better. A 4.0 college GPA, on campus involvement and coach support can make that happen.
The onus is on OP: with a full ride, worst case scenario if they fail to transfer to an affordable college, they can stay at their current university.
I think of all CT Directionals and CC are excellent. But they are excellent because they have a specific focus and they do it well. None of them claim to rival the state flagship (U Conn Storrs) and none of them have the breadth and depth of a research university (nor do they pretend that they do).
OP- the pathway to Storrs should be well known for advisors at your U. Go and talk to them before you hit the “eject” button.
To everyone else- yes it’s true. This is America, and you can get anywhere from where you are. But there are paths that make it easier (a state flagship’s university) and harder (a directional) to specific grad school or professional goals.