Match Me for Africana Studies! Florida Resident, 3.8 UW, Test optional, lack of spike

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US domestic
  • Florida
  • Haitian
  • Junior in high school
  • Female/Black/ Haitian Immigrant Parents:
    *URM, Mom has associates but not 4 year, dad does

Intended Major(s)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.8
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.198/4.0
  • Class Rank: 16/380
  • ACT/SAT Scores: N/A

Coursework
3 APS - Eviornmental (2) Seminar (…2 because of a lack of a teacher) Art History (Online, test too costly) Currently enrolled in Research, APUSH, Macroecon and Gov. Had a B in Research last semester, the rest A’s

9 Honors Classes - Alegbra 1 and 2, Biology, Pre Calc, Chemistry, English 1 and 2, World History, and Geometry. A’s except Pre-Calc (B-), Chemistry (B+), English 2 (B), and Geometry (B+).

Biology - Had in 8th grade (Corona) and got a D, retook 11th and got an A, D still on transcript.

Dual Enrollment - ENC 1101, Intro to Psychology, College Success, Career Planning, A’s except career planning, got a B

Awards
Kelley Womens Leadership Insitute (International, 60 girls chosen)
Yale Women In Economics Semi-Finalist (Like 50% of 1000+ apps)
Pionner Prep Scholar (Fly-in at University of Denver, 30 out of 300+ apps, 12 of 30 out of state, National)
Scholastic Art and Writing Silver Key
AFJROTC Marine Leadership Award (1 out of 400+ cadets to get it, just joined 5 months prior!)
Girls Who Code Scholar (Unaware of the stats for this one)
DemocroShe Scholar ($500 stipend to learn about civics and government, just got this one but it should be a 2-3 month commitment)

Extracurriculars
Youtube - Creator (9-11)
Uploaded Nickelodeon lost media to Youtube, under the name “(redacted)” Gained over 65,000+ views over 2 years. Collaborated with others around the United States and found news reports, radio interviews, and advertisements. Had legal permission.

Freelance Writer - Independent (10-11)
Wrote multiple expository articles for literary magazines and organizations surrounding social justice, civics, and the black community. Published online globally for readers.

Success Team - Member (9-11)
Received a $500 scholarship for a trip to Atlanta, Georgia. Visited colleges such as Emory, Georgia Tech, Alabama State, and Clark Atlanta (10th). Recruited over 15+ to join for the current year.

Class Government - President (10-11)
Held position as class president for grades 10th, and currently 11th. Currently coordinating organizing fundraisers for prom and have over 10+ students raising funds and gained $2,300+ so far

Debate (11) -
Semi-Finalist for the Incubate Debate state competition, placed in the top 20% out of 60 debaters from around Florida.

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) (11)-
Placed 2nd in the district for advertising and qualified to make states, competed out of 10+ students from surrounding counties.

JROTC (10-11) -
Wellness Officer Staff Sergeant (SSgt, 11th). Created fitness plans executed every Friday for over 100+ cadets. Volunteered to run canned food drives and coordinate cadet hangouts for over 100 cadets.

Drama Club (10-11) -
Performed in front of over 600+ in two years, assisted in props and rehearsal while dancing and acting.

Intern at non profit (10) -
Marketed a college prep a thon and successfully brought in 300+ attendees, with speakers from Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, etc.

Essays/LORs/Other
So far, my options for rec letters are my Chief (JROTC, Military vet, in AF for 20 years and has the rarest rank) and my college English professor (ENC 1101) and counselor (we are locked in!) Essays, I hope they’re good!

Cost Constraints / Budget
NPC says $19k-33k depending on school (19k Swarthmore, 33K Georgetown)
Parents said they’re not paying for anything.

Schools
Asking everyone to match me!

Addtional Info
I value a black population, but I do like diversity. Look at Harvard’s demographics for an example of what I mean (No, not aiming for Harvard)
My dad got his degree here.
For bright futures, I haven’t made the testing or community service requirement yet.
Please give some suggestions for what I should do!

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If you can work out your finances, some of these schools may be of interest:

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I hope I dont get any backlash for this, but I’ve looked into some of these schools already and I do like them, but its the lack of a black population (very low I mean, please don’t take it sideways).

I didn’t mention is the post (apologies) but I value diversity. With a low amount of other black students, its kind of a turn off? I know these are mainly white institutions but I do like seeing a mix of students. Colby I might let slide, not sure about the others. Thank you so much for the list!

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Do you qualify for Bright Futures.

If they are not paying, that is your choice - a public, in state school.

You might try Alabama - they had a national recognition program but now it’s no longer.

You could try a full ride like SMU Presidential or W&L Johnson.

Best of luck.

1 Like
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You are here to find a college to match your profile and preferences, so it seems a judgment of your preferences would be unfair.

Nonetheless, you may want to note that schools such as Wellesley, Amherst and Barnard are very ethnically diverse.

1 Like
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Amherst on the list :heart:

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But if the NPCs are showing $19-33k and your parents refuse to pay, then how will you pay ? Plus get there - ie transportation ?

I think it’s a very very high reach even taking out money.

What are reasonable schools you can afford ? It’s going to start with in state publics but who will pay living expenses ?

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This is a problem, since you can only take a $5.5k loan and earn a few thousand from part time and summer work.

You may want to look for full ride merit scholarships at less selective colleges.

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You have a very serious issue. Your parents won’t pay for college, and the maximum federal loan that you can take without them cosigning, is still going to leave you 14k to 27K/yr short, if the NPC is correct.

Your stats are nice, but so are many other students’, and it’s looking as if schools are looking with disfavor upon test-optional, this far out from the pandemic. Maybe you should see what you can do about a standardized test score.

Have you considered the HBCUs?

If you cannot close the gap with private scholarships, you may need to consider the “dash through community college from home with transfer to nearest public 4 yr college for the last two years, or to UFlorida for the last two years” plan. Here’s how it works:

You get a part time job, now, and continue working part time all the way through school. Save like crazy.

You take all the APs, and dual enrollments that you can, along with all the CLEP classes that your community college will accept. Look at modernstates.org for free online lectures/classes and free vouchers for CLEP exams. The goal is to enter the community college with a ton of credit, maybe even as much as two years’ worth.

You start community college in the summer of '24, taking the 5500 federal loan for the '23-'24 year. You take another 5500 for the '24-25 year. You take as many classes as you can handle, summer, fall, spring, summer. You now have likely got your associates, and transfer to the 4 yr college via the transfer agreement to start as a junior there in fall of '25.

You borrow 7500/yr for the next two years at U Florida, working a small part time job, much longer hours during winter/spring break, and summer break. You graduate in May '27 with your degree and 27K in federal loans; less if you were able to live at home and commute to a FL public 4 yr college.

Unless your parents are willing to cosign loans for you, you really are not going to have any other options, unless you can get massive private scholarship money. The issue is that they make enough that colleges expect you to pay 80-120K for your education, but your parents have told you that they will not pay, and the most that you can borrow in your own name is 27K, total over 4 yrs.

The rest of it is all pie in the sky, because no matter where you get in, if your parents won’t help you pay or cosign loans, you don’t have the money to go.

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