UT Austin auto admit is top 5%, not top 25%.
Other Texas publics are top 10%, but many have other assured admit rank thresholds, often in combination with SAT or ACT scores. For example, Texas State has assured admission for top 25%, or top 50% with 1090 SAT, assuming that the diploma type / course requirements are complete: Freshman Admission Requirements : TXST Admissions : Texas State University
But paying for college may be the hard part here.
Outstanding score on SAT R&W of 790 suggests that you are well qualified for most elite colleges and universities in the nation. Your list of planned senior year courses suggests that your SAT math score of 510 does not accurately reflect your true ability.
Black Student Union co-President should help.
In my view, you should apply to any top university or college in the nation that is of interest to you. This includes Ivy League member schools and other Top 15 universities and elite Liberal Arts Colleges such as Amherst College.
The math portion of the SAT is more easily learned than the R&W section.
Apply to colleges and universities which have the largest endowments in the country. This will place you among schools which, if admitted, will be affordable and place you among others capable of achieving a 790 R&W score on the SAT.
Do not sell yourself short.
P.S. Please give both Yale University & Amherst College strong consideration.
Princeton University is another school to consider. Princeton offers the most generous need-based financial aid in the country among elite private schools.
FWIW If your SAT section scores were reversed, I would not be making the same suggestions. SAT math test taking skills are easily improved unlike the other portion of the SAT focused on reading comprehension.
P.P.S. Since you are interested in women’s colleges, consider Wellesley College in Massachusetts and Smith College, also in Massachusetts.
Grinnell College in Iowa offers generous financial aid.
Also, CBCA may result in large scholarships that are previously unknown to the applicant.
But note that not all HBCUs use the CBCA, so be sure to check each one you are specifically interested in to see if it needs its own application.
I’m pretty sure that’s an AI generated response. That’s why all the numbers are wrong and they’re promoting an AI website.
I think UT pays tuition for all students who have a household income under $100k, but I’ll still have to pay for housing if I get admitted there.
When doing net price calculators for colleges, should I include my grandmother in the household size if she lives with me?
Your issue is the meets need schools are unlikely to be interested in someone with your stats - but you can try schools like Sewanee, Berea, etc.
This is 3rd party so you’d have to verify but here’s a list. Up thread, I put a 3rd party list of Texas publics - what income is required for free tuition.
My concern is your “pickiness” - which I don’t see how you can have. You need to find schools like Prairie View and even in those, hope - as their scholarships are competitive and not automatic, etc.
Here’s Every College That Offers 100% Financial Aid · PrepScholar
I would HIGHLY recommend applying to the Questbridge College Prep Scholars program! It might be a crunch to get it done by the deadline (I think March 24) but it is so worth it!! It gives you a better chance at the Questbridge National College Match in the fall, as well as providing lots of application support resources and helping you connect with colleges who will give you the financial support you need. There are lots of Questbridge partner schools that match what you want in a college, especially lots of small LACs (if you look at the list of partner schools you can see all of them but some examples are Davidson, Bowdoin, Macalester, and sooo many others), and if you match or get into a partner school Regular Decision, they guarantee to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need with no loans. I think you would be a strong candidate and it’s definitely worth a shot to apply if you can get all of your information together in time. Your grades and test scores might not be the strongest right now, but they really take circumstances into account and give you lots of space to explain. Having an upward trajectory is the most important part, and your course rigor is a very good sign. In addition, your extracurriculars are very strong and your low-income/first-gen status definitely fits the Questbridge profile! I would really really recommend that you apply, it has made such a difference in my college journey and will help connect you with resources and colleges. The College Essay Guy also has a program called the Matchlighters Scholars program which provides completely free one-on-one coaching from a college counselor who has donated their time and really wants to help! I didn’t really jive with my counselor so I didn’t have the best experience but I think it’s worth a shot as they have dozens of counselors working with them and you might get one who really helps with your essays and applications and whatnot. I know this doesn’t really help you as far as college matches but I think these programs could be really good opportunities for you and I really encourage you to apply!
I do actually think Davidson College might be a good fit for you, it’s very small, near Charlotte NC so lots of nature and a pretty vibrant artsy city scene that would have a good amount of social and networking opportunities. Again, I would recommend looking into some of the small LACs on the Questbridge website! I wish you all the best of luck and feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions or want me to refer you to Questbridge!
I teach in a title I Texas high school. Every year we have students in similar situations - low-income family, first gen, hardworking, decent achievement, little to no family support after 18, etc. In class of 2025 we had a student who started supporting himself since 16. he has a job, shares an apartment with his older brother who attends community college, does everything for himself by himself. He is attending community college right now and on track to transfer to one of the UT schools for BA. We (the teachers) worked together to get him through the process for scholarships and financial aids. He should be able to complete his BA without having to pay any tuition at all. There are several programs in Texas. OP please ask your teachers and counselors about “xxx promise” program in your area - like North Texas promise, Dallas promise, Alamo promise, etc. There’s one for UT system and another one for A&M system too.
Senior course list lit, calc bc, physics c mech, gov/micro (1 semester each), stats
If at all possible, I would replace Physics C with the highest level you can take in a foreign language.
Several reasons: 1/ foreign language level is important for the most selective schools 2/ you’re applying as a Humanities/Social Science major so that goes double 3/ Physics C is seriously hardcore so although it looks good (ie., you’re not neglecting science and trying to make up for your 510 math SAT), if you’re already taking Calc BC (instead of AB, directly from precalculus honors, or after AB in an AB-BC sequence) that math class shows bona fide for STEM, no need to add Physics C. In addition, physics C can supposedly be taken alongside calc but really it’s better to know a bit of calculus and have taken a physics course before you take it, so depending on your situation on that account, it may not be the best choice. Note that premeds take the college equivalent of AP Physics 1 or 2, NOT C.
A more general issue is that if you’re applying as a Humanities/social science major it’d be good if your senior schedule choices reflected that. I don’t know whether that’s a possibility for you but about an extra history class (AP euro, AP African American studies, Art History, or if your HS offers an honors senior seminar?) It’d look like this:
AP lit, AP foreign language or language 4/5, AP gov/micro, Calc BC, extra history class, science, statistics. Is that a possibility?
Disagree as I know several students with similar stats at Ivy League schools (especially Princeton). However, there are very few and some of the prep schools did not assign class rank, but I can assure you that several were not among the top half of their respective class.
Each student attended private prep schools with most attending super-elite boarding schools for high school.
OP: Please read my post as I can assure you that none of the other students had a R&W SAT score as high as your score. The SAT math score is easily addressed (based on your math courses & grades in those courses), plus you are retaking the SAT.
Your SAT score is not just a 1300, it is a 790 R&W combined with a Math score that does not accurately reflect your Math ability based on your math courses taken in high school.
Agree that you need to focus on schools which offer full needs financial aid (tuition, fees, room & board, possibly books & health insurance).
Also, if needed, you can request an application fee waiver from the schools which I listed.
Agree that QuestBridge is a program that you should consider.
Repeating the list of schools that I suggested in my earlier post:
Princeton, Yale, Amherst College, Grinnell College, Smith College, & Wellesley College.
Also, since your brother is at a super-elite university (WashUStL), you may have some insight as to the work demands expected & required at these type of universities.
But OP is at a large public, not a prep school.
I think OP should try (I mentioned QB upthread) - but in reality, needs a no money school. And if they get one (like Prairie View) or a local four year, they’d likely pan the school. When you are asking for a freebie, you do not have the luxury of saying, it’s not good enough. Life costs money.
So they need to plan for all options - and that might include a free Texas near home option or if they can’t stay home, working for a year or working and going on line (at a free college) -ie they’d have to work at certain places - like Starbucks, maybe Target.
I think the meets need schools are highly, highly unlikely - and they need Plan B and C - in case. It doesn’t mean not to try….but it means to plan so you’re not having a I have no where to go discussion in March/April.
Yes, I do understand that the OP is at a large public school, but I also understand that she is a reasonable candidate based on her total profile & circumstances for the schools that I have suggested.
OP needs to try, otherwise she is unlikely to receive the level of financial assistance needed.
Thank you! I am halfway done with my questbridge application, but even if I don’t get selected for CPS will I still be able to apply to the match? Also, is the application for the match similar to the CPS application?
I’ve taken French 3, although I got an A in the class, I don’t think i’m ready for AP French…I wouldn’t want to fail the exam.
I’m still probably going to take Physics C though. My current AP pre calculus teacher teaches the course, and he teaches really well so I think I’d be able to understand the material. Instead of stats, I might just do AP African American studies like you said
My schedule would look like this then:
lit, gov/micro, physics c, calc bc, african american studies, then double block of a health science course.
Hi, yes I read your other post! I took the March 14th SAT today, and I think I got at least a 1400. I was able to improve to my math to around 700-730 on practice tests.
Are you sure Princeton is a good option for me? I’ve heard that they value GPA the most out of ivies. I might try for Stanford instead as they don’t consider freshmen grades that much.
My brother got into WashU with a need-based full ride, so I will definitely apply there. His stats (besides his GPA and class rank) and essay weren’t that amazing, so I think I have a chance there. I’ll consider Wellesley as well. I did their net price calculator and it came out to around $3000-5000 a year which is low enough for me to pay through work.
If you got an A in French 3, and your teacher thinks you are ready for AP, then you should move ahead.
Unless your school ties the AP test into your class grade, failing the test should not be a concern at all - you simply wouldn’t get college credit for the class. You simply wouldn’t submit it. The test will be long after you applied and gotten college decisions.
The hard part about where to apply (on QB) and I’m not sure if they can give you stats is -
If everyone is applying to Harvard, Yale, Princeton - well maybe a Denison or Holy Cross are smarter bets. I’m assuming they have less QB apps by far. But they might also admit far fewer.
I don’t know if QB will provide stats - but I’d certainly use all 15 slots - I don’t understand kids that don’t - and maybe a range from the most selective (maybe they award the most scholars) to the least selective / known - maybe they get far less apps.
But perhaps they can help you with that - you could ask for apps/acceptances by school or maybe pick some of that up in press releases - x school saying they awarded 25 QB kids, etc…to get an idea - and supplement it with other meets need schools like W&L.
Yes you can apply for Match even if not selected for CPS.
The application for CPS prepares you for what you’ll need to have for the Match application but it overlaps with aspects from the CommonApp.
Is there a French4 that’s not AP French? Are you required to take the exam if you register for the AP class?
lit, gov/micro, physics c, calc bc, african american studies, then double block of a health science course.
That’s a good schedule. Good balance, good indication of your academic interests, lots of rigor. My only hesitation would be with Physics C without having taken Physics or Calculus before. Do your current Math and science teachers think you can handle it without your other classes suffering? Clearly your SAT Math score doesn’t reflect your math ability but you need to make sure you’re not taking a class that’s impossible (in the same way you wouldn’t think of taking Russian 3 if you didn’t have Russian 1&2). Does your school offer Honors Physics, Physics 1, or Physics 2? Or are these classes’ teachers not good? Or perhaps you have a good relationship with your precalculus teacher and he’s be willing to write a recommendation for you?
Btw if you do reach 1400 the sky’s the limit wrt applications although since you want smaller colleges and tour odds are better there I’d add a no more than a few “worldwide famous” Hail Marys on that list, especially since everyone goes for the same schools. This would increase your odds.
Yes, based on students with a profile similar to yours, Princeton University is a good option for you to consider. (One of Princeton’s concerns is how to utilize its enormous wealth to benefit students. Princeton University’s generosity towards its students is well documented.)
Typically, among super-elite universities, one might contrast Princeton University’s generosity with WashUStL’s proclivity/preference for students from wealthy backgrounds.
Again, consider the schools which I have listed as well as other schools which are of interest to you.
(I assume that your grades in math courses during your sophomore & junior years are high.)
Aim high as the worst that can happen is a rejection. And, if you do not get rejected, you’re not aiming high enough.
Do not sell yourself short.
Recently attended an event for alumni of Ivy League & Ivy League Plus schools. Among the attendees were two African-American female PhDs. One earned her PhD in Sociology and the other in African American Studies as well as a law degree. Both attended one or two Ivy League schools along the path toward earning a PhD. One claimed that among her two Ivy League schools and a public university grad program, that the brightest students in her cohort were at the public university (UT-Austin), but I attribute that to UT’s law school. If interested, I can share, privately, her contact information with you. She is a very positive, enthusiastic individual who loves talking about education. Currently, she holds a chaired professorship at law school. Her work is known and respected on multiple continents,
With respect to your current cumulative GPA and Princeton University’s preference for high GPAs, you should share that your GPA is weighted down by freshman grades earned during a difficult time in your life. Focus on the upward trend and positives, not the negatives.
Based on your shared profile, you offer a lot to any school community.