Match me: VA resident, Class of 2027, looking for LACs with focus on Econ/politics/philosophy but also with STEM options/minors/classes [~3.5 GPA, 1360 SAT, <$50k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US citizen, domestic
  • State/Location of residency: VA
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): 9th grade overseas at British school, 10th/11th at VA Public high school (~4500 students with AP/DE options)
  • Other special factors: N/A

Cost Constraints / Budget
Prefer <50K but could go to 60K per year

Intended Major(s): unknown, want to enter undecided

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: ~3.5
  • Weighted HS GPA: 3.7 start of junior year, expected ~3.8/3.9 going into 12th
  • College GPA: N/A
  • Class Rank: school does not rank
  • ACT/SAT Scores: SAT 1360 (750 English/610 Math - will be taking again to raise math)

List your HS coursework

  • English: IGCSE Honors English in 9th (British school), Honors English in 10th, AP English Comp in 11th and will take AP Lit in 12th.
  • Math: Algebra/Geometry/Algebra II/Pre-Calculus/Calculus AB, will take AP Stats in 12th.
  • Science: Honors Bio, Honors Chem, Honors Physics, AP Physics 1, will take AP Physics 2 or 2C in 12th.
  • History and social studies: Dual Language History in 9th (no AP available in British school), AP World History in 10th, DE (College) US History in 11th, will take AP Comparative Govt in 12th.
  • Language other than English: German in 9th (at British school overseas), Spanish up to Honors Spanish 4.
  • Visual or performing arts: IGCSE Art in 9th, Drama in 11th, will take either Film Studies or Stagecraft in 12th.
  • Other academic courses: Chemistry elective in 9th (British school overseas). Engineering series*:** Engineering Explorations in 10th, Robotics in 11th and will take Engineering seminar in 12th. Psychology/Sociology in 11th. Will take Economics & Personal Finance in 12th (VA required course).*

Grades:

9th grade: (overseas at British School in Spain)
Chemistry (Elective) B
English 9 IGCSE A
German I B
IGSCE Biology B
IGSCE Geometry A
IGSCE Physics B
Pre-Aice World History A

10th grade:
Algebra II A
AP World History* B+
PE B+
Engineering Explorations I B+
Honors Chemistry I H* B
Honors English 10 H* A
Honors Spanish IV H* A-
Pre-Calculus B+

11th grade (anticipated end of year grades):
AP Calculus AB* B+
AP English Lang/Comp* A-
AP Physics I* B-
DE College US History* A-
Engineer & Analysis Apps II (Robotics) A
Intro to Drama A
Sociology (half year) A
Psychology (half year) A-

College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)
(Include college courses taken while in high school if not included above.)

  • General education course work: Dual Enrollment US History
  • Major preparation course work: N/A

Awards: National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist: Recognized for scoring in the top 1% on the PSAT/NMSQT among high school juniors in Virginia. Overseas: Literary award at British school; also awarded first place and selected for publication in regional newspaper short story contest. Selected for school chapter of National Honor Society.

Extracurriculars
Boy Scouts - Community service for a variety of local organizations; many outdoor adventures including two high adventure expeditions: SeaBase and Philmont; several leadership positions including Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and Quartermaster. National Honor Society - community service. (Will likely also have a part-time job by the time applications are submitted).

Essays/LORs/Other
Essays should be decently strong (good writer), LORs should be very strong.

Schools
Looking for suggestions. Mostly interested in a small-mid liberal arts school (but open to larger schools if good fit). Would like Northeast/Mid-Atlantic or Northwest. Prefer cooler weather, access to town or city but doesn’t need to be a huge city like NYC. Prefer a scenic campus with a central area (think UVA Lawn, UMD mall, VA tech Drillfield) and “downtown” area with restaurants etc. walkable from campus. Access to nature nearby a plus (hiking, camping, skiing are all hobbies). Academically it would be good to have some time to figure out a major. Mostly strong interest in studying humanities and exploring/discussing big ideas but also have some interest in STEM topics, and may want to pursue engineering later (interested in things like robotics). For undergrad the focus is more on strong liberal arts education with focus on critical thinking with foundation to pursue other interests post-grad (could be Econ/political science/engineering).

Some colleges on the list now:

Christopher Newport University

LeMoyne University

Willamette University

VA Tech

William & Mary

UVA

Swarthmore

Also interested in International schools such as the University Colleges with broader 4-year programs in countries such as Scotland & Netherlands. (These programs seem to have strong support for American students abroad, and Europe is already very familiar from time living in Spain).

Thank you for your help!!

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University of Delaware?

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If you want to advance to finalist (for greater scholarship opportunities at some colleges), look into whether your grades/GPA and SAT score are high enough. If the latter is not high enough, you may want to retake the SAT or ACT.

If you want to retain the possibility of an engineering major, you need to start the prerequisite math and science courses from the first semester of college to avoid being behind in the curriculum.

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[quote=“PJN27, post:1, topic:3704467”]

Mostly strong interest in studying humanities and exploring/discussing big ideas but also have some interest in STEM topics, and may want to pursue engineering later (interested in things like robotics).

[/quote]

You may wish to look at LACs with 3-2 engineering programs - you spend 3 years at the LAC and then spend two years at a school with an engineering program, and you end up with two bachelor’s degrees.

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However, the OP has a price limit, which becomes smaller per year for five instead of four total years. Also, admission and financial aid to transfer to the “2” school is typically not known in advance of starting at the “3” school.

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The class of 2027 National Merit Semifinalists have not been announced yet so I think you may be jumping the gun a bit here. What was your PSAT/NMSQT score? Your current SAT score does not correspond with what a NMSF from Virginia would need to score to achieve this.

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Demographics

  • US citizen, domestic
  • State/Location of residency: VA
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): 9th grade overseas at British school, 10th/11th at VA Public high school (~4500 students with AP/DE options)
  • Other special factors: N/A

Cost Constraints / Budget
Prefer <50K but could go to 60K per year

Intended Major(s): unknown, want to enter undecided

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: ~3.5
  • Weighted HS GPA: 3.7 start of junior year, expected ~3.8/3.9 going into 12th
  • College GPA: N/A
  • Class Rank: school does not rank
  • ACT/SAT Scores: SAT 1360 (750 English/610 Math - will be taking again to raise math)

List your HS coursework

  • English: IGCSE Honors English in 9th (British school), Honors English in 10th, AP English Comp in 11th and will take AP Lit in 12th.
  • Math: Algebra/Geometry/Algebra II/Pre-Calculus/Calculus AB, will take AP Stats in 12th.
  • Science: Honors Bio, Honors Chem, Honors Physics, AP Physics 1, will take AP Physics 2 or 2C in 12th.
  • History and social studies: Dual Language History in 9th (no AP available in British school), AP World History in 10th, DE (College) US History in 11th, will take AP Comparative Govt in 12th.
  • Language other than English: German in 9th (at British school overseas), Spanish up to Honors Spanish 4.
  • Visual or performing arts: IGCSE Art in 9th, Drama in 11th, will take either Film Studies or Stagecraft in 12th.
  • Other academic courses: Chemistry elective in 9th (British school overseas). Engineering series*:** Engineering Explorations in 10th, Robotics in 11th and will take Engineering seminar in 12th. Psychology/Sociology in 11th. Will take Economics & Personal Finance in 12th (VA required course).*

Grades:

9th grade: (overseas at British School in Spain)
Chemistry (Elective) B
English 9 IGCSE A
German I B
IGSCE Biology B
IGSCE Geometry A
IGSCE Physics B
Pre-Aice World History A

10th grade:
Algebra II A
AP World History* B+
PE B+
Engineering Explorations I B+
Honors Chemistry I H* B
Honors English 10 H* A
Honors Spanish IV H* A-
Pre-Calculus B+

11th grade (anticipated end of year grades):
AP Calculus AB* B+
AP English Lang/Comp* A-
AP Physics I* B-
DE College US History* A-
Engineer & Analysis Apps II (Robotics) A
Intro to Drama A
Sociology (half year) A
Psychology (half year) A-

College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)
(Include college courses taken while in high school if not included above.)

  • General education course work: Dual Enrollment US History
  • Major preparation course work: N/A

Awards: Eligible for 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program in Virginia. Overseas: Literary award at British school; also awarded first place and selected for publication in regional newspaper short story contest. Selected for school chapter of National Honor Society.

Extracurriculars
Boy Scouts - Community service for a variety of local organizations; many outdoor adventures including two high adventure expeditions: SeaBase and Philmont; several leadership positions including Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and Quartermaster. National Honor Society - community service. (Will likely also have a part-time job by the time applications are submitted).

Essays/LORs/Other
Essays should be decently strong (good writer), LORs should be very strong.

Schools
Looking for suggestions. Mostly interested in a small-mid liberal arts school (but open to larger schools if good fit). Would like Northeast/Mid-Atlantic or Northwest. Prefer cooler weather, access to town or city but doesn’t need to be a huge city like NYC. Prefer a scenic campus with a central area (think UVA Lawn, UMD mall, VA tech Drillfield) and “downtown” area with restaurants etc. walkable from campus. Access to nature nearby a plus (hiking, camping, skiing are all hobbies). Academically it would be good to have some time to figure out a major. Mostly strong interest in studying humanities and exploring/discussing big ideas but also have some interest in STEM topics, and may want to pursue engineering later (interested in things like robotics). For undergrad the focus is more on strong liberal arts education with focus on critical thinking with foundation to pursue other interests post-grad (could be Econ/political science/engineering).

Some colleges on the list now:

Christopher Newport University

LeMoyne University

Willamette University

VA Tech

William & Mary

UVA

Swarthmore

Also interested in International schools such as the University Colleges with broader 4-year programs in countries such as Scotland & Netherlands. (These programs seem to have strong support for American students abroad, and Europe is already very familiar from time living in Spain).

Thank you for your help!!

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Fixed it to show “Eligible for 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program in Virginia.” Thanks!

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“Qualified for 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program in Virginia.”

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Compass prep expects the cutoff for NMSF is projected to be 222 selection index.

image
image1206×2622 306 KB

Google ‘compass prep nmsf class of 2027 projected cutoffs’ for the source

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As Momofthree24 correctly pointed out, the semifinalists are not yet announced. The post has been edited to show “Qualified for 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program in VA”. (Can you remove NMSF from the title?). Thanks!!

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Will likely not be in semi-finalist index.

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I can understand the Virginia schools on your list, but can you speak to why LeMoyne, Willamette, and Swarthmore are on your list? What is especially attractive to you about those schools in particular?

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They are all small LACs with strong emphasis on service and critical thinking. Really like the flexibility and openness of Swarthmore’s approach but it’s more selective; would be a reach. Also really like Willamette’s focus on service and using the liberal arts education to make a difference. LeMoyne is Jesuit and seems to have a strong service focus; also like the emphasis on classical education curriculum. Religion is not important but like service-oriented schools and places where you can study classical literature/philosophy/ethics, etc. in addition to math/science.

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What do you mean by this/where do you see this? I ask because some students get confused by the wording on the PSAT score report, which is simply indicating they are “qualified” in the sense that they took psat in 11th grade and met the other requirements (which I think is residency in the US?)

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Schools like Columbia generally do give the same financial aid to transfers as they do to the rest of the student body (need blind, need met), but this can be searched online

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Honestly, your profile fits the kind of student many LACs love because you’re not boxed into a single interest area. Econ + politics + philosophy already works really well together, and having STEM options on top of that makes your application more versatile. I’d seriously check out schools like Dickinson, Denison, Richmond, Wooster, and maybe Lafayette. They tend to encourage interdisciplinary study and smaller discussion-based classes.

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That sounds like the perfect environment!! Will look into those. Thanks!!

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This is perfect. Thank you for the recs! Based on the NPC calculations it looks like Lafayette and Richmond would be too much but the others would be in the ballpark.

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Wooster, mentioned above, is really a special place. It is a small liberal arts college with about 1500 students. Every student who graduates sfrom Wooster does an independent study project (IS) as a senior capstone. IS begins in freshman year and culminates in the senior capstone. While many colleges offer this opportunity, Princeton and Wooster are the only two colleges where it’s a required and integrated part of the curriculum. And Wooster provides the resources to support its students in this endeavor. Although it’s called “independent” study. Students are actually mentored throughout and provided with full faculty support. The value in this can be seen in the number of faculty from other colleges who send their children to Wooster. The college offers majors in Economics, Philosophy, and Political Science, but it is through the IS process that a student can integrate these interests and really make them their own. If college is what you make of it, Wooster provides the opportunity and support to be engaged in active learning and to make the most of your 4 year experience.

Located in the heart of the town of Wooster, Ohio (pop: 27,000) with its historic downtown ams small town charm, the 160 year old college has a beautiful campus with a central quad and lots of green space. Being in town, it is easily walkable to the town’s many restaurants. Service is a campus value as reflected by the Wooster Volunteer Network and Service Saturdays. The town itself was active in the abolitionist movement and today serves as a gateway to Ohio’s Amish country. It is situated about 50 miles south of Cleveland and 35 miles west of Akron.

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