Does anyone know of a good list of merit aid schools that award merit aid based on:
ACT/SAT
GPA/Class Rank
I want my merit schools to be safeties so I would like for them to be in the 30-50% acceptance rate range
Also it would be preferable for the school to be in/near Pennsylvania
You are in luck, there are lots of schools in PA (mostly private) that would give merit for certain GPA and test scores.
Allegheny College, Juniata College, St Vincent College, Geneva, Lycoming, Gannon, St Francis University, Duquesne.
They all have net price calculators on their websites. Some even give a merit estimate.
I don’t think schools with acceptance rate of 30-50% can be considered safeties.
They can be safeties if your stats are in their top brackets.
The OP has a 30 ACT. At the moment that would be more like the 25%ile for 30% admit schools (I used Lehihg as representative) .
With an ACT 30, you need schools that admit 50-70% applicants for safeties, and anything 35-40% and less would be a reach.
I’m trying to get my act up to a 34. Currently yes it is a 30 but I’m studying really hard and I’m taking it again in September and there’s a high probability I’ll get a 33+. Also, my other stats are much better than a 30. All my stats combined make schools with a 25-30% acceptance rate a medium reach and if I get my score up they’l be a low reach.
Maybe I was confused at the definition of a safety school. Is a safety school a school you’re virtually guaranteed to get into or school you have competitive stats for?
Safety = Virtually guaranteed, can definitely afford, and would be HAPPY to attend.
Add Susquehanna to the list.
Good luck on improving your ACT.
While it might happen, every year we see a gazillion kids try to significantly raise their scores. most can’t, even with practice and tutors. If all it took were studying, everyone would have much higher scores.
At best, look at schools that give a lot of merit for an ACT 30-32, because that is likely the best you’ll get. If you somehow do better than that, then you can add some other schools.
Yeah. I realize it won’t be easy. But I’ve been prepping for this test for over half a year and I realize where I went wrong the first time I took it. I bombed the science section because I had serious deficiencies in that area (graph reading, time management). I’ve fixed them for the most part, which automatically raises the composite by .5-1 points. Also there were some content weaknesses in math and I panicked really badly on the math section, so I only got a 30 on it. On the full timed practice tests I’ve been doing I’ve been able to consistently score in the 32-33 range on the math tests. So Just through clearing those things up I’m at a low 32. Though, I agree getting to that 34 is going to be really hard due to the fact that you can only miss like 2 questions per section in order to get a 34. I’m really gonna have to work hard perfecting English and Math and try to get into the low 30’s in reading and science and then I might have a chance of getting a 34.
OP the strategy for most with ACT is to improve the strong sections too - so it can help carry your weaker sections. However, as you say, to get tippy/top scores it is missing very few questions. The science test is really how to pick the info out quickly - once in a while they will have a test that is almost all chemistry for example.
Have you tried SAT? Some students do better on one than the other. You may have to chalk up a test to a bad test day too.
However a ACT of 30 is a very good score, just depending on where you live and what kind of a school you are trying to get into.
What do you want to study? Is staying in your geographic area a cost issue? What is affordable? Any commuter schools?
@SOSConcern I took the old SAT two times before I took the ACT. I reached a super score of 2010. I did really bad on my PSAT though which is based off of the new SAT. My PSAT score would convert to like a 28 on the ACT, so it would be a bad Idea to take that. Honestly, if the SAT didn’t change I would have stuck with it, but the new format of it did not mesh well with me. English for me is really easy and I can get a 33 in it no sweat, its just that it is so hard to get anything higher because you can only miss a few questions. I want to study Comp-Sci and my ultimate goal is to get into schools with a 25-35% acceptance rate, my geographic area is actually really cheap, but there aren’t any commuter schools I’d be happy attending.
Once you take the ACT in Sept, you will have a feel for how well you did. Good luck with the testing and getting into a program you like/school you like.