<p>High school grades are nowhere close to perfect predictors of college performance, but they are the best predictors available to college admissions committees in general. Standardized test scores do add some predictive value, though less than high school grades, and their predictive value depends on the test and the student’s major (e.g. SAT math has a strong correlation to college success majoring in math or physics, but no correlation overall, presumably due to lower scorers choosing less math-intensive majors).</p>
<p>There is a big difference between “they are middle or lower income and cannot pay” versus “they are upper income and refuse to pay”. In the former case, you are likely to get generous financial aid from schools that do give financial aid generously (not all do); in the latter case, your family will be expected to cover much or all of the cost, and you won’t get much need-based aid even at the generous schools.</p>
<p>In the latter case, you need to look for some cheap options:</p>
<ul>
<li>Low safeties with big merit scholarships (Alabama, UAB, etc.).</li>
<li>Community college, followed by transfer to a four year school to complete your bachelor’s degree.</li>
<li>Military service academies, but that probably is not appealing to a communist.</li>
<li>Deep Springs College, but highly selective and only a two year school, so you need to find a four year school to complete your bachelor’s degree.</li>
<li>Wait until you are independent for financial aid purposes (age 24, married, or veteran of the armed forces) before attending a more expensive school.</li>
<li>Try for the rare full-ride scholarships (e.g. Robertson at UNC or Duke), but those are likely harder to get than the admission to the most selective schools.</li>
</ul>
<p>They are mid-income and refuse to pay what little they CAN. I have done extensive financial aid research, and my family/I is/am well within the range to receive large amounts of aid.</p>
<p>Also, I have certainly looked at Deep Springs. In fact, it is my first choice of school. But it is, as you mentioned, highly selective. Moreso than my other five top choices (only one of which, by the way, belongs to the athletic conference I believe JohnBlack is referring to).</p>
<p>Man, I was just gonna suggest Deep Springs! My son was not interested in philosophy (as a major) and I didn’t research those schools. But I would guess that your best choices in schools wouldn’t be the Ivy-equivalents anyway, because my UNINFORMED GUESS is that those schools are for more standard students than you anyway. (Honest, I’m not dissing the Ivies, I just think OP is a little off the wall for my uninformed guess about those schools!) I suggest you get the book “Cool Colleges: For the Hyper-Intelligent, Self-Directed, Late Blooming, and Just Plain Different”. Colleges I’ve heard of that sound interesting for you are Reed, Marlboro, St John’s College (and of course Deep Springs).</p>
<p>And as for the gap year, I’d apply to colleges in senior year of high school and take a deferral from your favorite, or, if you don’t like the options in April of senior year, THEN plan to redo it all during the gap year. The reason for that is 1) it’s easier to collect letters of recommendation, etc., when you’re in school all the time, 2) if you get into a school you like in senior year, your gap year can be all the more scrumptious for not having to worry about applications, and 3) you’ll only have a few months of gap before applications start again and it really isn’t that much time to reinvent yourself on the applications.</p>
<p>For your essays, I’d advise not even mentioning your GPA. It’s good but not great, but it would be hard for you to mention it without letting a hint of your “woe is me” or arrogance out. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things you’ve done and what you’ve learned from them.</p>
<p>Also, you can take AP tests even if you didn’t have an official AP class. If that interests you, you’d better check into it immediately. I don’t know when the deadlines are in spring, but they’re early.</p>
<p>If you have 4.0 Junior and Senior year you might increase your chance. I wouldn’t retake your SAT at all unless your scores for each section are uneven, ie less than 750+.
At this point there is not much anybody can tell you except to apply and see what happens.</p>
<p>Your stats are good. I’ll say this straight up: anyone like Waverly who says straight out that you won’t get into a top school, is peddling terrible advice. He can’t predict elite college admissions. Neither can I. This is why we build lists with reaches, matches, and safeties. Apply to ANY school in the country, even Harvard, if you think you want to attend there. Just make sure you have a backup plan if you do get rejected. There’s no harm in applying, and you stand to gain a hell of a lot more than you do to lose. With a 2300 SAT, it’s total BS for someone to say you have no chance.</p>
<p>Also, I’d like to echo GeekMom63’s advice. Focus on the positive in your essays. Your GPA isn’t so bad that you need to write an apologetic essay about your GPA, and you have a lot of amazing material for your essays. Essays are your place to sell yourself. Don’t waste one talking about your GPA when you could be talking about one of your other amazing activites.</p>
<p>^I believe in content over simple authority. He said, and I quote, “You will get into very solid schools, but not very top ones.”</p>
<p>I take issue with this statement. I don’t believe college admissions are that straight up and simple. I don’t care if you’ve worked in college admissions for 25 years. You can’t predict admissions at even one “very top” college, let alone predict admissions at every single college that falls under that slippery definition.</p>
<p>If the OP believes that, say, Harvard is his or her dream school, no one should say that it’s impossible or speak in concrete terms like the above quote. You can say it’s a major reach, but to say that someone flat out won’t get in is like predicting the future. We’re here to give advice, not predict the future. Unless they give you a college admissions crystal ball after your 25th year in the business, I don’t think such a definite claim is justified.</p>
<p>Of course, some people incorrectly estimate the safety of their safeties. Admissions selectivity has been increasing at many schools, even at moderately selective state schools. And affordability must be taken into account before designating a school as a safety. Also, schools which list “level of interest” as an admissions criterion should not be counted on as safeties.</p>
<p>My D also graduated from a school which sounds similar to yours. I think that rank is much less important for kids coming out of small, selective private schools than it is for kids coming out of large publics. You sound like a strong candidate who has a reasonable shot at a lot of good schools. Your counselor will have the best idea of your chances at any specific school.</p>
<p>I was wondering a lot about Reed and St. John’s. Specifically about how prospective top-tier Law Schools might view an undergraduate education there.
Another worry I have is that, since I have already read many of the “Great Books”, I might feel as if I’m retreading old ground while studying.
Finally, I know almost nothing about these schools, but judging purely off acceptance rates (which are obviously a very poor judge), I am concerned for the level of intelligence of my fellow students. The thing I prioritize most of all in this search for colleges is intelligence of my peers, which might explain a tendency towards the prestigious. I am not saying that these students are not intelligent, I am simply saying that I know too little about these colleges or their students to really make an educated guess. Could someone else who is possibly more familiar with these colleges offer some help?</p>
<p>“Another worry I have is that, since I have already read many of the “Great Books”, I might feel as if I’m retreading old ground while studying.”</p>
<p>Reed’s Classics course (Hum 110) makes up 10% of Reed’s graduation requirements, by units.</p>
<p>Dr. Google: I was considering Oxford, yes, but their financial aid policy in regard to international applicants is less than generous. As such, it would be impossible for me to attend, even were I accepted.</p>