Hey Guys! I’m relatively new around these forums so here’s to hoping I create this right! I’m a rising senior in the class of 2016 a little bit late to the whole college search game. My current achievements (I do not like calling them “stats” as humans are much more than numbers) to date are as follows:
UW GPA: 3.95/4
Class Rank: 13/475
ACT Composite: 32 (10 on writing)
AP: Have only taken one, but have taken many courses at the community college: AP Government - 5
Senior course load: AP Stats, AP Psych, PLTW Biomedical Science, Marketing 2 (Only so I can do DECA), Speech & Debate, Econ @ CC & Sociology @ CC.
Extracurricular & Leadership positions is by far my biggest strength as I’m one of the most outgoing athletes there is haha
Varsity Basketball Captain
Varsity Volleyball Captain
Student Adviser to the Athletic Director
(Helped start School leadership academy as well as ACT prep classes for athletes)
Senior Class Vice President
Member of Principals Advisory Counsel
NHS member with 100+ hours of service
FCA Member
(Many Tasks such as dance planning/ T-shirt designing/Pep rally coordinating/ etc.)
Eagle Scout (One of my proudest yet nerdiest accomplishments lol)
FBLA Chapter President (Top 10 largest in nation): Competed at the national conference this summer and placed in the Top 10 in my event.
DECA: Community service Coordinator/ Made it to the state competition in Hospitality Management
Freshman Transition/ Link Crew Leader
Founder of Badminton Club (More Fun than anything else)
Now my question revolves around what colleges I should have on my list to look into?
I would preferably Major in biopsychology/ behavioral neuroscience and minor in either economics or philosophy.
I am open to any geographic location and prefer a larger school over a larger one
I am also hoping to find large merit aid (stamps scholarship?) as I don’t hope to be in a hole after my undergrad…
Thanks for your recommendations as it means so much to me!
You sound like a strong candidate for a number of schools… but here’s where your true leadership skills come to the test. I recommend you go to your bookstore or library and buy or check out a reputable guide to colleges (perhaps start with the Fiske book) and read about different schools. Take notes for yourself on what you like (for example, good campus food), what you don’t (maybe you don’t want the distractions of being in an overly urban setting), and what you’d like to know more about.
While many students gravitate to the most prestigious schools, you can get a quality education and great opportunities at pretty much any good school, and if you’re looking for merit aid, you’re more likely to find it at a slightly less selective school than the very top tier. So do your homework, and when you have a list of schools, you can come back and share what you’ve learned and THEN ask for feedback. Otherwise, it seems like you’re asking people here to do your work for you, which we will be notoriously bad at doing.
–Is merit aid a must-have or is it nice-to-have?
–Can your family afford your typical Expected Family Contribution?
–Can you clarify/correct your size preference?
Dunboyne, thanks for the questions! My family only has one income in my mother’s who makes roughly 125,000 a year. I also have around 20,000 in savings. Looking at these lofty tuition at elite schools just does not seem doable in my situation? And as far as size is concerned, I’m pretty open to anything but just do not prefer a small school (LACs)
Be careful with the inputs. You will be given an EFC. Then discuss with your family how much you can afford per year. See if you can afford the contribution expected of you (EFC).
This will give you a better idea of whether you need to be looking for merit aid, and how much.