i’m pretty much an unhooked white girl from the midatlantic… i’m a junior & trying to make a college list and i’m totally indecisive. any advice / ideas would be great
gpa: 3.93 uw (could go down a little bit with this semester but not a ton), 4.6ish w
sat: 2330 (800 cr / 770 math / 740 writing), 240 psat
not a ton of ap test scores (2 5’s from sophomore year, took 3 this year and did well on at least 2 i think)
ec’s are ok but not stellar: editor in chief of school newspaper, captain of speech team, one really cool summer program, summer research, some volunteering in different capacities
girl in a stem magnet if that counts at all??
i think i want to eventually go into international development, maybe with a focus on sustainable agriculture or else human rights? there are many different fields i could see myself in and it freaks me out to feel like i’m limiting myself.
in terms of money, my parents can pay 30k a year maybe? they saved a bunch of money for retirement which means schools expect us to pay almost full price but in terms of income, we can’t afford that. which sucks but whatever.
i’m v liberal. i can’t see myself at a conservative school but it also doesn’t have to be totally homogenous in political views. maybe a small school? maybe a women’s school? i’m kind of thinking smith, macalaster, swarthmore, haverford, maybe even yale but lol.
any advice??
You have fantastic stats and the schools you mentioned sound great. You need to figure out the culture of the school you want. There isn’t much difference in the top 20 of either the university or liberal arts college rankings.
I wanted to point something out, that retirement accounts are not counted in the financial aid calculations nor is home equity. There might be some internal limits from school to school but for the vast majority of families this is not an issue.
Check out Cornell for majors that might interest you regarding agriculture and run Cornell’s NPC.
Terrific stats! You are competitive for merit awards at schools like Vandy and Duke. And take a look at USC because you could be competetive for a full tuition or even full ride merit scholarship.
To be more correct money put in designated retirement accounts before you apply for FA is not counted. And some non-FAFSA colleges will count home equity above a certain level. The OP should definitely be running the NPCs on each school’s web site and talking with her parents about the results.
Technically true above, current contributions to retirement accounts are backed into income and at some point home equity is accounted for especially for a home that is not a primary residence but for the vast majority of families this is not a material issue.
You definitely have the chops to aim high, for any college you want, provided you have some acceptable, affordable match and safety colleges lined up. You would undoubtedly qualify for a nice merit package, or need-based aid, almost anywhere. There’s no reason not to give Yale a shot. I’d also look at University of Chicago, Pomona, Grinnell, Brown, and Barnard. Your own state Honors College can be a safety, or you can probably consider Goucher, New College of FL, Skidmore, or Earlham safe bets (with very generous aid almost guaranteed). I think Occidental or Whitman would be low-matches for you (my son got into both with much, much lower stats). Scripps, Pitzer, Bryn Mawr, and Oberlin are probably all near-matches.
Vassar, Reed College, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd (if you’re still interested in STEM).
Macalister and Smith are good choices if you are looking for merit aid. Oberlin and Grinnell also meet your criteria. Then take a look at schools that are a bit less selective, where you would be in the top 10% of applicants and that provide merit aid.
Of course, your State U honors programs would probably be a good safety - UMD, UVA and William & Mary are all highly regarded in-state options depending on where you live in the mid-atlantic region, so you are fortunate. UMD’s College Park campus is commutable to DC for internships in your field(s) of interest. And check out the Banneker/Key scholarship at UMD, for example (if you are in-state.)
How to you know the schools expect you to pay full, did you run the NPC already? To see if you qualify for need based aid start running the Net Price Calculators with your parents. If they are full payers then target schools where you can get big merit.
I think you are looking at reasonable choices in schools with varying difficulty to get in and some and you can put some big reaches in the mix if you want. Your EC have some significant leadership. But it doesn’t look like you have a ‘thing’ more BWRK?
Your school should have info on where students like you get admitted recently. Naviance or just the GC’ experience. Women’s colleges are good to include because they are strong academically but the admit rate doesn’t reflect is as much as peer schools because some students will rule them out.