When I took the PSAT my sophomore year, I also opted into letting colleges contact me. I don’t know what I expected to gain from it, but, the only nonreligious school that’s sent me mail has been out of state, which isn’t an option. Now, since I’m trying to avoid going to Houston, the only one of consideration would be Hardin-Simmons in Abilene (who has contacted me with early decisions, scholarships, and all that other jazz someone wants to hear to avoid stress).
… I have tried religion. My brothers and friends gave me multiple different paths to try, and nothing felt right. At this point I really just consider myself Agnostic with no desire to seek whether a god or gods actually exist. That’s not to say I dislike religion or religious people, it’s just not my area of interest.
And then, of course, there’s the factor that I’m not straight.
Based on that, is it wrong to consider them as a choice? UT and UTSA are still my go-to choices, but, I have to have more than two options (and why not base a third on all the mail you get from them?).
Some schools will require you take a religious class while many schools will not. It really depends on the school. At a school like SMU it would be no big deal. Baylor would require more. Assuming we are talking about religious instate schools…the smaller the school the more religious it will be. Again this is just a general statement.
Have you estimated your total cost of attendance after their max scholarship award? Looks like their tuition would still be quite hefty and more than some of our state schools.
Don’t base your college search on which colleges email you from the PSAT/College Board.
What are your stats and what do you want to study?
I visited HS way back in the day so take this with a grain of salt but I think as a non-religious, non-straight person you would be pretty miserable at Hardin-Simmons. It was pretty wound up tight conservative, the dorms had curfews (not sure if this is the case still) and the chapel requirement was definitely a happening thing.
What about UNT? Definitely has more of a liberal vibe, they are generous with merit aid and it might be a better fit.
Hardins Simmons would make you sign a creed where you promise to abstain from sinful relations, meaning that as a gay youth you will not be allowed to date and you could be kicked out for being gay.
BTW this is just promotional marketing stuff. It’s not even sent by HS, it’s sent by a third party that has been contracted by HS to send brochures and emails to all test takers within a certain geographical range and score level.
What are your stats?
Are you top 7%? Top 10%?
Trinity, St Eward’s, Texas Lutheran are good (and listed in order of selectivity).
What’s your budget?
Is the requirement to stay within TX absolute or can you seek OOS merit money to make other universities the same cost as in-state ones?
If I were a non-religious gay person I would want to attend a larger university instead of a smaller one. It really depends on your stats. A school like UNT or Texas State University would be on my radar. Without knowing your stats and financial situation it’s kind of hard to give you school advice.
Stats: Honestly, I’m unsure. I am unable to receive them unless I meet with my counselor directly and finding time to do that is becoming increasingly difficult. I know my GPA sits between a 3.6 and a 3.7.
Financial: I applied for FAFSA the first and, in short, my EFC was zero. My mom and I make less than 20000 a year and, even if I could manage to find a job around here, we still wouldn’t make much more than that. I have applied for scholarships, and looked at loans and grants.
My intended path is psychology. Believe me when I say that PSAT promotional mail was not my only resource, it was just another place to branch off (and another excuse for family to try and pressure me to certain schools). Truthfully, I wanted to avoid the idea of religious universities simply because of my worries about it, but it seemed worth it to ask. Regardless of seemingly wonderful factors, I do believe I’ll be avoiding Hardins-Simmons.
Also, in regards to being limited to Texas: yes and no. I have looked at other schools out of state because I have the potential to get into them, but, due to lacking funds, I don’t exactly have the means to travel out of state (even a massive road trip is more money than I have). It might be different if I didn’t live so close to Galveston, but, traveling is a bit of an impossibility without mooching off my cousin’s frequent flyer miles (or the university bringing me to them, which seems very doubtful).
I first suggest you look at schools that have at minimum a bus that can take you back and forward from school. I do not know your ACT/SAT but UT may be a reach with your GPA. Since your gay I would suggest you go to a larger school so you will have more people around you with common interest. UTSA, UofH, Texas State, UNT or Sam Houston, Texas A&M would all be good options. I helped a kid last year with a EFC of 0 get into Texas State and he was offered Bob cat promise which covers his finances for all four years. He did have to take out some loans but he is doing well and loves it at TXST. None of these schools are religious based and they have offer bus service to Houston for cheap. Since visting some of these schools may be a challenge I would suggest you go to these schools student Twitter pages to get a feel for the school. Texas State will be TXST20,UH20, UTSA20 etc. Good luck with your search.
@Deandravk —what do you see yourself doing with a psychology degree? What kind of work do you want to do?
I have to throw a plug in here for TXST and if Concrete Industry Management or Construction Science would interest you at all. http://www.txstate.edu/technology/degrees-programs/undergraduate.html There is a cement plant located in New Braunfels that they partner with, just 13 miles away. Cement is the #2 building material in the world, second only to water. Job opportunities would not just be at cement plants. Of course, there are a lot of other majors there as well.
TXST is very affordable. Our son’s tuition is around 5K a semester. He no longer buys books until he knows he absolutely has to and spends around $300 each semester. Living expenses are more but it all depends on where and how you live. The bus system is super. Don’t really need it on campus, though there are hills to traverse,lots of stairs, it is easily walkable. He lives off campus now and takes the bus to campus. The buses will also take you to most of the shopping areas you need to go. There is an HEB basically on campus, right across the street from the Vista’s on campus apartments (don’t live there, they are pricey and horrible- personal experience) if you want to shop and take stuff back to your dorm.
@Deandravk : actually top schools have programs where they pay your airfare so you visit. They’re called ‘fly ins.’ I’ll look up the colleges’ fly in apps with October deadlines.
This is a website for first generation college students.Here’s the list of fly-ins - the deadlines often have passed but there are still a couple.
http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/college-fly-diversity-programs-2016-2017/