<p>Thanks again for those replies. D is a junior, just took the SAT for the first time in December. Her first self-practice test score was 2200 with no studying so she is anxious to see her results and her goal is 2300-2400. </p>
<p>She is interested in compsci/engineering, coming from a public school with not many APs or much depth in math and science. Most, but not all, of her ECs are not tied to the school she attends, but show depth, consistency, growth and her genuine interest in her quirky interests. </p>
<p>Dad and I are divorced, my income is less than 25K, dad is around 40K so financial aid, both merit and need based will be key. Would rather assume she makes commended/does not get NMSF/NMF and start finding alternatives now than hope for making the cutoff. </p>
<p>With top tier schools so competitive for admissions, we know they are a crapshoot even for those with perfect stats. She’ll apply, she just knows there is no guarantee, so she is looking for schools that are both admission AND financial safeties or super strong matches. Any suggestions on which forum to start a thread for those kind of suggestions?</p>
<p>Thanks for all your replies. They give us much to think about.</p>