Realistically...

College Search & Lists
1

Realistically what schools could I get into with a 3.65 uw /4.3 w gpa ? My projected ACT would be 30+, nothing that significant about my extracurriculars, or recommendations. My strongest thing would probably be essays. Also I’m from a first generation black refugee family. And yes I know 1 through 6 is a bit of a stretch, could anyone tell me which one of the ones on there I’m for sure not gonna get into ? I want to cut down my list of colleges and want to make sure I have a chance of at least getting into a couple…???

  1. Columbia
  2. Duke
  3. Dartmouth
  4. John Hopkins
  5. Cornell

6) Brown

  1. Rice University
  2. Carnegie Melon
  3. Northwestern
  4. NYU
  5. University of Michigan- Ann Arbor
  6. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  7. University of Minnesota

Or do you guys have any suggestions on what to remove/add to the list?

2

With a strong showing on your tests, and a powerful essay, perhaps some of your top nine would be within reach. What department/division would you be applying to? The admissions prospects are very different for, say, Stern Business at NYU vs. their College of Arts & Sciences. I believe that UMichigan is prohibited under state law from using any racial preferences in admission, but an unusual personal narrative might be admissible. Wait for your test results, and also indicate your department. Carnegie-Mellon’s Computer Science department has a lower acceptance rate than Harvard or Stanford, but other divisions within the university are not as competitive. What state do you live in?

3

Thanks for responding so quickly! I was thinking of applying to either the computer science program or/along with doing premed. Which schools would have a better acceptance rate in that regard?

4

Oh, and I live in Minnesota!

5

10,12 and 13 on your list could be prohibitively expensive unless you can pay full price. Check out Carleton which is in Minnesota (also difficult to get into).

I’d advise you look for more match level (affordable to you) schools once you have your scores.

6

I’m trying to find some scholarships and am hoping to gain some financial aid while also taking out some loans, I’m not really able to afford for college out of pocket…

7

How much can your parents pay?

8

Are you an Anerican citizen? This matters when it comes to financial aid, scholarships and loans.

9

I would suggest starting with some academic and financial safeties. Have you seen this list?

http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

10

Not a lot like around 5k ? I was born in Texas, so yeah I’m a citizen here.

11

I haven’t seen that list, but I’ll take a look at it right now.

12

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

Apply to some schools where you will qualify for automatic large awards.

Then apply to schools on this ^ list that meet full need. You have some of these schools on your list already but as you know they can be hard to get into. Check out the ones in Minnesota. Rice in TX has great financial aid.

OOS publics tend to be expensive and offer little aid.

13

THANK YOU !