Safeties and Matches with Merit Possibility

College Search & Lists
1

Here are my D’s stat, we are looking for ideas on safeties and matches with merit possibilities!:

SAT June 2016: 1550 with 21 on essay

PSAT: 1500 or SI 224 in PA.

Subject: 760 Math 2014/760 US Hi 2015/800 Bio E 2015/800 Chem 2016

AP: 10 5s (Econ 2, bio, chem, AB, BC,stat,etc). Will have 15 APs, most rigorous

GPA: 4.0 unweighted

Ranking: doesn’t rank, but 1% if not top 1

EC: Varsity swimming, captain next year, Robotics Girl leadership org, math club… All leadership role for at least 1-2 years
President FBLA for 2 years with two state 2nd place (individual event) awards and one national individual event award
Writing in local newspaper, city youth news
Carson Scholar…organizing her own events in teaching kids math and girls STEM
City, state awards on STEM and writing, etc

Want to study double major engineering and political science or engineering and business. We have CWRU and Penn State as her safeties and
Michigan, USC, Emory/Ge Tech(D might be interested in the dual program there), CMU, Rice as matches.

D is talking to me about ROI or payback on her education - she wants to save her parents money!

Any suggestions for changes or additional ideas? Thank you so much!!

2

Right now, her matches are actually reaches and her CWRU is a match.
What do you need in merit aid?
Pitt, URochester, Tulane, and UMiami could give significant merit. Also UAlabama would give full tuition.

3

@usualhopeful, thank you for your feedback. Seems like that we overestimated her chance based on school Naviance data. We actually don’t need aid, will be paying sticker price pretty much everywhere. She did go to UA presentation and is not feeling it. Will have to look into others you suggested… Are they matches, or reaches, or safeties for her? Thanks!

4

Pitt would be a safety admissions wise, she’s at least ballpark for merit.
The other 3 are matches. Not sure about UMiami, but Rochester, Tulane, and Case all want demonstrated interest, otherwise high stats kids often get rejected (at Rochester, that means set up an interview - off campus is fine).

5

Visit Pitt and if she likes it you can apply now and get your acceptance soon and forget about finding other safeties.

6

I had much lower stats and Tulane gave me 108k in merit money

7

What kind of engineering? Tulane only offers biomed & chemE.

8

-Boston University (Match)
-Elon University (Low Match)
-Lehigh University (High Match)
-Temple University (Safety; Possible Full Tuition)
-Villanova University (Match)

9

URochester (mentioned), a school with a nice, traditional campus, might be a good addition.

10

Run the Net Price Calculator on each school’s web site to get an idea of costs for your family.

11

Check out Northeastern and Villanova if you want merit aid and a double major.

12

What does high match of low match mean? She is actually at Lehigh for a former governor school, an engineering camp. When we pick her up, we will visit as part of the parents activity :wink: We visited Case last year and D loves it! She wants to do Industrial Engineering…fitting for a girl who lined up assembly line for her valentine day cards at 2nd grade.

NPC is not my friend!

13

Schools like Northeastern, BU, Villanova, Rochester etc. have been known to reject or waitlist applicants they deem to be using the school as a safety.

14

Some things to peruse:

http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/

15

Elon’s engineering program is a 3-2

There are some smaller schools that offer accredited engineering degrees and offer good $$ for top students. They often get overlooked amongst the larger state U’s and big-name LACs but could be strong safeties with merit for a student such as this. They also have honors programs that offer a lot of additional perks to top students. A few include:

  • Valparaiso
  • Bradley
  • Scranton
16

@SincererLove, high match usually refers to a school at the top of the match range, almost a reach. Low match is a match that is close to being a safety.

17

I heard Tufts does the same thing. If the OP is a PA resident, Pitt and PSU would make good safeties, with CWRU possible with merit aid. In the Big 10, OSU, MSU might give merit aid and will be driving distance. For her major, these are all equivalent levels schools. She should pick the one she is the most comfortable with/is the cheapest.

18

If you don’t want to pay $65-70k per year, GA Tech is her best bet and saves $100,000 even at sticker and it’s better than most of the schools on her list.

19

@TomSrOfBoston @Zinhead “Schools like Northeastern, BU, Villanova, Rochester etc. have been known to reject or waitlist applicants they deem to be using the school as a safety.”

How do you think Unis deem students are using the school as a safety. Is it kids that show no interest in the school or kids that just have really high stats relative to the rest of the Uni? I just can’t picture a top school like Tufts assuming kids are using it as a safety? Thanks!

20

Maybe it no longer applies but if you google “Tufts Effect”…
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1499369-wash-u-vs-tufts-vs-rice.html