<p>My grades are decent, All A’s except for about 6 A-'s and one B+ (In honors pre-calc). I have taken all Honors classes available to me. By the time I graduate I will have taken all three of the AP classes offered at my high school. My unweighted gpa is around a 3.9. I rank about 15 in my class of 160. I attend a very small, rural public high school in Michigan. I received a 32 composite on the ACT, but only an 8 on the writing portion. I am very involved in extracurriculars. I am a member of NHS, Key Club (volunteer work club), secretary of Student council, I serve on the Board of Directors of a community orchestra which I also play the violin in. In addition to this I am a founding member of a student organizing group designed to promote local high school bands, music, art, films etc. I worked with the Student Conservation Association last summer doing volunteer trail work in Colorado (100+ hours of volunteer service) and I plan on working with the same organization again this year. I have run cross country and track and raced on the Alpine ski team throughout all of High school. I also have a job. My family is very low income and I would need large amounts of financial aid/scholarships to attend college. My question is this: is that good enough for me to even consider selective out-of-state schools such as UC Berkeley etc… Beacuse I have read a lot of profiles of people who have been rejected with much better stats then mine.</p>
<p>When it comes to selective schools, people with higher stats don’t have a guarantee of getting in. I think you should apply, you have the stats and the ECs. Write good essays, and you have not much to lose. Remember to get application fee waivers if you’re eligible, that will make things much less expensive. </p>
<p>Don’t apply to Berkeley. They can’t meet need and since you’re OOS, you’ll likely be stuck with paying the whole thing. Apply to selective schools that promise to meet 100% of need. Ivies, top liberal arts colleges. And to schools that give guaranteed merit scholarships (U Alabama, etc, you can find these on this website, just use the search tool up there) Apply to your state school as a safety (MSU, UM)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>From what you describe, you stand a good chance at being accepted to a very good school. But unfortunately, the UCs simply do not give much financial aid to OOS students, no matter HOW good they are. So definitely consider other selective schools.</p>
<p>^^^These posters are correct about the lack of FA to OOS students at the UCs, and all but a couple of public Us.</p>
<p>Since you’re low income, look into the Questbridge program, there’s a sticky thread about here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/major-scholarships-competitions/713451-2009-questbridge-national-college-match-discussion-help.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/major-scholarships-competitions/713451-2009-questbridge-national-college-match-discussion-help.html</a></p>
<p>* I attend a very small, rural public high school in Michigan.*</p>
<p>Don’t apply to ANY out-of-state public schools and expect to get the financial aid you’ll need. Only Virginia and North Carolina give non-residents financial aid. The other states don’t have enough money to give enough aid to their own residents, much less other state’s residents.</p>
<p>If you’re assured to get a big merit scholarship (such as full tuition plus) from an OOS public, then it could be ok to apply. At that point, you could use federal aid and small loans to pay for the rest.</p>
<p>Are you a URM? </p>
<p>For financial safeties, you need to apply to some in-state public schools…UMich, Mich ST, and a school that you could commute to if necessary.</p>
<p>For reaches and matches - you need to apply to private schools that meet 100% of financial need with either no loans or very small loans. Vandy is such a school.</p>