It seems your list already includes most of the highly selective colleges within an hour and a half of southern New Jersey. Nonetheless, if you might be willing to extend your geographical range somewhat, look into Vassar.
OP, if you applied to Princeton REA and Haverford ED, I urge you to change one of those to RD ASAP. You do not want your counselor or the schools to find out that you did that, or both schools will pull your apps.
Do you have at least one affordable safety/highly likely on your list? Does Fordham look affordable per their NPC?
@thumper1@Mwfan1921
My apologies—that is a typo!! So far, I’ve only applied to Princeton, Fordham, Rutgers, and UMD. I’m applying to Haverford RD. Sorry for the confusion.
Regarding affordability, Rutgers, UMD, and Fordham should be affordable with merit aid… Should I look for more safeties that will be affordable with need-based aid only?
I would be really surprised if Fordham gets below $25K (and your post says ideally less than $10K)…is that what the NPC shows? I do know there are some full tuition awards but they are super competitive and you can’t count on that. @fiftyfifty?
Also, I don’t think UMD OOS will get to that price…maybe others can chime in on that @momsearcheng?
OP what is your budget that would mean you take no more than the $27K in total undergrad student loans? Did you run the NPC of all the schools on your list? If your SAI is $20K I don’t see NPCs getting to less than $10K (talking primarily need based aid, at the schools that only offer need based aid.)
Unless OP gets the Banneker Key full ride scholarship (given to very few OOS students), UMD won’t come under $25k. Several years ago, my daughter with similar stats (but applying to CS) received their highest non-BK scholarship and that was $12k/year. Current COA is $63k. Even if the scholarship amount has increased to $15-16k, that’s still over $45k/year.
You have done really well in HS - Congratulations. I think your list looks pretty good from an acceptance standpoint as there are several likely schools on it - I’d maybe consider adding another target or two as you don’t have a lot in the middle (mostly likely & reach schools) although if you would be happy at Rutgers/Fordham/UMD you are probably good to go. My bigger concern is your budget - have you run the NPC at all these schools? The most generous schools are, unfortunately, the toughest admits (Princeton/Penn etc) and at some of your likely schools I don’t know if you’ll meet your budget #.
Agree that Fordham is an admission safety, but a financial reach if goal COA is below $25K/yr. Fordham does have some full tuition scholarships, and OP would be a competitive candidate, but unless OP could commute from home, COA would still be ~$25K/yr. Fordham also offers a very few true full ride scholarships (tuition, room, board, fees, stipend.) Best wishes!!
I think this is a thoughtful and appropriate list given your stated geographic limits.
That said, I am a little confused because UMD is like 2.5 hours or more from South Jersey, Georgetown pushing 3.
And there is nothing wrong with that! I totally get why this kid would be interested in those colleges, but it just makes me wonder if they could consider a few more that would be pushing their boundaries a bit.
Like Gettysburg College is also around 3 hours from South Jersey, and I always like to mention it to kids interested in small schools and political stuff. Their Poli Sci major is very popular, and the Eisenhower Institute hosts a lot of cool programs:
Lafayette, Lehigh, Dickinson and F&M all meet need. Have you done the NPCs. The issue is they are need aware.
You’ll get Bryn Mawr. The question will be budget. Will school’s meet it? Your EFC is not the issue. They will use CSS. What do the NPCs say ?
I imagine you’ll get more than Bryn Mawr.
In the end your budget will be the issue so make sure you do the NPCs. And expand the list just in case but your profile appears extremely strong. TCNJ might make a better fit than Rutgers since you want a 7k max. UMD makes zero sense.
Your geography is also a bit limiting potentially.
Wesleyan is about 3 hours, but it aligns with what you’re looking for. Need-aware but meets full need. No supplements so would be a pretty easy RD app to add.