Urgent College Advice for Low-Income student

College Search & Lists
1

Hi, everyone. I’m wondering whether I should apply to other colleges. My stats are below. I’m worried that the colleges that I’m applying to are very selective and that I’m running the risk that I’ll end up without any options, but can’t seem to find options that I can afford (my parents can’t afford to pay anything) and that I like. I’m a QuestBridge finalist but didn’t get matched to any of the colleges I ranked and was later deferred by UChicago. I’m pretty nerdy, a big buff of military history, and I like board games; so I thought UChicago would be a great fit. I’m interested in double majoring in History and Political Science, and would like to work in the State Department or CIA or some other government agency. I’d prefer to study near to a big city, especially DC. I’m also a Conservative Republican, especially socially, and I would not like to go to an extremely liberal school, but I am respectful and enjoy intelligent discussion. Please tell me whether I should apply to any more colleges, and if so, please give recommendations. I’d be glad to answer any questions.
Objective:
SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 2290 (790 CR, 700 Math, 800 Writing, 10 Essay).
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 US History, 800 Spanish.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8.
AP (place score in parentheses): Took 9 classes, but was unable to take any tests due to financial constraints.

Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP World History, AP US government, and maybe another class.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NHRP scholar. QB finalist.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Nothing organized, though I like playing board games and am a big History buff.
Job/Work Experience: A job a few summers ago, and worked online for a data privacy company for a while.
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering at a foundation to help students at poor schools.
Essays: I thought my two QuestBridge essays were very good.
Teacher Recommendations: Probably weak, as I study in an online school and barely know my teachers.
Counselor Rec: Probably weak, even though I am probably the school’s best student in its history.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes.
Projected Concentration: History, Political Science.
State/Country: US citizen living in Colombia, South America.
School Type: Online.
Ethnicity: Hispanic.
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 2014: $15,000. 2015: $45,000. 2016: Probably $0 (dad lost job).
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM.

Reflection
Strengths: Test scores, unique story.
Weaknesses: Lack of extracurriculars and organized studies.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Could have written better essays and studies were somewhat disorderly.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Already applied to Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, and will apply to Emory, Northwestern (Legacy), Harvard, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, UPenn, Georgetown, and Christendom College.

2

I think your list looks good, but also apply to some schools that will give you HUGE awards for NHRP. Does Texas A&M? If so, apply there.

Anyone else know who will give huge awards (larger than free tuition).

3

Check out Washington and Lee University. It’s a fantastic LAC in Lexington, Virginia, about 150 miles from D.C.
Virginia is a medium-sized state, so Langley or Quantico won’t be exactly in your backyard, but you could always visit them for the funs factor hahah I know I sure I will!
It has an excellent financial aid system and the largest endowment-to-student-population I’ve ever seen. People earning below a certain threshold don’t even pay tuition (I won’t for sure, if I get accepted.).

80% white population. Lacks diversity, which is fantastic, for us Hispanics, I mean. They’re trying very hard to attract diverse students(so much so that the Internstional app fee is free!) Gorgeous campus, mostly conservative students, that charming Southern feel, one of, if not the best Greek life in the nation!

It’s certainly a school that one should visit beforehand, some may not like it. I consider myself in the center of the political spectrum, leaning more left. I did feel a bit apprehensive about the conversativsm on campus but… I called in a few days ago and they were so… So… Nice to me. They left a lasting impression.

4

Oh and, on a tangent… CIA is great. Perhaps I have had some thoughts of stopping by in the future, but I couldn’t tell you for sure. Though, if HUMINT isn’t really your style, NGA is the place to go. Also located in Virginia, it’s arguably the most… Hm, secretive? I guess that’s not the word, but within the intelligence community it’s one of the players responsible for most military intelligence. Check it out, some very advanced things coming from there :slight_smile:

Eherm, but yes, W&L all the way man. With your stats, you’ll have a nice shot of getting in. Don’t forget to show interest either, as that’s a “Very Important” factor for them. I have an interview this week with an alumnus so I’m crossing my fingers!

5

@mom2collegekids. I looked at Texas A&M and they offer a $14,000 scholarship for NHRP scholars. I will look at it and maybe will apply. Thanks for the recommendation.

6

@AGoodFloridian. Washington & Lee sounds interesting. I’ll be reading about it and may apply. Regarding CIA and NGA, I’m a bit more of an analysis person and believe would be good at writing reports than decyphering satellite images. Good luck with your W&L application. Thanks for the recommendation.

7

As a QB Finalist, aren’t you getting inundated with emails from partner schools asking you to apply? My son was a QB finalist last year and ended up applying RD to W&L, Swarthmore, Amherst, MIT, Stanford and Northwestern through QB after he wasn’t matched. Amherst is very generous with FA, but seems pretty liberal. Whichever schools you apply to, I would recommend showing as much interest as possible. My son was accepted at NW and Amherst, wait-listed at Stanford, Swarthmore, and W&L. He visited Amherst and NW and didn’t do anything re: the others besides completing the application materials.

8

As soon as I read military history buff, Dickinson College came to mind. It is not near a big city but does have a Washington, DC program (semester or summer). Very good LAC, less competitive than the schools on your list. Do not know how QuestBridge or their financial aid would work for you, but may be worth a look.

9

@greeninohio. I’m actually applying to several QB partner colleges, but was looking for safeties as all QB partner schools are pretty selective.

10

@LuckyCharms913. I looked at Dickinson’s NPC, and I would have to take $5000 out in loans, something which I’m a bit wary of doing. I’ll look a bit more at the college, though.

11

You will probably have to take out loans for most of the schools on your list. Including the Direct Loan amounts is still considered meeting need. Not true of the schools with huge endowments which don’t package loans at all but most schools do.