Small school? Large school?
Pitt comes to mind if you like cities and urban living, U Rochester if you like Urban with a more traditional campus. Case Western is often liked if the other two appeal.
A quick google search also came up with this list:
Both Pitt and Case Western are on it.
Like others, I’d be concerned with cost. Run some Net Price Calculators to see if they turn out affordable on some you like before investing a lot of time thinking about them.
I recommend Jesuit colleges.
You need to talk budget now.
Boston University would cost you 82,000 a year. This means your parents need to have an extra almost $7000/month of cash not going to bills to spend on your college tuition.
Your total undergraduate cost at BU would be $328,000. If you stay in social work, this could be the total of about 6 years of full time work after graduation IF you gave 100% of your salary to pay for student loans.
Have you considered doing another year of high school abroad, through AFS, Rotary, or another exchange organization? You could still wrap up your graduation requirements this year, but take advantage of advanced coursework and language immersion in a fourth year as a “super-senior.” I’d expect the danger of “senioritis” to be much less with a complete change of scene like this, and a different set of challenges. You could defer admission to a college you get into this year, but you could also float some new applications next year, and it could strengthen your application to finish junior year strong and add the broadening experience of a year abroad.
Applying now, with a downward grade trend in the first half of your junior year, isn’t going to put you in a strong position for the most competitive/“prestigious” colleges. AO’s may question why you’re graduating early when your grades don’t suggest that you’re under-challenged. There are certainly plenty of good options, if you’re determined to start college next year, but they’re not likely to be highly-competitive private U’s or LAC’s, and besides, your ability to afford schools with an 80K/year sticker price isn’t clear either. (BU-wise, CGS could be your best bet, and that would be a January start… so having a plan in mind for a semester gap, whether at home or abroad, could be smart as well.)
Flagship U’s where you could be eligible for in-state tuition could be smart to include in your list. U of Maine’s Flagship Match program is one option - this would certainly be a complete change of scene from Texas, and they have a BSW program. U of Utah has a path to residency after the first year, and has a BSW program as well. In fact, they have this scholarship program for students interested in child welfare: Title IV-E Program - College of Social Work - The University of Utah Salt Lake City would also give you a very different experience from Texas, with good transportation options and tons of local resources.
You really don’t want to take on undergraduate debt for a social work and/or pre-law degree. Social work pays relatively poorly, and law school is expensive. Coming out of undergrad without debt will be one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.
Have you applied anywhere yet? Do you have your Letters of Recommendations?
Simmons University feels like a good fit for you.
Since I have a quick break I’ll add my reasons.
I’m generally not a big believer in graduating early. It’s nice to start college, but there’s a big difference in maturity between 17 and 18 years. Give it time, and use it to get some more As. That’ll put you in a better position to go somewhere you want.
Put another way - the schools you mentioned - another year would take you from virtually no chance to applying in time for best consideration.
I still don’t see how Emory, BU and Emerson fit. Emerson stands out. What major ?
Social work is not that high paid a profession, so keeping college debt down is important. The same applies if you go to expensive law school.
Does your high school offer the option to stay in high school for an additional year but take multiple classes at a nearby community college? Do you have Dual Enrollment classes available to you?
This might allow you to get physically out of the high school for at least some classes, and get some college credit, and might be more affordable compared to jumping right into an out of state university a year early.
Social work is not a highly paying profession. You should try quite hard to avoid debt for your bachelor’s degree if you possibly can.
I also wonder whether you should consider taking a gap year. Could you volunteer for a year at a local organization which is involved in social work?
I work with kids everyday and have to talk kids out of this great idea all the time. While a few excel, they are very prepared and engaged early in determining their pathway and methodical course of action. There is not much in your posts that say you are ready to graduate early or on track for an acceptance to a semi-prestigious, highly to moderately selective college.
That work needed needed to be done in the past 6 to 18 months.
I love the idea of AFS or Rotary exchange and that has worked very well for some of my students. Those applications are also already in the works for next year, so if interested start to look at your options. The dates and school years can be tricky. We always recommend getting all of your application components in place prior to leaving so those items are mostly done and you are not trying to talk to your school counselor or principal with a 12 hour time difference.
Knocking out some college classes as dual enrollment is also a great option for next year and gives you time to research and visit colleges you should apply to in the spring and summer.
Not wanting senioritis is unfortunately too late - sounds like you may already have it. There are always a few juniors with early onset, but there are plenty of ways to get engaged in your community, so next year you are ready to apply to BU or wherever you have narrowed things down to with much better prospects.
My advice would be that your energy should be focused not on college applications but getting your junior year grades up by midterms to put you in the best position for a selective college in your future. When an AO sees your application most are going to think …. This is a really smart student but clearly not motivated academically in junior year, not sure I want to take a chance on them.
There will be a college ( possibly a selective one) that will accept you but it will just be luck to be a great fit.
The fact that you don’t state your budget is a sign that you are still too immature yet to fully understand the magnitude of this decision.
I love that you have a passion for social work and. helping others. School is boring to you… I don’t think freshman college classes will feel that much different on that front in the near future. If you want to go to a selective school- Better for you to take the year to mature (maybe a gap year finding ways to help others to enhance your college resume). This will best position you make the optimal college choice. Good luck!
This sounds like a great idea! After you guys’ comments I’m considering graduating normally though. What would increase my chances at a good university: studying abroad or graduating normally and taking dual credit?
This sounds like a great idea! After you guys’ comments I’m considering graduating normally though. What would increase my chances at a good university: studying abroad or graduating normally and taking dual credit?
As an aspect of which to be aware, not too many highly ranked colleges offer social work as an undergraduate major.
I think that you should think about what feels right to you.
One daughter did take one semester abroad when she was in high school. The following semester we hosted the daughter of the family that she had been staying with. This was a very positive experience for all of us. This particular daughter ended up being 5 for 5 in university acceptances so it at least did not harm her applications.
One issue is that if you take a semester abroad during your senior year, then you are going to want to have all of your university applications in before you go abroad.
Your statement is wrong. You are about pedigree. You mean - a “high ranked” university. You’ve been sucked in by marketing.
Most universities will be good - if you take advantage of their offerings. You have so many fine universities in your state, low cost ones out of state, and high cost.
I pulled the last paragraph below off the web - and this tells me, where you go undergrad will matter little (and it’s the same for law school) but how you do undergrad and in the GRE/LSAT and possible post college work experience will matter much more so.
Don’t let US News trick you into making the wrong decision. Find the right school for you - you already have motivation issues - and going into big freshman classes with multiple choice tests likely isn’t going to change that.
You can enter a Master of Social Work program with a bachelor’s degree in virtually any field. The degree usually takes two years of classroom work along with at least 900 hours of internship work, also called “field work.” MSW workers who engage in counseling or similar activities must be licensed by the state in which they work. That licensure in turn will require graduation from a school that has been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
If you do a year abroad, you could graduate first or wait and graduate at the end of that year - either way would work. You could also do just a semester abroad, and take dual credit classes the other semester. Being out of the country while doing college apps can be a little complicated, but if you get a head start and complete as much as possible before you go (and have recommendations, etc. all lined up), it shouldn’t be a reason not to do it.
I’m not sure we can say that one plan or the other (studying abroad vs. taking dual credit classes) will absolutely increase your admissions chances - it really depends on how your choice fits in with the rest of your profile and interests. I see you’re already taking AP Spanish, and Spanish fluency is extremely useful for social workers and for lawyers in many areas of specialty. Building on your stated interest in child welfare, I think that studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country and attaining the kind of fluency that this sort of immersion would confer, could make you a more interesting and appealing candidate in terms of college admissions, and could also open doors for you in the future.
Of course, you can study abroad as a college student too. But in my personal opinion, those experiences can be hit-or-miss in terms of real cultural immersion. As a high school student, you’d be part of a real community, in a way that often doesn’t happen for college students. If it’s something that genuinely interests you, I’d really encourage it - it’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But if you’re only considering it because it would look good on your applications, I can’t necessarily say that it’s objectively better for that purpose than taking DE classes at home.
If you’re considering the study abroad option, start looking into those applications right away, and talk with your guidance counselor about the pros and cons of graduating before or after your year abroad. My sense is that if you’re not going straight to college, there’s no benefit to graduating early, but there could be factors I haven’t thought of. Just make sure that you don’t take college classes after getting your HS diploma, so that you have to apply to colleges as a transfer rather than a freshman applicant.
One thing to consider if you are thinking about doing your senior year of high school as a study abroad is that you will need to do all of the college application stuff while in another country. Teacher letters of recommendation, writing application essays, requesting copies of transcripts. You should also consider any standardized testing…if you find that you need or want to retake the SAT or ACT to try for a higher score in the 1st part of senior year, then you’ll have to navigate that while overseas.
Honestly, if you’re really serious about pursuing a career in social work, I do not think that you should spend senior year of HS abroad. I think you should stay at home for senior year…do some dual enrollment classes like you mentioned…maybe come up with an independent study senior project through your HS, something that involves social work or sociology.
Do study abroad in college.
Graduate with your current HS class, so you are under less pressure this year with your classes, etc…just be a junior and focus on keeping/getting your grades up.
Explore what AFS and Rotary offer. See if it will even work out or of interest. The dates are all different. Some are only half the year. Some go from January to November (too late for that).
You can take dual enrollment classes this summer or when you come back, too.
Any other suggestions of sites to look at? Also considering such options. Especially any programs that are only for a single semester and may include some outdoor challenges.