<p>I am only a junior in high school so I am just starting the college search. I already have some schools in mind, but they are lofty goals. Just some general stats:
SAT: 800M 760CR 800 WR
GPA: 5.25 (we only give out weighted)
Rank: 1/191
Classes: the hardest possible, I am the first and only junior to take 5 AP classes at my school.
Extracirriculars: I won’t get too specific for anonymity’s sake but let’s just say they are good, not great. Captain of a sport team, president of a few clubs, state and nationally competitive in one activity.
Now I plan to apply to HYP, but my chances there are so small, even if I may be qualified, that I want to look into some other schools to find a good fit. Preferably safeties and good fit schools? What should I look into?
Also, I am unsure what my major will be. Definitely STEM, probably engineering, possibly biomedical. However I have varied interest, so a dual program would be great. Maybe a minor in economics? Philosophy?</p>
<p>If you need a financial safety, consider University of Alabama/ University of Alabama - Birmingham. With your stats both schools will be virtually free. Plenty of kids from the north and west go there and don’t find it overwhelmingly Southern</p>
<p>Other great engineering schools with biomedical engineering, that will most likely offer you merit aid or have a relatively low list price to begin with:
USC - Apply by Dec 1 <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1314/uscScholarships1314.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1314/uscScholarships1314.pdf</a>
Case Western Reserve
Lehigh
Northwestern (good financial aid)
Rice University
Ohio State University
Washington University St. Louis [Academic</a> Scholarship & Fellowship Programs](<a href=“http://admissions.wustl.edu/scholarships/Pages/default.aspx]Academic”>http://admissions.wustl.edu/scholarships/Pages/default.aspx)
University of Minnesota (I think)
Iowa State</p>
<p>All of the above schools have strengths in a wide variety of fields, not just engineering.</p>
<p>Some other reaches you can add which have biomed engineering, but are also strong in a wide variety of other fields are Johns Hopkins, MIT, Duke, and Stanford</p>
<p>What are your financial constraints and location (region + rural/suburban/urban) preferences? Any absolute must haves?</p>
<p>U Rochester
Case Western
Pittsburgh
WUSTL</p>
<p>All offer merit aid, but it’s definitely competitive - esp at WUSTL. You should be competitive - just no guarantees for merit aid. I suspect you should get in to them (though WUSTL is not a sure thing due to low acceptance rate).</p>
<p>What is your financial situation? </p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year? Will they pay as much as colleges will expect them to pay? If you need FA, will you QUALIFY for the amount you need? </p>
<p>Also, if you need FA, be aware that most schools do not “meet need” because most schools do not have a lot of aid to give out.</p>
<p>With your stats you could get ASSURED large merit scholarships at a few schools if you apply before their scholarship deadlines (approaching soon). Yes, Alabama would give you free tuition for your stats. If you major in Engineering (such as Biological and Chemical Engineering), you’d get an additional 2500 per year. So, total award would be about $100k.</p>
<p>Will you be pre-med? My son is a ChemE major and premed at Alabama. He has the free tuition plus 2500 per year scholarships there.</p>
<p>I won’t get FA, according to my guidance counselor, but I will still end up having to pay for anything past $15,000 a year. Is the university of Alabama truly not Southern? My stereotypical view of the south is not a positive one. I live in the mid-Atlantic region.</p>
<p>Engineering at Harvard or Yale? Why? They’re not even in the top 10. There are so many better places for that major: Stanford, MIT, Caltech…the list goes on. </p>
<p>And you can certainly do a double major or a minor in econ or philosophy pretty much everywhere.</p>
<p>Why would you apply to HYP if you won’t get aid and you have to pay for anything >$15K? Actually you CAN’T pay for anything >$15K. You are limited to $5.5K in loans as a freshman. Your parents have to pay for anything beyond that. You might want to look through this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>