I appreciate all your responses. I am not very sure I understand all the acronyms … e.g. OP.
For all the info -
I am trying to stay close to NJ. Interested in Comp. Sci./ Math and, maybe, Biomedical ( Not sure what all future opportunities lie in that direction).
My GPA 3.65. I took Chem AP and US History AP. I will be in Calc. AP senior year.
My SAT 1530
My SAT Chem 720
My SAT Math 2 800
Looking at NJIT, Rutgers, NYU, and, maybe, Columbia.
I am looking for financial aid in any form. The more, the better.
What else… I am going to a regular average high school - nothing private.
After battling with the situation with one parent wanting me to study and the other finding ways to prevent me from doing so, I have been able escape the nonsense and snag a research position at a university for the summer. Other than that, I am Varsity Golf team member at my high school.
I am not first generation going to college. Just a person trying to go to the best possible college with minimal resources. Just trying to optimize - trying to get myself the best break I can get.
Are you running the NPCs for each college. Net Price Calculator, found on a college’s web site. Works best if your parents are married to each other and not self employed.
NYU is known for not beng great with the fin aid. Again, Columbia will want more math-sci ECs than just the research, and it will matter much what classes got less than an A grade, cores, and especially if those were stem classes. It’s the nature of the competition.
@special4996 “OP” just means Original Poster, i.e. you!
Try one more time to check if you get a higher score. If you don’t get a higher score, then send the 1530 to colleges
Based on your GPA and ECs, I’d consider Columbia a high reach and NYU a high reach strictly because of needing aid. I would retake the test one more time just to maximize your score. I took the SAT and got a 1510 first try, and was encouraged to just sit on that score. I ended up trying one more time and scoring a 1580, so you never know what could happen! Why not just give it a shot? Especially for colleges like Columbia and NYU, where other applicants will have much better ECs and GPAs (no offense), any defining factor (ex. near-perfect/perfect SAT score) could help keep you in the conversation. Congrats on the amazing score though!