<p>I know that being able to say that you went to a highly ranked school is awesome and all, but I doubt it will be worth putting yourself in thousands of dollars of debt. If what previous posters have said about Ivies not giving merit based scholarships, I would highly recommend looking at less prestigious schools. With an ACT score of 33, there are some schools that will give you almost full tuition if not more automatically. </p>
<p>I don’t know what your goals are in the long run regarding career aspirations, but you could be paying off your bachelor’s degree (not to mention medical school) well into your professional life. </p>
<p>I’m only going to a school that gives me a full scholarship, or at least 80% since most schools don’t give much aid anymore. It’s hard. I’ll figure it out eventually when I get through the admission process.</p>
<p>I will be going to grad school for both my MD and MFA. Yale is my only choice then, haha.</p>
<p>The time to figure it out is before you enter the admission process. You’re a kid with ok grades and decent test scores and no money. If you’re goal is one of the top 10-20 schools, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Your strategy has to be to find a place you like that you can be accepted to and can afford. Don’t be the kid we see every April, who has either no acceptances, because it was all reaches, or the kid who can’t afford to attend any of his acceptances.</p>
<p>For my daughter, who had better grades and test scores and lower income, the plan was to apply to meets full need with no loans schools and schools with big merit scholarships and nothing in between. She liked all the schools she applied to. She got into 1 of the meets need schools and all her big merit schools. By the fall of senior year, she knew she was going to college and she had choices. </p>
<p>I would suggest the same type of strategy to keep you away from total disappointment next April. Work with Questbridge, start looking for outside scholarships, search the Financial aid links for automatic scholarship schools. Find a few that you can like and apply. Apply to an Ivy or two, but don’t count on being admitted. Remember, that applying is expensive. Application fee waivers from College Board are only for 4 schools. You can have your counselor ask each individual school for a waiver, but that is not guaranteed. </p>
<p>Line up teacher recs before you leave school this year. Use this summer to really research other schools. Good luck.</p>
<p>WOOPS. You made a huge mistake that you should never make on your apps. Your title is absolutely upsetting because more than anything, you come off as a young woman who is seeking sympathy for her sob story. You must not dwell on your struggles and your past and use them as excuses. What you need to do is to make colleges forget about your struggles for a moment. You want to present your passions and you really need to define yourself. Your ECs are all over the place, so what? What is it that you’re going to emphasize that you really have a passion for? Include that in your essay. Your past, the deaths in your family, mainly how you overcame them should only be the cherry on top of your application that makes you absolutely exceptional. Even the simply exceptional are rejected. You honestly NEED to show your schools of choice that you are a great fit. If you are applying for CMU engineering, doting on your difficulties, unless related to how you would be a good fit for said major, will not help you. I think this is where most everybody goes wrong. Yeah, one may be qualified. But no one is getting a sense of how great of a fit one would be. You need to be specific, with a sprinkle of pizazz here and there. And don’t mind me if I’m being clueless, but what does your father’s sexuality have to do with anything? I just don’t get it. </p>
<p>@PolyglotGal
Back in the day I would have agreed with you but the truth is colleges love sob stories and hardships more than hard work. </p>
<p>OP with those stats I think 20 universities are still a reach, 20-30 is a shot and 30-50 you are in. </p>
<p>I think colleges consider adversity, but as part of the whole picture. I think there are a number of colleges that are likely to accept the OP, but I am concerned that the focus on the very top colleges might lead to overlooking some very good possibilities.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This site is full of threads from families who make 6 figure incomes and own homes worth mid- to high 6 figures who want colleges and/or the goverment to pay for college because they live in an expensive area, or their rental properties cost more than they’re taking in, or they spent so much on private high schools that they haven’t been able to save for college, etc. Survivor benefits are limited funds for the child designed to help pay for the care and upkeep the father no longer can provide. If there is a class trip all the other dads are writing checks for, this family is certainly within its’ rights to save up the survivor benefits to pay for it. Financial aid is based on income, savings, assets, etc. I don’t believe the people giving it make value judgments on how you spend your money. They plug your income into a formula and determine what you should be able to pay. If you haven’t saved enough to cover your EFC, in most cases they don’t care why. If a $5,000 trip to Europe ate all 4 years of this student’s EFC, they aren’t high income anyway. Happily, whether or not the people on this site believe this child deserves aid, and their opinion on the importance, or lack thereof, of her mother’s marital status, her dad’s sexual orientation, and the fact that she lost her dad at an early age will have no bearing whatsoever on the aid s/he will qualify for from either colleges or the government. Nor should it.</p>
<p>For some studentl trips, there are scholarship funds for students who can’t afford the full cost of the trip. This is so the class can participate together. Some students are distressed if a classmate can’t come, and if possible, the trip should be inclusive. In some cases, the students as a group help by having fund raisers: car washes, yard sales, and so on. Parents can also contribute to the funds.</p>
<p>A school trip isn’t the same as a luxury vacation. Costs are kept low by staying in youth hostels or several kids to a room, getting group rates, and more. </p>
<p>You and your counselor should look for schools that you know will certainly accept you and that you can afford to provide the base for your college list. Those are the most important schools for ANYONE applying to colleges. From there you can build upwards. It’s not impossible to get accepted to some highly selective schools with your profile, but the very definition of "selectivity’ makes it a low probability for most anyone, and you do have some things, like GPA that can bring down your chances. But if you pick schools carefully that may be looking for someone like you, say a female STEM major, it is possible to get an acceptance to a highly selective college. But those are not sure things for anyone. Even with a 4.0 and your test scores, it’s not a slam dunk. So you pick carefully.</p>
<p>Since you need full aid, you look for schools that also have a decent chance of giving it to you. Look at the % of kids getting full need met and run NPCs for the schools that you select. No sense fishing where there is no fish. If there is a chance, though small, yes, you throw a few of those on your list, but also make sure you have some schools where there chances are better. </p>
<p>We don’t know your specifics beyond what you have put on this board. Schools like Yale like to see students who have done very well DESPITE their stresses and issues, so it’s going to be tough getting even a consideration for your ordeals from such schools, but give it a go with your counselor’s support and statement. Just make sure you have a balanced list with some sure things on it.</p>
<p>Hi Melissa. I’m sorry to hear about your dad. I’m glad you have your mom to help you through this process. </p>
<p>How you compile your application materials will depend on what it is you decide to do. You have majors you’re interested in? Great. I’d start by researching colleges within commuting distance to see which ones offer your major(s). When you find one you like (size, location, etc), check their admission policies. You can google the Common Data Set for each college to find out what SAT scores they accept, how many kids they admit, costs, average aid given out, and a lot more. If your stats are in the ballpark, check out finances. How much does it cost to go there (including tuition, room & board, books, travel to and from, day to day expenses like coffee, toiletries, etc)? Run the Net Price Calculator (each college site has one) to get a rough estimate of how much it will cost you to attend. If it’s affordable (you can do it without taking out more than the federal loan limits, which are $5500 as a freshman, $6500 as a soph, and $7500 each year as a jr and senior), add them to your list. Then branch out. As long as you have affordable options you’d be happy to attend if your financial and academic reaches fall through, you can add those reach schools. Just make sure to research them too and know why you want them. Look at the programs they offer, size, location, etc. and make sure each one is a good fit for you.</p>
<p>When you know what you want, it will be easier to put your application together. My kids do a variety of activities too, but when my son created his application he included only those that added something to it. He used a sport to show dedication and longterm commitment, a couple others directly related to his major, another showed his involvement in our community. It will fall together, but you have to take it one step at a time. Good luck.</p>
<p>To the OP:
I’m concerned that you’re posting your family’s financial information under what appears to be your real name. You probably want to close this account and open another one with a pseudonym. You should not be putting so much information out there about yourself or your family that can be traced to you with your real name. </p>
<p>This is a good point. You can’t just cancel your posts from your profile, and I don’t think it is allowed in general on CC, but in certain cases perhaps a moderator can help you. Ask for help here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/community-forum-issues/”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/community-forum-issues/</a></p>
<p>How can I close this profile?</p>
<p>You would have to ask a moderator if this is possible. It is not generally allowed, but perhaps a moderator might consider it. I don’t know. This is the link to ask about it <a href=“***POSTS CANNOT BE DELETED - Think Carefully before Posting Any Identifying Information*** - College Confidential Community - College Confidential Forums”>***POSTS CANNOT BE DELETED - Think Carefully before Posting Any Identifying Information*** - College Confidential Community - College Confidential Forums;
<p>In general they don’t allow posters to close threads or delete accounts, but you can discuss your situation with a moderator and then let him/her decide.</p>
<p>Stop fishing for compliments. You know your test scores are stellar, I haven’t been able to find your GPA anywhere… But anyway. Do you have a shot? From an academic standpoint, I guess so. If you read A is for Admissions, you will learn that ivy leagues hate sob stories. Don’t use your fathers death as an excuse for poor grades or depression. Use it to show how you have overcame and excelled. And try not to play the sympathy card and say “Oh my life has been so bad. My father died (you won’t get ‘points’ because he is gay) and I’m depressed and mildly autistic”. Show how you have survived and advanced.</p>
<p>GPA is in the title of the thread 3.65 UW.</p>