A List to Work With

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I realize there’s a college search tool provided here (I have used it), but I would appreciate a bit more of a human element if anyone is willing to try to help me find some schools. I live in Illinois and am looking for guidance in creating a list of colleges that meet my search criteria.

Firstly, cost. I can tell you now I will not be eligible for much financial aid, and I’m in the bad situation of having discovered that my college savings are pretty much nil. For the purposes of this thread, I asked my mother about what yearly contribution may be possible for my education. She replied initially $10k, and added that up to $20k could be potentially possible. The rest will have to come from scholarships and loans. As such, I am probably restricted to schools that I have good chances of getting into and qualifying for merit-based scholarships.

I am interested in studying both computer science and physics. I’m not sure which path I will end up taking, but at least initially I would like to have the option of pursuing both and finding which I prefer. For physics, I will likely be interested in graduate school. Ideally, I would also like to be able to continue taking French courses, though that has nothing to do with my career desires.

In terms of non-academic preferences, I am primarily interested in smaller- to mid-sized universities in a rural or suburban setting. I am willing to settle for a larger or more urban university, however. As shallow as it is, I do have some social aspects that I’m less willing to compromise on. I do not want a party school. I have no interest in drinking or Greek like, and would appreciate a school that is not dominated by those things. At the same time, I do not want a school so committed to a religion as to do something like banning pre-marital sex. Location matters very little to me.

My unweighted GPA is 3.988 and my ACT composite is 33. I have taken all available AP courses at my school and have always taken honors classes, with a few elective exceptions. My extracurricular involvement is minimal; I have spent my free time playing competitive video games. I have been a member of French club for three years, twice its treasurer (though the club collectively did very little), and will have done three years of scholastic bowl by the time I graduate. Additionally, I am joining a community service club my senior year.

I have visited four colleges. University of Illinois was off-putting because of how large and urban it was. Belmont University places restrictions on its students I am not happy with, but I liked its campus a bit more than University of Illinois. Princeton was great, but I stand virtually no chance of getting in without extracurriculars. Finally, Colgate University seemed to be exactly what I was searching for (though expensive), however I have found that heavy drinking is pervasive and fraternities dominate social life there. So, regrettably, I am forced to search elsewhere. Colgate is a pretty good example of what I want, though.

Thanks.

2

Did you take the PSAT AND score at or above the Illinois cutoff for national Merit Scholarship consideration?
If so then these are colleges that offer NMSF full or 1/2 tuition scholarships.
Your financial situation may mean you might also recieve FA from them as well.
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/

These are many colleges that will pay you to attend because of your ACT score and GPA.
Many offer both physics and CS programs. the U of Alabama is one of the best in this catagory.
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

"1. Awarded automatically based on GPA, SAT, ACT, and/or class rank
2. At least Full Tuition/Full Ride in magnitude (or equivalent)
3. Open to all US students, regardless of state residency, ethnicity, race, etc.
4. No need-based requirement or component
5. College must be accredited, public or non-profit private, 4-year degree-granting institution

so take a look at the colleges on BOTH lists, and run their NPC’s .

3

Other colleges to consider are Swarthmore, Hamilton, the following 4 which are all in Calif- Ponoma, Harvey Mudd, CalPoly San Luis Obispo- which is a REAL bargain
http://financialaid.calpoly.edu/_finaid/coa1617.html
, Carnegie Melon, Wash U St Louis , and U of Chicago[ which does not have CS but does love applicants scholastic bowl kids]
Again- run each colleges NPC’s first .

4

I did take the PSAT in Fall 2015. I scored 1450 total (730 reading/writing, 720 math). Where can I check if that meets the cutoff?

Thank you for your suggestions, I will look into them. Pardon the question, but what does NPC’s stand for in this context?

5

@menloparkmom, what do you mean that UChicago does not have CS as a major? Have you looked up the majors-? Of course it does!

6

OP, you do realize that Princeton does not give merit aid? They are only need based for any fin aid.

Check with all the schools to make sure how they structure their fin aid packages.

With you not qualifying for any financial aid you need to make a list that would put you in a good advantage for merit/scholarship aid.

7

oops,sorry…
I was thinking of Engineering.
NPC= net price calculators. Each college has a link on its website.
punch in the information they ask for- income, savings, assets and the NPC’s will give you a good idea of how much financial aid you would receive and the amount that you are expected to pay, which is called the Estimated Family Contribution.

8

I did take the PSAT in Fall 2015. I scored 1450 total (730 reading/writing, 720 math). Where can I check if that meets the cutoff?

http://morethansat.com/2016/02/16/we-received-the-psat-score-what-does-that-mean-and-what-do-we-do-now-part-2/

In Sept ASK your HS counselor to notify you if your PSAT score is at or above the Ill. cut off score.
IF it is you MUST take the SAT in order to qualify for National Merit Scholarship semi finalist status.
Being a NMSF means that many colleges will offer you full tuition scholarships. So be SURE to follow through.
[ qualifying also requires that you fill out a form sent by National Merit to your counselor, write a short essay and making SURE your Counselor sends both, and his LOR to National merit in Oct.
There is NO need to fill out the names of any colleges at that point.That can wait until the following year in May ]

9

Augustana University in Rock Island, IL. My understanding is that at the school the students decide their major after their first year.

10

A few other schools to look at include Grinnell, Bowdoin, and Middlebury. All have CS and Physics, but none have Greek life. All of these will be about as expensive as Colgate. But, Grinnell offers some merit aid that you might qualify for - about 18% of last year’s freshmen received merit aid averaging $16,000 a year. All three are need blind for U.S. applicants and meet 100% of demonstrated need. Again, run the NPC for any school that interests you.

11

Carleton College & Dartmouth University. Both meet need, & are great for the sciences.

12

The OP will not be eligible for need-based aid and can’t afford to pay for an expensive school out of savings. Why are people suggesting schools like Middlebury, Dartmouth, Carleton, Bowdoin, Hamilton, and Princeton which do not offer merit awards and have price tags of $60,000+?

13

Your not qualifying for much FA is inconsistent with your mother only being to contribute 10-20k.

Have you actually tried any of the Net Price Calculators on tbe schools’ websites? You need to do each school’s separately.

14

Some smaller LACs that give some decent merit aid: Lawrence University, Beloit, Denison, St. Lawrence, Dickinson.

15

Do you mean UI-C? I wouldn’t describe Urbana as urban (despite the name).

16

@PrimeMeridian Perhaps the OP’s mother is unwilling to do the things expected to contribute further. I’m just speculating. In my day (could be different now), my mother would have been required to get a second mortgage on her home to tap the equity and was simply unwilling to do so, not out of callousness but fear of over mortgaging her home. She contributed what she could from her limited available cash flow (about $,4500/year) and she had gotten me started on savings with jobs since I was 12. Between that and 20 hour jobs during school and only applying to much cheaper state schools, I was able to pull it off with no financial aid or loans. It seems like available FA is much more extensive now than in my day, but the same principle may apply.

17

For the OP, I know Lafayette offers extensive merit air to some applications. If my S had gone it would have reduced a majority of the cost and combined with what your mother can contribute might cover it. Case Western also offered substantial merit aid.

18

Run the NPC at different schools to see what you qualify for. Some people assume if they don’t qualify for Pell or their state aid then they won’t qualify for any aid. While my kids may not qualify for Pell but they could get aid at schools that meet need.