A Synopsis of a (Confused) Future College Applicant...

College Search & Selection
1

Hello,

I am a Junior currently at a Public high school in Northern Virginia. The reason for my post is due to the somewhat confused state I am in when it comes to college. My schedule to date not including study hall or PE is the following:

Freshmen Year:

  • Pre-AP World History (prep for AP World, weighted as an honors class so I got a .5 bump on my GPA)
  • Honors Biology
  • Math Analysis (Pre-Calc + Calc AB, .5 bump)
  • Honors English 9
  • Spanish 3 (Honors)

Sophomore Year:

  • Calculus BC
  • AP World History
  • Chemistry
  • AP Biology
  • Honors English 10
  • Spanish 4 (Honors)

Junior Year:

  • Multi Variable Calculus
  • Physics
  • AP US History
  • AP Language and Composition
  • AP Economics
  • AP Statistics
  • Intro to Com. Sci. (.5 bump)

Senior Year (Projected so far…)

  • AP Human Geography
  • AP Environmental Science
  • Dual-Enrollment English 12 (.5 weight)
  • AP Government (maybe…)
  • AP Com. Sci.
  • AP Psychology
  • Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholar (I get engineering credits with this online class, selective program)
    ^ Could change…

SAT/ACT: In the works, I am making good progress but with really good studying this summer and lots of practice tests, I hope to score an upwards of a 2100/34 but with the new test maybe a 1500? (Not sure if I can do it but I will try…)

So my Freshmen year, I ended with a weighted GPA of 4.21. After Sophomore year, it had fallen to a 4.05. Junior year so far I believe my first semester ended close to a 4.10 hopefully. As you can see, I have a falling GPA over the years… This came from taking a lot of classes I didn’t enjoy or just taking on too much combined with a terrible work ethic (procrastination).

My extra-curriculars are really thorough. I am many clubs with about 3-4 leadership positions with a potential of one more. I am also a part of a Non-Profit organization and am starting my own branch of the organization in my county. I am a Speech and Debate/Model United Nations kid and have one many awards.

The reason for my very tough schedule is because I really don’t know what I want to do in terms of a career. I understand that you aren’t really supposed to know until you are a year or two into college but it still is helpful in terms of selecting a school where I could pick UT or GT for Com. Sci. or GT and UMich for Engineering (even Aerospace maybe) or I have become interested in the Biology field particularly in Technology so maybe John Hopkins or UC Berkley or even a Lawyer and go to UCLA, Duke, or Berkley or Economics at UVa or UChicago (that would be a feat). I understand that all of the aforementioned schools are very selective and someone of my caliber might not have what it takes but it is just an idea not something I WILL be doing. I was able to take a slew of classes in hopes of discovering what I want to do. I would like to be a business man at some tech firm or investment banking firm but I would love to work on airplanes and space shuttles. I honestly do not know what I want to do and I think that we sometimes never find our true calling.

So, the reason for this post is that I don’t really know where to apply… I hope to apply to a lot of generally good at everything schools like UVa or something but then again I don’t know if I am qualified with my terrible GPA. I know that I have what it takes to be successful becomes I may not be the most book smart but I definitely can think on my feet and solve problems in pressure.

My first question: Of all the aforementioned schools (which are amazing and it would be an honor to go to any of these places), do you think I have a good shot at getting in? My GPA and SAT/ACT may not be amazing but I hope my after-school stuff and my essays show that I am more than those numbers. I will probably apply to Stanford and two more schools (either UChicago, Duke, UMich, Berkley) as reach schools because they are really tough to get into and I don’t think I have that competitive of a chance (Stanford is most likely impossible). The University of Virginia, Georgia Tech, and potentially George Washington as target schools. Virginia Tech and George Mason are my safeties.

My second question: What should I do to make myself look more appealing to top ranked schools?

To be honest, I got stuck in the take as many AP’s as possible trap which sorta stems from not knowing what to do with my life. I am in this situation and I hope all my slaving away does pay off otherwise I feel as though I could have taken a lesser load and just gotten straight A’s and then gone anywhere with a good GPA, test scores, and extra-curriculars. I know this is a mouthful but I hope I was able to pour my heart into this post and I really beg and plead for in-depth responses to hopefully clear the foggy path before me.

Thanks so much and have a good day!!

2

Your application is more than a GPA and a test score. Many top-tier colleges look for people, and not numbers, so don’t rely too much on your scores to predict your decision. Most students do not know what they want to do for the rest of their lives yet at this point, so you’re not alone — this is why so many students change their intended major after their first year at college!

As for what you can do to look more appealing to top ranked schools, this blog is a good start: http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

3

Have you talked to your parents about what they are willing to contribute for your college costs? Have you and they run the net price calculators on various schools (including all of the schools you named above – note that out-of-state public schools typically give little or no financial aid, though some may have merit scholarships for out-of-state applicants at the top of their range)?

Be aware that CS and engineering majors are often impacted, so that changing into them after enrolling may require a high college GPA or competitive admission.

4

@azwu331, Your definitely right, I think it is all about making your self standout instead of joining a crowd of applicants if that makes sense. I really hope being a part of a non-profit is something that stands out among my extra-curriculars. Additionally, I hope to do some work with a start-up that a professor at GW started recently called Aperiomics.

@ucbalumnus, college tuition should not be a problem for me. Both my parents work and they have been saving for my sister and I for a very long time. I definitely will look at scholarship opportunities. I have a friend that was in my math class last year that got into UVa but she had so much scholarship money stacked up that she ended up going there on a “full ride.” About majors, I will definitely have to look into that because though I can change majors, I would hate to have to change and not be accepted to a more selective program and then wait another year in hopes of being accepted to that specific program regardless of what it may be.

Thank you both for your input, it is really helpful.

Do you guys have anything in mind in terms of things I can do to just stand out and balance the scale/compensate for any shortcomings I have with my applicant pool. Stanford has always been my dream school and it is extremely competitive and I just want to apply to throw my number in the lottery. A girl got accepted to REA from my school and she had a 4.5 I believe and she had decent leadership, a good SAT, and an internship at the Smithsonian museum under her belt. I really hope I can do something like that unless you have any other things I should look into in terms of making my self look special and different from my applicant pool.

Again, thanks so much!

5

You need to ask your parents more specifically about finances. Even families with both parents working and college savings may not be willing to spend a quarter of a million dollars on education for one kid. Maybe work with them to run the net price calculators on a few college websites (they all have them). Try UVA and a few of the other schools on your list, and see what they say about the proposed cost of attendance.

6

Ask them to confirm; do not assume unless you want to risk a huge let-down in April of your senior year when they tell you that they cannot afford to contribute as much as you think they can. Be sure to run the net price calculator on each college’s web site. Better to see any unpleasant surprises now, before you make your application list, than when it is too late.

7

Just because your parents both work doesn’t mean that they have put away enough money to be able to afford anywhere for you. An elite college costs around $250,000 these days, all told.

The good news is that you have a lot of great public schools in your state - University of Virginia, William & Mary, Virginia Tech, VCU, James Madison, George Mason, Christopher Newport, Mary Washington to name some. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t even consider any out of state publics given the excellent options you have. They’re unlikely to offer you any additional aid and you’d be paying a lot of extra money for basically nothing.

And all of those schools are “general interest” schools, even VT. Most of them have engineering and business/economics. Some of them are well-known for their academics in those areas.

8

You say you took too many APs and too many classes you didn’t enjoy but I dont see that changing at all for next year. It looks like you are just stacking APs that don’t make sense for your interests in engineering, cs, law, bio, aerospace. So why human geography? Why not AP physics with all that math you’ve done?

You need to decide about engineering because some schools have a separate application for that. Other than that, look for breadth over depth. It doesn’t matter how good Johns hopkins might be for bio if you get there and decide what you really want is aerospace.

9

@intparent & @ucbalumnus & @julliet , My parents are pretty hush hush about how much they make because the county I live in is considered “spoiled” and “wealthy” but they said that by the time I am out of school, they will be in “good shape” to pay for all tuition and other related costs. Their college savings plan is aimed at about $250,000 dollars by the time I am in college. I hope to god that everything stays put and am very thankful for my parents actually thinking about saving so that my sister and I can go to college, I am very fortunate.

@julliet, you are definitely right, some of the schools in state are absolutely amazing. I am definitely looking at UVa as a target if not reach school. The William and Mary liberal arts program is not really what I am looking for but I could be wrong and I would have to read about that. I do know that W&M has a gateway program for engineering where you do like 3 years at W&M and then you get auto-admission to Columbia if you are in good academic standing. Don’t think that I will do that but W&M as it self is a very good school for Law so my Econ teacher tells me so I will definitely keep my eyes open for that. VT is a great engineering/science school and is definitely one I am applying to as a safety or even a target school. To be honest, all of those schools are good for everything and are all near to home, GMU being 15 miles away.

With these schools being in-state, the positives are location but also for example UVa has a lower tuition for in-state applicants and has accepted close to 10 students a year.

Really great feedback, thank you!

10

Don’t target a 3-2 program – it is very rare that students actually follow through with them (plus then you pay for 5 year of college). Also, if you are thinking of law school, you might check with your parents and see if you can have some of your undergrad money for grad school if you don’t spend it all. Law school, MBA programs, or med school all cost a lot, so if you think you might head in one of those directions, ask them about this.

11

$250,000 for each of you and your sister, or $250,000 to cover both you and your sister? The former will be of little constraint on your college choice (unless you want to save some for professional school later and they are willing to use the savings from cheaper undergraduate on professional school later), but the latter will be a much more significant constraint.

12

@mathyone , your absolutely correct about the class choice. The reasoning behind it is very petty but it is just to get my GPA up after first semester. I honestly would rather be in some kinda of aerospace class (AP Physics is very poorly taught here otherwise I would) which is actually offered. Human Geo is something I am interested in as the class is pretty interesting though I am not sure what kind of job I could get from that. I do have space in the schedule so I might take a class at the local community college or GMU for Economics, not sure though. I actually may take aerospace science based on interest because it would be a fun and interesting class, despite the lack of grade “fluff.” I probably won’t apply to JH because I am not sure about the bio field but I am doing an work at a biotech startup in Washington D.C. so some experience there should help. Really appreciate the response… my class choice is very dumb to be honest but in an effort to boost my GPA to fix the one thing holding back my application. Do you think the class choice is looked at favorably over GPA?? not really sure about that.

@intparent , yeah the 3-2 thing sounds really pointless to me… Going to a cheaper school for undergrad in hopes of going to grad school for law or something would be a great idea but not sure if its something I will do but Economic Law is very interesting and just something I have not had experience with. The same goes for the medical field. Not really interested in being a doctor rather a Public Health/Medical Law/Bio Technology major… very confusing I know…

@ucbalumnus , it is for the each of us but I look favorably upon any money that schools do give me as it puts less constraint financially on my parents and they could retire sooner and it gives my sister some options in terms of pricey schools and grad stuff if she chooses that route. Again, with a spiraling economy and student debt getting crazy, it is probably better to not go to schools where the tuition is 50k+ a year and to schools that are relatively cheaper and more geographically enticing. The financial viewpoint is very interesting and it did make my dad check my college savings portfolio and with some of my college money invested… very troubling thought that money automatically invests in conservative bonds if a certain threshold of loss occurs.

Really appreciate the comments guys… As a follow up in addition to my other two questions, do you think class choice and the ability to keep steady grades is looked favorably versus taking somewhat easier classes and having a high GPA (a situation common with my school as many students just cop out and take easy classes. In that respect, the rankings which we haven’t gotten yet, are really dumb.)? I take the hardest class configuration of any other student in my grade but I get okay grades rather than like straight A’s… just a thought…

13

Public health grad school would cost you, too. It is really hard to make recommendations given your fuzziness on the money aspect. If you do want to pursue merit money, then you need to apply to schools where you are near the top of their pool and they offer merit. Or you can focus on in-state. Combine this uncertainty with your uncertainty about major, and I actual test scores. And it is very difficult to make recommendations.

You should get a copy of the Fiske a Guide to Colleges, and have a more frank conversation with your parents about whether you should be pursuing merit aid.

14

@intparent , That is true. I will probably repost this in a couple of months when I have a better idea. I talked to my father and he says I should be fine because he has a lot of investments that can be liquidated to support any additional costs that go beyond $250,000 for just me. I hope to narrow down what I want to do by this summer otherwise I will just pick whatever has the best opportunity of me getting a job after school and have a livable salary. People in my area rarely get financial aid but scholarships are what I will aim for most likely. Thanks for the response!

15

Okay. I still recommend a few hours spent with the Fiske Guide and a pack of Post-It notes. :slight_smile:

16

"You should get a copy of the Fiske a Guide to Colleges, and have a more frank conversation with your parents about whether you should be pursuing merit aid. "
this^^. ESPECIALLY if their TOTAL budget for both UG and grad schools is $250,000.
Its time to sit your parents down and have a heart to heart $$ talk.
Find out what the minimum $$ is that they CAN and WILL spend on both.

17

@intparent and @menloparkmom , I completely disregarded what merit aid is… woops… I think getting that college guide is a good idea.

18

This is where your post fell apart for me. Please do deeper research, beyond the common wisdom of the uninformed, about the relevance of some published “rank” of an attended college to actual success in life. You sound like a good candidate for an LAC, a place where you can try out ideas, expand curiosity and interests, and maybe better clarify your eventual career directions. Right now I’m afraid you are set to follow someone else’s script that may not be right for you.

19

“scholarships are what I will aim for most likely”
I think it would be a very good idea for BOTH you and your parents to read this thread- it will open your eyes to the reality of how hard it ACTUALLY IS to win merit scholarships.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1858628-getting-accepted-does-not-mean-that-a-merit-scholarship-will-be-forthcoming-p1.html

20

@mehive Why would you take dual enrollment English? Doesn’t your school have Honors English you can take senior year? Your AP game is already at quota, so stacking 5 or 6 more senior year is a waste of time and a recipe for bad grades and burnout. Dial it back.