Add another reach or maybe a match?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi, I made a similar thread a few weeks ago looking for merit money schools. However after doing some research and running some calculators it looks like my EFC will be managable. Or at least I hope so... </p>

<p>I also visited OSU recently (my in-state safety) and I really liked it. OSU is pretty decent academically especially for poli sci and its business school can hold its own, both of which I'm thinking about majoring in. Leaning more towards business/finance but might try to double major with poli sci. </p>

<p>Male
Not reporting race
Catholic High School</p>

<p>GPA: UW around a 3.8, probably a low 3.8ish. W 4.17ish
Grade Trend: Might hurt me a little bit. Frosh yr was pretty good, soph year was pretty good/really good, I showed an upward trend for the most part. 1st semester Jr year was pretty good too, but 2nd semester I kind of burned out and ended up with 3 Bs. I have a total of 4 Bs on my transcript (not horrible I know), and 3/4 were in math or sci classes, which is definitely not my forte. Not freaking out about Bs, I was pretty chill when I got my report card, but it kinda sucks to end Jr. yr on kind of a crappy note, with half my classes getting Bs in them.
Anyways.
Class Rank: My school is kind unclear they say they don’t rank, but they tell in a counselor rec the approximate rank. I should be in at least the top 5-10% so I’m guessing they’ll put down something like that. Or they might not put anything in the letter. I’m not sure.</p>

<p>SAT: 700 M 690 CR 720 W --- 2110 total (single sitting, not superscore)
ACT: 29 (won't report if school does not need all scores)
5/6* APs by graduation. *School is unclear, we might be credit for taking my physics class last year because right now it is an AP class..and its basically the same thing, but I doubt the college board will let them do that. Will haven taken 7-8 test though by graduation, however only 2 were Junior year.
USH (jr. year)
Gov
Physics E&M
English
Clac AB</p>

<p>Last four are current, senior year.</p>

<p>SAT IIs: Should be decent. Took USH a few weeks ago, hopeful for an 800, but should be no lower than 780. Math...I'm studying for a 700 and I'm taking Eng Lit in November, sounds hard haha.</p>

<p>Teacher and Counselor Recs: Teacher one should be pretty good, my grade in the teacher's class that I'm asking to write me a rec rarely dipped below a 97% (AP class) and I think he liked me as a person/student. Not sure about counselor one, we get to write a "brag" sheet, so it should be at least ok.</p>

<p>Essays: Looks like MDA Camp for the main one and my EC essay is going to be wacky (haven't written it yet)</p>

<p>ECs: Pretty solid, though nothing spectacular like some people on CC.</p>

<p>-Eagle Scout, plus one year of being Senior Patrol Leader
-Student Govt Representative (lowest position in student govt, lol)
-Work Experience: 1 secretary job at my Church, another is a yard work type job, which I have recently stopped at, but I've had that job since summer before freshman year, so it should still look pretty good.
-Student Ambassador and Freshman Mentor (more intensive than you think haha)
-NHS
-Youth Challenge Volunteer - Help Disabled kids play sports. I also research grants for the organization, to keep the service free.
-Minor role in school paper
-Mock Trial
-Model UN
-Catholic Schools for Peace and Justice
-AP US History Co-Student of the Year
-Investment Club</p>

<p>probably leaving a couple minor things out</p>

<p>Service:
-Have not tallied up my hours, but it should be about 300+ service hours when I apply (tutor at school and local library, soup kitchens, various things, etc...)
-Eucharistic Minister at my church, at my school and I go to the nursing home and distribute Communion.
-MDA Camp Counselor. This is where a bulk of my service hours came from. Very demanding, but very rewarding and I plan on doing it again next year. I also participate in a program that helps disabled kids play sports during the summer and school year. Might write an essay about this. Something to the gist of the first day and a half or so of camp, I absolutely hated it, but it kind of grew on me and I really want to go back.</p>

<p>Think this is about it, sorry it was kind of long and there might be a few typos, do you need any more info?</p>

<p>So, my current list is:</p>

<ol>
<li>UVa</li>
<li>Georgetown
1b. USC </li>
<li>Northwestern</li>
<li>Notre Dame
rest are in no real order</li>
<li>Boston College</li>
<li>Ohio State (in-state)</li>
<li>South Carolina</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
<li>Dayton</li>
</ol>

<p>haha I love USC, but it just might be too far away from home. Parents don't really like the idea of me going so far away, but they said I could go wherever I like. (There only real parameter is cost, and they don't want me burdened with debt). </p>

<p>But here are some of my parameters</p>

<p>Cost is important, but I know a lot of schools have decent FA and scholarships.</p>

<p>I would prefer big, though I'll be fine as long as its >4000</p>

<p>School spirit. All my schools are kind of rah-rah with decent sports, so I like that, but not a huge requirement.</p>

<p>Semi-close to a big city...or the beach. Not huge, but I don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, UNLESS it is a kind of large school, like at least >10,000+ undergrads.</p>

<p>Region. I'm open to pretty much anywhere. I'm from the midwest, and kinda want to get out, haha. I like Chicago though and I'm not that desperate to get out of Ohio anymore.</p>

<p>I want student body that is kind of relaxed but very diverse. I want to meet different people than my 90% white Catholic high school...which is why I don't really want to go to Notre Dame that much anymore. I used to be obsessed with the school, but a few years ago I really started to cool down from it. Still going to apply, campus and spirit of the whole school is just awesome.</p>

<p>Social life matters, but it is probably going to be about the same wherever I go. I think I might like to join a frat, but I'm not dead set on joining one (ND, GU, BC all don't have them).</p>

<p>Can't really think of any other parameters that matter that much. </p>

<p>I'm planning on majoring in Business (Finance/International Business) or Econ and maybe trying to double that with Political Science.</p>

<p>Any suggestions? My list shrunk from 16 to 10, and I wouldn't mind adding one more school, not sure which one though. </p>

<p>Thinking maybe UNC, though I really don't have a good chance, being from out of state.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Have you looked at Rice? You should consider some OOS privates since they’re more generous with financial aid. USC is a good option. But something tells me nothing will beat OSU value…I believe they have an honors college.</p>

3

<p>For business, how about Michigan, Indiana, UT-Austin or Carnegie Mellon? Penn as a big reach?</p>

4

<p>^ Mich, Indiana, UT are all OOS publics where the OP will get no FA beyond Stafford loans.</p>

5

<p>i don’t really buy the idea about a school being “too far away” if it’s still in north america. i mean yeah if you look at a map it definitely appears further, but really, what’s the difference between a 2 hour and 4 hour flight?</p>

6

<p>He probably could get merit aid from Indiana. UT is fairly reasonable for OOS. (Tough to get in OOS though.)</p>

<p>You’re right re Michigan. Michigan would be pricy and while it may be a match for the OP, merit aid would be hard.</p>

7

<p>UT and Mich are about the same price (maybe differ by $1K). UT publishes their cost by semester.</p>

8

<p>UT is fairly reasonable for OOS. (Tough to get in OOS though.)</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>UT-A is expensive for an OOS student and won’t give aid. He’d have to pay full price.</p>

<p>UT is about $45k per year (with rising prices)</p>

<p>UMich is about $50k per year.</p>

<p>Seriously, unless this kid is going to get good sized merit (to bring costs down to what his parents will pay), the OOS schools are a waste of time.</p>

<p>Indiana will give him $9k per year, but the cost is about $35k. So, unless he’s prepared to pay $26k, that won’t work either.</p>

<p>He needs to ask his parents how much they’ll pay each year. EFC means very little at many schools if you’re not low income.</p>

9

<p>I guess UT is no bargain. UT does give out of state tuition waivers for top students. The OP has good stats but probably isn’t in that category.</p>

10

<p>UT is good for in-state, but definitely not worth it for OOS.</p>

11

<p>Thanks guys. </p>

<p>Thought about Rice a few months ago. Might have to give it another look.</p>

<p>I really, really like Michigan, but like a couple posters have mentioned, they aren’t going to give me jack, fin aid wise and my stats aren’t high enough to get a big enough scholarship from. This one was a little painful to take off my list…but like I said, I really liked OSU when I visited last week, so not really problem. </p>

<p>Thought about UT as well…but similar problem to UofM. Plus, its not that much better than OSU. Still a good school and it was on my list at one point. </p>

<p>IU I gave some thought to, but I’m not really interested in the school. Campus looks gorgeous though. </p>

<p>Thanks again guys</p>

12

<p>Ok, thanks again, I’ll give you little update. </p>

<p>I think I’m going to add UNC to my list. Sounds like a cool school, good b-school, good lifestyle, etc… But, I’m OOS, so I don’t think I have a great chance, but I still think I’ll apply anyway. </p>

<p>That brings me to 11 schools, which I’m ok with, might still look for a 12th school, but 11 is still kind of a lot. </p>

<p>Another thing, I got my SAT II score back today, 790 in US History. I was disappointed at first, I was really gunning for an 800, but 790 is still like the 97th percentile.</p>

<p>How much do you think getting a 790 on the SAT II for USH, 5 on APUSH exam, winning an award for being one of the best students in the class, and having an A/A+ in History/Govt class throughout my high school career? USH/Gov teacher is writing my rec, and it should be pretty good.</p>

<p>I do ok in other classes, struggle in math/science (A-/B+) pretty good grades in English, but history I think will help me stick out. Will it? It shows I excel in something, while not being completely one-dimensional.</p>

<p>Oh, and thanks for all the help guys.</p>

13

<p>UNC’s OOS acceptance rate is more or less the same as UVA’s. Both are selective, but you should try. Your list looks good to me. I might suggest NYU Stern (although not known for great aid/merit $) and Vanderbilt.</p>