Advice for finding the right college?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I've been a long time lurker around this forum, but this will be my first official post and what's a better way to be involved other than just jumping right in and starting a thread? I don't think there is a better way!</p>

<p>So just to jump into this, I will be a senior this fall and pretty much this whole summer I've been researching colleges and learning about the different parts to the application and whatnot. However, I still do not feel like I have a real grasp about what to look for in a college?</p>

<p>I would prefer to be in a relatively large college in a city, but not so large that I would just be another face in the crowd.</p>

<p>I'd prefer to be kind of close to home (Philadelphia), but I'm open suggestions.</p>

<p>I would need a bit of financial help since my family's income falls on the lower side.</p>

<p>Prestige is definitely a factor too (my parents only want me to go to Ivys, but my SATs were terrible).</p>

<p>and that's basically it for my criteria. I'm not really a picky person and I can adjust to an environment fairly quickly.</p>

<p>Stats
GPA: 4.01
SAT: 1700 (I've been dabbling in the blue book, will retake it again in the Fall)
AP: language & composition (junior year), will be taking bio and calculus
Rank: 7 out of 683
Honors: honor roll for most of junior year. I'm not sure about freshman and sophomore year though. I attended 2 different schools in different states for high school. One of the schools didn't really display honor roll (not that I know of, at least).
EC: NHS, Stage Crew, SPARC Medical, Philadelphia Futures</p>

<p>Any advice or college suggestions would be helpful!</p>

2

<p>You should consider some test optional colleges - [SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest)</p>

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<p>You should try ACT</p>

4

<p>Look into Drexel and Temple, both are near Philadelphia. Temple offers some pretty good scholarships based on merit, but I think you have to push up your SAT scores some.</p>

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<p>I’ve heard that you should take one or the other, as in either the SAT or the ACT. Should I still retake the SAT?</p>

6

<p>If you can afford it, maybe taking the ACT before the registration deadline for the SAT might helpful. You could score significantly better on the ACT. If not, you want to retake the SAT and aim at hitting 2000 for merit aid.</p>

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<p>I agree with trying the ACT. Some people just do better on it. Most merit aid will require higher scores.</p>

<p>Here’s a good source to look for schools with merit and need based aid:
[Kiplinger’s</a> Best Values in Private Colleges-Kiplinger](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts&state_code]Kiplinger’s”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts&state_code)=ALL&id=none&sortby=ug<em>ft</em>nn<em>noneed</em>d&sortorder=DESC</p>

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<p>I think I will take the ACT later this year. The next available date is for October and I know that there is the SAT that month as well. I’ve also looked into the subject tests. Would you recommend them? If I were to take them, should I take it before the regular SAT? (ie. take the subject test in October and the next month take the SAT?)</p>

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<p>SAT IIs are only required for the most competitive schools. Unless you are burning to make it into those I wouldn’t worry about them.</p>

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<p>On a slightly different note, this is a rough list of colleges I’m interested in: Vanderbilt, USD, UChicago, Penn State, and North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I know Vanderbilt and UChicago are definitely high reaches, but would the others be good matches/safeties?</p>

<p>Also, thank you guys for all of your help!</p>

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<p>Chapel Hill might also be a reach because of how competitive it is for out-of-state students. Penn State is a match, not sure about USD.</p>

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<p>Don’t just “dabble” in the blue book, get cracking and work hard on your SAT prep. Vanderbilt, Chicago, and UNC are all way out of reach with your current SAT. Or as someone else suggested, load up you list with test optional colleges.</p>

<p>Also, as you mentioned finances as an issue, run the net price calculator on the colleges you are interested in.</p>

13

<p>I’ve been working my way through these two sets of Barron’s flashcards, although I’m not sure memorizing vocabulary is the way to go. I have also been going through Silverturtle’s guide and finding it to be helpful. Are there any other resources I should use?</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;