ADVICE REQUESTED: Pressing Questions About College and Me!

Paying for College
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<p>***IMPORTANT--->SPAMMERS, if you don't have worthwhile advice, please don't post at all. Thank you!</p>

<p>I'm a rising senior. I live in Oregon State if this geographical region gives me any advantage. I took the SAT II World History Test and scored 780 and SAT I (cr 680, m 800, w 780). I plan to take three more SAT II Subject Tests in October, namely biology, physics, and math IIC. I'm interested in Ivy League colleges, but cost is a major concern as my family's income is at the lower end of middle class (barely over 100k per year). My school sends out several students to great colleges such as the lower tier ivies, stanford, and yale each year. This year, there are at least 4 students who have higher SAT I scores than me, national merit finalist standing (I have commendation letter only only), and 4.0 GPA. I have a 3.993 GPA and Salutatorian in my class as of now, but as you can see, I'm ranked below 2nd.</p>

<p>I have an incentive to retake the SAT I so that I may acrue a higher cr score, and increase my chances of getting merit aid, which I desperately need, at these selective colleges. Obviously, colleges to which I will be applying early action won't see any retakes (see questions below), but at least colleges to which I will be applying regular decision will and may offer me better financial aid packages.</p>

<p>The indecisions I'm having are and need answers to are as follows (I would like advice from any experienced CCers, preferably people who have gone through the same situation as I. FEEL FREE TO ANSWER ANY OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING WORTH SAYING):</p>

<p>Will a good SAT retake (cr above 700 and other section scores remaining as they are now) help me noticeably, specifically in my situation?</p>

<p>Is squeezing in the ACTs at the end of October worthwhile, considering the colleges to which I will be applying and the fact that I haven't prepped at all for this test?</p>

<p>Are there any good early action colleges at or above the level of Rice U?</p>

<p>I also plan to apply to Stanford and Yale. Should I apply regular or early action, considering the possibility of a retake? IOW, will I have a better shot at being rejected or deferred (I'm seriously doubting I'll get accepted at these schools the first round)?</p>

<p>I played the piano for 7 years and compose some music. Should I send a supplement of my best piano recordings and compositions considering the fact that I haven't won any national or state piano awards?</p>

<p>I'm spending the rest of my summer prepping for SAT IIs, getting ready for the following school year, and working on early action apps. Should I be doing something else?</p>

<p>Are there any prestigious competitions that I can compete in before regular admission app deadlines?</p>

<p>I have numerous local awards/honors and a few mediocre national ones that may be insignificant at a national level including Eagle Scout, AIME Qualifier, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Honor Society, Various state math competitions. Will this make a significant contribution to my application as a well-rounded individual? Coupled with my SAT scores, will this give me a noticeable edge over other QUALIFIED applicants?</p>

<p>Should the application essay sound like an A+ English Lang. paper with sophisticated diction or should I be honest and write in a conversational style and forgo sophisticated language?</p>

<p>Should I apply to Stanford EA, Yale EA, or a combination of other schools EA w/o binding? Which is easier or harder with my stats and with my situation?</p>

<p>If interviews are on campus, do I get paid airfare to and from the campus?</p>

<p>I've made a few what I would call "grave" errors in my academic career, namely doing terrible on my PSATs and losing 4.0 gpa during my junior year. How will this effect my academic competitiveness?</p>

<p>Thank you for all of your suggestions!</p>

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<p>An increase in your SAT1 score would be a big help to you. If you are taking a rigorous academic curriculum, and have been, that would also be a big plus on your side. Your ECs are fine; bear in mind most kids do not have hooks. Eagle Scout is a big deal. You might want to round that out with some community service, volunteer work that ties into what you have learned in scouts. My son was an Explorer with the volunteer youth fire dept here, and that EC garnered a lot of positive feedback from colleges and scholarship committees. Your essay should use correct English, but the important thing is that your “voice”, your personality shows when read. Don’t worry about the PSAT; it does not come into the picture and there is nothing you can do about the past anyways. Losing a 4.0 is not a big deal unless the grade drop is drastic. Again the courses you were/are taking is more important. That and the rigor of your school. </p>

<p>As for applying to top schools early, ummm. The problem is that your SAT1 score is low, and if you do apply early, you will not have the opportunity for more than one retake, if that to bring it up. Or to take the ACT and see if you fare better on that test. Though for many schools, an early deferral is a second opportunity to submit more info, with the very top schools, data has often shown that those deferred in the early round are not usually in consideration for regular decision. You need to look at those numbers, namely those accepted among the deferred and if they much lower than RD stats, I would not apply EA. I think you are a good candidate for top schools and if that score goes up, definitely will be in consideration, but you are not tremendously strong, either. Pretty much an average candidate for the very top schools unless you have some hook that you have not shared with us. That is what most kids are who apply to HPY and co; highly qualified but more of them than can be accepted. </p>

<p>If a good financial aid package is important to you, do look at those schools that give merit money as well. Run your number through some PROFILE calculators to see what comes out. You are not going to get federal money other than in the form of loans, so all grants have to come privately, mainly from the schools unless you get some independent scholarships. I suggest you apply to a good mix of schools EA such as Notre Dame, Rice (does it do EA,can’t remember), Tulane, UMiami, Fordham, Georgetown, BC, some state schools such as Pitt, UMD, Arizona,maybe Georgia Tech, UChicago and a good strong safety that you can like that is sure to be affordable. You can use that as a measure of where you stand selectivitywise when you do that, and if you hit some good ones, you can pare down your list. If things look bleak, you know you need to work on your list more realistically.</p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how it goes. Some schools will take care of airfare; some will not. The top schools tend to have alumni interviews everywhere so you will not have to go to the school.</p>

<p>You might want to look at Swarthmore, Davidson, Wesleyan or Colgate or other such small schools as well, here on the east coast, since the geographics would be favorable for you. If you are interested in engineering, Duke’s selection method may be favorable towards you, and JHU is also a good reach option.</p>

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<p>I’ll definitely take a look. Thanks for the response. However, others on this forum have opinions that SAT I scores only gets you so far. They say that it’s similar to a first round of culling the applicant pool and that the rest of the application is more important (in my case of course). So, please tell me the basis of your thinking and your source/credibility. I’m curious at your different perspective on the issue of SAT scores (apparently they’re more important than I originally thought).</p>

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<p>For Rice, Stanford, Yale, you will find an extremely high level of performance talent. I’m not talking about the music majors at Rice/Sheperd SOM. The top tiers have a wealth of talent, artistically as well as academically including national and international competition winners/placers, a good number of conservatory level players across many instruments pursuing undergrad academic disciplines rather than music (a number of whom will end up in MM programs at some of the top conservatory/conservatory level programs in the country). Across the Ivys, there are a number of undergrads who are already performing professionally.</p>

<p>At this level, your supplement would be but one of many. Unless you can count yourself in the performance class described, I honestly would not bother.</p>

<p>Sending a supplement may benefit you at other schools.</p>

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<p>A few items of clarification that you might need to understand:</p>

<p>first – families making just over 100K are not on the lower end of the middle class. the average family income in the US is just under $50,000. of course, just because your family earns over 100K that doesn’t mean that they can pay 50K a year for you to go to college, I understand that. But keep in mind that your family is significantly better off than most Americans.</p>

<p>second – why are you taking 3 more SAT II test? only a handful of schools require more than 2. You current SAT II score is excellent – I would focus on raising your SAT I score. Yes – it is true that top schools evaluate students holistically, but your CR score is low if you are shooting for ivies and without a hook (minority, athletic recruit, etc) you would probably be better off with a higher score.</p>

<p>third – the ivy league schools (and some other top schools) don’t give merit aid. some are very generous with their need-based financial aid.</p>

<p>I would suggest that you start by talking with your parents about college finances. Have your parents use this online calculator [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid) and use the institutional methodology. If your parents input good numbers, it should give you a good estimate of what they will be expected to pay. Depending on assets, they will probably be expected to pay around $20,000 or more at most private schools (this is on top of loans for you that will be included in your FA package). Most parents are astounded by the amount colleges expect them to pay.</p>

<p>Depending on what your parents tell you they are willing to pay, you can start looking at schools with generous merit aid, generous need-based aid, or lower costs (like state schools).</p>

<p>You sound like a strong student – but the top schools (like stanford, yale, etc) get thousands of applications from top students. You need something that makes you stand out. I don’t see it in your post – but that doesn’t mean you don’t have it.</p>

<p>so some research on EA/ED – for a student that will need financial aid, you don’t want to lock yourself into a binding agreement (ED) but at many schools, they don’t allow you to apply EA to more than one school. read the policies carefully. </p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>