<p>Her math score would have to come up a lot to be competitive at Mudd. The 25-75% math range there is 740-800, and the ACT range is 34-36. But if you can get your scores up, give it it a try. My D2 is a freshman there, probable CS major, and loves it.</p>
<p>A low income student should make her applications count to maximize her options regarding cost/finaid. In other words, ease off on the reaches. The most selective technical schools (HM, MIT, CIT) are not good choices for the OP with her current math/science scores. </p>
<p>Agreed only mentioned those schools if she’s able to raise her test scores. If she’s able to say, get her Math to around 700 with a perfect CR score she would have an opportunity at those institutions. Nothing is guaranteed and the rest of her application will have to be strong. Also with the new program by the SAT which provides 8 free application waivers to low income students plus if she is truly low income many of the schools will waive the fees on their own. No reason for her not to shoot for it with an increase in her score provided the school fits her needs and desires academically. </p>
<p>The short list I provided is not the only schools I’m considering. Just a list off the top of my head. They were examples of the caliber and type of school I’m reaching for. I just wanted to know if they were in reasonable reach and what i could do get closer. Applications don’t go out til fall/winter and I’m certainly gonna keep searching and weighing my options until then. </p>
<p>I’m very interested in suggestions and points in the right direction espescially if I’m heading the wrong way</p>
<p>Echoing what @Mayihelp said, find out what your app costs are likely to be. From there, decide on a fairly accurate total number of applications. This will help you understand your risk tolerance. You can afford to be more aggressive if you have 10 apps vs 6, say. Then assign a number for each category, for example: </p>
<p>Reach (2)
Match / Semi-Reach (2)
Low Match / Good Fit (2)
Likely (0 or 1)
Safety (1) </p>
<p>You’d tweak that, of course, depending on your particular needs and risk tolerance. But without having a handle on application costs and the total number of apps, your strategy can get muddled and you can end up with too much or too little risk. </p>
<p>I’m positive that I’m ellible for most (probably all) fee waivers but will do more research</p>
<p>I’m positive that I’m eligible for most (probably all) fee waivers but will do more research</p>
<p>Your total number of apps might be determined mostly by time constraints, but try to arrive at a ballpark total, all the same. It makes researching schools and shortlisting so much easier when you have a target number.</p>
<p>How many is too many?</p>
<p>One thing to think about is that for each school you apply to, you (and your parents) also have to do financial aid paperwork. And schools are annoyingly varied in what they want and how they want it sent. So lots of schools can add up to lots of deadlines to track and a lot of different formats/steps to send your family’s financial information in. 10 is a good number for someone who is looking for financial aid, I think.</p>
<p>If i become an application filling out machine/hermit and start now can I manage say 12? Or is that excessive</p>
<p>You want to keep the quality up. Your common app essay obviously needs to be strong, but your supplemental essays also need to be high quality and specific to the colleges you are applying to. One problem is that you don’t know if colleges will change their supplemental questions from last year, so it is hard to start that. You can certainly work on your Common App, though. Look at the format of the app and make up a spreadsheet of your ECs, classes, etc.in the formats needed for data entry. Start working on and polishing your Common App essay. Get a trusted adult with experience in the college application process to review your essay if possible.<br>
Also,now is a good time to start a spreadsheet of all the deadlines for the colleges you expect to apply to (EA deadlines, RD deadlines, scholarship deadlines, and financial aid deadlines). Track whether you have sent scores and which ones, whether you have applied for and received the fee waiver, and whether you have submitted the application. There are things you can start now that will make things easier in the fall for sure.</p>
<p>So you could target 12 – but I would say do your safety and a couple of matches early one. And any place with rolling admissions early and scholarship deadlines first. THEN go on to the others. My D1 had 8 schools on her list, but only ended up doing 7 applications because she got an EA acceptance with merit aid at a school she knew she would rather attend than the last school she hadn’t applied to yet. So you might end up dropping a couple at the end, either because you run out of time or get an acceptance someplace you know you prefer to attend.</p>
<p>Regarding my math skills, I realize that I didn’t mention my involvement in the school Math team or Moopoo(my affectionate name for Mu Alpha Theta the math honors society). Do honors societies carry any weight?</p>
<p>Not really… but math team helps. But ultimately they like to see the test scores, that is an objective comparison to others in the applicant pool. </p>
<p>Last child did 9 applications. 2 safety matches and 7 that for anybody is a reach. Was very comfortable with one of the safeties. Find a place or two your comfortable as safeties and then shoot for 5 or 6 places you know you really want to go to. If you get into one you’re doing great and from your list most of those schools will do a great job w financial aid. If your family income is less than 60 k some of the ivies and other high caliber schools may be free or just a small loan. </p>
<p>@intparent The spread sheets are a great idea, because obviously I have a hard time accurately listing everything I’m involved in</p>
<p>Yeah, my D did that because it also helped her think through what was important (so she could rank her activities accordingly), and it helped her see that some items that were just a year or two and not related to her planned major didn’t really need to be on the list. And it is just hard to answer some of the questions (hours per week?? very confusing for an activity she does for about half the school year, then goes to a 1-week camp during the summer). So putting it in a spreadsheet in the same format the application wanted helped her wrestle through some of those questions, then she could go enter the data when it all looked right to her. Plus, it is important to have a consistent application – your application is shows off your “brand”, and you want to be careful that it all hangs together for an admissions officer. The application is all they see about you, so you need to be sure it (and your recommendations and transcript) tell the story you want them to see.</p>
<p>Regarding the total number of apps, there is a point for every person where the app quality and interest level starts to suffer. Have a gander at the essay prompts for last year’s supplements (for a handful of schools) and see how you’d respond and estimate the time you’d need to complete them.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that you’ll be finalizing these things while juggling senior year school work. A lot of students grossly underestimate the time needed for strong apps. That includes putting in the time to show interest in a school. It helps to display interest, any way you can: Facebook pages, emailing fin aid and academic departments and clubs, interviewing! etc. A school’s yield is a huge factor in their ranking or prestige, so the theory goes that students who have shown interest (other than applying) receive better odds of admission because they’re more likely to attend. So consider the time required to show some interest when deciding on a total number of apps.</p>
<p>You might be the type of person who really needs to be thorough, and not spread your energy too thinly. If so, 12 apps might be excessive. </p>
<p>Absolutely true. I probably wouldn’t even find 12 schools to feel strongly about but I like to know my wiggle room i guess.</p>
<p>I just did USC calculator. Good #s there. I did UPenn’s calculator awhile ago and I believe they said it’d cost me close to nothing. So thts a relief.</p>