Here are some quick facts:
Redesigned SAT: 1490/1600 R:740 M:750 Essay8/6/7
SAT2: will take in November
AP CALCULUS BC:5 AP HUMAN GEO:5 AP PHYSICS M:3
will take ap physics MEM,AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND US HISTORY THIS YEAR one college lit course
GPA:Unweighted 3.8
ECS: Geological field trips, Volunteering in orphanage, organizing fundraising events, translating materials for lymphoma patients in China and Taiwan,school worship teams…
School preference:
-has a reputable geoscience program(preferably geophysics or general geology)
-relatively conservative, or Christian(both socially and politically)
-has a core curriculum with humanities/ social science
-not too expensive/offer merit-based scholarship( I’m an international student. My parents will give me 50,000 USD per year)
Go to the school that ends up being the cheapest that doesn’t suck. Your GPA and SAT scores will get you some nice scholarships. You could use that $50,000 for a lot more than college.
Check on the geology departments at Trinity and Southwestern in Texas, Chapman and Pepperdine in California, Whitworth and Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington.
The college of mineral science at Penn State is excellent but it’s a large, public university. There are Christian groups and churches of course but it may not meet your wishes socially even if it does academically. Politically it’s moderate.
UWyoming and UMontana are more conservative and smaller, but less good academically.
Look into Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Wheaton IL, Baylor, Wofford, Grove City, Hillsdale?
Wake Forest for a match, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame for reaches
If you want a small school with geology and related offerings, there are “Mines” schools in South Dakota, New Mexico, and Colorado. But you may need to check if humanities and social studies offerings are sufficient for you.
Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Duke, Emory, Calvin College