<p>GENERAL INFO:
-State: Illinois
-School: Competitive public
-White female
-GPA: 4.5W/3.7UW
-I haven't taken the ACT/SAT yet, but the score of my full-length practice ACT was 33, and I'm going to aim for a 34 on the real one
-Hardest courseload possible
-AP Euro: 5
-Currently taking AP English Lang. & Comp., APUSH, and will probably take the AP German exam
-National German exam gold award for 90th percentile and above
-Academic commendations in foreign language, social science
-Rank: Top 10%
-Planned major: Double Major in Economics and German
-I don't want to go to a school that doesn't have a study abroad program of some sort in Germany.</p>
<p>EXTRACURRICULARS:
-Model UN (2nd year)
-German Club (3rd year)
-Stage Crew (3rd year)
-Church youth group (awards for leadership, 3rd year)
-Martial Arts Club (secretary) (1st year)
-School newspaper (3rd year)
-Thespians (3rd year)
-Art club (3rd year)
-Girl Scouts (11th year, Silver Award for community service)
-Foreign language magazine (1st year)</p>
<p>What are some good school options for me (safety/target/reach)? I can get in-state tuition at UC schools, as well as public schools in Nevada and Illinois. I'm not interested in Nevada schools. I'd rather not stay in the Midwest, but I'm trying to keep my options open at the moment.</p>
<p>California, because my father works for a government-funded laboratory based in California.</p>
<p>I don’t have a set budget at the moment because I haven’t fully explored scholarship options yet. But I’m particularly interested in the UC schools because they have a strong reputation and the tuition is still relatively low, especially in comparison to private institutions with similar reputations for quality of education.</p>
<p>UCs and UIUC should be considered. Make sure you actually would get in-state residency, and be sure to figure out a budget and try the “net price calculator” found on each school’s web site (search for it or “financial aid estimator”).</p>
<p>Consider Minnesota also, since out-of-state cost is relatively low.</p>
<p>I’m planning on applying to UIUC and at least one or two UCs.</p>
<p>Minnesota, though, I’m not sure about, because I really don’t want to live in Minnesota. If I go to a school in the Midwest, I want it to have some sort of national recognition, so I can get out of the Midwest. I hate it here.</p>
<p>As far as UCs go, apply to UC Berkeley and UCLA for sure. If you like the college town feel, then UC Davis is also a good candidate. Understand, however, that if you go to any of these schools, you will get treated like a number.</p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about all three of those schools. I’ve also looked at UCSB, and I’m kind of ambivalent about SB because I wasn’t all that fond of the atmosphere. It had a slight air of superficiality to it. I prefer Northern California - San Francisco is my favorite city in the state. Out of all the UC schools, Cal is probably my first choice.</p>
<p>I’ve heard about being treated like a number at UC schools, and while it doesn’t sound good, I think it’s an exchange I’d be willing to make for getting a decent education at such a good price.</p>
<p>Have you looked at any LACs? Maybe you wouldn’t be interested in Grinnell, the one I go to, since it’s in the Midwest, but there are tons of them in the northeast United States as well. Middlebury is a match for your stats (well, as much as Middlebury can be a match for anyone), and it’s famous for having some of the best foreign language courses in the country.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’ll look more into Middlebury. That tuition looks daunting, though. </p>
<p>As far as LACs go, I think Swarthmore looks great, but I imagine it’s a crapshoot to get in. I heard they rejected Obama. I originally took interest in Swathmore when I read a column in their online school newspaper archives from a student who studied abroad in Germany and Austria. People have been discouraging me from LACs because they’re expensive and don’t always have as much renown as large universities, but I’m interested, nevertheless.</p>
<p>I’ve only visited a few schools and I’m not completely sure what I’m looking for yet. I visited Dartmouth and Tufts recently, and while I thought Tufts was pretty awesome, I didn’t really care for Dartmouth (as if I could get in anyway!). It was beautiful, but I disliked the atmosphere.</p>
<p>^Top tier LAC tuition is typically progressive while most public U tuition is regressive. It’s like taxes, where the rich (theoretically should) pay a larger part of their income because they’re not going to struggle to pay it like the person making minimum wage would. If your parents make less than $100,000/year, Middlebury would almost certainly be cheaper than the sticker price. If your parents make less than $40,000, I would bet it would be cheaper than any instate university you could pick.</p>
<p>UC is systemwide-fees/tuition free for in-state students from families with income under $80,000 (basically, if your financial aid grants are less than the systemwide-fees/tuition, they get topped up to that amount). However, this does not necessarily cover other costs.</p>
<p>But instead of making assumptions about cost and financial aid based on general categories (“LAC”, “public university”, etc.), just go to each school’s web site and search for the “net price calculator” or “financial aid estimator” to get an idea of what it is likely to offer.</p>
<p>Might look at Holy Cross-very good study abroad programs and economics department. HC has fine campus 1 hour from Boston and is pretty good for financial aid-meets 100% of demonstrated need.</p>
<p>I don’t have a set budget at the moment because I haven’t fully explored scholarship options yet.</p>
<p>The amount your family will spend each year (your budget) is unrelated to how much you’d get in scholarships. Also, private scholarships are often small and only for freshman year, so they’re not going to close the gaps for 4 years. </p>
<p>You need to find out how much your family will pay so that you know what your situation is…how much you’d need in merit scholarships or how much you might qualify for need-based aid (if the school meets need). </p>
<p>However, if you have high stats then there are some schools that will give you scholarships for all 4 years. </p>
<p>California, because my father works for a government-funded laboratory based in California.</p>
<p>Is it true that when a person works for a gov’t funded lab based in Calif that they get instate tuition? That seems odd.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids just brought up a good point. You want to be absolutely sure that you will get residency status in California (or scholarships that will bring the cost to the equivalent, renewable for 4 years) before going to school at a UC. While the UCs are well known, there is no reason why you should spend $35,000 a year in out-of-state tuition over there. Also, housing in California is going to ring you up a monstrous sum. I’m not saying don’t apply – just be willing to walk away if in your acceptance letter they say, “If you choose to accept this offer, you will be expected to supply your own funds…”</p>
<p>Also, don’t overlook the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). I don’t know what your thoughts are of attending UI, but just a quick glance at their average acceptance stats from businessweek suggests that you would be a competitive applicant.</p>
<p>Bottom line, you want to be an economics major. Go with the best school that you can afford (with emphasis on AFFORD).</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure I could get into U of I. They accept quite a few students at my school every year. So considering I’m in state and also a legacy, I think my chances might be good enough to use it as a safety.</p>
<p>UC schools are, indeed, a fortune when not paying in-state tuition, so I’m almost sure I’m not going to go there if I end up paying out of state tuition. I think the lab my dad’s office is based at might be directly connected to the UC system, because his employer said I can only get in-state at UC schools - not CalState.</p>
<p>Based on what mom2collegekids said about budgeting, I’m still not sure because my parents have said the amount they’d be willing to pay will differ based on the costs and caliber of the school I go to.</p>