Any Suggestions?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm starting to look at colleges and OH MY GOD there are so many. i have no idea where to begin. so, here's me in a nutshell:</p>

<p>-White, female, middle-class, attends non-prestigious public high school in NY (though we do have a few people go on to Ivy League schools and the like every year) </p>

<p>-Since i'm only a junior, i haven't taken the SATs or ACTs yet but based on practice tests ill probably get somewhere in the 2100-2200 range for SATs and around a 31 for the ACTs. my practice SAT subject tests are usually in the low 700s. </p>

<p>-i sort of slacked off freshman and sophomore year. i took all honors courses and APs when i could, but i didnt try very hard: my grades were all in the low 90s. i only got a 3 on my AP Euro test, and i barely did any ECs</p>

<p>-so, my unweighted GPA is only a 3.8 (by the end of this year it'll probably be a bit higher, but i doubt i'll reach 4.0+). because of the rigor of the courses, my weighted GPA will be definately over 4.0, but i don't think that'll make much difference. </p>

<p>-I'm in the IB diploma program, and i'm doing very well. i'm pretty sure to get between a 5 and a 7 on all my tests. </p>

<p>-i have a few teachers in mind for recommendations: intelligent, and they like me a lot, so that won't be a problem. i'm also a very good writer, so my essay will definitely be good. </p>

<p>-though we do have a valedictorian and a salutatorian each year (which, needless to say, will not be me), we don't have an overall ranking for the grade/school, so i have no idea where i am in terms of that. </p>

<p>ECs:
-model congress: 4 years (possibly a board member next year)
-NHS: junior & senior yr (possibly a board member next year)
-Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior class
-newspaper: junior & senior yrs (it was only started this year, though)
-yearbook: senior year
-tutoring: junior & senior year
-certified & active SCUBA diver: 6 years
-worked at the beach for 3 straight summers
-LOTS of different volunteer activities spanning all 4 years (i don't know how to list these- how do you mention every individual activity, like Relay for Life and Unitedway Brigdewalk? or do you not mention them at all?)
-had artwork exhibited in the Hecksher Museum for Long Island's Best HS Artists competition
-this summer i'm working/ volunteering at the World Fellowship Center</p>

<p>-im really not picky, but i'd probably like to go to a small-ish, liberal arts school in either the northeast or the mid-atlantic area. or california. preferably with a liberal atmosphere. i'm not totally sure what i want to major in, but i'm really interested in archaeology, so i'd like a school with a good archaeology dept. i'm really not into math or science, so no big research schools for me. and no business/pre-med/pre-law schools either. </p>

<p>-also, really expensive private schools are no good either, because my family can't afford them without really substantial financial aid or merit scholarships. if there are any good public schools outside of NY that out-of-staters can easily go to, that would be awesome. </p>

<p>so any suggestions for where i should apply? any feedback would be really great :)</p>

2

<p>Do you have a class rank?</p>

<p>The good LACs for someone with your stats Will all cost about the same $55k plus per year. The first thing to do is to figure out your family’s EFC using a calculator here or on the College Board site. That will approximate home much need based aid you qualify for. You need to understand this before starting your list, because it will drive what schools you should apply to.</p>

3

<p>^not true. Those are good stats and there will be merit aid in addition to need aid available. All LACs will not cost OP $55k/yr. Most LACs don’t even have a total cost of attendance at $55k/yr.</p>

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<p>Still it’s necessary to find the EFC and apply to colleges based on that. If the FAFSA thinks the family can afford $55K, but the family thinks it can’t, she will need merit aid. If the FAFSA and family agree on the amount, a school that meets need will do. Most schools aren’t good at both merit and need-based aid; the topmost schools have more need-based and the next level have more merit-based.</p>

<p>For an interesting public school, check out New College of Florida.</p>

5

<p>what did you get on the PSAT? If you scored better than the NY cutoff for National Merit,- 219- then that will open up lots of possibilities for you to win Merit scholarships, though they may not be at the type of small LAC you are thinking of at this point.</p>

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<p>I suggest you buy a copy of Ruggs Recommendations, which is a book guidance counselors use.
<a href=“http://www.ruggsrecommendations.com/rureonco28ed.html[/url]”>http://www.ruggsrecommendations.com/rureonco28ed.html&lt;/a&gt;
It lists college majors, broken down by size of college as well as by strength of program.</p>

<p>the link to order it is at the bottom of the page</p>

7

<p>Few top LACs offer merit aid, the top nes are need based only. The OP has the stats to consider the top LACs, if she qualifies for good need based aid they will be the best financial and academic deal.</p>

8

<p>What kind of archaeology? If you are interested in Classical or Near Eastern topics, one of the best in the nation is [Bryn</a> Mawr College: Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology](<a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/archaeology/]Bryn”>Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology | Bryn Mawr College) Don’t be afraid of BMC just because it is a women’s college. The need-based aid is very good.</p>

9

<p>

Uh, because that would be impossible?

Those two requirements are oxymoronic. A LAC is going to be expensive and private. While there are some public LACs I don’t know of any in NY, though there are probably some SUNYs that try to be LAC-ish. You do need to figure out your EFC because that will tell you what kind of FA you may expect at different schools. A NYer’s income, even if they can’t afford a private school, may rule out FA at most colleges.</p>

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<p>The top LACs in New England (the NESCAC schools) generally do not offer merit aid. Many good LACs in other regions do. For example, Colorado College, Davidson, Grinnell, Rhodes, the University of Richmond, and Whitman all offer merit aid. However, merit aid from these schools typically won’t be a “full ride” or full tuition grant. More likely, it will amount to a $5K-$10K discount off the full sticker price (maybe more at some schools or for truly exceptional candidates). Full sticker is indeed over $50K at many of these colleges.</p>

<p>The Kiplinger “best values” college site lists costs of attendance and average aid packages for both need-based and merit aid.
[Kiplinger.com[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Trinity College posts a nice table showing average need-based aid awarded for various income levels. ([url=<a href=“http://www.trincoll.edu/orgs/planning/publicdata/FinancialAid.html]Trinity”>http://www.trincoll.edu/orgs/planning/publicdata/FinancialAid.html]Trinity</a> College: Financial Aid Facts](<a href=“Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts)) The amount available for your family’s income may be more than you’d expect, especially after personal circumstances are considered (parents’ age, other college-age sibs, etc.)</p>

<p>For archaeology and anthropology, check out Colorado College, Beloit, and Bryn Mawr for starters. warblersrule seems to be CC’s resident expert on these fields. Search for his previous posts or PM him if you want more suggestions, including details about where the best programs are in various sub-specialties (which may take you beyond what a LAC can offer). </p>

<p>Your most affordable option in a LAC may turn out to be SUNY-Geneseo (a public LAC in New York). It’s possible, though, that your out-of-pocket costs (after aid) would turn out to be lower at a private school despite the high sticker price.</p>

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<p>“LOTS of different volunteer activities spanning all 4 years (i don’t know how to list these- how do you mention every individual activity, like Relay for Life and Unitedway Brigdewalk? or do you not mention them at all?)”</p>

<p>Is there any common theme in these volunteer activities? Like “Fund-raising for Cancer Research” and then mention hours per week and describe your activities as ’ participated in relays, walkathons, and bake sales (or whatever).’ If you can’t identify a theme around which your volunteering has focused - it’s random stuff you do occasionally - then it really doesn’t add anything to the application and might distract from your more important ECs where you have put in a lot of time and effort.</p>

12

<p>St. Mary’s College in MD is a public honors college, on a beautiful campus. I’m not sure about its archaeology program, but its a public LAC that could be worth looking into.</p>

13

<p>When you get a list of possible schools, go to each school’s web site and put “net price calculator” in the search box and use it to get an estimate of net cost and financial aid, so you can check to see if it is realistic for you and your family.</p>

14

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<p>There are digs at the nearby site of St. Mary’s City, the first colonial settlement in Maryland.
The college operates a summer school of archeology there.</p>

<p>[Field</a> School](<a href=“http://www.stmaryscity.org/Field%20school.html]Field”>http://www.stmaryscity.org/Field%20school.html)
[Anthropology</a> Department: St Mary’s College of Maryland](<a href=“http://www.smcm.edu/anthropology/program_overview.html]Anthropology”>http://www.smcm.edu/anthropology/program_overview.html)</p>

<p>Total costs for OOS students are over $37K. That is much less than the typical private LAC, but still not cheap. The question is, how much aid is available for out-of-state students? Their average need-based aid package is only about $4K.</p>

15

<p>

A lot depends on if you merely plan to major in archaeology and do something else afterwards (e.g. business, law, whatever) or are seriously interested in archaeology as a career path. If the latter, much depends in turn on what field of archaeology you’re interested in (American? Chinese? Egyptian? Greek?), as you’ll need to find a college that provides sufficient language instruction. That said, I’ve given very broad suggestions for archaeology elsewhere on CC:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13169750-post3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13169750-post3.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You’ve gotten good advice in this thread. Most LACs are private and expensive. As an in-state option, Macaulay Honors may be a good option. The SUNYs are not great options if you’re interested in Old World stuff, sadly. Buffalo has a very decent classics program, and anthro is probably adequate. Stony Brook has a good anthro/arch program, but it offers barely any ancient language instruction. Geneseo is an excellent public LAC, but again, barely any ancient language instruction is available. Albany used to have a decent program, but it recently got slashed due to budget cuts. Some of the SUNYs like Geneseo would be much more attractive options if you’re interested in New World archaeology, however.</p>