<p>Hi everyone. I'm new here.
I'm a senior (obviously), and I don't really know how I decided to apply to the schools I have already applied to. They just sort of got on the list (William and Mary, Washington and Lee, George Mason, Hampden-Sydney, James Madison, and UNC Chapel Hill).</p>
<p>So I have finished all my applications there, but I'm looking back and thinking, "You know, I didn't really LOVE LOVE LOVE any of these schools. I liked them all enough to apply, but they're all so different and I'm not in love with any of them." So I started looking a bit more.
Something about Wake caught my eye, but I saw that their deadline for merit aid was Dec 1, so I missed that.</p>
<p>So do you guys still think I should apply? How likely is it that I'll get in? I know there's need based aid, but that will probably only drop it to ~$20k (according to their calculator online), which my family can't really afford.</p>
<p>Test scores:
ACT (no writing): 36
SAT: 2140 (600 reading, 790 math, 750 writing (8 on essay)).</p>
<p>The thing is that I don't want to apply, get accepted, fall in love, and then not be able to afford it. I'm starting to apply to outside scholarships, but those can only go so far. Additionally, if this makes a difference, I want to study math. As far as I can tell, Wake has a pretty good math program. So what do you guys think?</p>
<p>Note: on the ACT, I said “no writing,” but I actually meant that I didn’t do the essay. I did the writing section. I got 36 in English and Reading, 35 in Math and Science.</p>
<p>What is your home state? You can always try to get need based financial aid ontop of the instate tuition for the publics you are applying to. In addition, with those scores, you are eligible for full ride scholarships at many schools around the nation. Check the pinned thread ontop of the financial aid forum. You can apply to a mix of schools - ones where you know you will likely get merit scholarships, and ones that you are not sure, but you love anyway. You’re really in a good position here.</p>
<p>I live in Virginia. I don’t want to go super far away from home (CA or MA, for example), which is all my schools are either VA or NC schools.</p>
<p>But with private schools (like Wake), it doesn’t make a difference where I’m from.</p>
<p>How good is Wake at meeting financial need? If their calculator says they’ll drop it to $20k in grants (it also listed numbers for loans and Work-Study, but I don’t remember those), will it actually be about $20k?
Maybe that’s something to directly ask the people there.</p>
<p>Wake meets 100% of demonstrated need, but their packages can be loan-heavy. Work-study usually amounts to $2000 annually. You & your parents will want to pay careful attention to financial aid deadlines and get everything in as soon as possible.</p>
<p>A couple of side notes: D never had that lightning-bolt moment on a college visit – she liked the schools to which she applied, but wasn’t in love with any of them. Wake was her longtime first choice – until she compared their offer of $0 with significant merit offers from other schools. She followed the money, and after a couple of months at W&L was overheard to say she was so happy there, she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. </p>
<p>BTW, if your grades and EC’s are in line with your test scores, you should be a strong candidate for merit at W&L and HSC. W&M offers a lot of bang for your buck, especially for an instate student. You should not have difficulty being admitted to Wake.</p>
<p>You can contact Admissions and explain the situation. That Wake caught your eye early and if you can still be considered for merit even missing the deadline.</p>
<p>The thing is, unless you get one of the big time merit awards that pays more than your need, the way it works with fin aid is that the merit award will reduce you need, and the fin aid awarded accordingly with the lowered need. So your NCP result is highly likely to be what you’d have to pay there, unless you snag one of the full awards do to the integration of merit with need.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip, cptofthehouse! I emailed them and they said that I would still be considered as they are still processing applications from before Dec 1.</p>
<p>I currently have a 4.0, though I’m not sure how much colleges pay attention to that as a homeschooled student. But as a sort of “verification,” I have an A from an english class at community college this summer and an A from a math class through Art of Problem Solving (which is accredited). So I do have outside verification of my grades.</p>
<p>As for EC’s: I’ve participated in church youth group all 4 years of high school, and I’m the director this year. I’ve done the Appalachia Service Project the past 2 summers and hopefully will be going again this summer (one solid week doing home repair in impoverished regions of Appalachia). I’ve been doing Shotokan karate for nearly 6 years, and just earned my black belt in October.
And in the realm of more academic EC’s: I’ve done math club the past 3 years and won NaNoWriMo every year of high school.</p>
<p>I think I’ll apply. Which means more essay writing and I’ll have to do an interview. Hopefully I’ll be able to go down for a campus visit sometime, but since winter break just started, it’ll probably have to wait until the new year.
I know not everyone has that “Oh yes!” moment when visiting colleges, but I just feel like if I could get it somewhere, that’d be nice. (until I get denied/don’t get enough aid…)</p>