Are these the right colleges?

Applying to College
1

<p>Are these the right colleges for me? I really need financial aid. I'm also open to any suggestions! Thanks so much. Here's my stats profile:</p>

<p>Student: student name edited out - Mod JEM
User Name: trackie10x
Gender: F
Location: removed identifying info - Mod JEM
College Class Year: 2012
High School: Public
High School Type: rarely sends grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 97.65
GPA - Weighted: 98.20
Class Rank: 1
Class Size: 93</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>SAT I Math: 670
SAT I Critical Reading: 690
SAT I Writing: 720
ACT: 34</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Student Council - 9, 10, 11, 12
National Honor Society - 9, 10, 11, 12
Tutoring program - 9, 10, 11, 12
Natural Helpers - 9, 10, 11, 12</p>

<p>Leadership positions:</p>

<p>Student Council Treasurer - 11
Student Council President - 12</p>

<p>Athletic Status:</p>

<p>Varsity Volleyball - 9, 10, 11, 12
Varsity Basketball - 9, 10, 11, 12
Varsity Outdoor Track and Field - 9, 10, 11, 12</p>

<p>Track and Field Awards
-2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 Sectional Championship Team Champions
-2006 Most Improved Player
-2006 Sectional Championship Individual Runner-Up
-2006 Empire State Games Western Region Alternate
-2007 Sectional Championship Individual Runner-Up
-2007 State Championship Qualifier
-2007 Empire State Games Delegate</p>

<p>Volunteer/Service Work: </p>

<p>Northwestern University Center for Talent Development CivicWeek 2006: Chicago - Hunger and Homelessness</p>

<p>Northwestern University Center for Talent Development CivicWeek 2007: San Francisco - Hunger and Homelessness</p>

<p>100-Hour Community Service Requirement as a part of Leadership In Action course</p>

<p>Honors and Awards:</p>

<p>Kodak Young Leaders Award 2006</p>

<p>Student Council Valedictorian Award 2008</p>

<p>Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Seminar Delegate 2006</p>

<p>National Leadership Council Delegate 2006
State Leadership Council Delegate 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
State Leadership Conference Workshop Presenter 2006
Regional Leadership Conference Delegate 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Regional Leadership Conference Workshop Presenter 2006, 2007
Regional Leadership Conference Roundtable Presenter 2006, 2007</p>

<p>College programs:</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Summer Programs 2005: Youth and Society - Service Learning</p>

<p>SUNY Geneseo Course Fall 2007 Semester: Intermediate French II (305 level)</p>

<p>Colleges of Interest:</p>

<p>College: Boston College, Choice #: 1, ED/EA: Yes, Athlete: Yes, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply</p>

<p>College: Emory University, Choice #: 2, ED/EA: Yes, Athlete: Yes, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply</p>

<p>College: Fordham University, Choice #: 3, ED/EA: Yes, Athlete: Yes, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply</p>

<p>College: University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Choice #: 4, ED/EA: Yes, Athlete: Yes, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply</p>

<p>College: University of Maryland - College Park, Choice #: 5, ED/EA: Yes, Athlete: Yes, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply</p>

<p>College: Villanova University, Choice #: 6, ED/EA: Yes, Athlete: Yes, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply</p>

<p>College: University of Rochester, Choice #: 7, ED/EA: No, Athlete: Yes, Legacy: Yes, Status: Will Apply</p>

<p>College: SUNY College at Geneseo, Choice #: 8, ED/EA: No, Athlete: Yes, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply</p>

<p>Desired College Characteristics:</p>

<p>Location type: Urban, Small City
Size: Medium Small (2,500 - 5,000), Medium (5,000 - 10,000)</p>

<p>Area: East Coast, Midwest, Southeast
Importance of cost: Very important
Intended major(s): Political science, development economics, public/social policy</p>

2

<p>I don't know a whole lot about those colleges, but Princeton Review and College Board both have great search functions that take into account your stats and then give you matching colleges.</p>

<p>Princeton Review's Couselor-o-Matic: <a href="http://princetonreview.com/college/research/advsearch/match.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://princetonreview.com/college/research/advsearch/match.asp&lt;/a>
College Board's College Matchmaker: <a href="http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/adv_typeofschool.jsp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/adv_typeofschool.jsp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>You are pretty much guaranteed acceptance to all of these colleges.
SUNY College at Geneseo is most likely to give you financial aid.</p>

<p>Why don't you apply to more SUNY and CUNY schools?</p>

4

<p>With that ACT score, I wouldn't even let the colleges know I took the SAT. You are valedictorian, have a 34 ACT, and very impressive extracurriculars. There likely isn't a school out there that wouldn't want to have a student like you. Apply wherever you want to.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
With that ACT score, I wouldn't even let the colleges know I took the SAT.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Ditto ^. Also, find some reaches.</p>

6

<p>I guess I'm just really nervous about applying to reach colleges because I definitely need financial aid, and I don't really know if I'm good enough to get merit scholarships at some really good schools. So we'll see. Thanks for the tips!</p>

7

<p>And I live in Geneseo and have lived here my whole life, so I don't really want to stay in New York or at least in this area of New York. Also, everyone at my school goes to SUNYs and I want to go somewhere where I won't know a single person.</p>

8

<p>Sorry I keep adding stuff, but I forgot to put up there that i work about 25 hours a week at a pizzeria, and will continue to do so this summer while I'm a counselor at a summer day camp. I also just received the Smith College Book Award for outstanding academic achievement and leadership.</p>

9

<p>Trackie,</p>

<p>The elite schools often offer BETTER financial aid than those schools below, as long as you have demonstrated need. In this case, I would add Brown, Columbia, and/or Yale to your list. And don't discount the all-women LACs: Barnard, Bryn Mawr (close to but not in Philly), and Smith (not urban, but a large NE town.)</p>

10

<p>I see you are looking at UMass/Amherst. That's close to Smith (it's part of the same 5 College consortium), but in a less vibrant surrounding area.</p>

11

<p>You need to take a look at the schools requirements for application -- some schools require SAT II tests, which it doesn't look like you have.</p>

<p>since your SAT I score was rather on the low side in comparison to your ACT, you might try to make sure your reach schools accept the ACT in lieu of both the SAT I and SAT II. That way, you don't have to send any SAT scores at all and you don't have to take more tests.</p>

<p>Unless you really want to apply to Columbia, I wouldn't add it as a reach -- you are from New York, so you will take a hit as far as geographic diversity goes and Columbia had the lowest acceptance rate of any school this year, I believe -- even lower than Harvard and Yale.</p>

<p>Yale and Chicago won't require SAT II tests from you with your ACT score -- so you might look at them.</p>

<p>Just to add some interesting colleges to the mix -- take a look at Colorado College (I always mention it because I live nearby -- it is a neat college), and the University of Ohio Honors Tutorial</p>

<p><a href="http://www.honors.ohio.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.honors.ohio.edu/&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.coloradocollege.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.coloradocollege.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>With your interests in political science and policy -- consider Georgetown, George Washington, Tufts and Emory</p>

12

<p>SAT II tests can be taken in the fall.</p>

<p>And I second the suggestion to send the ACT, not the SAT.</p>

13

<p>correct, SAT II tests can be taken in the fall -- however, some school will accept the ACT test in lieu of any SAT I and SAT II tests, so she wouldn't have to take anymore tests.</p>

<p>SAT II tests are subject matter tests and would require some studying to do well (and if she is aiming at top schools, like Yale, she needs to score very well).</p>

<p>also -- if she takes SAT II tests and sends the scores, the school will automatically receive her SAT scores. I know that they claim to look at the highest test scores, but I always wonder what they do when present with both the SAT and ACT and one is significantly lower. I would just try to avoid send the SAT score, if it was my child</p>

14

<p>An important question is what type of financial aid will be right for you. Have you estimated your family's EFC? Are you seeking need-based aid? Are you seeking merit aid? </p>

<p>I think our recommendations would vary depending on whether you're going to qualify for need based (and whether your family is comfortable with what the EFC calculators tend to say), or whether you will want or need merit aid.</p>

15

<p>if need based, look at these:
<a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/bvnatudoc_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/bvnatudoc_brief.php&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/bvlibartco_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/bvlibartco_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

16

<p>I am a grad student at BC and based on your info, you definitely will get in. I think BC is very generous with financial aid and I would be optimistic.....</p>

17

<p>One more thing--BC is very interested in service-oriented students so it's a real plus that you have done a lot in that area...</p>

18

<p>I definitely don't want an all-female college. And my EFC is really high because my parents are both divorced and have remarried other people, so really we have four incomes, even though none of the money my stepparents make goes into my college fund. So it's pretty skewed from how much money I actually have to spend for college.</p>

19

<p>And I am in LOVE with BC!!! I visited last summer and it's just such a great community of people, with great academic programs and opportunities for anyone to do absolutely anything he or she wants.</p>

20

<p>Look in the financial aid/scholarship forum, there are lots of opportunities for full ride scholarships at top universities in there. With a #1 class rank and a 34 ACT, almost every college in the nation will give you some sort of scholarship.</p>