<p>With a 4.0 un-weighted since freshman year, and a 28 composite ACT score (29 super scored), what are some of the best schools I have a chance at? I am in a leadership group at my church, Played varsity lacrosse since freshman year (captained junior and senior year), and was in an underclassman assistance group (Link Crew) at my high school.
Senior schedule - Pre calc, Honors Inter. rel, AP lang, Ecology, physics, astronomy, practical law.
Grew up with a single low income mother and sister, all of my life. </p>
<p>Look at Wake Forest. Test scores are optional </p>
<p>“Best” according to who? USNWR? I hope that you can instead find “fit” schools based on your strengths, interests, preferences, and ability to pay. There are 100s of schools right for you, and your work now is to identify them. Also research how USNWR “rankings” are made so that you can take those lists into context.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’ve been trying to find the right fit but it’s hard when I’m completely stuck on what I may want to go into. I was just trying to gauge my college options based on my statistics </p>
<p>Your ACT is respectable, but the most elite schools you’d qualify for will be the test-optional ones like Wesleyan (and they’ll be a reach). Do you want to get away from home, and therefore hope to get financial aid from a college outside of your home state? Where do you think you’d like to go?</p>
<p>Low income…</p>
<p>you need to apply to the full-need test-optional schools. Wake Forest is one…hopefully some others can list more.</p>
<p>Here is a list of test optional schools:</p>
<p><a href=“ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest”>http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional</a> </p>
<p>There are some good schools in there. How about Dickinson? </p>
<p>OP, you are from MI. UMich will meet need for in-state students. What about Mich State?</p>
<p>The OP is at the 25% mark for ACT scores for Michigan, that is going to be a definite reach.</p>
<p>^^
True, but does UMich heavily count GPA for instate students? some flagships do that so that lower-scoring low income kids have a chance to be accepted. </p>
<p>Franklin & Marshall</p>
<p>Colorado College has flexible testing. They accept SAT, ACT, AP, etc.</p>
<p>Have you graduated high school? If so when? Have you since taken any college classes?</p>
<p>Holy Cross is test optional and also need-blind(meets 100% demonstrated financial need).</p>
<p>Are you good enough to play DIII lacrosse? A lot of schools in DIII might be interested, some really good schools with good FA, if you can bring those academics.</p>
<p>Test Optional (/ Test Flexible) colleges that claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need:</p>
<p>Middlebury College
Bowdoin College
Wesleyan University
Hamilton College
Colby College
College of the Holy Cross
Pitzer College
Franklin & Marshall</p>
<p>These are all small, respected liberal arts colleges. I’ve listed them in approximate order of selectivity (most selective at the top).</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need</a>
<a href=“ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest”>http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional</a></p>
<p>Maybe we should list all the test-optional meets-need schools for this student.</p>
<p>So far, the following schools have been mentioned.</p>
<p>Wake Forest
Holy Cross
I think there are some female colleges, but I think the OP is a boy.</p>
<p>What are some others that meet need? </p>
<p>@Kylerobertson22 Some of these schools may require info from your dad if he’s alive. Does he have a good income? Does he pay child support? </p>
<p>29 ACT isn’t bad. OP could still apply to schools like Dickinson and Skidmore/Union (I believe Union is testing optional) and have a good shot at them.</p>
<p>Choose five of these schools and run the net price calculators for each of them. This will give you some idea of how much your family will have to pay. Talk to your mom about how much money she can contribute each year. You can borrow $5500/yr the first year, $27K total. You can work and save another 3-4K school year and/or summers (more if you intern in a lucrative major). You can go to a very good school with your 29 and get a good education, but before you get too far into this consider how to keep costs down by choosing schools carefully.</p>
<p>Wake Forest</p>
<p>Just to clarify, Hamilton is not test optional, but it is text flexible and it does superscore. You might squeak in with a 29 superscore, a 30 would be better.</p>
<p>
See post #13.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t think Wake Forest meets full need (although it may meet it or come close for many students). It does not seem to publish a Common Data Set file, so I cannot check that. It is not on the list I cited above (#13). According to the USNWR entry for WF, “Cost and Financial Aid” section, need was fully met for 71% of students in 2013.</p>
<p>Some other colleges that do not claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need do come pretty close (> 85%), or are need-sensitive and meet it (or nearly meet it) for the students they admit. Examples:</p>
<p>Beloit
Brandeis
Clark University
College of the Atlantic
Colorado College
Connecticut College
Denison University
Dickinson
Fairfield University
Gettysburg College
Knox College
Lawrence University
Loyola University MD
McDaniel College
Muhlenberg
Sarah Lawrence College
Sewanee University
St. Lawrence University
Union College
Washington College (MD)</p>
<p>Most of these schools would be in solid “match” territory for the OP.
It includes some excellent LACs and small universities (schools that offer small classes, understated sports & Greek life, and good outcomes.) Several “Colleges That Change Lives” are on this list.</p>