<p>Umm, one more thing. My relatives are thinking of applying for a Green Card for me. Will this affect my chances of getting a student visa?</p>
<p>Hey guys I just read just about every post on this thread and Iāve been looking around at scholarships recently. Iām looking for whatever I can get in merit aid because I doubt I will get enough finaid with a family income slightly over 100k (though due to certain circumstances I am expecting at least some). I plan on attending graduate school directly after college and I donāt to have a lot of economic pressure on me from a bunch of loans I had to take out for my bachelorās degree.</p>
<p>My stats are:
1420 Sat (taken once without prep, will take again), 760 SAT II in physics
97 out of 100 unweighted gpa, top 10% of class
no AP classes yet due to my current participation in a year abroad but I have 6 scheduled for next year and I am confident I will at least a achieve 4 in most
Lots of ECās, harvard model congress, a teen-mentoring community service program, science olympiads, math team, school play, classical and jazz guitar lessons, cross country and track and I teach myself a bit of photography in my free time (although I probably canāt count thatā¦).</p>
<p>This year I am participating in Rotary Youth Exchangeās year abroad program and Iāve been living in Spain since September. Now I speak Spanish 
(thinking about trying to get certification from the cervantes institute this September and definitely taking the SAT IIs in Spanish)</p>
<p>I know my stats arenāt super amazing but I think I can probably get some merit aid depending on where I apply.</p>
<p>Iām considering AU, LSU, Tulane, and UT at Dallas, but I am slightly worried about what the attitude about lgbt students will be on campus. I know I can at least get a decent amount from AU from my stats. Anyone have any info? (probably better to ask somewhere else but I thought I would throw it in just in case someone knows the answer)</p>
<p>Iāve also been considering Macaulay Honors College and SUNY Stony-Brook Honors Program as they are both affordable (living in the city with Macaulay could cost a bit
thoughā¦) What are my chances?</p>
<p>Would I even have a chance at Richmond, Brandeis, U Pitt, Case Western, U Rochester, American, or Washington and Lee?</p>
<p>Any suggestions for good merit-aid in lgbt-friendly areas? I saw that ohio has several good meritaid schools.</p>
<p>Sorry to ask so many questions at once, thanks!</p>
<p>I think you have a good chance at significant merit aid at Tulane, and from what I gather they have an active lgbt office. New Orleans is of course well known as a center for lgbt individuals, probably second only to San Francisco on a āper capitaā basis.</p>
<p>I looked at tulane a bit more but their middle 50% or sat scores goes up to 1450, shouldnt I try to be in at least the top 25%?</p>
<p>Iām looking for whatever I can get in merit aid because I doubt I will get enough finaid with a family income slightly over 100k (though due to certain circumstances I am expecting at least some)</p>
<p>What are your ācertain circumstancesā? Many schools do not give any or much consideration to special circumstances.</p>
<p>As for LGBT issue, I doubt that would be a problem at any of these schools.</p>
<p>my dad lost his job, which will lower our income but not on this years income statement (or something like thatā¦) in any case im trying to look for full scholarshi opportunities because I find the financial aid situation not very sure (unless I somehow magically get into princeton, hahahaha)</p>
<p>Iām considering U Alabama its just that I have no idea about the lgbt attitude on that campus, as well as UT Dallas (though I heard its actually pretty decent with lgbtā¦)</p>
<p>I donāt like to generalize but I have spent very little time in the southern portion of the USA and people tend to stereotype it as a bit more conservative and anti-gay. I donāt know what to make of these stereotypes as I have never been there and seen first-hand how it really is. (People think there are large amounts of machismo and such in Spain but I came out here and I have never encountered any problems with anyone about being gayā¦)</p>
<p>back on topic, what about macalauy honors or stony brook honors (since Iām a new yorker stony brook is wayy cheap.). do I have a fighting chance? stonybrook guarantees honor students like 2k scholarship right?</p>
<p>Well, the Tulane app is free and you can apply EA. If you get it in by early October you will probably know by mid-November, and they tell you upon acceptance if you get any merit money. It is in the acceptance letter. So you really have nothing to lose.</p>
<p>But I also think you might be misreading the SAT stats. The Tulane 25%-75% range (also called the middle 50%) is CR 620-720, M 630-710, or in other words the 75th percentile is 1430, basically you. So you are essentially right at the ābottomā of the top 25%. That probably wonāt get you the top merit award of $25,000, although your GPA is pretty high. And like you said, that was one sitting without prep. You might get it up another 30, 40, or even 50 points. Or more, who knows. But in that case it would make sense to prep and take it as quickly as you can, so you can apply and get an early answer. If you wait and apply RD, you wonāt hear back until March most likely.</p>
<p>I know that Bama has LGBT and Spectrum groups on campus. </p>
<p>From the websiteā¦</p>
<p>Spectrum is a registered student group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning students and their allies at the University of Alabama.</p>
<p>^
^
Hmmm, I love your idea and thank for the info :), but lets see if I can fit in another sat + an act sitting before EA, in any case i will check but its likely they have more than one round of EA. The exchange program might bump my app up a little as well (might try and get certification from the cervantes institute this summer). If all goes well tulane is lookinā pretty nice. (now to figure out how to visit coming from ny)</p>
<p>^
Yes, they do, but I think almost every college has some type of alliance program, another thing is how friendly those who arenāt in the alliance are. I read an article about the state government trying to keep the gay-straight alliance from meeting on campus and from receiving any sort of university funding (they did pass a law but it was thrown over in court, the alliance won in the end). I know that lgbt groups exist there and obviously from that article I know they are making progress, but it would still be nice to hear from someone on campus just how much progress they are actually making. Thanks though :)</p>
<p>I think Tulane only has the one round of EA but I wouldnāt get hung up on it anyway. Better that you take your time, prepare, and get that SAT up as high as possible because with your GPA that could make mucho $$ difference in the merit award you get, EA or not. You can reflect high interest in your essay. And do a visit if at all possible. Southwest flies from LaGuardia to New Orleans with one stop in either Chicago or Baltimore. If you visit you can meet with your Counselor (Jeff? Depends on where in NY you are) and that helps a lot too. All schools love it if you let them know their school is at or very near the top of your list, but of course then they will probably ask you why, so be ready with a few good reasons.</p>
<p>is this the right place to state stats and ask what kind of scholarships one might be eligible for?</p>
<p>^^^Better to start your own new thread and state your stats and other pertinent information.</p>
<p>The reason to look for the 1% is that colleges are trying to boost their selectivity ratings, based mostly on SAT/ACT scores. So if you are an outlier applicant at the high end, you have the potential to skew their average SAT score upwards.</p>
<p>This thread started in 2005ā¦</p>