Can I still get into a "Good" Private College?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>My GPA has fallen quite drastically since Sophomore Year. I know have a 3.1 UW/3.45 W GPA. I'm working on retaking classes and taking online classes to boost my grade. If I'm able to get my GPA to a 3.3-3.4 UW GPA by the middle of Senior Year and if I can get a good SAT score (my PSAT was 189) could I still have a chance at a good private school. Not good as in Harvard good, I know it's too late for that , but maybe a respectable college with my selected major (Double Major in Law and Film Production or Minor in either one). If you guys need any more background info on me here it is: </p>

<p>Intended Major: Double Major in Law and Film Productions (Screenwriting/Directing)</p>

<p>GPA: Main Concern. At the moment I'm expecting a 3.3-3.4 UW/4.2 W GPA, but it's still subject to change.</p>

<p>SAT: Took in June. PSAT Score-189. Practice Tests Scores Ranges (2180-2290)--I'm confident in my June SAT results</p>

<p>AP Courses: (Frosh-Soph) Taken 4 so far (AP Chemistry, AP World History, AP French Language, AP Human Geography)</p>

<p>AP Courses: (Junior Year) Taking 4 (AP Physics, AP US History, AP English Language and Composition, AP Statistics)--Plenty of Honors Classes through the years as well</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities (most notable):
French Honor Society Officer (1 year), Crew (1 year), Beta Club (1 year), Link Crew Leader (1 year)--as you can see I didn't really start to get involved in my ECs till this year.</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities (for Senior Year):
Crew, Newspaper Editor, Literary Magazine Editor, as well as other writing stuff</p>

<p>Awards:
None at the moment, but I'm hoping to win some Creative Writing Awards/Scholarships this summer as well as compete in some competitions.</p>

<p>Community Service:
Beta Club Hours, Volunteered at a nursing home. (200 + Hours)</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Worked at Win Dixie last year. Summer Job at Panera Bread--Working on a Summer Job at a Theater or Book Shop</p>

<p>State:
Florida</p>

<p>Ethnicity/Gender:
African American Female</p>

<p>Criteria for Potential Colleges:</p>

<p>I'm looking for a College that...</p>

<p>*Notable Private, although I will consider Public Schools
*Has a Crew Team
*Liberal Arts College (Not a huge necessity, I'm just not a Science person)
*has a decent amount of Financial Aid
*no preference of location
*Has a good film program and/or Pre-Law courses</p>

<p>If I think of anything else I'll add to it.</p>

<p>Please and Thank You</p>

2

<p>Consider Temple University in Philadelphia. Good film program and has a law school (so should have pre-law courses). It’s public, not private, but that helps with the cost (around $32,000 OOS for tuition, room and board). And it has varsity crew.</p>

3

<p>How much FA do you need? How much can your parents pay? </p>

<p>Would you qualify for need-based aid? Are you lowish income? Or does your family have a good income, but they can’t afford to pay much?</p>

<p>If you’re lowish income and you qualify for need-based aid, then OOS publics are probably not a good idea…unless the school will give you a large merit scholarship. OOS publics don’t usually give much need-based aid to help with high OOS costs.</p>

4

<p>Run your family numbers through some estimators to see if you even qualify for decent financial aid. If you don’t qualify, you aren’t going to get it and too many kids are surprised at how much families are expected to contribute. Just because a school meets 100% of need does not mean its definition of need and yours is going to mesh.</p>

<p>Find out what your parents are willing to pay for college. If the calculators say they have to pay it all, are they willing and able to come up with the close to $60K cost these privates are costing these days? </p>

<p>What did you get on your AP exams that you have taken? Also look at the Naviance chart for your school and see where kids with your test scores (not your projected ones but what you have–noone cares what you FEEL like you got), and see where these kids are getting accepted to college.</p>

<p>I can tell you, that looking at our high school Naviance scores, kids with even a slightly higher GPA did not get into the top schools. It really took a lot to get into the most selective colleges, and this school is a private prep school with a fairly rigorous curriculum. Schools like Gettysburg, Dickinson, to name a few LACs would be in the picture for you if you show an upward trend in grades and continue to take difficult courses. But merit money is a whole other story for that level. If you need the money, and you want to go private, you need to find schools where your stats put you at the very top of their kids. Being AA, will be of help for you at schools that are seeking diversity, so take that into consideration too.</p>

<p>Also, you will qualify for Bright Futures, won’t you, which would bring any state school costs down drastically, and be some help for privates in Florida? Consider having some of those on your list.</p>

5

<p>Law is not an undergraduate major in the United States as it is in many other nations. In this country people study law at the graduate level. Nor do most colleges have a “pre-law” major or a sequence of courses specifically geared for those interested in law school. Students admitted to law schools frequently have backgrounds in the humanities (philosophy, English, classics) or the social sciences (economics, political science, history), but many also have math or science backgrounds. Any of these fields can be an excellent preparation for law school, especially if they combine a lot of writing with analytical reasoning.</p>

6

<p>I would recommend you to apply to Chapman University in Orange County, CA. They have an excellent Film school and an excellent Law school. If you able to pull your GPA up to a 4.2/W, and with scores ranges 2180-2290, you should be able to qualify for their merit-scholarships. Best of luck!</p>

7

<p>^ But why does having a law school matter? They won’t let you take law classes as an undergrad.</p>

8

<p>[film</a> and representation studies | St. Lawrence University Academics](<a href=“http://www.stlawu.edu/academics/programs/film-and-representation-studies]film”>http://www.stlawu.edu/academics/programs/film-and-representation-studies)</p>

<p>St Lawrence (NY) has major “Film & Representation Studies” </p>

<p>[women’s</a> crew - Saints Athletics - St. Lawrence University](<a href=“http://www.stlawu.edu/athletics/saints/women’s%20crew]women’s”>http://www.stlawu.edu/athletics/saints/women’s%20crew) Women’s Crew </p>

<p>COA is about $53,000/year. SLU meets a high percentage of need.</p>

9

<p>“But why does having a law school matter? They won’t let you take law classes as an undergrad.”</p>

<p>Actually, Chapman’s Film school and their Law school work together to provide entertainment law as part of their curriculum along with a broad liberal arts education.
For example:
A B.F.A. in Creative Producing from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts can prepare you for a career in production and distribution for the film and television industry. Along with a broad liberal arts education, you’ll gain a fundamental understanding of the key components of creative producing, including:
• Storytelling and script development
• The entire production process
• Financing, marketing, distribution and exhibition
• Entertainment law
• Domestic and international cinema</p>

<p>[Chapman</a> University - Academics - Colleges/Schools & Programs](<a href=“Page Not Found | Chapman University”>Page Not Found | Chapman University)
[Undergraduate</a> - Dodge College of Film and Media Arts](<a href=“http://ftv.chapman.edu/programs/sodaro-pankey_undergraduate_school_of_media_arts/]Undergraduate”>http://ftv.chapman.edu/programs/sodaro-pankey_undergraduate_school_of_media_arts/)
[Chapman</a> University - Academics - Pre-Law](<a href=“Page Not Found | Chapman University”>Page Not Found | Chapman University)</p>

10

<p>[St</a>. Lawrence University: Admissions and Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.stlawu.edu/admis/scholarships/pds.html]St”>http://www.stlawu.edu/admis/scholarships/pds.html)</p>

<p>Applebeam, there is a diversity scholarship at St Lawrence (NY) as well.</p>

11

<p>you will probably get into harvard if you get above 2100.</p>

12

<p>Applebeam, If you’re serious about film school, my advice to you is to do your research on the top film schools in the country and go visit them. You will see that Chapman is tops. They have the best facilities and even their own film production company. Non of the other schools have that. You’ll have better connections, internships, and is very well-regarded in the industry; close to Hollywood. Haha…you’ll even get to keep your own work. So if you’re looking for a career in film or in law, Chapman would be ideal for you because you can double major. Good luck!</p>

13

<p>Ok, everyone. I’m seriously looking into Chapman, St. Lawrence, and Temple but could anyone give me a list of SAFTIES, MATCHES, AND REACHES. I just don’t know where my grades fit in now and it would be nice if I could have a good list of colleges to start with.</p>

<p>Safties:</p>

<p>Matches:</p>

<p>Reaches:</p>

14

<p>Bump bump bump</p>

15

<p>“Liberal Arts College (Not a huge necessity, I’m just not a Science person)”</p>

<p>Just to make sure you don’t have any misconceptions, liberal arts colleges offer all the usual undergraduate majors in the sciences, math, computer science and physics - and many will have distribution requirements similar to those at universities. What they don’t have is graduate schools or (usually) pre-professional majors like engineering and nursing.</p>