<p>
</p>
<p>U. of Alabama is a unique case. They have a strategic plan to sharply increase their enrollment and are doing it in such a way as to tap strong talent from other states. Bama has always been able to attract some 3.5 / 1400s; now they’re giving them free tuition so that they’ll have a lot more of them from a wider geographic region. But in general as Northstarmom says, you need to have spectacular stats for a given school, i.e., the kinds of stats that the school wouldn’t otherwise be able to hope to attract.</p>
<p>Now given that, there are plenty of strong students on CC who wind up at quite good schools with generous merit aid. Pitt is one place that comes to mind as a university for which CC students often have to weigh great scholarship offers vs. opportunities at very selective private schools. Happymom’s suggested links are good ones that are frequently cited on CC. And the in-state publics are always a good bet.</p>
<p>Lth, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with seeking full rides as long as the student knows what the common trade-offs are. Be aware however, that the typical college student changes majors more than once in college. As a 30±year college administrator, I’d be far more comfortable with each of these CC prospective students seeking to get into as good an undergrad school as they can, leaving as many options open as possible, instead of asking “what are the top schools for sociology?”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Absolutely true. And the main way that you achieve these goals is to have a sizable cohort of talented, inspirational peers so that other talented prospective students see students like themselves and decide “I could fit in here.”</p>