<p>Hi everyone! This is my first post, so sorry if I do something wrong! I'm currently a sophomore in high school, and I'm obsessed with looking for colleges. Right now I'm super frustrated because I feel like I won't ever find a perfect fit. Okay so first, I'm going to tell you a little about myself so you guys can help me. Right now, I have a 3.5 gpa and a 90 average from freshman year! I really messed up my freshman year and for me got low grades: Bs. I plan to get a 4.0 this year, and I'm on track to get one. If I get a 4.0 this year and next I will have a 3.8 (unweighted) by the time I start to apply for colleges! I take all gifted classes besides Aps. Last year I took AP Human Geography and scored a 3 on the test. This year I'm taking Ap World history. I plan on taking about 5-7 more AP classes by the time I graduate because I am on track to. I took the PSATs and got pretty good scores, and it is projected that I will get above average but not like Ivy League SAT scores. I'm going to take ACT too. I was on the volleyball team last year. This year I'm VP of Family Career and Community Leaders of America Club, I'm a member of: Relay for Life Club, National French Honor Society, and Key Club (Volunteering). I plan to be in beta club too! I volunteer at an Elementary school after school, and I was nominated for Governor's Honor Program in the summer. BTW I am White and Middle Class (parents are both teachers)</p>
<p>Okay so here is the kind of college I'm looking for:
-Coed (preferably not too many girls. Balanced males and females)
-Out of state (I live in Georgia)
-Beautiful Campus
-Good sports and academics
-30 to 60 percent admittance rate
-THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT: I need a lot of aid since I am looking out of state!
-Good Reputation, known school
-4,000-10,000 undergrads
EXS. College of William and Mary (I love it, but it is public and so expensive!), Pepperdine</p>
<p>Thank you so much to anyone that helps me, and I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes I typed this fast and I didn't read it over!</p>
<p>Your perfect fit has to also be affordable. Few people are in the position to choose without considering finances. Knowing this, you can apply to colleges that are possibly affordable only if you also apply to many that are.
Except for size, UGA meets your criteria, and if you qualify for Hope or Zell Miller, it is likely to be the best option at a price that is hard to beat. Because of this, I hope you will consider having UGA and several other Georgia schools on your list. Sometimes the most familiar schools can seem the less enticing because they are familiar. However it makes little financial sense to pay more for an equivalent educational opportunity elsewhere.
Beyond that, Elon is a possibility, Clemson, College of Charleston, and App State. Costs will vary. I’m sure there are more that I am not aware of. For now, focusing on doing your best in school is the most important way to access your choices.</p>
<p>I know you said out of state, but I just want to put the plug in there for University of Georgia because aside from the size, it seems to fit pretty much everything else you want. And with the Zell Miller Scholarship it will be more affordable for you. You may also want to consider Georgia Southern and Valdosta State.</p>
<p>OOS publics are heartbreak, unless they are schools like University of Alabama that offer significant scholarship aid (Bama also fits most of your requirements besides size, btw, so consider applying.) Clemson, App State, and College of Charleston are all also OOS publics that won’t necessarily offer you a whole lot of aid, but they may offer merit scholarships to out-of-state applicants. UDel and Penn State (bigger than you want but still) are also OOS publics that I know have significant OOS populations and offer merit aid to people from OOS.</p>
<p>Here are some other suggestions (all private colleges, mostly Division I schools, that may offer some financial aid):</p>
<p>Villanova University
Syracuse University (a little bigger than you want)
University of Rochester
Southern Methodist University
Boston College
Boston University
Bucknell University (a bit smaller than you want)
Lehigh University
American University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University Chicago
University of Miami
Marquette University
Duquesne University
High Point University
Santa Clara University
Tulane University</p>
<p>You have 2 years before you have to pick actual colleges. Just spend some time learning about different distribution requirements, different special features colleges have. Don’t spend too much time on this now because you need to get interested in your courses and academic interests or some actual productive use of time.</p>
<p>You will mature and tastes may change. Your academic interests may solidify. You will have your actual gpa and SAT scores at the end of Jr year to make informed and realistic choices.</p>
<p>There are many, many colleges that you will like once you attend and that will get you where you need to go.</p>
<p>Yeah, my kids would play this game where they would take features from different colleges and combine them to create the ‘perfect college’ for them. The real thing was a lot harder to find, though! And that whole deal of a “dream school” that then might reject you or be too expensive if you do get in is pretty depressing, too – don’t go there.</p>
<p>Affordability is key. Be sure you run the net price calculators for any colleges you are considering. Your parents can help with that. No point in getting too excited about colleges you can’t afford. A lot of students do a lot of wishful thinking about finances and sort of hope it will all work out. Not a good idea, so start incorporating that right away as you consider different colleges.</p>
<p>Looks like you’re looking at Loyola University Chicago =) Yeah its kinda expensive but since you are already doing good in high school, by the time you’re a senior you can apply to a ton of merit scholarships,or even a full ride. Loyola offers much financial help to anyone that really wants to go there. Student pop is almost co-ed, just like a little over 10% more girls… and the campus is gorgeous!!!1111!</p>
<p>If you like Wm & Mary, Wake Forest would be its private school counterpart. And if you like Wake, other similar schools would be Vanderbilt, Furman and Elon. But FWIW, my 19-year-old son had similar interests, very high stats, and wound up choosing UGA where he’s very happy.</p>
<p>You should buy one of those: Fiske Guide, Insider’s Guide, or Princeton review’s Best Colleges (preferably one where colleges are listed alphabetically, not by state, to provide you with the maximum exposure). Open it to a page and read about the next 10-12 (12-15?) colleges, highlighting what you like, putting post its on colleges that sounded great to you. After a while, stop, and look for commonalities; what did the colleges you turned down have in common? What did your favorite ones have or didn’t have? etc.</p>