So I just started reading different forums on CC. Oh my. Can’t seem to stop either. I’m incredibly anxious now.
My son is a junior, with a 35 ACT, 4.0 unweighted GPA, 7 APs with 6 more SR year. He has received several state level awards & participated in a few selective summer programs. He is very likely to be NMF. He has leadership roles in several clubs, is a varsity athlete but won’t play in college, lots of extra involvement in things at school, and started a community program more than a year ago where he does community service five hrs a week.
He has no “hooks” as described on CC. He’s interested in poli sci, international relations. He is fascinated by learning and a generally kind person. I was hoping to give him some advice when he showed me his potential college list.
He wants to avoid rural and smaller schools, leaning toward a bigger city or college town. We want him to have some choices, and maybe merit scholarships to a strong school with a good fit for his government/poli sci/isn’t relations interests. We would be willing to pay his tuition (gulp) but would encourage him to consider a "good fit"school with money if he could get it.
Here is what he showed me:
Boston College
Univ of VA
George Washington Univ
Georgetown
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
UNC - chapel hill
Vandy
I am worried he doesn’t have enough “target” or any “safety” schools. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Is your instate flagship on this list?
You are willing to pay tuition…but “gulped”. Do you have a realistic, non-gulping budget in mind?
Where are you instate?
Georgetown, BC, Yale, Harvard, Stanford give need based aid only.
UNC, UVA, and Vandy do have merit aid but it is not a slam dunk to get it…highly competitive.
GWU also has merit aid, I believe, but I am not as familiar with that.
All of the above schools will be in the $60,000 a year range unless you happen to be instate for UVA or UNC.
Your son has terrific stats. Terrific. But so do the vast majority of students applying to the above listed schools. Many on your current list accept less than 10% of applicants. This means 90% get rejected…and many of those are well qualified applicants.
In terms of the DC schools, I would guess he would have a better chance at merit aid at American University than the ones listed above. Maybe that could be a choice.
You’re right to be concerned, but if he applies EA to the schools in his list that allow it, you should have a couple acceptances in hand before you have to expand the list. Definitely choose an NMF safety (there are several good threads about options), if he meets the cutoff for your state. Look at schools with high dollar merit, like Tulane, that have early notification. The sooner you can find a school that’s in range as a possible, the better.
Since I see BC and Georgetown on your list, I’m going to toss in there Catholic University of America. We just did a tour there last month and liked it a lot. It is not highly ranked a la US News, but it has a strong program in government/politics, and its location in DC obviously gives it access to all the terrific internships you can get in those areas. I also liked that the campus was an easy ride into the center of the city, but was set apart on its own “green oasis” a couple metro stops away. (so it isn’t right smack in the city with people walking through your campus like Georgetown and GW) Of course if he PREFERS that scenario, then CUA wouldn’t be right for him. I happened to like that it was super close/accessible to the city while still seeming like its own thing campus-wise. (BTW BC is definitely a suburban campus)
The school is very pricey, but with your son’s stats he’d definitely be a candidate for one of the full scholarships that they offer. Also they have an honors college that he would certainly be eligible for.
Just something to consider!
And read this thread! It highlights what can happen when a great high stats student doesn’t include any safety schools on their application list. It all had a happy ending after a gap year…but…
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/192395-no-acceptances-one-kid-s-story-a-year-later.html#latest
He needs to add USC [ Southern Calif # 25 USNWR ] to his list AND apply NO LATER than Dec 1 so he can qualify for scholarship consideration. USC offers over 100 FULL TUITION scholarships to top students like your DS. With his stats he has a good chance of being offered one of the top scholarshps, but he has to show strong interest in USC in his application and has to interview as well.
here is a link to USC’s Scholarship info-
http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/firstyear/prospective/scholarships.html
and here are links to the college of letters and science
http://academics.usc.edu/letters-arts-and-sciences/
http://academics.usc.edu/
He would recieve a 1/2 tuition scholarship as a NMF if he is accepted at USC.
here is a link to merit scholarships at other colleges. It was compiled by CC members:
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
Many do require early applications as well.
Run the net price calculator on the BC web site and see what you think. If it is way too high, then you need more merit schools on the list. You can leave the high reach need-only schools since you may get some FA from them …
Wow! Thanks for all the fast & helpful comments. We are in TN, so no in state flagship schools he wants to attend.
We are willing to borrow to make up the difference in what his 529 plan is lacking if he gets into a school he is thrilled with. (I know many disagree with this, but my husband and I have really thought about it and both feel committed that he is a good investment in that regard.) I will suggest the schools everyone mentioned to him to check out. I know very little about some of these schools, so will have to investigate too. Especially the California schools. Thank you again for all the links and suggestions!
BC and Harvard are on the list. If he likes Boston as a big city/college town, you may wish to consider Boston University and Northeastern as well.
I second Tufts and American - you might also consider William and Mary.
For pure safeties, consider Pitt and U of South Carolina (both of which would likely give him great merit $ esp if he ends up NMF) and Temple (guaranteed high merit with current stats).
As thunper1 indicated, if you need merit aid, you need to expand your list outside of the top 25-50 schools since most of the students at these schools have similar stats as your son.
For a true safety with guaranteed merit aid, consider University of Alabama.
OP, one VERY important thing your DS needs to remember is that colleges that might be considered “safeties” for him are “dream schools” or “reaches” for thousands of other students. NO college likes to be thought of a “safety” . He needs to “SHOW THE LOVE” to ALL the colleges he applies to, especially the “safeties” and colleges that offer Merit $$! . Many LESS SELECTIVE colleges consider a students “interest” when making acceptance decisions. Visits, seeking out and talking to the Ad coms at college road shows, requesting interviews, clicking on many links on a college website and well thought out essays are all ways of expressing a students genuine “interest”.
A lot of less selective colleges these days practice “Tufts Syndrome”- rejecting top students because it is assumed they will be accepted elsewhere and will decline to enroll there.
They are concerned with their “yield” -the % of students who accept or decline an offer of acceptance.
Pure safeties would be OU (University of Oklahoma), UA (University of Alabama), UKentucky, and other such schools that welcome NMFs and give large merit awards for them. UT Dallas would be one to consider - they give a good award for NMFs. Wichita State University in Kansas offers a full ride for NMFs (that’s where I’m going) but it’s probably too low ranked for you to consider, as I’m sure your son can get in better places with those stats.
Consider some of these schools as well. http://college.usatoday.com/2014/08/26/the-top-10-best-colleges-for-a-major-in-political-science/ Villanova is probably toward the safety realm for him. I second Tufts and Tulane (he will get excellent merit aid there!). He has a good list, just needs to add some financial safety schools to it (and learn to love them).
What about Fordham and University of Richmond? Merit aid is available at both and they “should” be safeties. Richmond is small, though. My D also wanted a city when she was a Junior. As the process evolved, she changed her focus a bit. So, perhaps not being too narrow would be wise. (Rural may not be a fit, but medium sized towns may turn out to be ok.)
Definitely check out American. But know that they and GW sometimes wait list high stats kids because they don’t hink they will actually attend. If he is really interested, he should definitely show them a lot of interest.
Did he take the PSAT? If not, he may not be eligible for National Merit Scholarship, but his stats are very good.
University of Rochester can better with merit than other similarly ranked schools.
Obviously, only you can make a decision on how much to spend, but your son could get a great education at a discount. If you have to borrow more than a nominal amount, it may be worth considering schools that offer merit. Also, other OOS publics like U of Michigan, which while not inexpensive, will be less than a private.
Best advice is a wide range of schools, both private and public. He will do great.