Chance and Match a Homeschooled High School Senior [from Virginia with a 4.0 applying TO, <$20k]

Demographics

  • US Citizen
  • Virginia Resident
  • Homeschooled for High School
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Female/White

Major:
Undecided, either Nursing or Pre-Law

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • College GPA (for transfers): N/A
  • Class Rank: 1 (in a class of 1 lol!)
  • ACT score: bombed, will not submit

Coursework

Freshman:

HONORS ENGLISH I
WESTERN CIV I
OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES
EARTH SCIENCE W/ LAB
ALGEBRA II
DRAMA
PERSONAL FITNESS
SPANISH II
HOLOCAUST STUDIES

Sophomore:
HONORS ENGLISH II
ALGEBRA II
A+P W/ LAB
WESTERN CIV II
VOLLEYBALL
GEOMETRY
VOICE
INTRO TO NURSING
SPANISH III

Junior:
HONORS ENGLISH III
HONORS US HISTORY
BIOLOGY W/ LAB
CHEMISTRY W/ LAB
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES
PAINTING IN ACRYLICS

Senior:
HONORS ENGLISH IV
HONORS BRITISH LIT
PUBLIC SPEAKING
INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY (DE)
PRE-CALCULUS
GEOGRAPHY
GOVERNMENT

Extracurriculars/Volunteer/Other Experiences

  • Created and runs a small business selling dog toys
  • Club Volleyball
  • Private art lessons
  • Drama
  • Law firm internship
  • Girls on the Run Youth Mentor
  • Participates in family business raising and training dogs for service and therapy work
  • Volunteered on campaign for local school board member
  • Volunteers in church nursery
  • Strong faith life which sets her apart from many peers

Cost Constraints / Budget
Needs a lot of financial aid; should qualify for need-based but will likely need merit as well

College Musts:

Within 6-7 hours (driving) of Virginia Beach; a BSN degree (nursing) in case she decides to go in that direction; strong support services for students with ADHD and anxiety

College Ideals:

Within 4 hours of Virginia Beach; Urban area with lots to do; Christian clubs on campus; churches within walking distance

Schools

  • Safeties: (she is not excited about any of these schools)
    Longwood, VCU, Marymont, Catholic University, Mary Washington, Liberty University,
  • Match: UVA (Would like suggestions)
  • Reach:
    University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Georgetown University, Duke

chance-me
match-me

Does she have a chance with any of her reach schools? Is it even worth applying? Would love suggestions for Match schools! Thank you.

1 Like

Change your safeties - no point in applying to schools that aren’t of interest.

UVA is not a match. Best I can tell, you lack rigor. Having a top test can help make up for that. Bombing on the test shows the student is likely not ready for a top flight school.

The reaches are reaches. Again, unless I’m missing something, there is a lack of rigor here - like where did math go in Junior year? Where is AP science, etc?

What’s wrong with the safeties? Have you looked at CNU or JMU?

With the 4.0, U of Arizona would be about $25K all in (auto merit of $32K a year off $40K ish tuition). They lock in tuition for four years too. Your rigor doesn’t matter. That’s your UVA substitute. Not sure of your desired budget but both UVA and UNC meet need - run the net price calculator.

Many, not all schools, but many require a test to get better merit. It looks like you have a religious bent and there are some lower cost religious colleges if you wanted to go that route.

Or depending on what they say your need is, you can look at meets need schools like Franklin & Marshall, Holy Cross, Denson - and see what their net price calculators say. But I can’t imagine you getting an admit.

PS - there is no pre-law major - so you can choose any, including nursing if you do like to and yes, find safety nursing schools with merit.

Good luck.

8 Likes

For a homeschooler with no test scores and few DE or college courses, it’s really tough to chance for reach schools. I would pick 1-2 favorites and apply with the understanding that it’s a longshot.

What about Coastal Carolina? 5.5 hours away, and has a BSN program. Tuition/fees are around 30k for OOS, and a variety of merit scholarships could reduce that. It’s closer to a safety than a match, but it might be a worthy alternative if she doesn’t like the Virginia public options.

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I am going to be frank: UVA is a reach, potentially a huge reach. Many of the safeties are matches. She just does not have the course rigor in line with typical UVa in-state accepted students. She is nowhere close to the rigor expected for the “reach” schools you list such as Duke, Upenn, Columbia. All of these schools really want to see scores from homeschooled applicants with no AP or other scores. However—even if she had a 34 which would be average at these schools—the rigor is not there.
She can pursue nursing at many colleges and should really dive into her safeties and find ones she likes or expand the list until she does.

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UNC-Wilmington would be another option fairly close to home with a School of Nursing and multiple BSN tracks.

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Nursing usually has more competitive admission than the college overall. Also, look on the nursing major section for the nuances of direct admission, secondary admission, weed out GPA, etc… It is usually difficult to switch into nursing after enrolling as an undeclared student, both because of the competition for admission to the limited number of spaces in the major and because the frosh/soph prerequisites are highly specified (so if they are not taken, there is no possibility of getting into the major).

Pre-law does not require any specific major. However law school admission is highly dependent on the LSAT as well as college GPA, so the student may want to improve standardized test taking skills if that is a potential school and career direction. Law school graduates also have to take the bar exam, another high stakes standardized test.

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Catholic University and Liberty University are religious schools of different denominations, so is her strong faith life compatible with both?

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UVA Wise is a residential community college which might fit. If she does well she could eventually transfer to UVA. For this student with anxiety and a big change ahead community college might be a good option

Edited to add: Wise now offers a 4 year option too

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Since she’s not excited about Catholic U, how about George Mason? It’s right across the river from DC, and definitely lots to do.

Has she visited VCU? Richmond is a great small city.

Would ODU be a possibility? It’s not in downtown Norfolk though.

Roanoke is a decent sized city. Maybe she would like Roanoke College—we know someone there who got great merit. Or would she be interested in a women’s college like Hollins?

Has she visited Mary Washington? Fredericksburg may not be urban, but it’s a 1.5 hour train ride to DC or 1 hour to Richmond.

As someone who grew up in VA but now lives elsewhere, I really envy your awesome in-state options!

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Not sure about the other schools on the list, but Georgetown is not test optional. If she wants to apply, she will need to submit her ACT score (or SAT score if she has one).

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Make sure you check the other schools’ requirements as well, some colleges require test scores from homeschooled students.

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What does this mean? What’s the specific $$ figure you need to be at?

You might also look at a community college with transfer option.

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If your daughter is definitely interested in nursing, she could apply to several of the many small private and public colleges in Pennsylvania that offer nursing. Most are direct entry but some also have a pre-nursing pathway, which is generally easier to get into than a direct entry program. My D22, with a lower GPA and 1030 SAT (but not homeschooled) was admitted to pre-nursing programs at Messiah (attending), York College of Pennsylvania, and Penn Tech. She was also admitted to the direct entry programs at PennWest Clarion, IUP, and Alvernia. It would be best to do the research and apply ASAP, as nursing is a very popular major and, especially at the rolling admissions schools, nursing spots fill up early.

If she is uncertain of major but wants to keep the option for nursing open, she should definitely apply as a nursing/pre-nursing major, as it is much easier to transfer out of nursing than into nursing. Many schools don’t accept internal or external transfers into nursing. And, as @ucbalumnus mentioned, specific freshman/sophomore coursework for nursing majors is mandatory, so that the student is prepared for clinicals in junior/senior years.

Another thing to consider is that nursing programs, including clinicals, tend to be very demanding, high stress, and test-heavy (in preparation for the all-important NCLEX). You and your daughter may want to think about whether she will be able to handle the pressure.

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Thank you!

Unfortunately Coastal Carolina has an estimated NP of $35k, which we cannot come close to affording.

Thank you! She is going to look at the schools you have suggested. Appreciate the advice about applying to the school of nursing and then transferring out if necessary.

What is the amount you can afford per year? Will you be eligible for need-based aid? Run the NPCs for any school your daughter may be interested in. York College of Pennsylvania is relatively low cost to begin with (for a private school) and does offer merit and need-based aid. It was one of my daughter’s lowest cost options, and her 2nd favorite school.

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They have merit but we don’t know your budget

Also define bombing the ACT.

W Carolina tuition is $11k OOS so likely 25k ish all in and has nursing.

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Under $20k

York College of PA went on the list, so thank you! We need to stay under $20, preferably WELL under $20k. She really wants the 4 year experience and is not interested in CC. Yes we are eligible for need-based aid.

1 Like