Hi! I am from South Carolina and am interested in applying to schools in the Southeast and Midatlantic regions of the United States. I go to a private school and have a 3.9 GPA. By the end of senior year I will(hopefully) have 8 AP credits. IB is offered at my school but I have chosen not to enroll in the program. I am a white female being raised by a single mother. The maximum amount we can spend per year on college is 20k. I would like to go into public health or healthcare administration. I am also interested in marketing, communications, and education. I have toured most of my top schools(full list below) and have made an effort to make a connection with the college counselors. My ACT score is a 30 and my SAT is a 1380, with my verbal score being highest on the SAT and my science on the ACT. I do over 100 hours of community service each year and hold a part-time job. I am also a member of the yearbook staff at my school, and my role has increased each year. Please let me know based on your experiences if you think that I would get excepted to these schools. I am also open to any other recommendations. Thank you so much.
School list(most-least likely)
University of South Carolina Honors College
College of Charleston Honors College
George Washington University
University of Richmond
Davidson College
University of Virginia
Tulane College
Georgetown
Vanderbilt
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
I love that you do at least 100 hours of community service a year while also having a part-time job. With your academic credentials, you will certainly gain admission to a good college. Has your mom run the Net Price Calculators (NPCs) at these schools? When she does, it will provide an Expected Family Contribution (EFC). If the EFC is $20k or below, then that’s great! If it’s not, and if the school doesn’t offer merit aid, then you would need to eliminate it.
I am not an admissions professional. But below are my very fallible guesses as to what your chances might be at these schools.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
College of Charleston (unknown about honors college, but my sense is that it’s probable)
Likely (60-79%)
U. of South Carolina (I’ve heard this one’s getting tougher…unknown about honors college)
Toss-Up (40-59%)
George Washington
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Low Probability (less than 20%)
U. of Richmond
Davidson
U. of Virginia
Tulane
Georgetown
Vanderbilt
UNC - Chapel Hill
UNC is only allowed to have up to 18% of its students come from out-of-state. It’s extremely competitive. UVA is also a very competitive admit. Tulane is very sensitive to demonstrated interest. If you show it a lot of love (opening all of its emails and clicking on the links, attending any nearby college fairs if Tulane is attending and talking to the rep, asking specific questions to your rep that can’t be answered via the website, etc) then you can increase your chances of acceptance (I’d probably then rate it a “lower probability” school). Tulane really wants students who are excited about being at Tulane.
What is it that you want out of your college experience? You have small schools (Davidson and U. of Richmond), medium ones, and large ones. They’re mostly in urban locations, with some outliers like Davidson and UVA. How important is school spirit and intercollegiate athletics? How do you feel about Greek life? Are there particular interests you want to do in college (continuing something from high school or exploring something new)?
@tsbna44 might have a better sense of your odds for the honors colleges in SC.
I think C of C Honors could happen. Admission will to the school itself. U of sc will be tough with the test score for Honors and 50/50 on general admittance. Maybe 60/40.
Two suggestions to add: You’d be about $20k at Alabama with auto merit. They have Honors and you might get additional money on the scholarship app. My daughter got $4k more than the $24k she qualified for - it’d bring you lower than $20 if that happened but you’d be $20-ish with current stats.
Also W Carolina. Full pay is about $20k. Would be worth adding just in case.
I’d eliminate GW - I don’t think you’d get enough aid as they don’t meet need.
The schools below Charleston you’d need to go Test Optional - except maybe GW or try the test once or twice more.
And I’d run the NPC on the privates plus unc and uva as they meet need. What you want to see is - do they agree you can only afford $20k. They may or may not. If they say no then u can remove them.
If you decide on education you can add more sc publics as where you go won’t matter.
Thank you for your feedback. I have done multiple online camps and one in-person at Tulane so hopefully, that shows my interest. I would like a school with between 2,000-15,000 students however, if I get admitted into an honors program at a large school it will likely be of a similar size. I would like to be in or near a city as I live in a small town now and want to experience something new. I would love my college to have a strong football team but my priority is academics.
Thank you so much for responding to my post. I have heard about Alabama offering great scholarships and will look more into that. W Carolina has been suggested to me by family members but I don’t love the location. Definitely need to go over Net Price with my mother as she is very committed to my education and is willing to sell our house to get me to college(which I do not want to happen) and often does not share financial information with me. Thank you for the congratulations-it means a lot.
I hate to put a kink in this…and you don’t have to post here. BUT…if your dad is alive, there are colleges that will expect his financials in addition to your single mom.
And the net price calculator might not accurate for single parent.
These schools use the Profile. Vandy doesn’t require the non-custodial parent.
George Washington University
University of Richmond
Davidson College
University of Virginia
Tulane College
Georgetown
Vanderbilt
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A bit different from the rest of your list, but Agnes Scott College in Atlanta has a fantastic undergraduate public health program, developed in collaboration with Emory.Agnes Scott College - Public Health Program
I don’t know whether it would be affordable - they don’t guarantee full need met aid, but they are quite generous with merit - run the NPC and see how it looks.
You may want to consider adding Coastal Carolina which has about 10k undergrads. It’s right by Myrtle Beach which isn’t a big metro but isn’t a tiny town either. Plus, with all the tourism, it probably feels like a bigger town. The proximity to the beach could be an added attraction, too. It seems to have a popular public health program, as well as offering all the other majors you’re considering.
Furman is in Greenville and has about 2300 undergrads. Its student body is much more focused on academics, and it has a football team (though I have no idea how good it is). Have your mom run the NPC here, but based on the net price listed on College Navigator, I think there’s a chance that it could meet your budget.
Mercer is in Macon, GA which has a population of about 150k (about 5k undergrads at the university). It has a strong reputation in the health fields, but also offers your other majors of interest. Looking at the net price for families, this one may meet your family’s budget.
U. of Alabama – Birmingham (about 14k undergrads) also has a strong reputation in the health fields and is in a city with about 200k population. You are also allowed to take classes at other Birmingham area schools like Samford. The Alabama publics are generally pretty generous with merit aid.
U. of Louisville (KY) has nearly 16k undergrads and is in a town with more than 600k people. You would qualify for $15,000 in merit aid which would probably bring the costs down to $23-24k and you could apply for the Grawemeyer Scholarship which seems to cover tuition. And I know that Louisville’s football team has done some good stuff, too.
Another school you might want to look into is Stetson (FL). It has about 2900 undergrads, and though it’s not in a big town, it’s an hour from Orlando and less than 40m to the beach. Looking at the net price for families, this one seems to have a chance at meeting your budget.
Reminder…this student has a single parent…and that lends some uncertainty to the net price calculator results.
But also, the net price calculators are currently set for students starting college in fall 2023. That is not this student.
I very much like the suggestions of looking for significant merit aid. That way, the student wouldn’t need to worry about the non-custodial parent at all.
Agreed that’s why I suggested the two sure bets for price. Adding a coastal or lander or USC Update could be too as they r in state. .
I do think Charleston happens but can’t say Honors. U of SC will be tough but it’s early - the student can test again. A Ga Southern may be another.
If she wants to be in city then C of C or UAB was mentioned …,can be good. W Carolina is the right price but not the right environment.
U T Chatt is possible with merit and the SC discount. Neat campus. In city.