Hi, high school senior here just going through the motions of college! Trying to get a gauge for where I’m at for upcoming RD deadlines to see if I want to add anything to my list.
Demographics
U.S. Citizen
State/Location of residency: NH
Type of high school: Public
Gender/Race/Ethnicity: White Female
Intended Major(s)
Depending on school offerings, ordered by preference:
(Most) Journalism/Broadcast Journalism, Creative Writing, Mass Communications, English (Least)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.80/4
Weighted HS GPA: 4.17/5
Class Rank: 71 out of 276 (weighted)
SAT Score: 1390 – 700 English, 690 Math
Coursework
4 years of math, highest level: Calculus I
3 years of language, highest level: AP Spanish – [4]
My school offers plenty of AP and honors courses, so this is my biggest downfall. Unfortunately, I did not know the importance of academic rigor until this year.
Awards
National Honors Society 11-12
NH Scholars w/ Stem and Arts emphasis
Extracurriculars
4 years of volunteering with Peer Leadership (school club), (2* years) NHS, and on my personal accord @ soup kitchens, local nonprofits, and basic volunteering opportunities (drives, campus/community cleanups, etc)
4 years of MT w/ high school theater department and local theater organizations
– Leadership: Dance Captain (Grade 11)
CIT at 12-day overnight camp
Essays/LORs/Other
Strong writer, and strong connections with the teachers who wrote my recommendations. Hard to say if they’re strong pieces because it’s so subjective, but I received plenty of good feedback from my school’s college counselor.
Cost Constraints / Budget
Not submitting 2022-23 CSS profile, only the FAFSA. Budget is flexible and will be unpredictable until Spring, so open to many options!
I’ve been accepted to Mizzou with the L1 Mark Twain Scholarship and an invitation to their honors program, and I’ve also been accepted to Plymouth State’s honors program with a presidential scholarship. I have yet to apply to Syracuse, BC, and GW.
– Also taking any recommendations similar to these schools! Thanks in advance!
Some of the schools on your list (Richmond and GW for two) REQUIRE the CSS Profile for need-based Financial Aid. Because you say budget is “unpredictable”, you probably should plan on filling out the CSS Profile.
I think you’re a lock for all your Safeties and Likelies. If your application presents as “Full Pay” Three of your four Matches are probably acceptances with Fordham being a possible holdout. Your Reaches appear to all be reaches to me, with BC being the reachiest. GW is likely less reachy if your app presents as “Full Pay”, and Richmond to a lesser extent.
Just understand…if a college requires the CSS Profile for consideration of institutional need based aid, you won’t get a dime of it without submitting the Profile.
These colleges on your list require the Profile for consideration of institutional need based aid:
Syracuse
Boston College
George Washington
Emerson
Fordham
Fairfield
University of Richmond.
In addition…Hofstra requires a financial verification form and submission of the first two pages of yours and your parents’ tax returns. Will they do that?
Endicott and Quinnipiac don’t require the Profile and neither do thr public universities on your list.
If you complete only the FAFSA for the schools requiring the Profile, all you will be getting is federally funded need based aid if you are even eligible…like the Pell Grant. And you can get the federally funded Direct Loan….but these together won’t fund these expensive colleges.
If your parents are OK basically paying the full cost of attendance, then no problem.
And FYI, informing the colleges you won’t be completing a required Profile won’t make a speck of difference in their aid policies. If it’s required, they won’t consider you for institutional need based aid.
You should try to avoid debt for your bachelor’s degree if it is at all possible. I am pleased to see UNH on your list since it is a great university and should be relatively affordable since you are in-state. We visited years ago (tours with both daughters, and we went back a couple of times when various presidential candidates spoke there). It is a very attractive campus.
With a 3.8 unweighted GPA and being in-state I think that your chances at UNH should be very good.
For your matches and reaches both admissions and affordability might be much more difficult to predict.
The main reason budget is unpredictable is because we will eventually be able to afford probably 90% of these colleges (thankfully), I just don’t know whether it will be before or after May 1st. I informed the schools to ensure they weren’t waiting on material that would never be submitted, and I believe Richmond requires something like our tax returns as well so all of that will be sorted. Thank you for all of the information!
UNH is definitely a great school, but I’d much prefer to put some distance between myself and my home state. I applied to both the main campus and Manchester, so hoping for some decent scholarships!
Waiting for what? If the materials are not received, you won’t be considered for institutional need based aid…and your family timeline doesn’t matter. The school deadlines are what matters.
The schools will see that you haven’t submitted your Profile or whatever other documents your family doesn’t plan to submit, and very simply…will not consider you for or give you any institutional need based aid.
So…what happens if all of these schools are not affordable?
I’m not @EconPop but if you don’t have a complete need based financial aid application submitted by the school deadline, the schools will view you as a student/family who can pay the full cost of attendance.
The in-state schools will all be easily affordable, so I have those as a back up. I got a generous scholarship from Mizzou as well, which I’m very happy with! I understand our personal timeline does not matter, just trying to explain a bit more where I’m coming from. At the end of the day, the public/state schools should all be very solid options if I cannot afford the private ones.
Fellow granite stater just stopping in to let you know that Boston College does not offer a Journalism Major. They have a communications major and a journalism minor. Unlike most other programs of study at BC, students need to apply and be admitted to the journalism minor. I don’t know if that makes a difference to you or not, but something to consider. Congrats on Mizzou and best of luck with your other schools!
Hi there! I was probably going to apply for communications or English, but I didn’t know that about their minor. Thanks for letting me know and for your kind words!
Unfortunately, I think BC and Richmond are probably out of reach with your level of rigor and EC’s. I think the rest of your list looks good and Mizzou is a great option. American University might be another school to look at if you like DC. It’s probably a match/reach. My D got in with similar stats.
Thank you for your honesty! I understand I’m very weak in both of those areas, so I’m not going to take those decisions to heart. I’ve looked into American previously but I let some of my friends influence me out of it, so I’ll relook into it. Thanks!
Sorry if I was too blunt. My S has very similar stats and EC’s. 30/200 kids at his small MA high school applied ED to BC. We decided to save the 75 dollar application fee and put it towards more realistic schools. Good luck, I think you will have lots of choices.
