Chance me for Wellesley ED! [FL resident, 3.7 GPA, 1400 SAT superscore, low income; sociology or psychology]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US domestic ** US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: FL
  • Type of high school Public (Charter)
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Hispanic, born in venezuela
  • Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.):
    first gen, low income
    Intended Major(s) Sociology or psychology

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.7
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.9 FL Weighing System
  • Class Rank: Top 10%; 29/456
    *ACT/SAT Scores: 1400 superscore (going test optional)

Coursework
8 APS, but will be applying with 12.
AP Spanish Language: 5, AP World History: 3, AP Seminar: 5, AP European History: 4, AP English Language: 5, APUSH: 3, AP Psych: 5, AP Art History: 4
AP Classes this year: AP Chem, AP Lit, AP Bio, AP Compsci P
4 Dual Classes, taking a total of 5-6 dual classes next year, graduating with my Associates (school limits in-school dual enrollment for seniors who have finished their credits, so most dual enrollment classes at my school could only be taken after school which collided with my family’s schedule). Took honors classes whenever they were available

Awards
I think this is my weakest section
Article Published at big Miami newspaper
Article Published at big Washington DC newspaper (in cooperation with the Head Hispanic Media Director of the DNC at the time)
Interviewed by big Miami tv channel regarding TPS changes and immigration
Selected for a competitive technology program aiming to close the gap between poc, women, fgli students and tech; $1000 stipend
AP Scholar With Distinction
Collegeboard Research Participant
National Hispanic Recognition Scholar (Collegeboard)
English Student of the Year
Constant Principal Honor Roll throughout 2 years

Extracurriculars
Internship with the Organization of American States (diplomatic body in the Americas): Wrote a research paper under their mentorship
Part of a group of cyber reporters and student leader for a Venezuelan channel with over 400k followers on Instagram, 884k subscribers on Youtube. Work includes working to end the lack of journalism in Venezuela due to the dictatorship. (100+ volunteer hours)
Columnist at Big Miami Newspaper
Research Internship with big local university
Writing a research paper for a big anti gun violence organization
Worked with many nonprofits to deliver resources to impoverished Hispanic households
Volunteered at the local TPS center, aiding immigrants by giving them food and water to withstand the brutal long hours of waiting outside in the Florida heat.
No club activity due to yearly fees and mandatory competition fees that I cannot afford. So I had to do activities outside of school.
Increased activity in Junior and Senior year due to financial and transportation circumstances that made me pay more attention to taking care of my siblings and the house.

Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
Essay: 8/10
LOR from my Psych teacher: 8/10
LOR from AP English: 8/10
LOR from Internships, volunteer work: 9/10
LOR from Counselor: 7/10
Cost Constraints / Budget Income below 50k, EFC of 0. I will need to rely on need based scholarships to attend colleges without debt

Schools
Familiar with Florida colleges due to me living there, and Bright Futures. But I would like the chance to go out of state as well.
I was not chosen for Questbridge Finalist.

  • Safety (certain admission and affordability)
    FIU
  • Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable)
    USF
    UCF
    FSU
  • Match
    UCF, FSU
  • Reach
    UF
    Wellesley ED1
    If you can can you suggest possible reaches?
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I think you’ll get into Wellesley ED.

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thank you !! i really really hope so, it is my dream school. everything about it is beautiful

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Forgot to mention, my personal statement is about having a journalist mother who put her passion over money, nd how i went from judging to admiring her, and also chasing passion over money.

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I think your weighed is wrong/overstated.

Florida adds .5 for Honors and 1 for AP - so I don’t think your Weighted would be more than a 4.7 and that would only be if every course was an AP.

I would make sure you get your heritage in an essay as it will no longer be used in consideration by checking a box.

As for awards, I wouldn’t include articles published and I don’t think the awards are weak - or matter.

I think your ECs matter and what you do matters - there’s no award for working at the TPS Center - but what you do/did is important., etc.

While I see passion - what I don’t know is - what sort of tenure do you have in these jobs. Are any long term? That will matter - and when you say research internship at a local university - you’ll have to define the school, topic, etc.

Taking care of your siblings is also a noteworthy item.

Good call on TO at Wellesley. I think it will be tough for you but if you note your heritage, you have a shot.

So I think your likelies are so - except maybe FSU but you I’m guessing your SAT does get you in. Funny, you have UCF and FSU as a match too - but I’d say UCF safe and FSU a match.

You might run NPCs on other meets needs schools - example Franklin & Marshall, Miami, Skidmore, Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Kenyon, Oberlin, Denison, Occidental and

more…see the attached. Basically the easier to get into on the list. Berea is another to look at.

The issue will be with an $0 EFC and being need aware - you can be rejected just for that. You might also look at W&L Johnson and SMU Presidential.

So in state - have you considered FAU Wilkes?

I’m not sure - I know you’ll have tuition covered at the Florida schools but how about room & board? If not, how will you pay?

Best of luck in your journey.

Here’s Every College That Offers 100% Financial Aid (prepscholar.com)

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It may be my school/district GPA system, that adds a lot of points to AP and DE. My long term ECS are my student leader position in the Venezuelan TV Channel, the research paper under Giffords (since I was one of the first members of their new chapter here in Florida), and my general volunteering.
And really? You wouldn’t include the articles under awards? Why, and where should I include them then? I feel like a lose a significant competitive edge when I have little competition awards, so I had the articles to compensate for it. I was unable to participate in many long term extracurriculars due to time and transportation matters; my schedule is really all over the place due to taking care of the house and dual enrollment which makes it really difficult to uphold long term responsibilities, which is another reason I was also unable to participate in clubs. My research internship is within the political/sociology department, I work with the head professor there. I coordinate events, research the campus population to contribute to the campus civic scene, invite TV channels to advertise the event, etc.
My heritage and my Venezuelan background is a center point of my life and will definitely be noted. I lived under the economic decline and still struggle from my accent, having a different mother tongue, being an immigrant, etc.
I was thinking of applying for the FSU summer term, because the students in my school have similar GPA and test scores when they apply there and get in because it’s easier to get in through the summer term than the general fall term.
I am applying to a lot of those needs met colleges on the side as well, if I get my fee waivers in order, but UMiami (if that’s the Miami you’re referring to) is way too expensive, even with Florida scholarships. As for Berea, it’s an amazing choice, but I am worried they may decline me for my assets, because that may have been the reason why I didn’t get Questbridge Finalist.
Is Wellesley need aware? If so that will definitely hurt my chances, I need a full scholarship; my parents will need to split a loan between me and them if they are expected to pay and we would rather not do that.
As for FAU, I’ve been on the fence about it. I really dislike being in South Florida, and I cannot imagine spending another 2 years of my life in this place. I am willing to go up north, but something about South Florida makes me really overwhelmed. If I have to stay in South Florida I’m between FIU Honors or FAU.
I qualify for the maximum Bright Futures Scholarship, which pays for everything except housing. So for that, I also do not know how I’ll pay, Like I mentioned earlier me and my family may have to take out a loan if FASFA doesn’t cover the full cost.
Thank you so much, I really appreciated this response and it gave me a lot to think about.

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I meant FAU WIlkes. Check it out - in Jupiter - the Honors College.

So - U Miami is a meets need school. Check the list I sent.

So run the Net Price Calculator to see.

You brought up a good point. You didn’t get QB. We don’t know why - but you mentioned having assets - and yes, they can be used against you to mitigate your need.

So I suggest you run the net price calculator for schools - including those on the list I gave you. What you don’t want to have happen is to think you’re going somewhere for free - and not. I linked two below for your mom to look at.

I have no opinion on the FSU Summer term other than to note, since you need 9 summer credits for a Florida public, then why not?

I would not include writing articles under awards - no - because they are not awards. They are articles. Now, if you won a pulitzer for writing an article - then that’s an award. But writing the article is an EC - i.e. you’re a regular columnist from what you wrote above. You might note in the additional info section that you care for family members - that’s also impressive.

I also wouldn’t panic due to a lack of awards. The kid who works at Publix or walks dogs at the shelter doesn’t get awards - but guess what, they’re great activities. What matters is what you do and the impact it makes - not that someone gives you credit for it. So don’t worry about the awards.

Exampe - AP Scholar with Distinction - you can use it but it really means nothing. What matters is all the AP tests that earned you that award - if it makes sense.

So I see you are a Hispanic scholar. They just took it down - but Alabama was offering 4 years tuition and one year housing so you might want to reach out. Perhaps they are eliminating the scholarship - but it’s obviously a strong deal financially.

Definitely check out your finances based on your asset comments - and use the list posted in my previous email to see schools that meet need. btw - FAFSA doesn’t provide anything - other than access to loans. It’s just letting schools know your expected contribution. It doesn’t mean it’s what the schools will offer - if you will. You may, perhaps, qualify for a Pell Grant - I don’t know.

You asked if Wellesley is need blind? Here’s what they say: e’re also need blind for U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents—that means we don’t consider your financial situation when we consider your application.

But if you’re worried about Berea, then you should be worried about the cost at Wellesley.

Good luck.

Welcome | Net Price Calculator (collegeboard.org)

Net Price Calculator (collegenpc.com)

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Wellesley would thankfully only make me pay around ~4,000 yearly with student work and a small deposit, which is doable. It would be even cheaper than going to school instate, since instate I would have to pay for housing, food, and countless of other costs. Especially with how car-centric Florida is, I would have to spend a lot of money on transportation. UM makes me pay 20,000 and expects me to take out a $10,000 loan which is not doable even if they’re covering around $50,000 of the total cost. Thank you so much for the link by the way, I will go through my list tomorrow and compare costs.
The Alabama scholarship sounds amazing. Looking back, I actually think some kids from my school got the scholarship.
So for the articles I could list the unrelated one, the one I published where I am not a columnist at, as another extracurricular? I figured it could be considered as an honor more than an activity since it was a really one-off thing, and also really rare for a teenager my age to get.
And it’s true that many people do a lot more meaningful activities than get an award. I guess I worry because my school is the best at FBLA in the state and it has a very award-heavy culture, so I feel like I’m falling behind everyone else, even though I could never even afford an FBLA district competition to begin with lol.
And I did not know that about the FASFA, nobody ever told me that and that’s actually a really important thing to keep in mind. Thankfully I qualify for a Pell Grant, which will basically halve my cost of attendance to about ~2k if I attend Wellesley. The problem with Berea is that they only admit low income students, so I’m guessing they are as stringent towards assets as the Questbridge admission team. At least Wellesley, with my assets, the most they could do is force me to pay some extra money, but even that is minimal because of the huge mortgage that we have left to pay. I feel like Questbridge was not forgiving towards my mortgage at all, so I fear that Berea could do the same.

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For ideas that may represent reaches or matches, look into Vassar, Smith College and Mount Holyoke.

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i’m applying to all of them, but i may have to cut some out because i’m applying to too many schools rn. do you think that all of these schools are reaches for me? or can some be matches? i want to reduce the amount of reaches in my application since i have too many and they may not all grant me fee waivers. thank you !!

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Colleges with acceptance rates for female applicants of 25% or higher for which you are clearly academically qualified by objective measures may represent matches for you (although some such colleges may represent “high matches”). Note, however, that your level of financial need may be considered in admission decisions at some schools.

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I think you are making assumptions about schools. You don’t know unless you try - so if Berea is of interest, then apply. you have 20 common app spots (if they’re even on common).

You are making assumptions about why you didn’t get QB. You may have just not gotten it on its merits and nothing to do with finances.

Good luck.

PS - the list I sent - a Mt. Holyoke and Bryn Mawr are going to be easier than a Wellesley. A Franklin & Marshall or Occidental or Oberlin -easier - but run the NPCs and note most are need aware.

When you need money, then you need to apply to as many as you can- and ensure they’re not all Vassar/Wellesley level…not close.

And if you like Berea…then yes to Berea.

Just like you did for Miami - start running net price calculators for schools on the link I sent you. You might also do the same for Rollins, Stetson, etc. as Bright Futures may stack with other money.

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My only experience is with Smith, but a fair number of student get into Wellesley but not Smith and vice versa.

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Ohh really? what does smith look for in a student?

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That’s true, it doesn’t hurt to try to apply to Berea.
Wellesley is the most selective school I’m going to apply to, besides obviously huge reaches like Harvard, Yale, and Brown, which is why I’ll be applying Early Decision. My targets will be colleges you already mentioned, as well as UF. I am steering clear of need aware schools for now, I loved Tufts when they came to my school but unfortunately they are need-aware, which completely changed my plans for them.
Today we are finishing the CSS and running some NPCs to finish my Commonapp list, hopefully that will also help me cut out some reach schools and allow me to apply to some more matches.

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You have 20 slots.

If you want Tufts apply. Yes don’t do 20 need aware but several won’t hurt you.

You’re only going to one - and you’ll have more than one to attend - so apply where you want to be….let them decide if they want you.

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Mount Holyoke would be a match I think (40% admit rate, and you would fit the kind of profile of student they would want I think).

Wellesley has a 13% admit rate and Smith 19% so they are both tough. However, if your essays are good and your letters, along with the info you provided, it could happen.

All three schools claim to cover 100% of financial need, but this mean different things to different schools. If they are affordable on their Net Price Calculator, I would apply to all three: Wellesley and Smith because they are both great schools and highly ranked, and applying to both could increase your chances of getting an acceptance, and Mt. Holyoke because it is also a good school and your chances are greater there, and it should also be affordable.

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You get 20 free apps through the common app. Take a close look at your safeties/likelies. Can you make a choice among these now, so as to not waste so many slots on the common app on safeties/likelies?

Take a look at this tool for colleges that meet full financial need, especially the ones that do it without loans, and notice that some do it without loans only for very low income households, which you are. Choose from them, schools that have what you want (every school will have psych/sociology). Colleges that Meet Full Need | College Greenlight

Wellesley is arguably the most selective women’s college. If you are willing to go to a women’s college, or to a 2nd tier liberal arts college, then consider all of them that meet full fin need without loans for low-income students, because you have tremendous fin need, intend to go into a low-paying field, and as such just cannot plan to take loans. You have got a very nice academic record, have a good shot at all of the women’s colleges and 2nd tier liberal arts colleges. I’d trim your safety/likelies list down to your safety and then one likely, both of which you’d be happy to attend and able to manage financially, and then apply to 18 more schools that are similar to Wellesley, meet full need, preferably without loans for you, and are no more selective than Wellesley. I don’t think that you would get into an Ivy or T20 type school, so those would likely be thrown out slots, and you need to make options, not scatter a bunch of Hail Mary apps.

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Congratulations on your achievements. I can’t chance you, but here are some comments-questions.

QB is very competitive, and most finalists have an EFC/SAI of zero or close to it….so that is not a reason you didn’t move on.

Let us know the NPC for Wellesley, it’s hard to make recommendations until we have that info.

Regarding loans, you can take out $27K in total undergrad loans, starting with $5.5k the first year. Any loans after that are on your parents, either directly or as a co-signer.

Your journalism article is an activity, not an award.

What is your SAT score breakdown? I am not sure you should apply TO. What is the average SAT/ACT from your HS?

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Wow, thank you so much for that resource. Many colleges who include loans were on my list, and that really opened my eyes. And yes you were right, for college, I want to avoid student loans as much as possible and being aware of what schools may give aid through loans is really important to me. You are also completely right about the fact that I would not realistically be able to pay off student loans either, nor would my family (even though my mom offered to split a loan between the two of us).
I know I have little chances at T20s, but I want to give it a shot anyways since for most people they are impossible to get into yet they may get lucky and get in anyways. So I think I will apply to Brown and Stanford as my super reaches. I need to cut out a lot of those colleges that require loans from your list and replace them with the colleges that the list said gives 100% need based scholarships without loans. I also need to rethink my safeties and likelies since I just realized that the Florida schools that I have scholarships for would still make me pay for housing and other costs, which I have no idea how I am going to pay for. The fact that even Florida is looking to be unaffordable, since even with Bright Futures they still want me to take out a 5k loan ON TOP of student work, makes me realize that LACs or community college may be my only choice if I want to graduate debt free.
Seriously thank you so much for that resource, I was about to apply to a bunch of schools that may have required a loan out of me. These colleges hide it so well it’s so hard to discover when you have no guidance. I am the first in my family to apply to an American college, so the whole process is really confusing and overwhelming so I really appreciate your help.