Demographics: New Jersey
All girls private high school
White Female
Intended Major(s)
-english, maybe minor history, creative writing or film
-also considered being english teacher
GPA: 3.62 cumulative
-3.4-3.5 freshman
-3.5 sophomore
-3.9 junior
-doing very well gpa wise now (over 4.4)
Class Rank: n/a
ACT/SAT Scores: not submitting 99% of schools, except maybe providence?
-690 english
-580 math
Coursework
-cpe all freshman and sophomore year (higher than cp, lower than honors)
-english honors junior
-senior: 1 ap, 4 honors
Awards
-honor roll sophomore, junior year
-bronze and silver award girl scout
Extracurriculars
-100+ hours service
-leader 2 church retreats
-tutor
-nahs
-2 years jv softball
-few clubs (may start one idk)
Essays/LORs/Other
-got one from teacher of subject i wanted to major in
-another from teacher who i do well in class - showed growth in becoming confident in public speaking
-guidance counselor said hers was good
-common app essay is vulnerable and shows my maturity and philosophy of life
Cost Constraints / Budget
-genuinely no idea - have no money tho; also have twin brother
-not in best interest to ED but parents willing to consider to up chances
Schools (not in any particular order)
-bucknell
-u richmond
-davidson
-holy cross
-franklin and marshall
-william and mary (not sure if even applying)
-lehigh
-lafayette
-muhlenberg (safety)
-fordham
-loyola maryland (safety)
-gettysburg (safety)
-providence (safety)
p.s: this is my first post or anything so idk if i did this right but pls help!
Have you and your parents check the net price calculator on each college?
If your parents can pay $0, then your price limit is under $10k ($5.5k direct loan, ~$4.5k work earnings part time during the school year and during the summer).
Your safeties are only safeties if they are assured to be under your price limit.
Echoing @ucbalumnus that you need to let us know your unweighted cumulative GPA. If your school doesn’t provide it, then you can calculate it yourself, by using a 4.0 for and A, 3.0 for a B, etc.
Next you need a budget. Find out from your parents what they can pay per year for you, then run the net calculators on the schools on your list to see if they come in within budget.
What do you want to major in? You said you had a rec letter from a teacher of a subject you’d like to major in - what is it?
Not sure if it’s too late to retake the SAT or even to try the ACT? If you end up needing to try to get merit aid at any schools, having a higher test score could help.
It’s hard to chance you on the schools you list given some of that missing information, so once you come back with it, you’ll get better feedback. That being said, assuming your unweighted GPA is lower than the weighted GPA you’ve provided, and looking at your list, you may want to consider some of the following schools which could be targets or lower reaches: Elon, Furman, Rhodes College, Sewanee, Loyola (New Orleans), Wheaton College, Clark, Skidmore. These recommendations could change though once you fill in some of the blanks.
Did your guidance counselor help in any way in developing your list? Private school counselors usually have an idea of where their students can get admitted.
So if you have any interest in being a teacher, avoid debt as much as you can. Salaries are low and the opportunities for earning a high income are low. You should get a firm budget from your family soon. Muhlenberg, Loyola Maryland, Providence, and Gettysburg will only be safety schools if they are affordable for you.
On your list, Colleges that meet full need without loans:
-davidson
-lafayette (loan free if family income is under 150K)
Colleges that meet full need with loans:
-holy cross
-franklin and marshall
-lehigh
-u richmond
Offers Financial Aid:
bucknell
-william and mary (not sure if even applying)
-muhlenberg (safety)
-fordham
-loyola maryland (safety)
-gettysburg (safety)
-providence (safety)