Chance me please! [Public health/poli sci/pre-med first gen, low-income, URM]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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A fee waiver is just one of the income/wealth proxies that AOs see on an application, I doubt that is the sole reason for a non-acceptance. Other proxies for income/wealth are the applicant’s high school, address, parents’ education levels and jobs, and ECs.

Some schools also use CollegeBoard’s Environmental Context Report. https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/pdf/environmental-context-dashboard-faqs.pdf

Hopefully OP comes back and answers questions so can posters can better help build the college list.

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UVA is a need blind school. Nothing related to finances will impact the students decision. The student will, or will not, get in based on their academics. It is one of two publics in the country that is both need blind and meets 100% of demonstrated need.

That is different than a need aware school. As an example, Tufts, who has the option of turning down a student in this case if they decided the investment they would have to make vs. contribution the student provided was not worth it to them.

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Need blind is not what you think it is. Even our school counselors tell students who are deferred, to waive FA if they want to get in.

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true, but by our address and parent college degrees, and the private school my kids attended on FA, you could not tell we qualify for a Pell, and SAT fee waivers. In hindsight, I should have paid the application fee, instead of using a waiver

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Then a parent should sue them for fraud.

Yes it is exactly what I think it is. Now I don’t know about UVA but some need blind schools are need aware for the waitlist, etc.

Admissions is not all about just the highest stat kids. At many schools, the major impacts it. At others geography or religion or ethnicity. It may be activities, essays or letters.

You can see what matters to UVA in section C9 of the attached. Gpa. Rank. Rigor. Recommendations - which at most schools doesn’t merit such high importance is at the highest level for UVA, two rungs above test scores, which are far down the list so a higher test score likely has less impact. I assume when you say higher stat you included tests.

Most, if not all publics, are need blind. But that doesn’t mean they meet need for all. Only UVA and UNC do as noted on the UVA website. Interestingly, I believe UVA is the only Questbridge public.

You’re assuming the top stat kids always beat the low stat kids and that’s not the case.

That’s why we read stories here about schools like UMD and UF with 4.0 /1500 getting rejected. UMD looks at 27 things - so it’s beyond grades.

Anyway if a student has need, they should do their fafsa and css profile and IDOC if requested. An admission at any school is not relevant if not affordable.

https://ira.virginia.edu/cds-2021-22

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If you’re thinking about pre-med I would take a very close look at Xavier in New Orleans, LA. They are well-known for producing the largest number of black med school students and doctors and doing it with students who would not have originally been accepted to undergrad at a school like Harvard. They don’t meet full need, but I would run the Net Price Calculator and see what things look like.

I would also take a look at this excellent post about HBCU institutional scholarships: HBCU Institutional Scholarships for Students, which includes many potential full rides. Depending on what your standardized test scores look like, you can let us know if any of these scholarships look like possibilities. If you’re interested in applying to more than one HBCU, you may want to look into the Common Black College App where you can apply to any number of 67 HBCUs for $20.

In addition to UVA and Va Tech, you will probably want to add some other in-state publics. Fortunately for you, Virginia has many good public options. Virginia State (3900 undergrads) and Norfolk State (5k undergrads) are both public HBCUs that are likely to provide a more intimate environment. George Mason (27k undergrads) is known for international relations, and its location a heartbeat away from the nation’s capital means there are many options for political and policy involvement. Virginia Commonwealth (21k undergrads) is less than a mile from the Virginia State Capitol which provides great access for any policy/public health internships and experiences you may want to pursue. James Madison (20k undergrads) also has a lot of students in your majors of interest.

Washington & Lee would be a reach, but they’re trying to diversify their campus and they meet the full need of students (as it defines need).

If you let us know more of what you’re interested in a college such as size (big, medium, small), location (parts of the U.S.), type of location (urban/suburban/rural), the kind of atmosphere you might prefer (pre-professional, intellectually curious, big sports enthusiasm, importance of Greek life, etc), and any other considerations you have, that would help in providing suggestions to you.

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Why aren’t you applying to any schools EA?

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You have a fine resume, and many schools will be interested in you. You should know that pretty much all the wealthy private schools you list will provide you with ample financial aid once you’re in. Also, you can apply test-optional at almost all of these (not MIT though) without lessening your chances much. Strong AP scores can also help, though it is still true that many top schools like to see a high SAT or ACT.

Your list is quite top-heavy. There are many superb schools where admissions are a little less competitive. Everyone should have several target schools and several safeties in addition to top-20ish schools. If you haven’t already browsed the Fiske college guide, an hour or two with this book might give you some more ideas. I wish you the best,

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I can tell you as someone who has had 2 students receive a full ride and attend (oldest has graduated) the HBCU on your list (Howard University), that you would have a better shot at more financial aid by applying EA. You also want to complete your FAFSA as soon as possible (Howard has a priority filing deadline for FAFSA being completed by November 1st to give your the best shot at a better FA package). I agree with those who have mentioned your list is pretty top heavy, so please make sure you have a school on your list that is affordable and where acceptance is virtually guaranteed.

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OP, there are a lot of good suggestions and questions here. (I, for one, am curious about your GPA, which you say is calculated only one way. If that’s the case, I would expect your number to be unweighted. Please clarify. I also agree that your list needs more balance.)

Anyway, I want to provide some advice regarding EA. EA is non-binding. If a school offers Early Action (EA), there is no risk in exercising it, unless you are also applying to one of the small handful of schools with a Restricted Early Action (REA) or Single Choice Early Action (SCEA) policy.

Your list includes two REA/SCEA schools, Harvard and Yale. Are you considering applying REA/SCEA to either of those schools? If so, check their policies on where you might also apply during their REA/SCEA rounds. Generally, they let you apply EA to any public university, but have restrictions on where else (and when) you might apply while awaiting a decision. Getting deferred from the REA/SCEA round would put you in the regular decision pool and open up your options.

Again, check the policies on each school’s admissions website. The point is, apply to as many EA options as you have available to you. As long as you are following the admissions policies of all your schools, there is no downside. The upside is that you may get some acceptances in hand early, which takes some pressure off.

Early Decision (ED), is a different matter, however. The distinction is important. You should run the Net Price Calculator for all of your schools, but it is expected that you have done so when you apply under an ED agreement with a school that offers that option. A number of the schools on your list have an ED option.

ED is considered binding – you agree that if your are accepted, you will withdraw all other applications. You can decline if you have an unforeseen hardship. It’s hard for colleges to enforce this, of course, but you, a parent (or guardian) and your school counselor sign the binding ED agreement. Of these stakeholders, it would be your school counseling office that would likely get some lasting pushback from the spurned college.

As with REA/SCEA, getting deferred or declined in the ED round frees you from the restrictions.

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Agree that the OP needs to give us rank and the unweighted gpa.

For suburban publics around here, top 10% has a good chance at UVA. For private schools , UVA can take deep into the 3rd decile presuming good rigor etc. For rural publics where a friend lives, uVA admits below the top10% regularly. But I agree it is hard to imagine a 4.0 weighted is likely in the right gpa range for a public school kid aiming for UVA, unless it is a unique weight system with only a 0.3 honors/AP bump

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You should run the NPC (net price calculator) for UVA. It will be on their website. They are 100% meets needs, but that is based on what they think your families’ need is, not you. But if you work with your parent and put in good information- and you receive a cost that you think you can afford; I would apply ED to UVA. It will be a reach but I think you best chance at a high value education. Best of luck!

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No, I will not, I will be a first-year student!

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I found out about Questbridge when it was too late sadly. My score was incredibly low but I wanted to asses where I was at and study up on my weaknesses. I believe with the colleges I will use their EFC calculators to see if I can afford the schools. However, on a visit to Upitt I did not quite like the institution at all. Thank you for your college suggestions! Initially, I did not want to attend a LAC since I want to attend an institution with a wide array of resources and students from all walks of life. However, I will keep an open mind.

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This list was also curated based on how generous they are with financial aid which happens to be top schools (and other personal factors ofc). Honestly, the other colleges I would be a target student at are not appealing to me but I did add schools like Penn State and kinda still considering James Madison or VCU as safeties so I get in somewhere lol.

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Is Penn State not great with financial aid?

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Thank you for the reassurance! Regarding in-state public universities, I am currently looking into James Madison University, and VCU. Columbia University matter of fact used to be my dream school but the standard of living in New York is quite high, along with the core curriculum which I’ve heard makes it impossible to explore other interests and double major outside of your original major so that is why it is sadly no longer on my list. Finally, regarding my grades, I believe my unweighted GPA is a 3.9 with 6 B’s and B+'s out of the 21 classes I have taken over my freshman-junior year. The rest of the grades are A’s and I have never gotten anything lower than a B.

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Yes, I intend on going to medical school. I am quite unsure of the right major for me but I am in the right realm of what I want to learn in college. (I have always been fascinated with history and health/human anatomy/medicine so I want to mix both interests) and afterward, possibly enroll in a 5-year MD/MBA program. I am keeping an open mind to the new institutions recommended in this forum and thank you for your advice!

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No - most public colleges don’t do need aid - with the exception of UNC and UVA who meet and there may be a few that meet only for in-state. Some match Pell grant money even for OOS - so you could in theory reduce cost that way.

The rest you have to do with merit and PSU won’t get you close.

This is where - for example, with an Arizona, you’d get $32K off the $41K or so tuition - but with room and board you’d be over $20K. They publish a table.

An Alabama is $28.5K off - but you need a test score at a certain level to get that. A UAH is smaller. Schools like Mississippi State and West Virginia - they are aggressive and their NPC will show you your scholarship.

Some schools - Pitt, Bama - have merit scholarships for diversity. And some schools have full rides or close to such as Troy or Southern Miss but usually need an SAT score. Not saying these are right for you - just laying out the law of the land.

In your case, you should likely eliminate Penn State. If you are open to Arizona, then you’d be mid-20s.

Some schools have interesting programs. Alabama has the McCullough Medical Scholars - but again, to get top aid, you need a test (a 32 ACT) and FAU Honors (a 500 student school in Jupiter FLorida) has Medical Humanities as a focus…but not sure what type of merit there would be for you. UAH is a small public in Alabama with a nice STEM reputation and you’d do even better - but again, they require a test for money.

There are FANTASTIC schools a bit easier to get into then you put down - such as Franklin & Marshall, Dennison, Miami, Lafayette, Bryn Mawr , Occidental, Macalester- that meet 100% need - and have a higher acceptance rate - there’s even more…and might be worth including to supplement your list of reaches. They might require loans or work study - but a few of those in the mix would give you better odds.

If VA Tech is out of reach financially - are you near a public such as CNU or VCU where you can commute?

PS - just saw your note on the 3.9 with 15 As and 6 B+/Bs. Can you calculate again - by hand.

15 As at 4.0 = 60. Even if you had 6 B+ at 3.33 would be 19.98. So that would be 79.98 / 21 classes or 3.8.

Where am I off? And that’s if all Bs were B+, not just Bs.

Thanks

Program Description – McCollough Scholars (ua.edu)

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Based on my calculations my GPA is a 3.9. Currently, I am taking AP Computer Science A and Statistics for math but in the past have taken Algebra 2, Geometry, and Honors Precalc.

  • Noted, I have Penn State as a safety school since I loved the campus!
  • In all honesty, the prestige would be nice with attending MIT.
  • What does OOS stand for?
  • Brown: Open Curriculum, Yale: Emphasis on Liberal Arts and cool extracurricular activities available to students. Harvard: Among the best students in the world which is highly motivating
  • Thank you for the college suggestions!