Chance Me - schools to the caliber of IU, UW Madison, U of I, or Loyola (all early action), and Match Me to other schools which could work for me please!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics

  • US domestic US Citizen, born in the US
  • State/Location of residency: Illinois
  • Type of high school (current college for transfers): Public high school in a pretty competitive area
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Male, Asian Indian
  • Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.): —

Intended Major(s)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.2
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 3.7/5.0
  • College GPA (for transfers): –
  • Class Rank: –
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1350 SAT (690 reading, 660 math)

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))
AP Human Geography (4 on exam)
AP European History (3 on exam)
AP US History (3 on exam)
AP Biology (3 on exam)
AP English 3 (3 on exam)
Anatomy/Physiology Dual credit
Spanish up to Spanish 3, stopped Spanish senior year

Current AP courses:
AP Micro/Macroeconomics
AP English 4
AP Psychology
AP Calculus AB
AP Gov’t and Politics

All other courses honors besides algebra 2/Trig and Precalculus previously, as well as Physical education courses and electives freshman and sophomore year

Awards
None of note

Extracurriculars
Wrestling team through school for four years
Aspiring Medical professionals for one year
Environmental society for one year
*my main question was about this: how much will my severe lack of extracurriculars hurt me?

Essays/LORs/Other
Common App essay about positives from parents divorce
LOR’s from teachers who liked me and wrestling coach, are probably okay
Supplementals about curiosity and grandfather’s cancer, as well as wrestling

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)

  • Safety: not sure
  • Likely : not sure
  • Match: Loyola Chicago, DePaul chicago
  • Reach: U of I, UW Madison, Purdue, UIC, University of Michigan, IU, SLU, Ohio State
2

Of your reaches the only one I would say might be obtainable is St. Louis U. Loyola Chicago is a maybe.

If you like Jesuits could you consider adding Loyola New Orleans or Marquette?

3

What major/school are you applying to (where that’s required)?

What can/will your parents pay for college each year?

If your school uses Naviance or Scoir that will help you categorize schools by safety-match-reach.

It looks like you want to stay close to home, is that true? NIU would be a safety (if affordable). Also calculate your RAI at Iowa and Iowa State, they are both probably safeties (need RAI 255 at Iowa, 245 at Iowa State for auto admit). Michigan State would be highly likely as well. For a medium size school consider U Dayton.

4

I’m applying to bio for all schools and I plan to specialize when I get into a school

My parents said they plan to pay around 12k for college, with some margin for change if I need it.

It does not matter for me if I stay near home or not - honestly, I just did not do proper research and chose the schools closer to me. I got an RAI of 276 for Iowa - is that decent? I will also add Michigan State to the list. Thank you so much!

5

I would definitely go to each college’s website and run the Net Price Calculator. Some of the schools on your list, like Michigan, are quite pricey for out of state students.

I agree Iowa State and Michigan State would be good options for you to look at. Have you considered some of the smaller state schools in Illinois, like ISU, EIU or NIU?

6

Ok thanks, I definitely will.

I might apply to ISU, as I’ve heard the biology program there is decent. I will also look into Iowa State and Michigan State. Thanks for the help!

7

Since you are looking at large schools, you might add Mizzou, WVU, Arkansas, Ohio U, UK, UTK.

For a smaller school, look at Bradley.

I think you will be fine in Bio anywhere.

8

Ok, thanks for the advice!

9

Will you qualify for need based aid? A 12k budget is very small unless you qualify for aid, can get merit or are willing to live at home and commute somewhere with low tuition nearby.

10

I likely will qualify for need based aid, and I will talk to my parents again, as they were saying 12k as more of an arbitrary number than a hard rule. I will also look at other advice and such online about paying for colleges. I’m not sure if I could get a merit anywhere, though. I am willing to commute if the need arises, although it would not be my first choice. Thanks for the help!

11

I missed the $12K.

So you need to look at directional Illinois schools for your best bang for your buck. So E, W, N, SIU…Illinois State, etc.

12

UIC should be a match. It also is pretty low cost. Good up and coming school w a strong science program. Good luck!

13

Your first step would be to complete the FAFSA and discover what your EFC is. That will inform you/us whether or not you will qualify for need-based aid. That status, coupled with your ~$12K/yr budget will more or less determine what schools to focus your attention on.

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