<p>White from income bracket under 40k. 3.8 unweighted gpa. I wont have many APs because I go to a small Lutheran school and dont have the option. I do take as rigorous a courseload as I can. I scored a 35 on my act, but only a 6 on the writing. I was feeling tired and unmotivated by the time writing rolled around. I expect to be captain of the football team, student council for 3 years, president of my schools NHS, and heavy involvement with my FIRST robotics team. I also participated in Badger Boy State, a leadership program through the American zlegion that selects around 1% of juniors in wisconsin. Im interested in computer science/finance. I dont want to go to grad school right away and would like to work asap. I would be willing to apply early decision if this helps and would want to know anything anyone has to offer about financial aid.</p>
<p>I don’t see any weaknesses in your list, but a lot depends on your “intangibles” - recommendations, essay, etc… Statistically, you have better chances for acceptance with Early Decision. Are you interested in playing football at Carleton? </p>
<p>I would much rather focus on school than play football. I think I would get recommendations from my head football coach and my robotics advisor. I would hope they both have solid letters. I have close relationships with both. I will work on my essays diligently and have them checked over several times. I’m honestly worried about them because of my 6 on writing, but I knew that was awful when I wrote it. I think I could write a much better essay with more time to revise. </p>
<p>Make sure you also get recommendations from academic teachers as most schools require you to have teacher recommendations from at least 2 teachers that have had you in class. I wouldn’t go overboard unless you are sure those other coaches and advisors will add something unique to your application that won’t just be a rehash of your resume.</p>
<p>I go to a small private school so I did have both of those coaches as teachers.</p>
<p>Don’t stress over the 6 on writing. Many good writers don’t do well on that portion of the ACT due to the time constraint!</p>
<p>Thanks. How much would applying ED help me? I just toured and loved it. The location and feel are perfect for me I think. I do worry about cost of attendance and job prospects though. Net cost calculator had me at about 15k a year in loans. I would major in comp sci and don’t want to go to grad school.</p>
<p>^ I would be somewhat nervous and also apply to some schools as backups that offer merit scholarships. You’d be able to get full rides at some schools with your scores. Carleton is a great school and has generous FA, however you need to consider perhaps how you are going to pay for that experience. Students can only take a maximum amount of 5,500 in loans every year, so you’d probably have to make up the difference, or have your parents take out loans again. Discuss it with your parents as well. While ED could put you at an advantage in terms of admissions, I would be cautious of doing so unless you are sure you really want to go there and can afford it.</p>
<p>OP, cast a wide net. The $15,000 a year loan is just too much debt. Is Carlton known for CS/finance? Your economic/academic/stats profile will get you better financial/merit aid at a variety of schools. Research your options.</p>
<p>I’d be really surprised if you were asked to take $15k in loans with a family income of less than $40k.</p>
<p>Since Carleton is a CSS Profile school, a low income family with $300K+ in home equity would cause EFC to jump up to $15K. This is a very common situation due to layoffs, “early retirement”, etc.</p>
<p>Interesting. The example I know is a family with about that income but only about $200K in home equity. Loans were much less per year.</p>
<p>I’ll run the cost of attendance calculator again</p>
<p>I did several things incorrectly when I ran this cost of attendance calculator before. My net cost would be roughly 11k per year.</p>