chances and questions

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello!
I am the first-born of my family and my parents have no idea what is going on. I would love to have opinions on my chances as well as suggestions for colleges that I may not have considered. Currently, I have/am going to visit, U of Minnesota, U of Michigan, UWisconsin-Madison, Loyola-Chicago, UChicago, Northwestern, Boston College, Brown, Marquette. I have also thought about USC, NYU, Boston University, and UCLA. Although I have several larger schools on this list, I tend to like the more mid-sized schools. My stats are
GPA:3.8
ACT: 31
My schedule is the 'most rigorous' according to the counselor's standpoint. I have taken all of the honors/AP courses that my school has available.</p>

<p>I have played soccer my whole life, hockey as well. I am cross country captain. I am officer of NHS and president of my schools "Student Ambassador" club. I am a "LINK" leader. I am on a volunteer board that is associated with the city. I am a volunteer at the hospital. I did a culture study in France, and also went to Summer Science Institute. I have also attended several retreats within my school that are reserved for specific students.</p>

<p>On a more narrow note,
Boston College seems to be my dream school on paper. I visitied last summer and liked it, but I have some questions. I am just a normal girl from the Mid-West. Is there a stuck-up attitude at BC? I have heard that this attitude accompanies very wealthy students. I am not like this at all, and come from the middle class. Would this not be a good atmosphere for me? Also, is it more liberal or conservative? Your answers would mean a lot to me! </p>

<p>Also, I know that Brown is a reach for me, but even so, it has been my favorite school so far. Would it be a waste to apply?</p>

<p>Lastly,
I have heard that Marquette is a commuter school and everyone goes home on the weekends. Is this true? And is it an issue not having a football team?</p>

<p>Thank you so much! Your information would be extremely helpful. Just hearing about your experience at these schools would be nice to hear, away from the employed tour guides. The things that I care about is the reputation of the school (I hope to get into a medical school), the atmosphere ( I would love to have the school feel like a college, and it would be nice to be near a city), and the people (what is the social life like? the people like? or is it school 24/7)</p>

<p>Please post any answers, or your ideas for what school would be the best for me, or any schools that I haven't considered!</p>

2

<p>Just one question: what can your parents pay for school? It looks like you are lured by the more urban schools.</p>

3

<p>for me that isn’t the biggest question right now. I just want to find the school for me!</p>

4

<p>It does you no good to “find the school for you” if you can’t afford it. What your parents can afford should START the discussions. Then you can narrow things down.</p>

5

<p>anni2222,</p>

<p>Erin’s Dad is right: You need to talk to your parents about overall cost of college and whether they have any other hidden rules/requirements on your college search.</p>

<p>Finding, applying, and being accepted to your dream school only to find out that your parents either can’t or won’t pay what the college thinks they can is very, very disappointing. But it happens; search through CC and you’ll find plenty of threads posted by students in April asking for advice on how to pay for their dream school …</p>

6

<p>I understand what you are saying, but don’t think i’m that naive! I have discussed pricing with my parents, and what they are willing to pay. They have agreed that I need to find the school that is right for me, and then they will do what they can to pay for it. Therefore, I have dismissed that aspect from my search so I can look at the school for what it is, and then the price.</p>

7

<p>What state do you live in? This is important information because being in-state is a plus when you’re applying to in state schools.</p>

<p>I strongly suggest that you pin your parents down about how much they feel they can pay each year for your education. I’ve seen many sad posts on CC by students whose parents told them what yours did, and then when April came, and the students got into their dream schools, the parents realized that there was no way they could afford $50,000 a year out of their own pockets.</p>

<p>I also have a friend – who is an Asian immigrant – who is literally working herself to death (stressful job that is exacerbating her health problems) to help pay for an expensive private education for an older child, who would have been just as well served by going to less expensive public or private schools. The stress of paying for that expensive education for their older child has affected both parents. The dad has had a heart attack. </p>

<p>The family learned its lesson when their second child went to college. He applied to places that were likely to provide him with the aid he needed and he got into and is happily going to a top 10 college that gave him excellent aid. Turned down a top 25 college that also gave him excellent aid. </p>

<p>If you have younger siblings and don’t come from a wealthy family, realize that your college choices will affect where your siblings are able to go.</p>

<p>That being said, you have nothing to lose by applying to schools like Brown that are difficult to get into and offer excellent need-based financial aid. None of us can estimate your chances of getting in. Much will depend on your essay and the exact nature of the ECs you listed. For instance, was the cultural experience in France a Rotary Scholarship, which would be a huge plus or was it something expensive that your family paid for? The latter wouldn’t be particularly impressive unless you earned the money for the trip. The nature of your hospital volunteer experience also is important. Did you just do what you were told or did you go above and beyond and have a recommendation to prove that you did?</p>

<p>Boston College does not promise to meet 100% of students’ financial need. It has very few merit scholarships and those are difficult to get. I know a BC prof whose kids went to BC. The prof told me that BC is a good, not great school, and the reason his kids went there is because since he’s faculty, they got free tuition. Prof also told me that there are lots of the sort of rich kids there that you described.</p>

<p>I suggest taking a close look at your state flagship and at the flagship publics in adjacent states, which may offer special scholarships to students from nearby states and also may offer in-state tuition to students from adjacent states. The honors programs at some midwestern flagships are wonderful, which could be another good opportunity for you.</p>

<p>USC, UCLA, NYU, BU, are not likely to be affordable or worth the extra expense when there are many excellent colleges that you probably could get into and that would be affordable for you.</p>

<p>Take a look at Macalester, which is an excellent LAC in a large urban area (I assume you want to be in a big city since that seems to be a commonality among the places you’re considering). I think it promises to meet 100% of financial need, but check their site to see if that’s the case. </p>

<p>Oh – and since you plan to go to medical school – which more than likely will result in your taking out large loans – it’s essential that you not take out large loans or overburden your family with undergraduate education costs.</p>

<p>Southern California and Boston are not as friendly and down to earth as is the Midwest, something to consider if Midwestern type friendliness is important to you.</p>

<p>Take a look at Emory, Vanderbilt, and Tulane, excellent southern schools with good merit (Tulane) and need-based aid (Emory, Vanderbilt) that may view it as a plus that you live in the Midwest. In general, the South is more friendly and down to earth than is Boston or LA.</p>

8

<p>I am going to take you at your word that money is not an issue, but people are right that it wouldn’t hurt to say to your parents something like “You know that the total cost of attending a school like Brown or BC is about $52,000 a year, right? Are you OK with that if we get no financial aid?” Might as well be 5000% sure.</p>

<p>I am surprised no one has asked you yet if that 3.8 GPA is weighted or unweighted. That makes some difference in recommendations.</p>

9

<p>Thank you for all of your advice. All of these real experiences are extremely helpful for someone who has only heard what the tour guides and web sites have to say. Yes, that whole midwestern friendliness is something that I have thought about, and that is why I was concerned about the atmosphere at BC. I understand that they may not be as friendly, but wouldn’t studying in Boston be well worth the culture shock? </p>

<p>I have heard Vanderbilt several times, but I don’t know how I feel about TN. Everything that you had to say was super helpful though, and makes me reconsider staying close to home, at a lesser price and being considered a great school rather than what your friend had said about BC.</p>

<p>I have discussed the money with my parents on several accounts. I know the amount that they have, and what that would cover at each school. My parents feel that if the school has that prestige and academic excellence, it is worth the heavier price tag. I do understand everyone’s concern though.</p>

<p>And the GPA is unweighted.</p>

10

<p>Sounds like you have the money question under control.</p>

<p>OK, with a 3.8 UW you have a good shot at BC, longer shot for UChicago, Northwestern, and Brown. The 31 ACT is good, but puts you on the borderline. The sports and EC’s are strong though. I disagree that schools will care if you showed initiative at the hospital or not. I mean if you did and a supervisor can say something really nice, great. But you were busy with studying and three sports and still found time for the other things, so I think that is pretty impressive. So worth applying to these reach schools, it is not a waste. Just remember only about 10% get accepted to Brown in any case, and a fairly low % to Chicago and Northwestern, so they are a reach for everyone. You should be fine for UW, Marquette, Minnesota, and Loyola. Marquette is not a commuter school. It has lots of kids that live on campus and nearby. It does draw heavily from the Milwaukee and Chicago areas though, so especially your first semester kids would tend to go home more often. But there are enough from much farther away that it would not be deserted by any means.</p>

<p>Tulane you would very likely get something like a $20,000 merit scholarship, maybe more. USC you certainly have a decent shot at getting accepted.</p>

<p>Boston is a great city for a college student. But as you know since you have visited, BC is actually out just a bit. But certainly easy to get into the city. I wouldn’t worry about the “reputation” a school has for snobbiness or whatever. With thousands of kids from lots of different backgrounds, you will find plenty that you can relate to. Just like you will find snobs at the most midwestern of schools. People are people. If BC attracts you for whatever reason, go for it.</p>

<p>Is playing hockey and/or soccer going to be important to you in school (I assume at the club sport level)? That will make some difference in where you choose.</p>

11

<p>USC is need blind in admissions. It has one of the largest financial aid budgets. There are competitive merit scholarships for those who qualify. </p>

<p>What is the OP’s academic field of interest?</p>

<p>Most students who tour the campus of USC find it very friendly. Only 52% of the students are from California. Hundreds of students are from the midwest, northwest and other parts of the U.S. Roughly 11% are international. Outside of California U.S. students are from:
1. Texas
2. State of Washington
3. New York
4. Illiniois</p>

12

<p>Is there some reason why you have ruled out all the liberal arts colleges (LACs)? If you like Brown, there are many Brown-like LACs out there, some of which are a bit less competitive to get into. Big schools have their strong points-lots of variety in classes and people, more research opportunities, very lively student towns-but LACs offer a different kind of education, as you may have glimpsed, in part, at Brown. </p>

<p>Take a look at Wesleyan, Oberlin, and Grinnell to get a feel for schools that are ‘like Brown’ culturally, but smaller and perhaps, more personal.</p>

13

<p>Might look at Holy Cross-Jesuit school like Boston College and Marquette. Holy Cross has great school spirit with nice campus-1 hour from Boston. Holy Cross is need blind for financial aid.</p>