Chances at Top LACs and Merit Aid at other LACs

<p>I love schools like Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Bard, and Hampshire. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll probably need merit aid to go. Swarthmore has two full tuition scholarships which is unlikely, Wesleyan has none, and the other schools have some. Please chance!</p>

<p>Here are my stats:
Sex: F
School: Private, Catholic, All-Girls
Difficulty: Sends 1-4 out of 50 to top schools
State: Delaware (according to Colubmia University it is considered underrepresented since it's largely agricultural)</p>

<p>Rank: top quintile
PSAT (a little weak): CR: 70 M: 65 W:65
SAT: Will be taking in March and I'm hoping to bring it to 2100 which seems plausible.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.98 sort of weighted so it's not as bad as it sounds
UW GPA: 3.8</p>

<p>I have taken the MOST rigorous courseload at my high school and have taken more APs than my school technically allows. By the end of junior year I will have taken 5 and by the end of senior year I will have taken approx. 10</p>

<p>EC's:
Have been starting up a nonprofit political journal for young adults regarding politics (youngidealist.org if you want to check it out). I currently serve as an editor, secretary, and a writer. I will have several published pieces by the end of senior year with some pretty unique and complex theses (at least the one I just wrote). I think this is pretty legit but we'll see what colleges think.</p>

<p>I interned with the Lieutenant Governor of Delaware and I worked on grant applications for the Children's Health Insurance Program. In addition I worked on web analysis regarding state recovery websites.</p>

<p>I am currently the captain of Science Olympiad. I grew the team from 4 girls to a full team of 15 as my first year in office. Last year I earned two state medals and this year I hope to earn more since the team is a bit more intense now.</p>

<p>I participate on the math league "A team."</p>

<p>I have been swimming since I was 3 years old and was a year-round club swimmer up until this year when I had practically a conversion about my opinion on sports. Now I just swim with my school team. Last year I earned 13th and 23rd at the state swim meet.</p>

<p>Summers:
Summer before 9th: CTY's Crafting the Essay online and swimming lessons instructor
Summer before 10th: CTY's Writing Analysis and Persuasion online and swimming lesson instructor
Summer before 11th: CTY's History of Disease residential and interned at the Lieutenant Governor</p>

<p>I will be paying my way through another CTY program this summer (3,300$ which will be hard but it's so worth it)</p>

<p>Awards (I am really lacking here):
Outstanding achievement in Latin freshman year
Highest Honors all semesters since freshman year
Science Olympiad state medals (3rd and 9th)
State swim meet awards (13th and 23rd)
I'm gonna work on winning a few writing contests but I probably won't win anything substantial. </p>

<p>Unfortunately my family does not qualify for any need-based aid and I will not be able to attend if the cost is not significantly dropped. </p>

<p>Chances for:
Swarthmore
Wesleyan
Hampshire (1st or 2nd choice)
Bard (1st or 2nd choice)
Bennington
Kalamazoo
Grinnell
Kenyon
Oberlin
Case Western
Dennison
Brandeis</p>

<p>Chances: Swarthmore, pretty hopeless for merit aid. Brandeis seems to give some pretty good scholarships. The midwestern schools are better (Kenyon, Oberlin, Case Western, Dennison, Kalamazoo). Hampshire has a small endowment, but why not give it and Bard a shot–they should be fairly easy to get into with your stats. I might look at more Midwestern LACs (St. Olafs, Macalester, Juniata?), too.</p>