Chances for an Uninformed Highschooler

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Well, I really have no idea about what I should be looking at in terms of colleges and I’d like to fix that. I hope that y’all can recommend a few colleges for me to look at that I’d have a good chance of getting in to.

Here are quick introductory(sorry if it’s bad I’m not exactly good at this):
I’m a girl that is a sophomore in high school. My passion is drawing and programming, I enjoy designing applications and webpages and have throughout the last two years. I really enjoy writing short stories, discussing books with friends, and hanging out with friends. I am home schooled in Wyoming, so the opportunities for me to expand academically have been very scarce, and I hope to change that by going to a college that can provide me with opportunities and challenge me. Here’s my academic profile.

Dual Enrollment: 8 classes: English Composition I and II, Psychology, Sociology, Algebra(incl. trigonometry), World History, and a Visual Basic class(part of a technical plan and the teacher only had a bachelors so I have no idea if it will transfer, only did it because I love it.)

GPA in college: 4.0
GPA outside of college: 4.0
Weighted GPA(all classes besides college are on a 4.0 scale and college is on 5.0): 4.4

ACT: 31.0(ONE SCIENCE QUESTION FROM 32 UGH) (33 English, 33 Math, 30 Science, and 28 Reading) I plan to raise this because its abysmal but I’m not sure about when to start.
SAT: Haven’t taken it(210 on PSAT this year)

Subjective stuff(I’m not sure if this is relevant but everyone seems to post it)
Worked at the local food bank for a few hours a week, I’ve logged just over 200 hours but I’m sure I’ve spent more.
Worked at the local after school program to help kids struggling with math and science
Youth group leader
Lawn chair club
Helped coach my younger brother’s basketball team for the past 5 years
Refereed soccer last year(level 10 USSF)
Worked repairing computers on a somewhat consistent basis since I was 10

Honors/Awards/Recognition Stuff:
Phi Theta Kappa
Mu Eta Sigma
National Home school Honor Society
Academic All-Star for my college(one per college)
a few other home school specific honors

Random Facts:
I’m from Wyoming
I really love literature and design
Our income is only $100,000 per year

2

Our credentials are basically identical. :slight_smile: Anyway, you should be able to get into virtually any college you want to if I were to be blunt. It’s just up to you to find the college you want to go to. If you apply to any college of your choice, I’m at least 99.99% sure you’ll be accepted. Good luck!

3

Way too early to guess. Just keep your GPA high, take SAT/ACT, and work on your interested fields.

What major do you think you are going to study?

4

Good score on the PSAT. Repeat the performance (or do better) next year and you’ll be a shoe-in for National Merit Semifinalist. Keep doing well in school and get a good score on the SAT you should have a great shot at National Merit Finalist. That should give you some good options for college scholarships, some full-ride or near full-ride. What do you want to major in? Are you looking for “top” colleges or a decent state or private university? Do you want to go out of state?

5

^^^ Yes, make sure to take the PSAT again next year when you are a Junior. 210 is a great score for a sophomore and in Wyoming the cut off is very low around 204 but your score only counts in your Junior year.

Many school give full rides or full tuition for National Merit Scholars checkout this site for a list of school that give great awards to NMF:

http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/

If you aren’t familiar with the National Merit Scholarship program read this thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1365011-faq-for-the-psat-sat-nmsf-nmf-process.html#latest

6

A sophomore with 31 ACT / 210 PSAT will probably get a significantly higher score as a second semester junior or senior, so you’re in good shape there. If you keep up with the grades and ECs, you will be a competitive candidate for top schools (including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford).

I can’t comment on how being home-schooled is perceived by these colleges but the dual enrollment should help. I’m sure they are aware that most public school systems in Wyoming offer little to challenge an academically gifted student.

Being from Wyoming can be a big advantage when applying to top colleges - they like to boast that their freshman class comes from all 50 states, and there are relatively few high-achieving students from Wyoming (smallest population and some of the lowest test scores in the country), so you will stand out if you maintain your current path.

Good luck!

7

Everything looks good from my end. If I were in your position, I would look at doing something a little outside of the normal curriculum. There are summer programs, such as the telluride program (google TASP) that may be interesting, or maybe go email a professor at a local university who does programming or something that interests you and see if you can work/do a project under them.

Note: Income, especially in the 100k range, should have no impact on your admission to a college.

Keep it up, good luck, and remember to stay classy

8

Thanks for all of your help guys! Is the PSAT really that much more important than my ACT score? A few instate colleges have automatic full rides at a 30 on the ACT so I know that I will use them as safeties, but I really have no idea where to start for top colleges.

@albert69‌ I’m trying to look at top colleges but I realize my stats aren’t near where I need to be for top universities so I’ve somewhat given up on them. I’m thinking NYU or Cornell? My ACT score is way low for those but I really don’t know where to start. I really like the prestige that comes with those(I don’t care for Harvard and Yale) although prestige isn’t the biggest factor.

9

@MandarinSin Maybe try the SAT? Besides, a 31 as a sophomore is good. I’m sure with some more study and practice you can pull that higher. I don’t know about elite admissions - I never tried for those schools - but best of luck!

10

@albert69 thanks for the help! Would you mind me asking where you’re at and where you would suggest?

11

I’m a home schooled high school senior. I am a NMSF (waiting on NMF.) I plan to go to college at Wichita State University in KS this fall and major in aerospace engineering. I can get a full-ride scholarship for being a NMF. I honestly think you could go just about anywhere. Top schools are a possibility given your grades and potential on the tests (ACT,SAT.) It really depends what you want to go into. Not all colleges are equal, and if a “top” college doesn’t have the degree you want or have the greatest environment for learning it or you can’t get in or you don’t like the campus, weather, etc., or you can’t pay for it, it doesn’t matter what the U.S. News ranking is for it. There are thousands of colleges out there, I can’t cherry pick a few and say these are best for you because your interest base is not really certain yet, which is fine for now, don’t get me wrong.

For me, I had three criteria for selecting a college: (1) it needed to have AeroE (not as simple to find as you might think), (2) I had to meet all the basic admission requirements, which having taken no foreign language through my junior year proved difficult, and (3) be able affordable, which for me meant full-ride or almost. I found that at two colleges. I applied to both, got accepted at both, and a have a guaranteed scholarship offer at both. Neither of them are top colleges, they’re just state universities and not even flagships at that. But my top choice feels like a great “fit” for me (a term you will hear a lot on CC.)

Just keep doing what you are doing school-wise, decide what it is you want to do in college, and check back. CC will be here to help.

12

@albert69‌ Thanks again! I’ve, almost, decided on computer engineering, but definitely a minor or at least take some classes on literature. I, like you, need everything fully funded. Honestly, I’m considering just graduating two years early and going to a state school because my parents can’t afford their EFC at top colleges. I calculated it for Harvard and they want $30,000 a year! That’s insane! With two brothers in college, spending that type of money is absolutely impossible and I’m scared to take out that much in loans.

I have 4 criteria for selecting my college(and major if I change it): It has to be a good fit with a nice social scene a beautiful weather, it needs to have a strong engineering/computer and literature program, it has to have livable dorms, and finally, it must be under about $10,000 per year.

Are there any you’d suggest that fit that criteria? Thanks again for all of your help, Albert! You’re the best!

13

The PSAT is irrelevant when it comes to college admissions. The purpose is to practice for the SAT, and when you take it as a junior, it also serves as the National Merit Scholarship qualifying test. You can’t use your 10th grade score to qualify, you need to take it again next year. As @albert69 mentions, some colleges will give full scholarships to National Merit Scholarship finalists. Most top colleges give little or no merit-based aid, but offer need-based aid that may meet or exceed most merit-based awards.

The ACT has equal weight to the SAT when it comes to college admissions. Take both if you’re not sure which one suits you best - your current scores suggest you will do very well on both.

There are lot of great colleges out there- one thing you can do now is research options. Odds are you will change your perspective as time goes by. I know my daughter’s perspectives changed - her top college of interest went from MIT to Harvey Mudd to women’s colleges, and now she’s a freshman at a college she swore she would never apply to!

14

With good grades and scores, there’d be a lot of state universities, probably some privates too, that might those criteria. Start looking at universities in your home state and surrounding states that fit that criteria. You could look up a list of all colleges in the U.S. that offer computer engineering and start researching each school - price, distance from home (do you want to go away?), admission eligibility and selectiveness, etc.

15

@MandarinSin - my point in listing those schools was to show that you are on track to be a competitive applicant at any school you apply to, including the top universities. You can add MIT, Caltech, and Harvey Mudd to that list, if you are interested in STEM subjects. There is no reason for you not to aim high. You’re not going to get into all of them, but you should have good chances at all of them, as long as you continue doing what you’ve been doing.

16

She can only afford 10K a year at most - she needs to look at schools that give good merit. She might be able to get into MIT but how would she pay for it?

17

@3scoutsmom - MIT has need-blind admissions and meets full need (as do Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford). She should try the net price calculators on the school websites to see what her expected family contribution would be. For many students, in the absence of large merit scholarships, it’s cheaper to attend one of these schools than it is to attend an in-state public.

18

She posted up thread that her parents make 100K and she already ran the NPC for Harvard and EFC was 30K a year and at most she can pay 10K She has a great shot at NM she really should be looking at schools that offer full rides for NM or other large merit scholarships. It’s a waste of time, money and effort to apply to schools that are unaffordable.

19

@3scoutsmom @MandarinSin - For a family of three with one child in college, without significant assets and $100K income, Harvard EFC is $12,600. $8000 is the parent contribution, $4600 is the student contribution from term-time and summer work (this generally goes towards covering personal expenses and is not payable to the college).

Cost to parents does not hit $30K unless parent income is over $180K, or the family has significant assets - with $100K income and $500K in cash, parent contribution is still under $30K.

My perception as the parent of a student who is receiving financial aid from Harvard is that these numbers are fairly accurate, however others have reported receiving more aid than the NPC would indicate.

20

@BldrDad‌ and @3scoutsmom‌ , I just ran the NPC at Harvard again to verify. Sorry about the income, our income is technically $135,000. My billed price would be just above $25,000. My family does hold assets in investments and college funds(for three) which run around $350,000-450,000 together; however, my family has no way to access them to pay for things like college(besides the college funds, which are, of course, not all mine). I also ran the NPC for MIT also, it came out at $35,000, and the highest of the three mentioned, Harvey Mudd, landed at just under $40,000 which is absolutely unreal. The problem is that my family, being a middle class family, has the assets to boost our EFC but doesn’t have the ability to use them like (I guess?) we should be able to. Jeopardizing my parent’s retirement is not worth it for any degree even from HYP

One of my brothers is at a high end university(using quiet a bit past his college fund. UGH) and has screwed our finances as is so paying another $25,000+ per year just isn’t plausible for now at least. Maybe in two years I guess?

In terms of college fit(I think that is the term), I’d like to stay away from STEM only school. I know MIT and Stanford aren’t only STEM but I’d like to be able to get away from the STEM fields and I really don’t know if I could do that at a place like MIT where STEM stuff is the major focus. Some of the colleges that I’ve toured while traveling were really amazing but I continuously get told either “you’re too good for that school” or “why even bother applying, you’ll never get in” and I really don’t know where I stand between those. I know I don’t have a chance at MIT/Stanford(Not a HYP fan at all after informally touring them, everyone was arrogant and wouldn’t get off their high horses.) with my scores and GPA, but everyone says “you’re too good for a state school” and I don’t even really know what that means. I would just like a college that challenges me academically yet doesn’t put me in an environment that produces people who think they are above others.

Thanks for all of your help! I’d appreciate any more help you can give!