Chances for me

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>White male - rising senior at competitive suburban public hs in central Ohio</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: 4.5 (Unweighted 4.0)
Rank: 2 of 290
ACT Comp: 35 (Eng: 35 - Math: 36 - Reading: 34 - Science: 34 - Writing: 32)
Is ACT fine for most schools? I think at some it counts for both SAT and SATIIs...</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Physics B - A
AP Calculus AB - A
AP Eng Language - A
AP World History - A
Band
AP Comp Sci (took AB test last year & got 5) - A (Independent study thru hs teacher)
AP Latin Vergil - A (Independent study online thru Northwestern's CTD) </p>

<p>*Marching Band - pres 12 squad leader 11/12 vice pres 11 treasurer 10 fresh rep 9 - Showmanship award - Marchoff champion
-Concert Band/Pep Band/Orchestra 9-12 - Superior Ratings at Competitions
-In regional youth philharmonic 11-12
*Boy Scout for 10 years - Working on Eagle - Senior Patrol Leader (pres in other words) of Troop - Order of the Arrow (Boy Scout Honor Society)
-Backpacked two weeks at Philmont, New Mexico - Chaplain's Aide
*Altar Server of the Year at church - Altar Server for 8 years
-Toured midwest with church musical performance for 4 years
*Teen Institute (Drugfree group) - Copres 12 Coleader 10-12 member 9-12
-Went to Youth 2 Youth International Conference (diff drugfree group)
*Founded Mu Alpha Theta chapter - Copres 12
-Math Team/Continental Math League/American Computer Science League top scorer for hs sometimes region
-American Regions Math League competitor - Voted Most Valuable/Spirited Mathlete at ARML
*Student Senate 9-12
*Student Ambassador/tour guide 9-12
*NHS 11-12
*Sneha Kuttahora Writing Scholarship winner</p>

<p>*Work 7 hrs/wk at Kumon Center for Math & Reading</p>

<p>Wondering about admission at:
Princeton, Wash U in St Louis, Columbia, Duke, Dartmouth, Emory, U of Notre Dame, Cornell, Northwestern, U of Chicago</p>

<p>My parents probably can't afford to meet EFC demanded at above schools (2 older bros in college), so...
Wondering about possible merit aid at:
U of Virginia, C of William and Mary, U of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis, Boston C, Lehigh, U of Rochester, Wake Forest, Case Western</p>

<p>If I can't afford any of those schools either then:
Kenyon, Villanova, Denison, Muhlenberg, DePauw, Valparaiso, Miami U (its instate OH), Ohio State (instate)</p>

<p>I know that's a lot of schools, but any info esp Fin Aid that you know about a certain school(s) is appreciated!</p>

<p>Thank you for any input!!</p>

2

<p>mwnivek, You have a strong profile that would be of interest to just about any college in America. Now to make sure that you can afford it!</p>

<p>Have you looked throught the thread on the Parents' Board titled "Schools known for good merit aid"? It's long but there are some great ideas and a lot of information.</p>

<p>Are you sure your family's EFC would still be too high for you to qualify for needbased aid. Remember once you start your brothers' EFCs will most likely decrease as well.</p>

<p>I'd also suggest that you take a look at Williams. No merit aid offered but they are generous with need based aid and they LOVE Eagle Scouts. Good music and math as well.</p>

<p>Check the individual college sites for the ACT/SATI/SATII requirements. Each one is different and you don't want to find out too late.</p>

<p>Good luck to you and let us know how it goes.</p>

3

<p>Thanks momrath!
That thread for merit aid is really helpful!</p>

<p>I had eliminated Williams because I (kind of randomly) chose 2000 undergrads as a minimum size, but I'll take a closer look. I live near Columbus, so Ohio State is used frequently in my house as a comparison to other colleges in terms of size!</p>

4

<p>Anybody else? (on admission or financial aid)...</p>

5

<p>Depauw you are in for sure. Probably with a lot of money too. I know friends who are going there who arent even anywhere close to you and got money.</p>

6

<p>"Depauw you are in for sure. Probably with a lot of money too."
I kinda figured that...I'm more curious about the first two lists, but thanks for the info!</p>

7

<p>


</p>

<p>I’m a Michigan alum, so I know what you mean. The Eastcoast LACs are not too well known in the Midwest. Williams is slightly over 2000 but it’s definitely a small school compared to some of others on your list. Somewhat similar to Kenyon in environment though Kenyon is even smaller. </p>

<p>I couldn't say if a small LAC would be a good fit for you; kids seems to either love them or hate them, but I do know that they can provide excellent academics – among the best in the country. Your profile would definitely fit the Williams personality type as would your extracurricular interests. </p>

<p>Will you have a chance to visit the East Coast schools? I ask because even among the big names you've listed there is a huge difference in ambience and environment.</p>

8

<p>I'm trying to decide where to visit on the east coast, and that's mostly why I came here. I'll be leaving in about a week, and I only have a rough itinerary of where I'm going. I understand that there's a huge difference between Columbia (urban), Princeton (suburbia), and Dartmouth (middle of nowhere), but I've never been to New York City—or for that matter Princeton or New Hampshire—so I really don't know.</p>

9

<p>Here are just my OPINIONS based on my son's college application process last year:</p>

<p>I suspect you'd get lots of money at Denison. Visit it - it's great.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=159719%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=159719&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Probably good money at Case Western. Watch Kenyon's scholarships - as I recall they had an early file date and required seperate essays etc. Probably not much (or any) money at Villanova. </p>

<p>Wow, you've got a lot of schools on your list.</p>

10

<p>You're ACT score is pretty sick and your GPA/rank is extremely good. Extracurriculars are fairly strong also... One thing I'd do is just take a couple SAT II's, a lot of schools require them. Any of those schools you listed you'd have a very good chance at and some of them would be safety's. Just make sure to write strong essays and get strong Rec's and I think you'd have a very strong chance of getting in just about anywhere.</p>

11

<p>mwnivik, visiting is absolutely the best way to get an idea for the place. Summer is of course not ideal as the campuses aren't in full swing, but that's when most people have the most time. </p>

<p>I'd suggest that you try to see a couple of smaller LACs while you're in the area -- Middlebury, Williams, Swarthmore, Amherst, Wesleyan come to mind for a range of rural, small town and suburban, all with excellent academics. I can't think of any urban LACs.</p>

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<p>Remember Carnegie Mellon matches aid from peer universities.</p>

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<p>"Remember Carnegie Mellon matches aid from peer universities."
I thought any of their peers covered all your need with no merit? So all those packages would look pretty similar, right?</p>

<p>Oh yeah, I got my AP scores yesterday:
English Lang/Comp: 5
Calculus AB: 5
Physics B: 5
World History: 4
Latin Vergil: 4
Computer Science AB: 5 (2005)</p>

14

<p>Carnegie Mellon kind of matches aid. Personal family experience, it does not always match aid, or change their package at all.</p>

15

<p>mwnivek,</p>

<p>With your academic achievements and excellent ACT score of 35, you might want to look seriously at the Emory Scholars Program at Emory University. You stand an excellent chance to be considered for a merit scholarship that can range from partial-tuition to full-ride. If you look back at some of my previous posts, you will see more information about ESP. Given that you've got other siblings in college presently, your parents would be thrilled to have you attend one of the top universities in the country at a reduced cost to you and them. Even better, Emory is an excellent school that offers a lot. Visit if you can. If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to send me a private message. Good luck!</p>

16

<p>I figured that at places like Emory or Wash U the merit awards would be too random to guess how much I could get. Because they are so selective, I don't think my grades or test scores stand out as much.</p>

17

<p>I am not as familiar with WUSTL, but with Emory, I will reiterate that you stand a very good chance for receiving a merit scholarship. I think you will be competitive if you apply to the Emory Scholars Program (note: deadline of Nov. 1 and requires nomination by your H.S.). As well, depending on your family's financial situation, you may be in position to receive need-based financial aid, in addition to merit-based aid, that can make the cost of attendance much more palatable. Even if you do not make finalist in the competitive Emory Scholars Program, you may still put yourself in position to receive a partial-tuition scholarship.</p>

<p>If you look at some of my past posts, you will find some that are relevant for you, and I would encourage you to do so because I don't have the time right now to re-post specific passages. Depending on your chosen academic focus, Emory may be in the position of providing you an excellent educational value -- I personally know of students who have turned down Ivy League (i.e., Yale) to attend Emory -- and they are very happy and have never looked back. Visit the campus if you possibly can, otherwise order their video/DVD (<a href="http://www.videc.com/videoidx.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.videc.com/videoidx.cfm&lt;/a> to get an idea as to the campus environment, the academic opportunities and the particular fit to your preferences for a college experience.</p>

<p>One last thing... though the highly selective schools are indeed selective, don't underestimate the worth of what you have to offer. You "stand out" more than you may think. If you have specific questions, please send me a private message, and I will do my best to respond with more detail. Good luck, again.</p>

18

<p>Okay, thanks NorCalDad! I looked at some of your old posts and Emory's website, and it looked like Emory Scholars provides a great smaller community to be in within the university—not to mention the money!</p>

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<p>As kenone said, you will certainly want to take some SAT IIs. Princeton, at least, requires them. Choose subjects from your junior year you think you will retain the best. With a 35 on the ACT, though, you will have no need to take the SAT I.</p>

20

<p>Alright, thanks MorsVenit! I was planning on taking SATIIs this fall in: Physics, Math and something else—maybe latin or literature or history...well I don't know really, but I'll look to see what colleges require.</p>