<p>I’ll just assume you’re in the top 7%</p>
<p>Princeton: <1%
Caltech: <1%
University of Pennsylvania: High Reach
Rice University: Reach</p>
<p>University of Rochester: High Match
University of Notre Dame: Low Reach
Carnegie Mellon University: High Match / Low Reach depending on program
University of Michigan: High Match</p>
<p>University of Texas: Safety
Texas A&M: Safety
University of Houston: Safety</p>
<p>If you don’t have a high class rank, you’re kinda screwed tbh.</p>
<p>physicslove, you should not be paying for ACT’s SAT’s or SAT subject tests. Fee waivers are easily obtained through your guidance counselor or college counseling office. You can also get fee waivers for your college app’s. Better yet, please consider applying through Questbridge. You are an ideal Questbridge candidate and the community is incredibly supportive, helpful and informed. [QuestBridge</a> Home](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/)
I don’t want to go into too much detail on this thread but please do yourself a favor and check out the program. Applying through QB gives you several extra essays in which to talk about your single parent family, financial situation and other obstacles, and puts your application in front of Adcoms early in the fall. You have achieved remarkable academic success under the circumstances. Your low income, first gen status is more of a boost than you think, and the slightly less than optimal GPA and SAT (if your score doesn’t increase) are much less of an issue when your particular circumstances are taken into consideration. I hope you check out the website and hook up with a Questbridge facebook group - the QB scholars there are friendly and always ready to give you the input you seek. As a minority and low income applicant you can also apply for all expense paid fly-ins (college visits) to many of the top colleges. There’s a pdf with all the info pinned to the facebook page. Im not sure these chance threads are giving you the input you need.
Unfortunately you missed the deadline for QB college prep scholars which is the junior year summer program…but you can get involved now and apply for the college match program in the fall. Good luck!!! and go get those fee waivers!</p>
<p>Here’s a quick blurb about QB:
The QuestBridge National College Match helps outstanding low-income high school seniors gain admission and full four-year scholarships to some of the nation’s most selective colleges.
QuestBridge works with 35 partner colleges that actively seek students who have overcome economic obstacles to achieve academic success. The QuestBridge application provides admissions officers with a fuller picture of students’ unique circumstances and accomplishments. If a student is admitted to a partner college through the College Match, the college will provide a scholarship that covers the full cost of tuition, room, and board, typically worth around $200,000 or more.
Even though the “sticker price” of attending many private colleges is quite high, QuestBridge’s partner colleges offer generous financial aid packages that cover 100% of demonstrated financial need, making them very affordable for low-income students. In 2011, 321 students gained admission and full scholarships to leading colleges through the College Match, and we anticipate over 1,300 more QuestBridge applicants will be admitted to our partner colleges via the regular admissions process with generous financial aid.
Of your schools, QB partners with Princeton, Penn, Caltech, Rice, Notre Dame</p>
<p>Thank you for your input, TheKongo. I appreciate it! </p>
<p>Honeybee, I really have to thank you so much. I’d heard of waiver programs, but I wasn’t aware of any such thing for the ACT and SAT Subject Tests. I’ll have to go by my counselor’s office tomorrow to inquire about this. </p>
<p>And I definitely hadn’t heard of QuestBridge, but I’m glad that you told me about it. I’m especially glad that you told me about it now, because looking at QuestBridge’s website, I see that the application opens in August. All too often I do not hear about opportunities until deadlines have already passed. </p>
<p>Thank you again. You’ve been immensely helpful. </p>
<p>I’ve been so worried about so many aspects of my college search and applications, but this is something that could mitigate a lot of that.</p>