I am an Iowa resident applying early action for admission into UW-Madison for the fall of 2017.
Unweighted GPA= 3.67
Weighted GPA= 3.73
ACT composite= 26 (superscore is 27)
ACT science= 29
ACT math= 28
ACT reading= 27
ACT english= 24
ACT writing= 7’s
AP classes=
Taken: AP us government- 96% in class and score of 3 on AP exam
Currently taking: AP statistics, AP psychology
Dual credit college courses=
Taken: 1 Art class, 2 English classes
Going to take next semester: 1 English class, 1 Humanities class
Extracurriculars=
Varsity cheerleading: On football, wrestling and competition squads (All 4 years)
High school’s fashion magazine club- Model and stylist (2 years- club just started last year)
SODA (students opposed to drugs and alcohol): Youth mentor and volunteer (All 4 years)
TRY (teens reaching youth): Youth mentor and volunteer (All 4 years)
Lean on me: Group that presents to elementaries and middle schools on healthy lifestyles (All 4 years)
Student advisory committee: Member (2 years)
Student ambassadors: Member and volunteer (All 4 years)
National honor society: Member and volunteer (1 year)
High school’s news broadcast show: News anchor (1 year)
Prom committee: Member of t-shirt and focal point committees (1 year- can only be on as junior)
Cords program: Volunteer of more than 160 hours through school district
Volunteer with art teacher: Helps teacher organize and create art projects (Over 20 hours)
Leadership roles=
High school’s fashion magazine club: Head of public relations for club
TRY (teens reaching youth): Treasurer of club
Current jobs= Hostess at chain restaurant (Since April 2015), Showcase worker at local cupcake bakery (Since May 2016)
Letter of recommendations=
2 from academic teachers
1 from club mentor
Possible legacy=
Aunt did undergrad at UW-Madison
Family life= Divorced parents, live in single-parent home with just mother, low-income
Forgot to add I am hoping to major in either dietetics or nutritional science.
No grade weighting, no superscoring, major doesn’t matter. You have a chance but don’t count on being admitted.
The 26 ACT is below the 25th percentile of admitted students.
How would you pay for the almost $50,000 cost/year?
Hopefully scholarships and financial aid
What is your FAFSA EFC?
Are you an underrepresented minority?
Does the divorce decree state how much each parent is to pay foe college each year?
How much can each parent afford to pay each year for 4 years?
FAFSA EFC is $571. I am caucasian. Neither parent is required to contribute in the divorce decree I believe. Each parent could probably afford to pay about $5000 a year though if they budget correctly.
Don’t count on any scholarships from UW-Madison. You are not a Wisconsin resident and you do not have top stats.
According to the net price calculator, after UW and federal grants, loans, work study, and $5000 from each of your parents, you will still be short over $13000. How will you come up with another $1,000+ per month?
What financial safety schools in your own state are you applying to?
https://finaid.wisc.edu/award-estimator.php?ac-efc=571&ac-residency=3&ac-level=1&ac-college=0&ac-dependency=0&ac-hab=0&ac-covenant=0&calculate=Calculate
If I can get accepted there is always a way to work out finances. Possibly ROTC, my savings, borrowing from a family member, or even private scholarships. That net price calculator also overestimates through the allowance for transportation, miscellaneous, etc.
So there is no college or university in your own state that offers an affordable major in dietetics or nutrition?
@audrella
Your chances of being acceoted to University of Wisconsin Madison are iffy. Your chances of getting scholarships at the school, in my opinion, are ZERO.
You are an OOS student. Your stats are meh for the school.
The only aid you are guaranteed is any portion of the Pell grant you are entitled to receive…and a $5500 loan… Total of just over $11,000. That will NOT pay for this school as an out of state student.
I think you are being very unrealistic about being able to afford to attend this school.
@Madison85 Do you know if University of Minnesota-twin cities or Missouri would be any more reasonable for acceptance and cost for me?
There are some links you can explore in this thread.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html#latest
You need to understand that public universities have no obligation to educate students who are non-residents and whose parents did not pay state income taxes to that state.
I suggest you look at schools in your home state, talk to your guidance counselor and consider starting at a community college and commuting from home.
@audrella
Why do you need to go to an exoensive OOS public university when there are less expensive public university options in your own state?
Do not count on any scholarships- ROTC is likely to be competitive as are any others. You need to be realistic about finances- for any college. There is NOT always, or usually, a way to work out finances realistically the way to seem to think. You do not want tens/hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, especially with ordinary college bound stats.
You NEED to discuss matters with your guidance counselor, soon. Scholarships are most often given locally- be sure to find out and apply to all of those available to you at your HS. See if you are eligible for any given by your state as well. Once in college there can be some given out by various departments- but those go only to a very few stellar students.
There will be many, many good college students who go to their instate schools because of finances. This includes students with stats to get into any college, anywhere. It is not the end of the world, or the end of all dreams to go instate. There are many schools you can get a good degree in your proposed major.
btw- Iowa and Wisconsin are two top scoring ACT states (Minnesota trends higher than the national average as well) so your scores will not impress. All three states also have many good options- being instate has many advantages living in Iowa.
@thumper1 I would really like to go out of state if possible because if I stay instate I will most likely end up hanging out with the same kids from high school in college. I know people say this will not happen however every person I know that stayed in state after attending my high school is still friends with some of the same people that they were in high school. Basically I want to go out of state to get a fresh start and get all new experiences that will make me a better person. Also a lot of schools out of state like UW-Madison have higher ranked programs in the major I am interested in than Iowa State does. Iowa State is the only school within my state that offers the major I am interested in.
Just this year South Dakota started to offer in-state tuition to Iowa freshmen. You might run the NPCs for both the U of South Dakota and South Dakota State.
Do NOT worry about hanging out with your HS crowd in college. It is easy to spend your time with new friends and not the old- Iowa has large enough campuses to do that. I had to go a whole 8 miles, but lived in the dorms and rarely saw old Hs classmates. College isn’t like HS- you do your own thing and don’t worry about others.
@audrella
I went to college in state. My two best friends in college did not go to HS with me. Actually, no one in my dorm went to HS with me. There were plenty of people to meet. I moved from my home state a couple of months after I graduated from college…and never returned there to live.
Still…I keep in touch with about 10 really good classmates from HS, and my two beasties from college.
I’ve never understood why students have an aversion to seeing HS classmates.
But back to your question. Regardless of how you feel about OOS vs instate…you have to be able to pay the bill.
“beasties”? I had to chuckle as I presume you meant besties…
College means a new start regardless of how many HS classmates are on campus.