College Advice

College Search & Selection
9

A couple of thoughts. I see three routes for you if you apply for next year. You will have to work hard the next few weeks to make it happen. Deadlines have passed and will be passing over the next month, though not for all schools.

  1. Google colleges that meet full financial need. These may close the gap between what your family can pay and what the school costs. It can mean that if a college costs $70,000 per year and a student’s family can afford $30,000, then they will receive $40,000 in aid. Note some caveats: a school that claims to meet full financial need may also be “need aware” and take into consideration how much a student can pay in the admissions decision. Also, a college may calculate a family can pay more than they can or are willing to pay. Also, your google search will mostly show the wealthiest and most competitive colleges (Harvard, Princeton, etc.). BUT some are outstanding and more accessible, though still competitive. The College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA), for example, is outstanding and claims to meet full financial need. I think, not sure, Connecticut College would also be one.

  2. Google colleges that offer generous merit aid. A lot of school will have early deadlines for merit aid. So look into that quickly. You would be eligible for significant merit aid at Miami of Ohio with a 1450 SAT and your grades (eligible not guaranteed). Google Miami of Ohio merit aid and you will get a nice, simple chart that shows the ranges.

https://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-guarantee/

  1. Go to a school with ROTC. I’m not familiar with how this works today, and deadlines, but you can get very significant financial assistance for ROTC, and a military commitment. I would think many colleges would be affordable for an upper middle class student who was in ROTC for four years.

Also, are you from OR? If so, do you know about the Western Undergraduate Exchange, which allows students in several western states to attend certain colleges/universities in other states at a reduced OOS tuition rate. Note that these often offer a limited number of WUE spots, and applying early is an advantage. Again, if any of these looked good, you could see if they would allow you to apply next fall, after a gap year, for a WUE spot. I don’t know the answer to that, in general or for any specific school.

https://www.wiche.edu/wue

Gap Year: Follow the advice in Posts #4 and #5. Find some schools that look like possibilities. Then research their policy regarding gap years and financial aid. It varies by school, which makes sense, because schools can be very different in terms of student bodies, mission, etc. Sometimes students can, without any difficulty, be accepted, receive aid, and then defer for a year. Sometimes they can wait a year to apply and then be eligible for aid as if they were any incoming freshman. But you really need to check the policy at a specific school–the answer can have a very large financial impact. Of course, you can’t research every school, so find some colleges that look good for you and then just check gap-year policies for those schools. And if you do a gap year and then apply, be sure to talk about what you learned and how you grew during the experience, in a positive way, in your application.

Pre-med: Getting into med school is all about how you do in school, not where you go. When you get to school, arrange tutors for any and all science classes THE FIRST WEEK OF THE SEMESTER. This is not a sign of academic weakness, but of academic strength. Students very, very often bomb the first bio or chem or physics exam and then go for extra help. It’s much better to get a head start. And, you are paying for the one-on-one teaching at the tutoring center. You are at school to learn. So take advantage.

Also, get to know your profs. Students are often reluctant to do this. (Often they don’t want the prof to know what they don’t know. Hint: Profs usually know anyway and, anyway, better for them to learn before an exam when they can help a student than when they grade the exam, which then goes into calculating the course grade.) But the vast majority of profs appreciate it, and it helps them more effectively teach their students. Go to office hours, help sessions, etc.

Good luck!