<p>I'm a Junior graduating in 2012, and I'm daunted by the number of colleges and opportunities awaiting me come next year. The problem is, i'm unsure of what college would fit me. I've lived in low-income suburbs all my life, and don't know if I want to go to a large university or a small LAC. My stats are okay, but my SAT and awards aren't incredible (at least compared to those who have attended competitive high schools.)</p>
<p>School: Less than competitive suburban high school in the south suburbs of Chicago.
GPA: 4.0UW (all honors and AP offered)
Rank: 1/450
SAT: 2100 (650 CR, 750 Math, 700 Writing)
ACT: 32
Income: $35,000 yearly
Family: 5 members, oldest child. Father went to college but became disabled.
Race: Arabian (Catholic Jordanian)</p>
<p>ECs:
Head Drum Major of Marching Band,
1st Chair Flute Player in Concert Band
Captain of Varsity Scholastic Bowl
Lawyer of Varsity Mock Trial
Secretary of Student Council
Treasurer of Cultural Diversity Club
Co-Founder of Friends of Rachel (a service club)
Mathletes Oralist
(All activities have been done since freshmen year, leadership posititions have come in later obviously)</p>
<p>Awards:
(Should be) either commended or NMSF
National Honors Society (lol)</p>
<p>I would absolutely love to attend a school like Yale or Dartmouth but I know that my chances are slim. Some colleges that I've liked the looks of are: Columbia, Yale, Dartmouth, Northwestern, UofC</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly what I want to major in, so I want a college where I can discover my interests. I want to get a great education while having a fun social life. I'm a extremely self-driven and hardworking person, and am open to all suggestions. What other schools should I be looking into that can provide generous financial aid while having a realistic shot at getting into?</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter. Colleges will view you in the context of your family and school background; you are a far more competitive candidate than you think. I actually think you have an excellent chance at Dartmouth and other schools in that range.</p>
<p>What’s important to you? Challenging classes? A thriving extracurricular scene? Close personal attention? Intellectually engaged classmates? You’ve picked schools that are quite different from each other–I find it hard to think of two top colleges less alike than Chicago and Dartmouth. What attracts you to each?</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice haavain! Really made my day =)</p>
<p>Hmm, I guess I’m not really sure what I want. I assume that I’d like to live in a dorm that’s close and friendly, and I’d like to have good relationships with my professors. I think that’s what attracts me to Dartmouth. On the other hand, I do love city life (which is why I like the idea of Chicago and Columbia). </p>
<p>I guess if I had to describe a perfect college, it would be one that has small classes, is very close (as in, it has a “bubble” around it, so that everyone lives in the dorm and does activities in the school), and has easy access to the city every once in a while. Hmm, sounds like Dartmouth =)</p>
<p>Really? I didn’t go to Dartmouth (I went to another Ivy), but that’s not my impression of it at all. And when I was in graduate school, I had a friend who’d chosen Dartmouth as an undergrad for this reason: “I’m from Atlanta. My parents told me they’d pay for me to go to college anyplace I could get admitted east of the Mississippi. So I studied the map. I found that there were places farther from Atlanta, but no place else seemed as inaccessible as Hanover, New Hampshire.”</p>
<p>As I said, it’s just my second-hand impression. If someone better acquainted with Dartmouth posts later that I’m full of it, I’ll gladly stand corrected.</p>
<p>I would look at the midwestern LACs, which offer generous merit and financial aid. Take a look at Macalester (urban-less of a bubble), Oberlin (about 45 min to Cleveland) and Grinnell (about an hour to Des Moines and Iowa City). Drawback: No marching band - but lots of music, especially at Oberlin.</p>
<p>Alexandre: Marching Band really is one of the only things that I absolutely love and am passionate about. I’m part of a Drum Corps style marching band of about 100 kids, if that illustrates what it means to me.</p>
<p>Sikorsky: Haha, well yea Dartmouth is far from the city (about 2 hours from Montreal), so maybe that’s not best example of close to the city.</p>
<p>M’s Mom: Thank you, I’ve never even looked at LACs besides Amherst and Williams, I’ll check it out (especially Oberlin).</p>
<p>If I were to consider an Ivy league based on your information, Brown was the first that came to mind. </p>
<p>I also agree with M’s Mom that you should consider an LAC with your choices. Oberlin is a great suggestion and I would also throw in Kenyon, both in Ohio. </p>
<p>mom2collegekids: I go to a large public school of about 2200 kids (only about 20% go to any college at all, like 75% are minority students). Our valedictorian (who was also in band) got into ND last year, and we’re close friends so I’ll definitely consider it. Also, my PSAT was in the lower 200s, so I don’t think I’ll be getting NMSF =(</p>
<p>Rice sounds like what you are looking for - very close knit in the middle of a big city. The tuition is less than some of the eastern schools, but don’t know how the financial aid stacks up.</p>
<p>In this student’s case, the cost of Rice vs other elites won’t matter since he’ll be a full need student. </p>
<p>So, he needs to look at top schools that will meet need…ivies, Vandy, ND, etc…and then look at other schools that will give huge merit for his stats…then Pell and other aid should fill the difference.</p>
<p>You are a worthy candidate for any Ivy. Your standardized tests are in range, and they heavily weigh what you have done with the opportunities available to you. Coming from a poor school, #1 rank and 4.0 with all honors/AP is just the kind of excellence they love. I mention the Ivies specifically, as opposed to other elites (which also should be considered), because most of the Ivies would give you full tuition if accepted. With income only 35K, you would pay zero.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: I’m not sure what I want to major in. I’d like to work in some management related field (whether that means managing a business or a research team, I’m not so sure yet).</p>
<p>Chardo: Thank you for you encouraging words, full tuition is definitely going to be helpful!</p>
<p>I should qualify my comment–you are a worthy potential candidate for the Ivies. With those schools, you just never know. That said, if any of them are good personal fits, you should definitely apply. They could end up being your most affordable options.</p>