<p>So I guess this is my second thread but it's pretty much the same question, just broader and briefer. I'm a junior in high school and I need help figuring out where to apply. I have a 3.96 GPA (3.622 unweighted) and I'm taking as many AP and PreAP classes as I can. I'm expecting to get a 27-30 on the ACT and a 1850-2000 on the SAT and got a 4 on my AP world history test. Financially my family is very well off but I do have two siblings who my parents need to be able to pay for. I'd like the college to be more liberal than conservative and somewhat diverse. Also I'd like the college to be some what well known and mid-sized, though I don't mind very much if it goes over. School spirit is good but not too much. What ever I major in could be more liberal artsy based on my current interest, though I may go into business or law, so the school should have a wide range of subjects and majors.
My top 5 as of now:
1. UT-Austin
2. U of Michigan-early (it sounds like a stretch but out of 23 people, including people with lower GPAs and test scores, only 2 were denied and that's after being wait-listed)
3. U of Washington- Seattle
4. Indiana University- Bloomington
5. U of Oregon (mostly a safety school)
Any suggestions? I'd like to have 3-5 other schools.</p>
<p>Or reasons not to apply to these schools</p>
<p>
And yet you are looking at a bunch of OOS schools at which you probably wouldn’t get much, if any, merit $. Umich will cost your family $50K/year. [Office</a> of Financial Aid: Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://www.finaid.umich.edu/TopNav/AboutUMFinancialAid/CostofAttendance.aspx]Office”>http://www.finaid.umich.edu/TopNav/AboutUMFinancialAid/CostofAttendance.aspx)
What about some other TX schools?</p>
<p>Looks like your list is primarily bigger schools, which is fine . . . if you have a need to apply to more (I wonder why, but that’s OK, too) maybe use a college search tool to ID schools that are similar to the ones already on your list . … </p>
<p>It’s OK not to be passionate about which schools . . . I always wonder about the kids that focus on what schools as their dream place when there are dozens of schools that would work for any one student</p>
<p>It’d be worthwhile to have some discussion with your folks about what they can afford each year for you … in our family it was “has to start with a 2” meaning that the net cost (full cost minus need-based aid and minus non-need-based aid) had to be below $30k per year . . . </p>
<p>that might provide some guidance about additional schools since some OOS public universities (like U Michigan) end up having a net cost in the $45-$55k range (it charges a lot and don’t offer much merit aid) while others (like Penn State or The OSU) have a lower net cost either because the OOS charges aren’t as high or because they tend to give OOS kids more aid</p>
<p>UWisconsin
UMinnesota</p>
<p>I’d have to pitch my home state’s hero: The University of Kansas. It’s relatively well known, and there’s lots of school spirit, especially during basketball season. They have a relatively broad range of majors, and they’re known for being a liberal anomaly in the sea of conservative schools in this area. It’s tuition/fees/room&board/other guff are actually pretty low, comparatively. Plus, Lawrence is a terrific town, and it’s only a stone’s throw from Kansas City. I’d encourage you to check it out.</p>
<p>First off, would you consider U of Michigan to cost more then the value of the education? I would think a diploma from Michigan would be very highly respected and could get you a very good job. My parents haven’t really given me many clues to how much they will pay though I have asked them.</p>
<p>I’ve looked into U of Minnesota and U of Wisconsin and I liked Wisconsin but there aren’t many alums where I’m from so no one knows very much about them. Penn St seems too big but I liked Ohio St(though its also huge) and I’d consider applying. I haven’t looked into U of Kansas but it sounds like a place I might like. As far as in-state tuition goes, I’ll probably end up applying to some combination of UNT, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and/or UTSA since they’re on the same application as UT. The thing is that they have lower quality of education and I don’t think I would enjoy going to them.
some other schools I’ve been looking at lately:
U of Vermont
James Madison
Michigan St
Boston U
U of S. Carolina
U of Delaware</p>
<p>
IMO UMich is not better at getting you a job than many of the other schools listed, including A&M in TX. Have you asked your parents if they’re willing to pay for OOS schools?</p>
<p>They’ve seen the schools I’ve looked at and they’ve had objections to schools like syracuse, but I think that they’re ok with OOS. They won’t give me an exact amount and I think it’s because they’re considering aid as a factor. I doubt I’ll get aid from UMich though, but another thing is that I’d like the college to be some what challenging. Except for UT and A&M, I don’t think most other schools in TX would be very challenging. I may be wrong about that though.</p>
<p>You should also consider Rice! They are very selective and it would be challenging, but very enjoyable. Personally, I’m a high school senior trying to decide between Rice and UT right now, but I absolutely LOVE both schools. What are you planning to major in?</p>
<p>Rice would be amazing but I honestly don’t think I have a chance getting in. Haha well I’m not totally sure but lately I’ve been thinking about going into law but thats subject to change. I enjoy politics, history, music, social studies, and writing so I could see myself doing any of those…or business. I think UT would be perfect for me.
Good luck in your decision!</p>
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</p>
<p>Have you run the net price calculators on the various schools and shown them the results? Note that out-of-state public schools tend not to be very good with financial aid.</p>
<p>If your parents won’t give you an assurance on what they are willing to contribute, you may want to include a full ride school from the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-17.html#post15743177[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-17.html#post15743177</a> as a safety.</p>
<p>My parents definitely have the means to pay for college. I think it’s more of whether they think the school is worth it or not but even then I’m pretty sure they will pay the majority of the expenses. I know that they’re okay with Washington, Oregon, and Indiana and Michigan is more of a question of if I can get in or not as of now.
My parents, for lack of two better words, are new-wealth. They went to a public college in their state because that was their only option so they’re not familiar with other colleges. Most of they’re opinion of college is based on prestige and popularity,so a lot of LACs and a lot of regional colleges are thrown off the table and private colleges though, can be very expensive if you don’t get any aid. My Dad couldn’t afford Tulane Grad school even with scholarships so private schools just feel very unreliable in that sense.
About the full ride schools, my parents would kill me if I even applied to Ole Miss. Alabama would probably be the only one they’d find acceptable, but there isn’t really a need.</p>
<p>Ohio U might work as a full ride though</p>
<p>Out-of-state public schools can cost nearly as much as relatively well known private schools, but often with worse financial aid for out-of-state students. Make sure that they know the actual prices of the various schools that you are considering putting on your application list.</p>
<p>
If that’s the case then you would only receive financial aid (different from merit aid) at the most well endowed schools.</p>
<p>Ok so if I wanted to go OOS, what are some colleges that would be more affordable, with or with out any kind of aid?</p>
<p>based on my other criteria</p>
<p>UCBAlumnus gave you a good link to investigate. Here is another (dated) link with guaranteed merit (but not necessarily full ride). <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a> That should give you a place to start.</p>