<p>As a senior, I suppose I am slightly confused about which universities I should be applying to. While I do have some in mind already, overall, I feel that I do not have an accurate perspective on which ones would be best for me.</p>
<p>I suppose my main questions would be: with my stats, which colleges do you think I would have a decent chance of being accepted into? Also, which colleges do you think would be best for my intended major (which is philosophy)?</p>
<p>My academic stats are pretty below average when compared to the typical CCer; I currently have a 3.7 unweighted/3.9 weighted GPA (with rigorous schedules), a 2290 SAT (which I plan to retake) and SAT II scores of 800 Math IIc, 760 Bio, and 740 Lit. </p>
<p>I also participate in debate, science and math teams at my high school (with both regional and state awards) and have 150+ hours of community service.</p>
<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated; thank you in advance for your help!</p>
<p>Sorry for the rather vague first post, but I’d prefer to major in Philosophy. Also, I do not have any specific preferences as to location or size (though I would prefer a small or mediam sized universsity). Thanks again.</p>
<p>Your stats won’t keep you out of a great school - a 3.7 UW GPA with a rigorous schedule is not a problem, provided you aren’t looking at the ultra-most-selective schools. Even there, you wouldn’t be out of line in applying, depending upon your rank, the school’s profile, how many and which APs you’ve taken, degree of grade inflation at your hs, etc. The SATs are excellent, as you should know (isn’t a 2290 still at the 99th percentile?).</p>
<p>It would help to know what state you’re from. If it’s CA, MI, VA, WI, NC, TX, etc., you should have excellent in-state public options, which could be safeties or strong matches.</p>
<p>I’m retaking SAT I primarily due to the fact that I had an “off-day” on the day of the test and didn’t perform as well as I usually do.</p>
<p>I believe I’m currently top 10%, and I’ve taken 7 APs by the end of junior year (though by the end of this year, it would be 13 APs). And my home state is California, so I will also be applying to the UC system later this year. </p>
<p>As for finances, while I will be applying for scholarships etc, any colleges that is able to provide aid would be greatly appreciated. </p>
<p>*As for finances, while I will be applying for scholarships etc, any colleges that is able to provide aid would be greatly appreciated. *</p>
<p>What is your financial situation? Do you need financial aid in order to afford college? If so, will you QUALIFY for much financial aid? </p>
<p>AND, are you applying to schools that give generous FA to those who QUALIFY? </p>
<p>Schools don’t give aid to those who don’t qualify and MOST schools don’t have much aid to give anyway.</p>
<p>To get a ROUGH idea of what your family’s EFC (expected financial contribution) will be, calculate 23% of your family’s income (before taxes). That will give you a rough idea unless they have a good amount of assets/savings/investments also. So, if your family’s income before taxes is about $100k per year, then their EFC will be about $23k. With an EFC of $23k, do not expect any aid from a UC other than a student loan and maybe some work-study. </p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year? Will you have an unaffordable EFC?</p>
<p>If you need merit scholarships in order afford college? If so, DO NOT depend on outside scholarships. Outside scholarships are often for ONE year only and are usually for amounts that are toooo small to pay for college. </p>
<p>You need to apply to a couple of schools that will give you ASSURED big merit scholarships for your stats as your financial safety schools.</p>
<p>As for the UCs…those are costing about $30k per year for instate students. Can your parents pay that much? If not, and if you’re not low income, those schools may not be affordable since the UCs do not give good aid to middle income families.</p>
<p>Thank you for the very helpful post, mom2collegekids!</p>
<p>Currently, we won’t have a great deal of trouble paying for college, but I would prefer anywhere that is able to offer a sizable amount of aid to lower the financial burden from my parents. </p>
<p>What colleges would you suggest as my “financial safety” schools?</p>
<p>Look at the University of Pittsburgh. I think you have a very good shot at some generous merit aid, and the philosophy department is one of the absolute best in the nation.</p>
<p>Small or medium sized and philosophy and no significant financial barrier? There are dozens of schools that meet that critieria. I suggest you visit a few LACs and medium sized schools to get a feel for the differences. Do you want an urban, rural or suburban location? Culture: jock, preppy, intellectual, artsy, granola, quirky, single sex, religious, frats, etc…what adjectives best describe the environment you want?</p>
<p>Without a better handle on what you want, all we can do is hand you Rugg’s list and hope you don’t change your mind about your major…</p>
<p>Currently, Pomona, Claremont McKenna and Wellesley seem very appealing to me. This might be a rather difficult question to accurately answer, but what do you believe are my chances of being accepted by colleges such as these?</p>
<p>Pomona and Claremont McKenna are extremely competitive, especially for Californians-and they don’t offer merit aid. If you like Pomona’s culture, you might try looking at some of the midwestern LACs which will be matches or match/safeties. Grinnell and Mac offer merit aid (not sure about Kenyon)</p>
<p>CMC does offer merit aid. It is competitive but several scholarships are offered. For those who qualify for FA both Pomona and CMC offer excellent FA if EFC justifies it. They are competitive but your stats are within their ranges.</p>