College recommendations in Northeast and Midwest?

<p>I'm a senior and I am looking at colleges. I was wondering if someone would like to help me narrow down some chances at colleges in the Northeast and Midwest. Below are some academic highlights.</p>

<p>Freshmen year Avg: B+
Sophomore year Avg: A-
Junior Year Avg: A
Senior Year; In progress</p>

<p>GPA: 3.6 unweighted</p>

<p>SATS:
680 on Math
650 on Critical Reading
660 on Writing</p>

<p>Honors/AP's: World History Honors, Biology Honors, Chinese IV Honors, English IV Honors, Pre-Calc Honors (took it over the summer), AP Calc A/B, and AP US History.</p>

<p>Principal's Honor Roll</p>

<p>220 Hours of Community Service
Community service club from Junior year to present</p>

<p>Baseball from sophomore year to present</p>

<p>I was looking at colleges in the Northeast area (due to vicinity to parents) and Midwest (due to vicinity to relatives and former neighbors). I would really appreciate it if someone were to help recommend a couple of four-year universities based upon my stats above. Thank you all for any help!!</p>

<p>I don’t see any list for anyone to narrow down. Did you mean to do this?</p>

<p>I think cdawg94 wants a list of recommended colleges to look at based off their stats posted</p>

<p>Do you have an idea of what you want to study? Otherwise, you are going to get a huge list just based on geography!! Large vs. small?</p>

<p>What can your family afford and what is your home state?</p>

<p>Hey guys, sorry about not providing enough info. Let me try to clear it up. As I’m really just beginning my adult life, I really have no specific direction I would like to focus on, so bear with me. I really would like to study politics/government, economics, digital design (Photoshop to animation), or even history. I live in New Jersey and family could possibly afford to pay at the very most $15,000 a year for tuition. As far as large vs. small, I have no set preference as of now. When I try to think of which I’d rather prefer, I can’t help but thinking I would enjoy a close relationship with the students to the professors – I want to go to college for the education and chance to become independent, not purely for the social aspect. Thanks again guys, I really do appreciate your help. :)</p>

<p>*GPA: 3.6 unweighted</p>

<p>SATS:
680 on Math
650 on Critical Reading
660 on Writing</p>

<p>I really would like to study politics/government, economics, digital design (Photoshop to animation), or even history. </p>

<p>I live in **New Jersey **and family could possibly afford to pay at the very most $15,000 a year for tuition.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Your financial budget is going to limit where you should apply since most schools won’t give you the money to make their schools affordable.</p>

<p>You have a 1330 M+CR SAT…that might get you some decent merit at some schools, but maybe not enough to make out of state northeast schools affordable.</p>

<p>The College of New Jersey would seem to fit you well. Its admissions have been getting increasingly selective and I understand it has a nice campus, and would be affordable. From what I have read, the students who attend seem to like it.</p>

<p>I’d also look at Rutgers and Rowan.</p>

<p>I disagree with mom2collegekids. I think there are some privates that you have a shot at that will meet your full demonstrated need. I think that you have a better shot in the midwest because those schools are a little less competitive. I think the following are reasonable possibilities. </p>

<p>Beloit (WI)
Denison (OH)
Grinnell (IA)
Hamilton (NY)
Knox (IL)
Lawrence (WI)
Macalester (MN)
University of Miami (FL)
University of Richmond (VA)
University of Rochester (NY)
Wake Forest (NC)</p>

<p>Maybe also Ursinus or Susquehanna in Pennsylvania…</p>

<p>You may also want to consider publics, which tend to be less generous in aid but have a cheaper sticker price. In addition to your in-state schools, consider Minnesota state universities, which offer in-state tuition to all attendees. If you want a big school, the flagship may interest you, and will almost certainly have programs which interest you. The Morris campus is smaller and more personal, as well as somewhat cheaper IIRC, but I’m not sure if they offer the programs you mentioned.</p>

<p>Have you tried the SuperMatch page here at CC? Enter you inputs and criteria and see what comes up; from there you can do a little research to get a better handle on things like size and location.</p>

<p>As you need a generous merit grant to afford a private college, your best bet is schools which are very good, but less selective than than you could get into–Muhlenberg, Ssuquehanna, Juniata, Gettysburg.</p>

<p>CRD…you’re not disagreeing with me. </p>

<p>The schools you listed are mostly in the Midwest and you’re talking about need-based aid. We have no idea what this family’s “demonstrated need” is. </p>

<p>When a NJ family says that it can only pay $15k per year, that often means that their EFC is going to be higher, but because it’s a high real estate, high tax state, that’s what they can afford. Either way, we have no idea what this family’s “need” is…all we know is what they will pay.</p>

<p>My concern was that not many NE schools would give big **merit **with those stats. And, that’s pretty much true unless you go low tier. </p>

<p>If this student’s EFC is more than a few thousand higher than $15k, many schools will not work…even if they give good need-based aid.</p>

<p>I didn’t translate </p>

<p>“I live in New Jersey and family could possibly afford to pay at the very most $15,000 a year for tuition.” </p>

<p>into</p>

<p>“When a NJ family says that it can only pay $15k per year, that often means that their EFC is going to be higher, but because it’s a high real estate, high tax state, that’s what they can afford.”</p>

<p>It may be true, but I’m not sure where you’re getting this inference from.</p>

<p>I’m getting this inference from the many posts from this state (and other high tax/high real estate states) where families’ incomes are highish, but they can’t afford their EFCs.</p>

<p>People from high tax/high real estate states seem (to me) to be often shocked by their EFCs because a good portion of their income is already going towards mortgage and taxes…including very high property taxes. </p>

<p>Either way…when a student says that his parents can only pay $15k per year, that doesn’t translate into “this is what my expected family contribution will be.”</p>