College Search Help

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello everyone,
This is my first post on College Confidential (woot) and I could really use some help with my college search. I'm a junior. Although I'm not still too sure about my major, I do have some general concentrations in mind: neuroscience (possibly pre med), international relations, law, business, engineering, and education (we need teachers!). I'm from NJ, and my family and I prefer me to not go to the west coast (the farthest they're comfortable with is Colorado). I'll have more specifics on what I want from a school later in this message.</p>

<p>The size of the school doesn't really affectHere are my "stats":</p>

<p>General Stuff
Gender - Male
Ethnicity - Asian
State of Residency - New Jersey (jersey pride!)
Super Competitive Suburban Public School (around 20 percent of the graduating class goes onto top-25 schools, even more get accepted).</p>

<p>Academics:
GPA - 3.5 out of 4.0 (unweighted); 4.1 weighted.
Hardest possible workload (7 AP's, 11 Honors Classes)
Big Time Improvement from 9th to 10th to 11th - expecting even more of an improvement next year.</p>

<p>Test Scores:
SAT: 720 Critical Reading, 800 Math, 800 Writing (2320) - Second Time Taken
ACT: 35 Composite (36 English, 35 Math, 35 Reading, 34 Science) - 1st and only time taken
SAT II's: 700 World History (Freshman Year); 800 US History (Junior Year); 800 Biology (Junior Year); 800 Math Level II (Junior Year).</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars (with future progression as well):
- 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th - Teakwon Do
- 10th Junior Varsity Cross Country
- 10th JV Winter Track
- 11th JV Spring Track
- 11th, 12th Varsity Cross Country (scorer in top 5 team in state and Northeast Region); Captain
- 11th, 12th Varsity Winter Track; Captain
- 11th, 12th Varsity Spring Track; Captain
I plan on running Cross Country and Track in College as well
- 10th, 11th, 12th National History Day (member)
- 10th, 11th, 12th D&R Greenway Land Trust Volunteer: building trails, advocating for environmental protection
- 10th, 11th, 12th NJPIRG Advocate: advocating for clear water in the area
- Idk if this is valuable, but I'm currently #1 on Kumon's North American Reading List </p>

<p>So enough about what I've done; now I need your guys' advice. </p>

<p>I'm looking for a school that:
- No farther west than Colorado, no farther southeast than North Carolina (excluding Texas).
- I don't want to be racist, but I really don't want to go to an "Asian-dominated" school, even though I am asian. What I mean by that is over 20 percent asian - unless the school still has a laid back atmosphere.
- I want it to be close enough to an urban center so that I don't feel isolated, but I do want some separation from the city.
- Mountains close by.
- Bigger than 2,000.
- Has a good academic reputation without being elitist (I plan on going to grad school)
- Has a generally laid back atmosphere
- Good school spirit
- HAS to have a Cross Country/Track Team (D1, D2, or D3)
- Shouldn't be excessively liberal like Berkely, Vassar, etc. but it should still have a good amount of political diversity. I would rather it be conservative than liberal. </p>

<p>FINANCES
My parents said they can cover up to 30,000 dollars a year (total fees) but, of course, the cheaper the better!</p>

<p>So far I've come with:
- Washington and Lee
- Davidson
- Lehigh
- Colorado College
- Rutgers (kinda have to; i'm from nj)</p>

<p>I know I'm asking for a lot, but hopefully there's a couple of schools out there. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Any chance you are a NMF?</p>

3

<p>No, I’m not. I didn’t do well enough on the PSAT - I got a 197.</p>

4

<p>Try this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=guaranteed[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=guaranteed&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>These might not have all of what you are looking for but maybe UVA, Cornell, Dartmouth, Colgate and Penn State. Best of luck!</p>

6

<p>Is Emory too far South? Also, other than being west of Colorado, Stanford sounds perfect. USC is another option. Frankly, it’s going to be easier and possibly cheaper for to fly to those schools than it will be to get to Colorado College.</p>

7

<p>OP, Full need schools like Stanford may not be a fit financially. Have you worked through your EFC? If you are full pay then UVA and Stanford will be around $50K.</p>

8

<p>agree with poi on Colgate. how about SUNY Geneseo?</p>

9

<p>I agree with Erin’s Dad that you need to know whether you can anticipate some degree of need-based aid. If not, a private college will require you to start adult life with $100,000 of debt, which you don’t want to do. OTOH, there are some public university options, even out-of-state, for which a $30,000 parental contribution will bring the annual cost down to something very reasonable.</p>

10

<p>Sorry for the late reply. </p>

<p>poi: I would love to go to those schools, but there is a very low chance that i’ll get in to the likes of Stanford and UVA. </p>

<p>Also, my dad feels that regarding state schools, unless the school is significantly stronger than Rutgers, are a waste of money. In other words, he does not want to spend 30,000 for an out-of-state public, unless the school has a signficant advantage over Rutgers - which seems to be a solid school in its own right.</p>

<p>Is there no chance that I’ll be offered Financial Aid? According to the EFC calculator online, my EFC is around 15,000 dollars.</p>

11

<p>Certain OOS schools would probably offer good merit aid based on your grades and scores (Alabama for example) but most would not. You would be full pay.</p>