<p>I am currently a junior in high school, and I have started my college search, but I have been unsuccessful finding colleges that I like and can afford. Our combined household income is around 45,000 and all the colleges that the CC SuperMatch recommend seem out of my league. So I think I need a person to help me not an algorithm. Lastly, I want to thank you for looking at my information and helping me out.</p>
<p>High School: Public</p>
<p>Freshman Year:</p>
<p>CP English 9 - A
CP World History - A
Issues In Society - A
CP Geometry - C+
Honors Biology - B
Science Behind Science Fiction - A
Computer Applications - A
Wellness & Fitness - A</p>
<p>Sophomore Year:</p>
<p>CP English 10 - A
AP American History - A (5)
Popular Culture - C
CP Algebra 2 - B
Honors Chemistry - A
Japanese 1 - B
Team Sports - A</p>
<p>Junior Year: (Current grades so far)</p>
<p>Youth & the Law - A
Honors Pre-Calculus - A
Honors Physics - A
Honors English 10 - A
AP American Government - A
Film & Literature - A</p>
<p>Senior Year: (Class I plan on taking)</p>
<p>AP Physics -
AP Psychology -
AP Calculus AB -
Honors English 11 - </p>
<p>Extra-curricular:</p>
<p>Intramural Basketball - 3 Years
Job - 2 year</p>
<p>UW GPA: 3.78
W GPA: 4.07</p>
<p>Standardized Test Scores</p>
<p>ACT - 27</p>
<p>Subject Test</p>
<p>U.S. History - 710</p>
<p>College Preferences</p>
<p>Location: Northeast, Mid-West, Mid-Atlantic
Major: Economics, I want to try purse a PhD but not sure.</p>
<p>Take a look into the QuestBridge program. They are partnered with many great schools that a free to apply to through their program, and they also find ways to make college more affordable. Having an income <$60k is the most important factor for qualification.</p>
<p>I really don’t think I’m a strong enough candidate for a competitive scholarship program like QuestBridge which has over 71% of its applicants in top 5% of the class. I’m some where between 10%~15%. Thanks again for trying to help though.</p>
<p>Ill look into QuestBridge but are their any recommendations for colleges that I should look into, and it looks like i can’t get into any of the QuestBridge colleges if I were to apply as a regular applicant so is their any merit to me applying?</p>
<p>You, sir, need to pay attention to which programs are highly acclaimed in the field. PhD is a great route, but you really have to know what you’re getting into. In all honesty, you won’t fully understand until your senior year or masters program.</p>
<p>NRC is the most important resource for aspiring researchers…even if not, it’s a reliable ranking tool
[NRC</a> Rankings Overview: Economics - Faculty - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“NRC Rankings Overview: Economics”>NRC Rankings Overview: Economics)</p>
<p>I look at Penn State’s Net Price Calculator, and it’s more expensive than some private school same with Pitt. Public Colleges in my state are expensive :(.</p>
<p>You may have to attend a program that isn’t all that acclaimed. However, if there is a nearby school with a solid program - you may be able to participate in undergraduate research there. Providing there is an opening, faculty will be more than open to work with you given your circumstance.</p>
<p>I’m not looking to go to Harvard, MIT, or UChicago, but I do want to go college where economics research is possible. I was snooping through the CC forums and found many people prefer liberal arts colleges for undergrad, so I was wondering do grad school admissions look down on liberal art colleges especially for a competitive field such as economics?</p>
<p>NO, grad schools don’t look down on LACs, but LACs are private and expensive. You need to get your SAT/ACT score up to have any shot at merit $ or a chance at a selective school with good financial aid… Since you already have an ACT score have you tried the SAT?</p>
<p>Some LACs meet 100% need so that it may cost less that your flagship. Some LACs don’t cover need and package your FA with tons of loans. Run the Net Price Calculators.
Avoid out of state public universities outside of the SUNYs which are cheaper than Penn State.
Studying economics at the undergrad level is totally different from studying it at grad level. A PHD in economics essentially requires a lot of math with a couple Economics classes so you need a college with a strong math/science department that meets 100% need. I think your first concern should be cost so run the net price calculators before you apply anywhere. Focus on fit (read the websites, student opinions, and borrow Fiske Guide/Insider’s Guide/Princeton Review’s Best colleges.)
Definitely Penn State and Pitt, but those may be too expensive.
In PA, look at Gettysburg, Lehigh, Franklin and Marshall, Dickinson, Albright, Ursinus, Allegheny, Washington&Jefferson (varying degrees of selectivity).
Further away, still with varying levels of selectivity, look at Rhodes, Centre, Wooster, Denison, Grinnell, Earlham, St Olaf, Kalamazoo, Ohio Wesleyan, Macalester, Lake Forest. Since fewer students apply 400+ miles from home, you may get a preferential FA package if you apply farther away. In addition, some would give you merit money.
Run the net price calculators on all these sites.</p>
<p>Some of these colleges look really interesting and ill run through all net price calculators and start narrowing my choices. </p>
<p>I was looking at colleges that meet 100% of the need of students and Beloit College looks like an interesting choice but will it put me at a disadvantage for grad school admissions for going to a school that is not research heavy. I was also hoping if someone could give me advice on Beloit’s economics program and is it worth it going to a college over a 1000 miles away.</p>
<p>Since Neutron031 asked me to post some of the things I find interesting about the colleges I research in this nerve wrecking process, and I thought it would be cool to document my opinions on the colleges I research.</p>
<p>University of Pittsburg</p>
<p>Pitt is one of the most reputable colleges in PA and has a fairly good economics department ranked 28th by the NRC ranking provided by halcyontimes (thanks for that btw). The best thing about Pitt is its location, which is probably the only real urban school I researched. Since I have a friend who attends the college I’ll call her up and ask about a bunch of stuff like food, dorms, etc.</p>
<p>Net Price (estimated): $23,254</p>
<p>Pennslyvania State University:</p>
<p>Penn State the college every Pennsylvanian seems to attend is located in the middle of nowhere and its economics department is ranked 29th by NRC. As a huge football fan having a great football team to root for is never a bad thing and is a great thing to see so many Penn State grads have undying devotion to their alma mater. There is a huge party scene at Penn which revolves around football and the greek system which is a kind of a turn off for me who does find the merit in partying and drinking till you can’t stand up. Other than that there isn’t much to say about Penn State its your run of the mill state school.</p>
<p>Net Price (estimated): $24,706</p>
<p>College of Wooster</p>
<p>The most interesting thing about Wooster is the Senior Year Independent Study which seems like a great thing to put on you grad school application. The college’s small size allows for interaction with the professors and having small classes where discussions are possible. I did snoop around and found that the college and the town of Wooster don’t have the best of relationships, but that can be dealt with. There isn’t much to say about Wooster other than its a hidden gem school which offers a great education, but it is a little far from home though.</p>
<p>Net Price (estimated): $2,944 (WHAT THAT IS A LIE!!!)</p>
<p>I’ll add more later thanks again to all of you who helped.</p>
<p>Wooster: They must have asked you a few questions about your state of origin, ACT/SAT score, GPA or class rank, right? It probably means your profile places you among the type of students they want to recruit and they would likely offer you a huge merit scholarship. Definitely apply (if the scholarship doesn’t materialize, forget it :p)
It could also be a mistake, of course. But maybe not. better find out in any case.</p>
<p>Beloit: good-quality math program so for Economics it’s a big plus. (Remember that to go on to a PHD in economics, you’ll need at least the equivalent of a strong math minor. Economics-straight-to-career is different, math is a plus but not a requirement). Revitlized town. Good grad school placement in the broad Midwest. Because you bring “geographical diversity”, is more likely to offer preferential packaging for financial aid.</p>
<p>What math class are you taking right now? Are you doing well in it?</p>
<p>For grad school, a recommendation from a famous professor <em>who knows you well</em> is better than from a not very famous professor, but the recommendation from the not very famous professor who knows you well is much preferable to the generic recommendation from Famous Prof who lectured you among 50 others or even from the class TA. So it’s a toss up. If you feel confident you’ll be the one to attract Famous Prof’s attention junior year and convince him/her that you may be as good as a graduate student for research, then choose the U with Famous Prof. If you think someone else may be more brilliant than you in your class of 45, then pick somewhere else because at large universities, grad students have first pick and undergraduate rarely get to work with professors. However when they can, they may be involved in cutting edge stuff (mostly for science, doesn’t affect the humanities and social sciences as much).
Re: research. Check that you can do a research thesis your senior year. It is indeed very useful (if not “highly recommended”) for grad school. This can be done in large universities and small colleges alike. Some, like Wooster, actually require it, and provide support, which is excellent. But some other schools do, too, and many do so for their Honors Students. In addition, check into the opportunity of making poster presentations at Undergraduate research conferences, or participating in a professor’s research.</p>