Hi,
I a a high school senior and I have a list of colleges that are appealing to me and I’d like some recommendations about which one is best for me, other possible colleges that would be a good idea to look into, and ones I should remove.
What I need: great financial aid, geosciences program (particularly geology and geography)
What I want: hopefully pretty small (under 5,000) or medium, focus on sustainability, outdoorsy, no big religious affiliation. I would also like a school that has many study abroad options. Beautiful location would be preferred. Warmer weather for part of the year would be nice. Preferable for a school to take community college credits. Location: either in US, Canada, or not super expensive foreign country. I’m in Seattle and it’d be nice to have a school not super far away. I also would like there to be a girls soccer program and choir.
My stats:
3.1 unweighted GPA, probably up to 3.4 or 3.5 by the time I apply to most.
Weighted GPA higher due to honors and AP classes.
I’m in a dual credit program. I’ll have 40 community college credits when I apply and 60 when I graduate.
1990 SAT, 660 Reading 620 Writing 690 Math (I’m retaking it and also taking the ACT as well).
my current college list:
Northland College*
College of the Atlantic*
Green Mountain College
Western Washington University*
Lewis & Clark
Humboldt
U of Miami
Warren Wilson
University of Puget Sound
If you have or know anyone who has gone to any of these colleges please tell me what they thought of the school!
What does “great financial aid” mean? Are you from a low income family or a family which has income but too many bills? The former can get good FA at some schools, the latter usually not so would have to rely on merit aid. How much can your family afford each year? What is your home state?
You can’t go wrong with WWU for Geology. South Dakota School of Mines & Technology has a great reputation for STEM and has a Geology museum on campus. However, there’s no women’s soccer team at SDSM&T, but the choir is popular. As a female applicant you might get additional consideration for financial aid at SDSM&T. SDSM&T attracts kids from the Puget Sound region.
A very good STEM school with womens’ soccer is Missouri University of Science & Technology. Their Geological Science students enhance their studies with international trips. S&T, like other tech schools, it trying very hard to enroll more women, so they have an incentive to provide good financial aid to female applicants with good stats.
Other schools to consider are…
U of Tulsa
Saint Louis University
Carleton College
Earlham College
Macalester College
Vanderbilt University (a long shot)
Are any of the colleges you suggested alternative, outdoorsy colleges? @lalalemma@ECmotherx2@LakeWashington Also as far as financial aid goes I’m not sure about my EFC but I know it’s low, we make around 24,000 and have a household of 3. @“Erin’s Dad”
@katiemcc all of the colleges I suggested are alternative and outdoorsy. I do not know anything about their geosciences programs though - you’ll have to look into that.
What to you mean by “outdoorsy college.” That’s your first step in this process; determining a college’s assets and whether or not such assets appeal to you. Be practical; it’s not as though you will be sitting in a Freshman Composition class or Calculus class on the campus lawn or in an arboretum nearby.
What is your home state? Most of the colleges that we have suggested would offer some financial and merit aid, but would still leave a huge gap if family income is $24,000/yr. Speak with your guidance counselor about the Quest Bridge program.
It looks like the OP will need strong financial aid. Apply to a number of schools and compare the offers. Compare apples with apples - loans are not free money, especially unsubsidized. You may find the expensive private school ends up with fewer loans than the state school when you compare the aid packages. When thinking about religious affiliation, also realize that there is a big difference between a straight and narrow fundamentalist school and one based on a liberal “search for truth”. There were some Quaker schools suggested above, and you might do some exploration of what that means before crossing them off for having a religious affiliation. Warren Wilson definitely has an “outdoorsy alternative” vibe but might not be able to meet your level of financial need.