College selection help

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I've had a narrow focus to become a lawyer since I was in middle school, so I want to choose an undergrad that ill enjoy and one that can get me into a top 14 law school. I've done my research and found that I need to go to a recognized school and make a 3.75 GPA or above and get a 170+ LSAT to do this. I've already started preparing for the LSAT as a senior and I want to attend a school that I can make all A's at. I don't want to go to a school and only take blow off classes. I've worked very hard in high school to maintain a decent GPA and am willing to work even harder in college to make a higher GPA. Basically, I don't want a college where the course load is ridiculous (like an Ivy League... Not like I could get in there anyways) but where I can work hard and get a good GPA.</p>

<p>I'm a Texas resident. I've applied to
UT Austin
Florida
Alabama
SMU
Baylor
UC Santa Barbara & San Diego
Got accepted at Baylor and Alabama, haven't heard from others.
1910 SAT
28 ACT (retaking in December hoping for a 30+)
5.1 weighted GPA (my school does weird weighting) I think it's a 3.6 or 3.7 unweighted, don't know for sure.
My school stopped reporting rankings but last year my rank was 68/603
By the end of the year ill have taken 10 AP classes, the rest are pre-ap which is basically honors at my school. (We don't have "honors" only regular, pre ap and AP)
I have strong extracurriculars including some leadership positions and 100+ volunteer hours.</p>

<p>My parents told me they don't know how much they can dish out for college. My dad is still paying off loans from another sibling who went to an expensive university. Honestly, they can't give me very much. Household income is around $130k. I'm trying to get as much merit aid as possible </p>

<p>So here's the thing, I have been looking at some LAC's lately and really really like them. I can see myself excelling and having a really good time at them. I also looked at some of the campus pictures and completely fell in love. I also really think that living in the northeast and changing it up would be amazing. My only problem is I know that financial and merit aid isn't very good at them, so I'm wondering if it would be worth it to apply to them and maybe even attend. If I go to one of them will I be $200k in debt going into law school? Are LAC's a good place to go for undergrad before law school? Will i be able to make good grades if I put in work and will I still have free time? Could I even get into one?? I haven't decided my definite major yet, but I have applied for philosophy, history, and psychology majors.
Some LAC's I'm considering applying to: Trinity, conn college, Lehigh, u of Richmond, Dickinson, Lafayette (I want to narrow this list down)
Other private universities I like: Pepperdine, Villanova</p>

<p>So basically: which college would be best for me. It doesn't have to be one I listed either!
P.S. if I get into UT Austin I WILL attend. But based on what I've seen, there is absolutely no guarantee for me since I'm not top 7%...
Thanks for any help, I really appreciate it!!!</p>

2

<p>Your research about law school admissions is only partly true. Plenty of students get into Top 14 schools who didn’t go to an elite school. You are correct that your GPA is what matters, not where you earn it. Law schools want economic diversity, regional diversity, racial diversity, etc.</p>

<p>If what you need is merit aid, you’ll likely have to pursue schools that provide merit of near full tuition to students with your resumé. Having your CR+M score would help us recommend schools to you. </p>

<p>Applying to schools that don’t provide much merit won’t help. You can get a sense of how expensive your chosen schools will be by running the net price calculators at each school. At minimum, your parents and you will probably have to come up with 15-20K each year because of your parents’ income and assets.</p>

<p>As for UT Austin, you won’t attend ANY school you cannot afford, so run those net price calculators.</p>

3

<p>Lots of LACs have fine financial aid. Your problem is that your household income is too high for much need based aid, and you will want to minimize your undergraduate debt if you plan to go to law school. LACs are great for preparing for law school, and you certainly could get admitted to some. But affordability is likely to be the issue for you.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for both of you guys’ help!
Ill go an check out the price calculators. The reason I said I will attend UT is because I have a scholarship for 2 free years at any public texas school. Plus UT is much cheaper than any other school I’m applying to.
@jkeil911‌ that score would be 1220. Writing is really where I shine and I think it would help me get into a liberal arts school (not just an LAC but a la college at any university). So should I just stick to state schools? Do you think any schools I listed would give me great merit aid?
I looked at entering class profiles for several law schools and I sometimes glance over the undergraduate represented list to see if the school I’m interested in is on there. I just want to make sure I go to a school where ill be on equal ground with others when applying to law school.
Thanks!!</p>

5

<p>check out post #30 by @juillet here:</p>

<p><a href=“Atmosphere Over Ranking? - #31 by juillet - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>Atmosphere Over Ranking? - #31 by juillet - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums;

6

<p>@nightwing321 how much will your parents contribute toward your college tuition and expenses? You can only take out about $5500 in student loans–All other loans must be taken out by your parents. Until you know that amount, it is difficult to give you good advice. </p>

<p>In general, unless you are in the top of your graduating class, have high SAT/ACT scores, or are a National Merit finalist, my experience is that UT and A&M do not give much merit aid. The same is true for most highly ranked public flagship universities. Lesser ranked public schools do give decent merit scholarships for students with your scores and GPA. For example, you will get merit money at UNT, UT Dallas, UT San Antonio, UT Arlington, etc and you know you will get money from U Alabama and other public Universities such as University of South Carolina, University of Arkansas etc.</p>

<p>The University of Richmond is an amazing school, but will cost 60k+ a year plus travel from Texas, and it is unlikely you will receive any merit aid based on your stats. The nice thing is that U Richmond guarantees to provide 100% of demonstrated need. They use the CSS profile to determine need, so it will depend on your parents assets. I think CSS does take educational debt into consideration, but you might want to investigate that more. My son’s stats were a bit better than yours and he received $18K in grants, but $0.00 merit aid. </p>

<p>SMU gives lots of merit money. You might want to consider applying for the Hunt Scholarship since it sounds like you have solid EC’s with some leadership and community service hours. My son is a Hunt Scholar and it is an amazing opportunity. </p>

<p>What is the scholarship that will give you two free years at a Texas State school? Is that part of the Texas Tomorrow fund? If so, SMU does accept Texas Tomorrow payments as do other private Texas schools. I am not sure how it works, but it is something you can look into. The other option is to go to a Texas Public school for the two years and then transfer to a LAC. Some LAC’s do offer decent transfer scholarships. </p>

<p>Trinity is a great school, but based on your current stats you will only get $12 to 15K, but this combined with Texas Tomorrow money might make it a viable option. St. Edwards in Austin is not ranked as high as Trinity, but they will give you more merit money. </p>

<p>Have you considered Austin College in Sherman TX. They will most likely give you 22k+ and there are other ways to reduce your costs like being an RA. or working on campus. </p>

<p>University of Nebraska gives lots of scholarship money to top recruits from out of state. It is not a LAC but they do have a decent honors program that provides a $250 book stipend, and the over all cost, including housing is very low. It will be significantly less than U Alabama or any school in CA. </p>

<p>I know Baylor will allow you to retake the SAT, during a test day at Baylor toward the end of your senior to increase scholarship money. As of right now, it looks like they will give you around $14,000–maybe a bit more since I had to guess at some of the questions. </p>

<p>The best advice I have for you at this moment it is to determine how much your family can afford without taking on any debt. Getting acceptances to several colleges is easy, but paying the bill can be challenging and you don’t want to have to transfer out due to finances. </p>

<p>Good luck! </p>

7

<p>@jkeil911 I have seen those colleges. Do you think that the kids from those schools did something outstanding in order to be admitted to Harvard, or do you think that Harvard keeps them at around the same playing field as a more recognized college?</p>

<p>@doresearch I read your post and it has a lot of information! Thank you!
My dad said he would try to give $13-15k per year. I honestly do not know if this is enough or not enough to attend some of the universities I am looking at.
SMU is my second choice. I visited, loved it, and am hoping to get merit aid. If they give me enough, I will attend if I do not get into UT Austin. How do I apply for the Hunt Scholarship?
You were correct about Baylor’s merit aid. They gave me $56k over the course of 4 years, which is about $14k per year. I
I don’t know if Texas Tomorrow is the same scholarship. I get it because my dad is a veteran and he passed other qualifications. I forgot the name of the scholarship.
If Alabama or Nebraska gave me a lot of money, would it be more wise to attend there over a private university or LAC based on my financial situation? I think that I would fit in with LAC people much more than the drinking crowed. I am not sure I would like the atmosphere of a party school too much. I am willing to party, but I am very academic focused and more nerdy than the average “frat” person (although I am considering joining a fraternity). </p>

8

<p>Finances trump everything. If you cannot afford a school, which will be most of them, you will not go there. So debating public vs. private vs. LAC is meaningless. </p>

<p>If your dad can front you 13-15K and you can borrow 5500 (your first year max), that puts you close to going to the minimum I mentioned in #1. If you can work year round you might be able to save another 3-5K, and you’ll be that much closer to finding an affordable college.</p>

<p>Only you can know what a college will cost you because only you can run the net price calculator for each school. Get started now that you have an idea of what you need: an Estimated Family Contribution of around 17-19K per year. The estimate will almost certainly already include 5500 in loans and might include some work study.</p>

<p>The other thing you can do is to enroll in a community college for a year or two to get your gen. ed. credits out of the way, adjust to college life, and save some money over what that first year or two will cost you at a 4 yr. This is what many Americans do.</p>

<p>Run the npc’s at the schools named thus far and find out what they would cost you approximately. See if you come up with any you can afford.</p>

<p>Then take a look at the list of Mountains & Plains States Consortium, where a consortium of publics get together to agree on what a public college in their state will cost an OOS student from one of the other Mountains & Plains States. Texas is one of these states, and estimates are below.</p>

<p>Tuition & Fees (annual, 15 credits/semester) $10,650
Room & board (annual) $8,266 - $11,642
Books & Misc (annual) $1,552 - $1,750</p>

<p>Total annual $19,643 - $22,619</p>

<p>You’d need to look up the Consortium, find the colleges in it, and figure out what each would cost a Texas resident.</p>

9

<p>@nightwing321 Here is the link to the SMU Hunt Scholarship: <a href=“Login”>https://admission.smu.edu/register/hunt&lt;/a&gt;
It does not cost anything but time to apply, and the rewards are great. The essays are a big part of the application process, and since you are a great writer, you will have an advantage. Also, the Hunt scholarship can be stacked with department scholarships, but not other University scholarships. That is, you can be Hunt Scholar and also get money from BBA, Meadows, Lyle or Dedman, but not Hilltop, Presidential or Century. You should also look into being a Dedman PreLaw Scholar: <a href=“http://www.law.smu.edu/Prospective-Students/Pre-Law”>http://www.law.smu.edu/Prospective-Students/Pre-Law&lt;/a&gt;. The Hunt Scholarship includes a semester abroad (any where in the world) it is called the Hunt “entitlement”, plus many more perks.</p>

<p>I am familiar with the Texas Veterans scholarship, and if yours is the same one, then you are correct, you must attend a Texas public University in order to gain access to the funds. You might want to see if any of this money can be put toward Law or Grad school as this might be a better use of the funds. If I remember correctly, the scholarship does not cover housing or meals–is that correct? </p>

<p>I am assuming you know how law schools base their admissions–it is strictly GPA and LSAT. They don’t care if you went to Richmond, UCLA or UT San Antonio. This means you need to ensure you attend a school where you will be happy and successful, and you need to do lots of LSAT prep work.</p>

<p>Since money is an issue, f you don’t end up getting enough scholarships and/or financial aid from private universities, my advice to is to attend a Texas community college for two years and then transfer to a 4 year school. If you transfer to a Texas Public 4 year University, let the Veterans scholarship cover your costs and ask your parents to set aside the 10-15K they thought they could give you in a joint account or trust. By the time you graduate, you should have 30-40K banked for Law School. If you really want a private school education, then after 2 years at a state school using the Veterans Scholarship, you can transfer to a private LAC. SMU gives great transfer scholarships, and you will have 20-30k to either put toward your last two years of college or law school. </p>

<p>Here is the SMU North Texas Community College Scholarship
<a href=“Transfer Scholarships”>http://www.smu.edu/Admission/Apply/Transfer/TransferScholarships&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This scholarship awards 10 full-tuition scholarships for up to five terms to students transferring from Collin, Dallas, Grayson, Kaufman, Navarro and Tarrant County community college districts and completing their admission application by April 1 (fall-term entrants only). This scholarship is renewable if full-time enrollment and a 3.0 GPA are maintained.
Requirements:</p>

<pre><code>Complete at least 50 transferable credit hours with a minimum 3.7 transferable GPA.
Essay and 2-3 letters of recommendation
</code></pre>

<p>In my opinion, when ever possible, it should be every students goal to graduate with zero debt. You will have lots of options to choose from. Keep an open mind–don’t let pride or your friends sway you–make the best choice for you and your future. SMU was not even in my son’s top 5, but in the end, when he evaluated everything SMU was offering, it was the logical and best choice. So far he is very happy and has said repeatability that he made the right decision and I know you will too.</p>

<p>Best of luck and I’m sorry for the long posts. </p>