Hello, I’m a current Junior in High School and I still don’t really know where to start on my college searches. If anyone can provide some suggestions it would be much appreciated. I live in New York and I’m looking for school that i can drive to, the furthest being Boston or Maryland (something in that range). I also need a good amount of financial aid, like close to a full ride so if anyone knows colleges that give alot of aid that would be awesome. I also have no idea what I want to do with my life but I want to try and double major/minor in something with art.
Stats:
ACT- 33 composite: 36 reading, 35 English, 32 science, 27 math
SAT- N/A
GPA- 94.5 unweighted / 97.8 weighted (both expected to increase after this current school year)
AP- Sophmore Year: European History(4), Art History(4)
Junior Year: Psychology, English Language and Composition, Biology, US History, Computer Science A (scores haven’t come out yet and yes I know I’m insane for taking so many)
Senior Year: US Government and Politics, Macro Economics, Studio Art 2D, English Literature and Composition
SAT II- English Literature, US History
I have also been on my school’s track team since 7th grade and part of my schools code club and newspaper. I am PR of my schools art club and president of my schools JSU. For community service I worked as teacher assistant for a preschool for two years, for another two years I have started and ran art work shops at a nursing home and for three years I have been on my library’s Young Adult Advisory Council, being elected secretary one year and president the next (we plan and run events for children). BTW I have no idea if any of this information is necessary.
Right now I am looking into Boston University and the University of Chicago which I love but I have no idea if I can get into it. And even if I do I’m definitely not as smart as the people who go there so.
how does one get a 27 in math?, why is your GPA out of 100 instead of 4 never seen that before
anyway
Ik a kid who got a full ride to BU and your app doesn’t have those type of EC’s but his EC’s weren’t that great anyways. I am not sure UChicago gives aid, prolly wanna look that up. Hopefully your grades are pretty solid, but the issue is your AP tests, ACT score and EC’s dont scream that you are an amazing student worth a scholarship or even acceptance to a school like UChicago. But if you are white and have seen financial hardship. Than i wouldnt be surprised if you get accepted. A double major at a big school is really really really hard btw. School systems, people, and essays are different all around the country and the world. So what I have seen, is going to be different to what you have seen in your school. In schools around my area getting 10 5’s in AP is pretty common. Probably around 10-20 kids will achieve that. Around 50-70 kids get around 10 4’s. That group of 50 or so also have around 3.8 (UW) and above. Science and math kids go regularly to national competitions. So any answer you receive is going to be inaccurate to a degree
Also note rec letters and personal essays shape what type of student your are. So maybe picking a career and shaping you rec letters and essays around that is your number one priority.
BU is notorious for giving poor aid. They do not meet 100% of need. To maximize merit money, you should target schools where you are on the top end of students accepted. Is your family income under $125k? If so, you qualify for free tuition at SUNY schools - start there. Even without the free tuition, they will likely be your more affordable options. Purchase has good arts program, I believe.
Is the college counselor at your school any help? You have a lot more research to do… you need more than two schools, and if you need lots of aid, you’ll want to look at schools where your stats are GREAT, near the top of applicants (you can find this out using web sites or search the college+common data set). Ignore the above dig about your Math score and don’t worry, admissions counselors know that GPAs can be on a 100 scale. My DD got a good merit aid offer from Pace, and her stats were lower than yours. Performing arts though, not sure if that changes things. Look at smaller liberal arts colleges too.
How have your workshops at the nursing home changed anything for residents? Have any of your ideas at the preschool been picked up, have you been able to flesh out and develop some part of the curriculum*? What have you been able to do as PR for the Art club? What’s JSU? What sort of events have you organized at the library?
It’ll be very important to have a coherent narrative about your EC’s that highlights what you’ve done and what impact you’ve had on your school and community.
BU gives horrible FA.
UChicago is highly selective, it’s a reach for everyone, and they LOVE high scores (1500 on the SAT for example). Also, it’s not in the Midatlantic states (:p) so how firm are your geographical limits?
First, you need to find a couple SUNYs you like. Based on your profile so far, I imagine SUNY Bing and SUNY Geneseo would be your safeties - do express interest (go visit officially, with sign up and tour and all, or fill out the request info form).
Next, if you need a lot of financial aid, fill out the request information form on: Vassar, Colby, Bates, St Lawrence, Colgate, Dickinson, Denison, Davidson, Amherst, Williams. These give a LOT of financial aid for lower and middle income families. Run the Net Price Calculator.
Next, your 33 is very valuable and would likely bring you some merit scholarships, but we’d need to know your EFC and whether your parents can pay it before we can suggest universities where you’d have a shot at something affordable.
Look up Questbridge and if your family makes less than 60K apply for Questbridge Match. It’s a program for low-income, high-achieving students.
look up Ecole Maternelle (if you can't read French, use an automatic page translator to glean the gist) - in France, Preschool is mandatory from age 3, there's a national curriculum that's been carefully designed to promote growth, and there's a pre-preschool class, "TPS", which is mostly for 2 year olds in disadvantaged or non French speaking families.
Those are titles you can use:
A la maternelle, tout le programme TPS 2016 : Dès 2 ans
Tout le programme, mon bloc petite section
A la maternelle, graphisme-écriture Moyenne section 2016 : Premiers pas vers la lecture
Cahier de vacances du Loup - Je rentre en grande section