@Chardo i’ve visted a couple schools in virginia (UVA, VCU, URich) and was not a fan at all… did not like the people or the atmosphere at any of the schools
@privatebanker i thought my scores were pretty good (96% percentile) but everyone seems to be doing 10x better and standardized tests aren’t really my forte… im retaking two more times but haven’t found a studying routine that has made me do better
@kidzncatz yea i know which sucks but thats why im trying to branch out to other schools that have a similar feel… the weather is just a want granted im there for an education… lol
Do the best you can. But outside of these threads 1380 is excellent. The average act in the us last year was 22. In these threads a 32 is grounds for a retake. 2mm students graduate. You’re a strong student. But in this bizzarro world of hpys or bust it can make anyone feel inadequate. Don’t. You’ll find a great school. Work your azz off and have a great time. You realize all of the top 200 to 300 schools in the us are the envy of the world. Send kids to med school law school and become professors whatever. I find the most successful people i work with all fought their way through big state flagships. Of course not all. A lot of people are validating their choices and their personal opinions on Schools here. Don’t sweat it. Many people live through their kids or peaked in college. The rest of the world and really I mean the world doesn’t give a rats azz about any of this.
@maitotoxin Your scores are very good and will get you into many flagships - just not the heavily competitive ones like UNC or UT. For you to get the net price to 30K, you will need some merit aid. Now to get that merit aid, you may need higher test scores. Otherwise, you will get accepted, beacuase you are a very strong student, but may not get much aid to get the price down to 30K. I see a lot of good suggestions here , like ASU, Uof A, Uof Kansas (ok- not warm), Alabama, UofSC, Clemson. So they are worth looking into. It seems that there are enough full pay OOS and international students at many universities that they need not give large merit awards to entice students.
@privatebanker @momprof9904 thanks guys… the kids on these things are crazy smart but they’re only a fraction of the population so i gotta just look at the bigger picture. thanks again for your help and keeping my hopes up!
True, Iowa and Nebraska are not warm in the winter, but for the money you save, you could afford Canada Goose parka and gloves! Just loved the Iowa campus and medical options. And the Nebraska bottom line.
But true confession: D chose U San Diego in the long run–no parkas!
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KU (University of Kansas) is definitely warm, with mild winters. Lawrence, KS is a great college town – great music scene, affordable restaurants, and very walkable, no car needed. And plenty of “midwest nice.”
How about SMU? They are no more conservative than others on your list. Also I agree with above posters on U Miami.
U of Nebraska is in a part of the state where the winters can be surprisingly mild. It has to do with warm air coming in from the Pacific. I’ve literally been there in February when people were wearing shorts & t-shirts. I’m not saying it’s always like that, but in recent years they have had have less snow & higher winter temps than probably any part of NY.
If you’re looking at large schools, don’t get too hung up on politics. Most large schools will have plenty of people on both sides.
If you have not visited JMU in VA it may be worth a look. Different vibe than Richmond, UVA, or VCU… which is also different from UVA and Richmond… you could consider applying for the Dingledine Scholarship. As a STEM major you may also qualify for the Second Century Scholarship.
Except for women’s lacrosse (national champions!), JMU may not have the big sports desired.
JMU football is big. It’s not the SEC or Big 10 but still good. They have played in the FCS National Championship game the past 2 years.
^ when OP said UDel sports aren’t big enough, I take it he would feel the same about JMU.
‘Big sports’ can be what the school makes it. U of Denver, for example, doesn’t have football but hockey is a huge deal (and really fun). Lacrosse, both men’s and women’s, have packed stands. Gymnastics sells out. I’ve even seen swim meets with a healthy crowd watching. All these events take place in the same area (central campus) so it is easy for students to stop by and for spectators from one event to wander into another (or most likely watch from the big picture windows).
I missed that Udel sports were too small… 
ESPN Gameday has now been to JMU twice in the past two years. I’d consider that big.
^ it helps that ESPN’s VP is a JMU grad.
I suspect most still wouldn’t consider JMU as big for sports. They may be exciting in their own world, but they play second tier. Typically when kids are looking for “big sports”, they mean major conference. They want to go to games against big time schools, see future pros, get into all the hype of the big game. As far as minor conference goes, JMU is one of the better programs overall. If that’s enough for the sports fan, great.
It’s a very good school, regardless.
Not sure why you’re avoiding Virginia, but Virginia Tech seems like a perfect fit. I’m also a 2019 HS student and VT was my #1 all my life until recently because it got so much more difficult to get into. On the other hand, don’t apply there, tell everyone not to apply there because they’re already getting way more applicants than they know what to deal with and my chances are getting slimmer everyday.