<p>I'm a white male from Michigan looking for help with my college list since I'll be a senior next year. I'd like to go somewhere in the Midwest, northeastern, or mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. Not too small; 4,000 or so plus. I'm not set on my major but something business-related, such as logistics, finance, or some type of management, sounds nice. My family isn't extremely wealthy, I'd say middle to upper-middle class, so cost isn't really a factor at the moment, but I will need financial aid of some sort to go somewhere very expensive. I want to aim high, so please try and suggest more prestigious colleges within my reach.</p>
<p>Condensed stats: </p>
<p>GPA: 3.45 UW, 4.05 W
ACT: 33 composite (34 math, 34 English, 33 reading, 29 science, 8 essay)
Class rank: Unknown. School might not rank but of I had to guess I'd say Top 15%.
Course load: I've only taken one AP class (Computer Science) but didn't take the exam. However, by the time I graduate I'll have taken 10+ IB classes. The majority of my classes have been .4 with a few .3s and one or two .2s (required credits).
ECs: I have played on 3 freshman sports teams, 4 JV teams ( I played JV baseball twice), 1 varsity, and will most likely play 2 varsity sports next year. I am lacking any major non-athletic leadership positions. I'm looking to join a well-ranked BPA club next year and possibly DECA if I can do both. This year I participated in a competition for JA Titan, a business simulation for Junior Achievement, after taking 1st in my class. I'm also looking to join a new Ski/Board club as well as some other clubs, possibly Key Club or Programming Club.</p>
<p>You can definitely get into some good B-schools with those stats.
If you don’t mind taking out some financial aid, NYU-Stern may be a good match for you if you’re a city person. If not, UMich-Ross is another great option (and you’ll get in-state tuition!)<br>
UNC has a well-known business school also.
Lehigh University is a lesser-known school but is ranked #35 by USNWR and their B-school was ranked top 25 a few years ago. It’s a little smaller than the other 2, but still over 4000.</p>
<p>Your UW GPA may be a bit of an issue at top schools. What is your ranking or decile? </p>
<p>* My family isn’t extremely wealthy, I’d say middle to upper-middle class, so cost isn’t really a factor at the moment, but I will need financial aid of some sort to go somewhere very expensive*</p>
<p>You need to know how much your family will PAY and how much (if any) aid you’d qualify for. You may not qualify for the amount of aid you’d need. Or, if you choose a school that doesn’t give great aid, then you’ll be gapped.</p>
<p>So, if you don’t know how much your parents will pay, ask them.</p>
<p>Then have them do a net price calculator. Do the one on Umich’s website and do some on a few other schools’ websites. </p>
<p>OOS publics and many privates do not give great need-based aid. Some may give some merit scholarships. </p>
<p>Yeah I’m going to ask them how much they’d be willing to pay and find out about any chances for financial/merit aid.</p>
<p>And yes I will be applying to UMich soon. Right now Michigan State is my “top” school but I feel like I’m settling by going there. Also, MSU doesn’t give out much financial aid so I wouldn’t be giving up anything by going somewhere else.</p>
<p>If you like MSU, and you can afford it, then you should absolutely go there. While it may not be as prestigious as some of the other universities listed, if you feel like you would fit in there, you should definitely go for it. MSU will still provide you with a great education (you may even have a chance at getting into the honors college).</p>
<p>Zack: I visited the campus last week and I enjoyed my visit. The main thing I’m worried about is job placement, which is why I was mainly looking into the Supply Chain Management and Packaging majors there. Actually, the reason I was there was because of an invitation I got to go to an Honors college presentation called Green Carpet Day. I’m worried I won’t get into the college in the first place though. If I do, I qualify for a Professorial Assistantship which I think would be really cool.</p>
<p>I have many reasons to go to MSU, and I would be the 7th one in my family to go there. I just want to consider all the options available to me.</p>
<p>As another poster mentioned above, find out what your parents are willing to contribute, and then compare with the expected family contribution from the net price calculator at various universities’ web sites. If what your parents are willing to contribute is much less than the universities’ expected family contribution, then you need to look for merit scholarships or universities with low list prices.</p>
<p>As someone who had to choose between MSU and Penn (yes, it does happen!) I can tell you that if you can get into the Honors College at MSU it’s totally not selling yourself short. In the end I followed the finaid - I go to Penn for much less than what MSU would have cost me - but had that been equal I REALLY would have struggled with the decision.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus: I will definitely look into our financial capabilities with regards to colleges and the costs associated with them. I’d first like to figure out what colleges I’d like to go to and then make my selection based on whether or not I could afford to go to each of them and if I can get any scholarships.</p>
<p>kaycb: Thanks for your input. What was it that drew you to almost choose MSU over Penn? And the hardest part for me is narrowing down colleges that I might like. On top of MSU I want to try to find prestigious schools that can challenge me. I want my college list to be as complete as possible and that includes highly ranked (but probably expensive) universities.</p>
<p>OP you’re going about it in the wrong way. Finances should come first and your selections should be with those in mind. It does you no good to fall in love with a school you can’t afford. First figure out a budget then find schools that match it or will likely be affordable because of scholarships/aid.</p>
<p>@sportsguy18: First of all, a close family member had a year left at MSU when I applied. It would have really helped the transition to college life if I had my family sort of look out for me for my freshman year.</p>
<p>Next, I really liked the idea of going to school in East Lansing. I’m not from a big city and I’m still not 100% convinced this is the best setting for me. I really would have appreciated being in such a huge campus, surrounded by so much nature. If I recall correctly, you’re even allowed to hunt on-campus because MSU has a healthy deer population haha.</p>
<p>Finally, the honors college was a really big draw for me. I was in close contact with Melissa, Romelia, and other people involved in admissions/the honors college. They were the nicest people to deal with and they were extremely understanding. Since I applied to MSU in November, I had been in contact with them for a while. After declining my admission offer online, I HAD to write them an email explaining the situation and sort of apologizing…I felt SO bad because they were the nicest people I had ever encountered in my college search.</p>
<p>I guess the fact that I had an admission decision in my hand by first semester of my senior year, and had 4 months to get excited about that school, also played into it somewhat.</p>
<p>kaycb: I really like the atmosphere at the campus as well. It’s like a small city inside of a small city. My grandma (who went to State btw) lives in Jackson, MI, which you probably know is pretty close to East Lansing, and every time I visited her growing up I loved the setting and scenery. So that is a big reason why I want to go there.</p>
<p>And I’m probably going to apply early as well, or at least before I apply to any other colleges. I think I know the Melissa that you mentioned. She spoke at our Honors visit and she seemed really nice. Getting into the Honors college will definitely be one of the main deciding factors when choosing where to go.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m on first-name basis with the MSU adcoms LOL. And yep, I meant Melissa from the Honors College. </p>
<p>Hahaha sometimes, when the going gets really tough at Penn, I sort of wonder what would have happened if I went to MSU. I visited over winter break and spent New Year’s with my family member’s friends (on campus). I got to see how the students really live (apparently they have a favorite cab driver) and I sort of wish some of that were part of Philly life. That is not to say I don’t like Penn, but you’ve got to agree that they’re two VERY different campuses and lifestyles and it was really interesting being able to compare. </p>
<p>I would recommend applying pretty early to MSU to see what sort of merit aid you can get (one drawback of rolling admissions is that the money DOES run out fast). The cut-off for the Honors College in terms of GPA/SAT is pretty well defined so that’s something to shoot for. Then, if you do end up having that admission in your hand and it seems financially doable, I’d apply only to reaches for the RD round.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus: I will definitely look into our financial capabilities with regards to colleges and the costs associated with them. I’d first like to figure out what colleges I’d like to go to and then make my selection based on whether or not I could afford to go to each of them and if I can get any scholarships.</p>
<p>sorry, but that’s a backwards way of looking at things. When I shop for a house or car, I don’t first find ones that I want/like without first considering my financial situation. If I didn’t consider money, I’d find myself wandering the BMW and Mercedes dealers and falling in love with some cute red convertibles. What’s the point of wasting hours and hours identifying a list of colleges (and loving them!!), only to find out NONE are affordable. </p>
<p>It’s best to find out what your situation is. Then with that info, combined with what your major will be and types of schools you like, we can make intelligent recommendations.</p>
<p>Talk to your parents about how much they can pay EACH year. At schools that “meet need” (which aren’t many), you can estimate that your family will have to pay about 25% of its gross income towards college. So, if your family earns $100k per year, then expect to pay about $25k per year. The % will be higher if income is higher and/or the family has a lot of assets. </p>
<p>For schools that don’t meet need (like MSU and most others), you might have to pay all costs minus any scholarships that you might get.</p>
<p>kaycb: Yeah, Penn and MSU are quite different so I’d imagine that your experiences there would differ somewhat. But anyone with a chance to go to an Ivy League school and the means to go there should definitely take that opportunity. I’ve never been to a big city like Philly so I really don’t know what it’s like, haha. I’m sure it has a lot more to offer than East Lansing though (not to say EL is worse, just much different hahah).</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: I understand what you’re telling me. I just don’t think I’d have that type of problem because I’m not the type of person who becomes attached to things that quickly. MSU is a great safety school because I want to go there and can afford it. Due to my current situation I probably won’t be able to visit any colleges further away than Ohio or Indiana (unless I’m certain I would like to go there, and have already checked if I could afford it) so I’m not going to fall head over heels for a place just by reading about it online. But thanks to you I will definitely first look at COA whenever I check out colleges from now on and know how important it is. Also, that 25% tip will be very useful, thanks.</p>
<p>It should be pretty easy to check the cost issues. When you get a suggestion or idea of a college to consider, you can do the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Check the net price calculator on its web site for a need-based financial aid estimate.</p></li>
<li><p>If not affordable on need-based financial aid or at list price, check for merit scholarships that are large enough to make it affordable. Note whether they are guaranteed for stats or if they are competitive – if the latter, you would have to aim for the scholarship rather than just admission if you apply.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The next thing to check is to see if it has decent degree programs in your intended or possible majors. Note that in some schools, you may have to apply to declare a popular major after taking the prerequisite courses (business type majors are often popular majors that require such application).</p>
<p>sportsguy18: In the end, I did go for the name and better finaid offered. Also, as an int’l student I figured MSU might at some point lose funding for me and I’d be SOL. Finally, for my major it made more sense to stay in the northeast corridor - the job prospects are much better there, and coupled with the connections I can make at Penn, it just made more sense. But life is totally different and if city life will make you miserable, then schools like Penn are just not the right fit.</p>
<p>kayb: I have been mixing your name up with ucbalumnus and calling you “kaycb” so sorry about that hahah. I would totally choose Penn if I had the chance, and not just because of its high prestige. I come from a town of about 35-40,000 so I welcome the opportunity to live next to a large metropolitan area at Penn. It sounds like it would be a lot of fun.</p>
<p>And if you don’t mind, do you think you could give me a rough estimate of the best colleges I could get into given the information I originally posted? I don’t need it narrowed down to one; I just want to know what range I could shoot for…</p>