<p>A friend of our daughter fits the above description. Mom is a widow and works full time. Lower income. Older son is a slightly above average student who is attending a small regional Ohio university. He received a financial aid package that covers everything in terms of tuition, room and board.</p>
<p>Students stats are as follows - weighted average of 4.25, ACT 27 Has had a 4,0 average for all years of high school. EFC of zero. Mom has two years of college at a state university but did not finish. Father had the same. We are not sure if this would put her into the "first generation college attendee" category or not.
National honor society and above average ECs. May be either the class valedictorian or salutatorian. </p>
<p>She is already applying to Case Western Reserve, and Ohio State University, which we think are good choices.
She has two many safety schools - Kent State University, Youngstown State University, Capital University, and Bowling Green State University.</p>
<p>She came to my wife for a few other schools to add to her list. We are not too knowledgeable about STEM because we did not major in those subjects and out children have no interest in them. We also think that as a woman and an AA student, that their might be colleges that would love to have a student such as this. She additionally adds geographical diversity should she attend an Eastern School. </p>
<p>Mom does not want her to go too far away. PA and NY State are OK as long as it is under three hours. </p>
<p>Not interested at all in women's colleges. </p>
<p>Penn - Needs met Financial Aid, within your parameters, and though the ACT might be on the low side, the URM and AA are plusses IMHO. Worth a shot, especially if a 2nd ACT brings up the score. </p>
<p>I would definitely check out University of Maryland Baltimore County if the distance isn’t too insurmountable. I am a little fuzzy on the exact geography that can work. UMBC is run by an absolutely fantastic guy, who happens to be African American. The school really emphasizes STEM and has some great scholarship programs for minorities interested in STEM. Just not sure how the costs work out for out of state residents, but I think it would be a great up and coming university to consider.</p>
<p>In New York, I would check out Rochester Institute of Technology. They give a lot of merit based aid in addition to need based. They have a strong career orientation with plenty of STEM options.</p>
<p>It’s hard to get into a <em>true</em> "meets need* school with an ACT of 27, even if you are an AA female interested in STEM. I would actually suggest Smith or MHC, even though they are women’s colleges, since they are both test-optional, can have excellent FA, and are strong in the sciences. Both are part of the coed consortium with U Mass, Amherst, and Hampshire, so maybe that would make her consider it. Central/western Mass is also out of her mother’s desired range.</p>
<p>In PA, there are Bucknell, Lafayette, and Lehigh, but I don’t know what her FA situation would be there. Pitt would be good, too, but I think–not sure–that she would need a higher ACT to get the substantial money they give to some OOS Honors College students.</p>
<p>This is a bit outside her geographic region, but if she is interested in attending an HBCU, I believe she is eligible for the full ride Dowdy scholarship at NC A&T. She should also apply to competitive meet full need schools but since admission is never a guarantee for anyone, it would be good to also apply for this one. </p>
<p>NC A&T is known for excellent STEM programs.</p>
<p>I was going to suggest NCAT as well. WE toured there this summer and it’s an excellent school. I believe a regular CC parent-“kawkittens” has a student there (or a recent grad). She can tell you all about it. My D is at a STEM high school with a large minority population and has sent students to RIT. The one she knows well loves it-comes back to the HS to sing its praises. Another just got a full ride to Howard in a STEM major.</p>
<p>Are the existing safety schools affordable, according to their net price calculators or automatic merit scholarships for her stats? If not, then they are not really safeties.</p>
<p><a href=“http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/”>http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/</a> lists some automatic full ride merit scholarships that can be safety candidates. Prairie View A&M is an example (3.50 unweighted GPA and 26 ACT gives full ride). A retry on the ACT or SAT for a higher score would open up more possibilities. Note: Howard, mentioned above, offers automatic full tuition for her stats; 29 ACT would add room costs, and 32 ACT would add room, board, and some amount for books.</p>
<p>Another suggestion - even if she isn’t interested in a woman’s college, is Meredith College where she may be eligible for merit scholarships. </p>
<p>There are joint engineering degrees with NC State. NC State which is nearby, so it may not feel so isolated being in a women’s college. </p>
<p>My suggestion would be for this student to aim for reaches that meet full need, and also colleges where she is at the top of the applicant pool where merit aid is possible- such as the automatic full ride scholarships. This might mean expanding her search geographically and into women’s colleges. If a college is near a major airport, distance may not be prohibitive to getting back and forth to home. It would be good to have a choice where finances are covered. </p>
<p>If by STEM you mean that she’s a possible engineering major (in the traditional disciplines), think about:</p>
<p>Case Western Reserve U
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rochester Institute of Technology
Worcester Institute of Technology
U Maryland-Baltimore County
U Alabama-Tuscaloosa
North Carolina A&T University
Florida A&M University
Ohio University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Vanderbilt University
Saint Louis University
Washington University
U of Rochester
U of Akron</p>
<p>Op, if the student can retake the ACT, it would help to have a higher score and wider options. Also, some schools may require subject tests. Has student taken the SAT/SAT Subject test, if so what were the scores? Have the student peruse this thread <a href=“African-American Students - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/</a> . There are some programs for Diversity fly ins that may still be open to which student can apply and if accepted can get a feel of a school. You may or have student PM if you’d like.</p>
<p>Wesleyan sounds like a good fit, although a bit far for mom. My wife has mentioned MHC to her, and the five college consortium. No interest whatsoever. None. </p>
<p>When I wrote STEM, I was referencing medicine. </p>
<p>This student, along with my daughter; attend a high school that is about 1/4 African American. Our daughter is Asian (adopted) other than that, she has no AA friends. She attends a white Presbyterian church, and she is quite active there. I do not think she would be comfortable in either a historically black college or in the South. She is also very liberal, socially and politically. </p>
<p>How is RIT when it comes to pre-med? That would be within the mother’s geographical constraints. </p>
<p>I would suggest that she be encouraged to VISIT the 5-College consortium, specifically Smith and MHC, before rejecting it out of hand. She may well be suffering from the completely false idea that women’s colleges are like convent schools.</p>
<p>For pre med, I think University of Rochester would be better than RIT, while in the same geography. I didn’t realize you were interested in pre med. RiT is more technically oriented. </p>
<p>Right, med school admissions people these days tend to stress that having a major and an undergraduate transcript full of life sciences courses does not assure a ticket to their schools. They want to see a sound foundation in basic science and mathematics, but after that what matters is great grades and MCAT scores. Among the entering first year classes at med school these days, you will find a a variety of majors.</p>
<p>Also, I think a place like RIT might be just as good preparation for med school as any place else (think Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics etc.). One caveat; Co-ops are required at RIT, which means a 5th year of undergraduate study.</p>
<p>Vassar (NY) meets full need, is just completing a 90M Science complex and looking for STEM students to balance their reputation for being arts/humanities heavy. Her scores are low but admissions are very holistic, diversity initiatives are paramount at Vassar and (without having met her!) it sounds like she fits the Vassar profile perfectly. Vassar View is a program for ALANA students; application is due Sept. 29th. <a href=“http://admissions.vassar.edu/vassarview/”>http://admissions.vassar.edu/vassarview/</a> </p>