So I’ve done a lot of research and I can’t seem to find any college I would love to attend. I’ve applied to five schools and after thinking about them I’m not sure I’m as excited about them anymore. (Or if I can afford some of them).
Also, I’m currently confused about liberal arts colleges and research universities. I know the differences and while I like the idea of a liberal arts college, I find them too small. And I like the opportunities at research universities but a lot of them are huge and I don’t want to go to a college with over 30000 undergraduates. The ones that are the right size I’ve seen so far seem highly selective.
I want a college that’s
in an urban or suburban area
medium size (6000-20000 or slightly over. I don’t mind)
-Affordable (My parents have told me they can pay $10000 a year)
-Not dominated by Greek Life (I don’t mind it, But if like half of the school is involved…)
Isn’t highly selective (say greater than 40% acceptance rate)
-location preferably northeast but anywhere besides the west and the south (excluding Georgia and Florida) is fine.
I have a 4.0UW, 1440 SAT and great extracurriculars. I’m also planning to major in Biochemistry on the pre-med track.
I’m not instate anywhere so I’m trying not to apply to so many public colleges unless affordable.
It would be really great if I could get some suggestions. Thanks a lot
You might consider BC. They are selective, however you have good stats and would be competitive. 9K undergrad, beautiful suburban campus right outside the awesome city of Boston, NO GREEK life. Tons of school spirit. Lots to do on campus and in the city.
So you have great stats, are international and have a very small budget. You need to research what schools meet the full need of international students or schools that will you a full ride with your stats. You can probably look that up in the search engine up above.
Look at St. Louis University. They have good financial aid. Your statistics make you eligible for a Presidential Scholarship – which is full tuition. However, to be considered you must have all of the application and test scores and essay in by December 1st. It is a competitive scholarship.
I was just going to ask about your citizenship. You won’t be considered an international. It is going to be tough to meet your budget with no in-state options, though, unless you are low income and get into a school that meets need.
Did you run the net price calculators with your parents on the schools you already applied to? Where did you already apply?
Also, I really don’t see the difference between a school with 20K and 40K students. Once you get above a certain size, I’m not sure what the difference is, except maybe campus sprawl.
@intparent Yes I did. Most came back around 13-15k but I couldn’t really tell from UW Madison since it’s NPC isn’t detailed. I’ve applied to
Villanova
University of Miami
Oklahoma State University
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Wisconsin Madison (honestly I’m not expecting so much aid from here but my parents encouraged me to apply)
And I’m currently working on the application for Vanderbilt.
For the size, I just really want a College with small or medium class sizes. I know I might have to take some large classes at many colleges (probably besides LACs) but I’d like to reduce the number I take.
I don’t see UW Madison or UMN as being very affordable if you are OOS. I also think you aren’t going to find small class sizes at larger schools, at least not for the first 2 years.
You might check out Truman State. University of Rochester and Emory areca couple of schools that meet need and meet your size criteria.
You might have to compromise given your low budget. Case Western is slightly smaller than your target size, and has biochem. Same for University of Richmond. Both meet need.
@intparent I looked at University of Richmond a few weeks ago and from what I’ve read it’s seems like sexual assault is a problem that the administration is still addressing.:-? I also looked at Case Western but my parents don’t want me to apply to any school in Ohio (Sorry for not mentioning this before) mainly because there isn’t anyone within a six hour drive of the schools in Ohio I’ve looked at.
Honestly – you are being far too picky for someone looking for the school to pick up $40-50K of your expense. I’d suggest you still apply to those, and sort out what is affordable and has the highest quality education when you havevoffers in hand.
@intparent I’ll take a look at all your suggestions again. I’m a bit picky (which I don’t like). I know that. I’ll try to think of being left empty handed in March. That’ll probably destroy all ‘pickiness’. Thanks again
@tk21769 Thank you so much! I’ll check all of them. Do you by any chance have some safeties in mind? I mentioned earlier I’m not instate anywhere btw. Thanks again
@citymama9 No, I don’t have a link but it was pretty concerning that student reviews about safety were pretty mixed and about a case not handled properly last year. It just screamed ‘unsafe’ to me. But I don’t know anyone there so I guess my opinion is based on student reviews.I really liked the school before I read all that though
