<p>If you haven’t already, look into Scripps and/or Pitzer in Claremont, CA.</p>
<p>UChicago is a terrific fit–obviously it’s a stretch even for a kid with great numbers, but her interests will be interesting to UChi adcoms (get that blog in the app! write about gender stuff in the supps!)</p>
<p>She’s a great candidate, honestly, and seems like the kind of person a lot of schools would be interested in. No kidding. Congrats & good luck.</p>
<p>Victory - Thank you soooo very much for your informative post! It was so helpful. I’d love for her to go to UMD and your post hopefully will help her to open her mind to a state school. She’s just lived in MD all her life…blah bah blah. She will have a lifetime to travel, which is surely better than years paying off debt. </p>
<p>Thank you too for your helpful posts CC’ers. </p>
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<p>Hello @gettingaclue, are you familiar with Brown University? It sounds like she might be a really nice fit there, though finances might be prohibitive.</p>
<p>Go to UMCP. It is a fine institution and will meet your daughter’s academic interests and your financial needs. On July 1, it (along with Rutgers) is going to be a Big 10 school. If your daughter has any interests in watching athletics it is going to be a lot of fun for her over the next few years.</p>
<p>I can’t believe some of the recommendations made here by others. They make very little sense.</p>
<p>If you want to go further south, check out University of South Carolina. Your D would likely get merit aid that would bring the cost down to instate price. </p>
<p>Congrats to the OP for her daughter’s amazing SAT score. Just remember that many of the schools suggested here will be looking at students with perfect unweighted GPAs of 4.0 (your D’s is very good) taking all AP classes in addition to excellent test scores and it is very important to find a real safety or two, especially if you are looking for merit. Some of the schools mentioned here are reach schools even for 4.0 UW /2400 students. Our schools guidance department stressed that most schools look at GPA more than test scores, but I would imagine that each school is different. I understand that being from Maryland ( please forgive me if I misunderstood) means that your daughter wants out of Maryland, but I must tell you that you are very fortunate to have UMD-CP available to you at an affordable price even if she does not get merit. Congratulations to your daughter once again. </p>
<p>If your daughter really wants a smaller LAC, you might want to look at Lafayette. They have 25 Marque Fellowships a year worth $40,000, bringing the cost down to what you gave as a budgeted cost of attendance. These were new last year.</p>
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not to worry. The limit on the loans she can take out per year is roughly 6K. Any other loans are going to be <em>your</em> responsibility.</p>
<p>Urban merit money bring to mind BU, Pitt and USC. Applying early to all of these helps with chances of merit. It is required to apply early for BU and USC to have a chance at merit. Pitt is rolling admissions so an application can be made near Sept 1 and a decision with possible merit in hand within a month.</p>
<p>Victory, excellent, excellent post, one of the best I’ve read. I believe what you wrote applies to many state flagship and research centered schools. </p>
<p>The cost for UMD will probably be $24-25K , likely more by 2015. That is COA, and one can chisel down discretionary expenses, of course. I think the OP’s D is likely to get something in merit money from there to bring the cost to the $20K level. So that is a solid safety school for the DD and she is in the enviable position of being able to have a great school as a safety, both financially and admissions wise where she can also go away to school. For many, the safety ends up having to be local as the parental home can cover expenses when paying out money for room and board just can’t happen. </p>
<p>So from that point, the OP’s DD can buy her lottery tickets with wild abandon, though I recommend making sure that the schools picked even have the resources there so that there is some possibility of getting something. A school that gives zero merit and its NPC comes up with a $50K contribution would not be a good choice, for example. Yes, some of the chances might be very slim, but you got your base covered, why not give it a go? </p>
<p>I’d agree that UM-CP is pretty safe for admissions, but every year that place surprises some people. She needs to get a reading from the guidance office at her HS, and find out if it is a slam-dunk or not given their recent experience. I’d still encourage her to keep 'Bama or one of the other automatic-aid and admits on her list just in case.</p>
<p>UMCP is a safety for her, and is well respected. It is a major state research university, with research and publication in pretty much every major you can imagine, student groups and clubs for pretty much every interest you can imaging, etc. The downside, of course, is that it is so large you could graduate in four years without ever even having two classes with the same professor, much less have any of them know you personally well enough to provide a recommendation. It will certainly be affordable in state.</p>
<p>SMCM is also a safety. Despite being Maryland’s “public honors college,” it is underknown, lacks applicants (this has been a big problem for them in recent years), and is much less selective than you might guess. Definitely not close to any city, though.</p>
<p>She should def. look into the private schools that are lower than ivy level - schools like Georgetown and GW can be quite surprising and inconsistent with the FA packages.</p>
<p>I suggest avoiding JHU - they have a reputation for being so research-focused that the undergrads are second class citizens. It’s worse if you’re an undergrad there in LA instead of the sciences.</p>
<p>Some other schools within a reasonable distance of you - CMU, Delaware, PSU.</p>
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<p>Glad I could help! I originally had the same reasons for not wanting to go to UMD. From one of the powerpoints I saw at the honors college orientation, somewhere between 65-80% (IIRC) of the students study abroad within their four years at UMD. She’ll definitely be able to travel! If she’s worried about seeing a bunch of her high school classmates and not really “getting away”, then that’s a common fear. The truth is, even if 50 of her classmates go to UMD, she probably won’t see any of them unless she actively seeks them out. </p>
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<p>If she’s coming in as a part of the honors college/scholars program, she won’t need to worry about that. More than likely (meaning does well on her AP classes & gets in the programs), she’ll test out of the large lecture hall gen eds and have small classes with professors that get to know her. The school really emphasizes professor-student relations, especially wrt research. </p>
<p>@Vctory is correct about UMD. My S was in honors and we’re from a nearby public and he seldom saw classmates except at a distance. It was weird, he said, given his expectations were that he’d be stepping all over his classmates. He made his friends in the two years of dorm life, which were perfect for a somewhat introverted nerd. His best friends today are still his friends from those first two years, none of whom he had known before going to UMD. He still keeps in touch with some h.s. friends who went to UMD, but he didn’t see them on campus except to shout “yo” to. Each built his or her own friends upon going to UMD Honors. My D had the same fear, and she refused to apply to UMD until I insisted. It’s understandable. I guess.</p>
<p>Full disclosure: I got my BSCS from UMCP and loved it there.</p>
<p>Taking notes and cross-checking the forum for add’l info. Thank you all! </p>
<p>Report card came today and GPA is 3.71 which is a tad better but doesn’t really help much. UW is 5.65 but that’s pretty worthless as I now know schools make up their own rules regarding weighting AP. Slight correction - she’s taken 6 AP’s (all her school offers), 9 will be including next year’s classes.</p>
<p>So many interesting colleges I’ve never heard of - thanks for the helpful leads. Such a generous community!</p>
<p>Going hiking tomorrow for a week w/ likely no computer access. Taking a much needed vacation and looking forward to clearing my head. 
Can’t wait to check back in when I return.</p>
<p>enjoy your hike. I’ll hope for dry weather, temperate days, and cool nights.</p>
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<p>I have to agree, the OP’s kid either needs big merit money or an in-state option. A lot of the suggestions out here aren’t in either of those camps. Schools like Rhodes, Occidental, Scripps, etc. might give this student $15K – bringing the cost down to… ~$40K. Still too much per the OP. </p>
<p>@gettingaclue you have come a long way from your start :)</p>
<p>Every year U.S. News and World Reports puts out “Best Colleges” and it has many directory features. They also have digital versions and extras you can purchase with on-line.The 2014 edition was on sale through Jan 27 (at places like Barnes and Noble). The directory in the back has each college listed in each state (alphabetical by state). usnews.com/college2014 800 836-6397. The 2015 version may not be on the shelf until late Sept?</p>
<p>They also put out a graduate school edition also on news stands about same time as Best Colleges.</p>
<p>Even though I have worked for colleges in two states and got my first degree from a 3rd state, I still learn about various schools and programs, and continually hear about schools that I have never hear about. I have purchased the U.S. News every year since oldest was a HS sophomore. My youngest is starting college in the fall, so I guess I can move on…</p>
<p>Your geographic area may have many good options. I would want to make sure I wasn’t over-looking a school early in the process.</p>
<p>You have a great start on applying to financial ‘safeties’ that will meet her education needs for undergrad. In seeking out other schools, you may be able to hit a great scholarship - but if not, you daughter is accomplished and will do well where she is planted. She has great options with scholarship help.</p>
<p>Don’t beat your self up over PSAT. A friend’s oldest was NMF. Second child missed NM by 1 point! She didn’t study for the test and parents were not paying attention…she would have had free room/board for 4 years at the time where she went to school (merit did land her full tuition scholarship). A missed opportunity that the parents were sick about (they could have done great things with that $$), but your DD will have a great college situation because the stones are now getting turned over.</p>
<p>Pace yourself out and help your DD organize. Look at scholarship deadlines (10/1, 12/1, etc). </p>
<p>Sounds like your stress level is reducing some as you are becoming better informed.</p>
<p>We really checked out in state public and privates early (campus visit), which was good because I had stage III cancer with a long time block of intensive TX (16 chemo sessions, 7 weeks/35 daily radiation TX, IV biologic drug every 3 weeks for a year, surgeries). Cancer DX when kids were in 8th and 10th grades. Both students’ first choice was in state public, and their best scholarships were also there. One is 100 mi away and the other is 150 mi away (students are 50 mi apart, which is very handy for us parents).</p>
<p>I would try to narrow down the types of schools that are a best fit, but after acceptances and financial awards are in, you can always visit later in the school year.</p>
<p>My children (18 and 20) have traveled a lot with various school programs (each had a People to People trip, one to England/France, one to Australia) - now one is working in Anchorage, and the other just left for Switzerland/Italy. One had a jazz band tour in China; the other college band trip to Ireland. The college doesn’t have to be far to get some travel opportunities! As you said, she can travel later instead of paying school loans. My DD had a college scholarship which has paid for her two week course in Switzerland; a graduate student (native Italian) who spent a semester at DD’s US college is who DD is visiting in Italy.</p>
<p>Good luck with the process.</p>