You have really good academic numbers and extra-curriculars so outside the T-20 (only because those are a crap-shoot for anyone!) you have a LOT of good options out there.
If you haven’t already you want to start a spreadsheet. and as @tsbna44 suggests looking at the CDS there is information in that you’ll want to incorporate around what the college finds important. You can likely find out youtube or the college website(s) a version of the admissions spiel and what they’re looking for. Applying blindly without knowing what they’re looking for is going to lead to mixed results. An example (these may or may not be on your list but gives you an idea just how broadly it can vary).
Auburn Univ - purely quantitative - if you meet GPA and SAT/ACT score (req’d) thresholds, you’re in. Merit thresholds based on varying GPA/SAT scores. They don’t look at essays, LOR’s, Resumes, anything other than quantitative approach. University of Tennessee - More holistic - look at most everything you send it but they also re-calculate your GPA based on their guidelines. Virginia Tech - They look at GPA and their supplemental questions only. They don’t look at LOR’s, Resume’s, Common App essay. Tulane - A little more holistic but really care a lot about their “why Tulane” essay questions. They’re also what I would call a “high yield” school and really like their kids to submit ED and show high interest. Their admit rate for EA/RD is pretty abysmal even if you have the stats.
Given your financial limitation you’ll also want to look into what schools give full-boat scholarships and what additional things you typically need to do to get them.
Other items that were on S23 spreadsheet - yours will be different depending on what’s important to you:
School Size
Mix of IS/OOS students (and if a state school do they limit OOS acceptances?)
M/F ratio
Ease (and cost) of travel to/from.
Any particular club/interest you might be looking for
One of last year’s seniors from our HS is now attending University of Tulsa as a pre-med. Our school’s counselor gave the university high praise, said it’s a really great school and has great programs. She said that the student is really enjoying her experience there so far.
I loved UDel when my D18 visited. She got invited to the distinguished scholars weekend. As you mentioned they invite about 100 top applicants to compete for about 12-15 full scholarships. Everyone invited gets some additional merit over the top merit already offered. I think my daughter ended up with 26 or 27k in merit money. She wanted the big time sports so she went to Clemson with less merit money. But with AP classes they accepted she graduated in 3 years.
Certainly OP stats give her a very solid shot at at the full ride.
Also OP keep in mind that at the public universities they will give you lots of credits for AP (and you will have a lot) so that like my daughter you could graduate in three years and save money that way.
I’ve been off CC the past week or so while my kiddo is home between spring semester and summer abroad. I will catch-up on this thread and contribute if I have anything to add that may be beneficial to the OP. Best of luck to you @elise123 !!!
Often on CC we hear about Alabama having the “most” NM. For context that translates to about 1,100 UA NM students amongst 32,000 undergrads or approx 3.4%.
So proportionality at 25% you have roughly 7Xs the density which I think can shape a campus atmosphere. Certainly suggest smart kids in need of merit seeking to be surrounded by similar peers should take a close look at Tulsa.
No, I was just commenting that my daughter chose Clemson over UDel even bring more expensive. I do not recommend Clemson for good merit, but I recommend UDel. I’ve had kids in college since 2014 consistently, I’ve seen merit decrease at many public schools, but some appear to stay the same (although of course tuition has increased). UDel does offer some generous packages for very high stat students.
Congratualtions on your accomplishments. Any school would be lucky to have you.
Finances are an unfortunate part of the college equation, especially given the substantial cost increases that make it unaffordable for many who dont qualify for aid.
This year I was accepted to Lehigh and got a merit scholarship. However, I was apart of the college of health and my dad went for undergrad.
I would definitely look into South Carolina!! That is where I will be attending in the fall and they gave me in-state tuition even though I’m out of state. I am also in their capstone scholars program. I think it could be a great fit for you.
Okay, going to throw some other schools in the mix. (By the way, I have limited internet access for awhile, so don’t be surprised if I don’t respond much or quickly.)
I would get familiar with this website: Baccalaureate origins of doctoral recipients. It’s a great place to find schools that might fly a bit under the radar but are producing students who are earning doctorates in fields of interest (you can specify fields, types of institutions, and how recently the doctorates were earned). I believe that schools that produce a fair number of doctorates in your areas of interest are sufficiently strong, and if they don’t have the big huge name recognition, they are likely to be very generous in granting you merit aid.
In looking at those lists, these are some schools that I’d give some serious consideration to:
Hope (MI): About 3100 undergrads. You’d receive at least $24k in scholarships, and possibly $3k additional in music scholarships. $27k off of the sticker costs of just over $52,000 would bring this school into budget. This would be an extremely likely school for admission. People on the boards have commented about how warm and welcoming the school has been in correspondence and at visits.
St. Olaf (MN): About 3k undergrads. They will stack scholarships up to $37k here, which would potentially bring the cost down to right around $30k, so about near the top of your budget. But I have heard so many excellent things about the intellectual environment here, that I think it’s definitely a worthy contender.
College of Wooster (OH): About 2k undergrads and has a good reputation for academic rigor. Scholarships can stack up to $43k (source), which would bring this school within budget.
Mount Holyoke (MA): This women’s college of about 2200 undergrads offers scholarships of up to full tuition (source).
Drew (NJ): About 1600 undergrads, about a 45m train ride from NYC. Scholarships stack but appear to peter out around $30k, which would just bring this school within budget.
Ohio Wesleyan: About 1300 undergrads, just outside of Columbus, which is a major city. Scholarships up to full tuition are available.
Allegheny (PA ): About 1600 undergrads at this school, and scholarships of up to $40k are given out here, which would bring the school within budget.
Kalamazoo (MI): This school of about 1200 undergrads is smaller than you’re looking for, but it’s in the same town as Western Michigan, a school of about 15k undergrads. It offers up to $42k in academic scholarships which appear to be able to stack with a $5k music scholarship.
The 75th percentile SAT score at UMass is 140 and 240 points higher than the 75th percentile SAT score at LSU and UArk, respectively. Seems like that is a difference, particularly for a high-stats student.
My intent was more on large, solid public flagship as the comparator. I’m not saying that UMASS isn’t solid, perhaps moreso than the other two and certainly each will excel in certain areas.
But if we want to debate test scores, let’s also report that at UMASS, per the CDS, 35% submitted tests (some may be double-we don’t know)
At LSU it was 100%. At Arkansas over 100%, so some submitted both.
Wasn’t my intent to glean on the academics, but when 2/3 your school is TO, you can assume that the test scores, if extrapolating to the overall student body, are vastly inflated.
And tying back to OP, I made the point because she can’t afford UMASS - and yes I’m suggesting that unless she has common app spots to throw away, that she removes it. The comment was made related to OP’s situation and not meant to start an off topic discussion.
Absolutely agree that being surrounded by academic peers matters. As an example Alabama boasts of having more NM kids than any other school. In practical terms however for every one NM kid at UA there are 32 kids with far lower academic scores. You are in a distinct minority. This even applies at UAs honors program that has 7,000 plus students, the 1,100 NM kids are underrepresented. Not saying it isn’t great for some kids just context maters.
At a school like U Mass the “average” kid has far higher scores allowing a student to be a part of a broader community of similar students.
Fit matters and certainly an element of that is the broader campus community. All large state schools should not be compared primarily based on price or viewed as similar.
Tulane isn’t really a match for anyone because they protect yield heavily. It’s either a safety (or nearly so) ED, or a reach if you apply RD. They love the kids who really love them.
It sounds like you are not a fan of LSU… so don’t apply. A safety should be a school you wouldn’t mind attending if it came down to it.
As others have said, run the NPC. You might be surprised how much aid you might get from the most selective schools. (unless you have already done this and had the “We can afford $X” chat with your folks.)
Your stats are wonderful – they pass the bar at any school. What we don’t know is how you will be viewed holistically. But you’ve done great at the things you can control, and you’re doing the right thing by trying to construct a mix of reach/match/safety. Just don’t settle for a school you wouldn’t like; there are plenty of schools you probably would enjoy attending at every level of selectivity.
Definitely look at the women’s colleges. While Barnard and Wellesley do not offer merit discounts, most of the others do, including Bryn Mawr (where my C21 goes), Mount Holyoke, Smith and Scripps (I’m sure there are others I’m missing). All offer outstanding academics in a warm, inclusive environment. All have access to other co-ed institutions. The merit discounts can be substantial.
