<p>Okay, I am a Junior and I in the process of compiling the list of colleges I'm going to apply to. So far I have:
Swarthmore (top choice, planning to apply early decision)
Haverford
William and Mary (I'm in-state)
Wesleyan
Brown
UChicago
Amherst</p>
<p>My credentials:
4.0 unweighted GPA
currently salutatorian of a class of about 750 (but's its going to drop because I'm only taking 4 APs this year)</p>
<p>SAT: 2240 first try (690 Math, 750 Writing, 800 Reading)
I might take it again in the fall to try and improve my math score, but I'm not sure yet</p>
<p>Classes- AP World (5), AP Art History (5), BC Calc, AP Euro, AP Lang, APUSH, next year I plan on taking AP Physics C, AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Latin, and Differential Equations</p>
<p>EC- Did varisty track and cross country before a calve injury. Varsity tennis, quiz bowl team and Math Honor Society (for which I'm expecting a leadership position next year), Breast Cancer Awareness Club (current leadership positon), NHS. I babysit and I'm doing an internship at the Smithsonian this summer. Plays the oboe in the band. Involved in the Drama department (acted in a one act and in a play, pit band, plans on stage crew next year and possibly directing a one act). </p>
<p>I'm pretty confident in what I have done in high school so far, but I know that getting admitted into the types of colleges I'm applying to is very difficult and often left to luck. Do I need to look into safety schools? Right now I'm treating William and Mary like a safety school, but I know that is risky because they are quite selective too.</p>
<p>Yes. Everyone needs a safety. I’d look at some other lesser-known LACs. F&M, Dickinson, and Gettysburg would be safeties and Colby and Bates may be good matches. Most of those schools are reaches for everyone.</p>
<p>Also don’t retake the SAT, do something more productive with your time</p>
<p>I’d be surprised if you didn’t get into W&M, but you should probably apply to one “safer” school. If you like William & Mary, why not apply to University of Mary Washington, Christopher Newport, or one of the other, excellent Virginia publics?</p>
<p>Also, can you afford each school after running the net price calculator? If not, none of them are safeties.</p>
<p>While you will probably get into WM, I would not treat it as a safety (defined as 90% chance of acceptance or better) and would suggest adding one or two other colleges to your list. Some ideas for safeties based on your list – Goucher, Guilford, Gettysburg.</p>
<p>In the alternative, you can always do staggered applications because you are applying to Swat ED. You will hear from them by mid-December, which will leave you several weeks to apply to “safeties” if you are not accepted there.</p>
<p>Yes. College admissions can be random. Everyone needs a school they are 99% sure they will get into and they wouldn’t mind going to.</p>
<p>This is all true. I don’t really want to stay in Virginia, but William and Mary is just too good to pass up with the price. I will definitely check out F&M and Gettysburg though, I hadn’t even considered them but LAC in Pennsylvania is right up my alley.
I really don’t know what my financial situation is because I have separated parents situation, and I miiight be getting money from a GI bill from my dad, but I don’t know the details of that yet.</p>
<p>Do your parents have a college fund for you? Do you know for sure how much your parents will pay for college, even if they have a financial setback (job loss, etc)? </p>
<p>If you know FOR SURE that your parents are willing and able to pay all the costs for your schools, and you’re certain that you’ll have acceptances, then you might be ok.</p>
<p>However, since acceptances can be iffy and parents sometimes misjudge how much they can pay, it’s a good idea to include a couple of financial safeties where you know FOR SURE that you’ll be accepted, and you know FOR SURE that you have all costs covered because of merit scholarships, etc, and you know that you like the school.</p>
<p>I really don’t know what my financial situation is because I have separated parents situation, and I miiight be getting money from a GI bill from my dad, but I don’t know the details of that yet.</p>
<p>I just saw this. This could be a real problem. Parents going thru a divorce often do not have the funds for college…too much money is going for separate households and attorneys. And, often, people’s credit suffers during this time because bill payments get delayed, etc. </p>
<p>Some of your schools will require CSS Profile and both parents’ income info. </p>
<p>The GI bill, (if you get it), has limitations. You need to find out if you’ll get it, find out what it covers, and for how many years. Sometimes it only covers the amount of instate public tuition (not the tuition at a private). </p>
<p>You definitely need to apply to at least 2-3 schools that will give you ASSURED large merit for your stats. You have a 1490 M+CR SAT. That is what merit awards are usually based on. There are schools that will give you assured full tuition scholarships for your stats.</p>
<p>How did you do on the PSAT? </p>
<p>What is your major and career goal?</p>
<p>Sorry, by separated I meant just not living together not in a divorce process (they were never married and haven’t been together since I was born). I don’t think I have a large college fund or if my parents have been discussing college finances, but I’ll definitely get them to sort it out by next fall. My PSAT score was 217. I’m tentatively planning on majoring in History, or something else humanities or social science. I’m not sure about what my career goal is yet I’m interested in journalism, law, academia, international relations, politics, etc.</p>
<p>We have a saying in my part of the country, “Don’t count your chickens until they are hatched.”</p>
<p>Even though being in state puts you in a good position to be accepted at William and Mary, I have learned that nothing is a given these days. Still apply to a school that you LOVE that has an acceptance rate of 40% or above. Hopefully that will not be the school you will be attending. But there were far too many kids posting this month who weren’t accepted to ANY schools they to which they applied.</p>
<p>Given the schools on your list, I can’t imagine you would be a happy at MW or CNU.</p>
<p>I would retake the SAT to try to get your Math 700+ which - I wouldn’t say except you are so close. But don’t sweat it if you don’t.</p>
<p>Needing more schools, may in part depend on the timing of when you will hear from Swarthmore. Know that date -know it relative to when other apps -for additional schools -would be due. If you don’t get in ED, you need to move fast adding <em>several</em> more. You need and deserve to have so a nice selection to choose from regular decision.</p>
<p>I assume your folks are on board w/paying full price at these schools if they have to?</p>
<p>Exactly, that’s what I’m afraid of.
I didn’t mention, but my dad and almost my entire extended family lives in Pittsburgh, so would it be possible to get in-state tuition in Pennsylvania? I visited University of Pittsburgh and really liked the campus, so I think it would be a good safety. Also, how inclined is University of Michigan to give out financial aid to out of state students? I dismissed it before because of the size, but now I’m reconsidering because of its history program and relatively high acceptance rates.</p>
<p>Also, I would hear back from Swarthmore on December 15, which would give me sometime to send out the rest of my applications.</p>
<p>Remember to add an in-state public safety. That way you also have a financial safety.</p>
<p>The big guaranteed merit-aid often requires early applications. Most of those are public institutions, where the admissions is otherwise rolling, so you can apply to them as well as the ED institution. However, since your aid issue is up in the air, ED may be a bad, bad, bad choice to take. You want to be able to compare all of those financial aid offers, and you don’t want to be having to take an un-planned gap year if the place you were counting on turns out to be a bust.</p>
<p>If your dad is in PA, ask him to check the policies of the various state Us about residency. You may qualify (or not). If you need to spend X days with him during the year in order for him to be your parent of record, then you might have time to fit that in starting right now.</p>
<p>For the FAFSA the parent you live with the most (it looks like in this case that would be your mom) is the parent whose financial information you will need. If the college/university requires the CSS Profile (or their own financial aid paperwork) then it is likely that you will need both parents’ financial information. Make sure that your dad knows about that. If you apply anywhere ED, he’ll have to complete the Profile this fall. Which I suppose is another argument against ED.</p>
<p>Even if you can get in-state tuition in Pennsylvania, be aware that the Pennsylvania state(-related) universities are awful at financial aid even for in-state students.</p>
<p>Michigan is not one of the few state universities with good financial aid for out-of-state students.</p>
<p>Run the net price calculators on each school’s web site to get better answers of financial aid estimates and net prices, although a more complex situation like separated parents may reduce the accuracy of them.</p>
<p>Also, I would hear back from Swarthmore on December 15, which would give me sometime to send out the rest of my applications.</p>
<p>Do NOT wait until after Dec 15 to send out apps to schools that would consider you for merit awards. Those awards often have EARLY deadlines…november or Dec 1. Plus, many award on a first come, first serve basis.</p>
<p>Send your apps EARLY to schools that might give you large merit - send those in Sept or Oct (or even this summer if they’ll accept them this early).</p>
<p>are either of your parents married to others? If so, then THOSE spouses’ income and assets will also get considered at the schools that give the best aid. This can be shocking to step-parents who don’t want their incomes/assets to be considered.</p>
<p>You need to talk to your parents about how much each can contribute towards college. You’re going to have some difficulty using the net price calculators since they don’t work well for families with two households.</p>
<p>Yeah… this is complicated. A family meeting this summer definitely needs to take place, and hopefully we can sort out what my parents can contribute and how it factors in. I feel like living in Pennsylvania might not be worth it since I’m really only interested in University of Pittsburgh, and that would be my last choice on the list. I have a good friend who was offered a significant merit scholarship from William and Mary regular decision, so I’m hoping that could be my financial safety (if I get it). I really don’t want to go to UVA, but now I’m thinking I should apply because of the prestige and in-state tuition and aid (Echol scholar program, etc)? <em>anxiety</em></p>