stats:
2330 (800 cr/770 math/730 writing), 790 math ii, 800 lit
3.93 UW (4.0 from sophomore year on)
APs: US Govt + Politics, Comp Sci, Lang, Calc BC, World (all 5’s)
240 on PSAT (if that matters)
Course rigor is pretty high though not extreme for my STEM magnet program
Somewhat generic ECs: leadership in 2 major activities, interesting study abroad, research, volunteering
no real hooks / anything that makes me stand out imho
schools so far:
reach: yale, wellesley
match: smith, scripps, macalaster, carleton (though sort of a low reach)
safety: lawrence, colorado college, state school, mount holyoke
My parents can pay 30k comfortably, maybe up to 40k. I have an older sibling in college if that is at all helpful. I want to study public health (I think) though that’s not an undergrad major mostly? Does my list have any obvious mismatches? I haven’t been able to visit a lot of the schools. And would I get merit at my safeties (or maybe matches)? Thank you!
My D got significant merit at Lawrence U and Mac with slightly lower stats. Also admitted to Smith despite not submitting the essay. Watching the various results among those who applied to both Smith and Mt Holyoke, I’d be a little wary of considering MHC a safety, though you could very well end up with merit there-- fluky things happen.
I’d check out Grinnell as a match. Similar to Mac and Carleton. You are eligible for the Trustee Scholarship based on your stats which puts it in your price range. They have a Grinnell-in DC semester which might be interesting for someone interested in public policy (each year as a different theme, I believe). The school has a very strong social service mission with grants/funding to support student initiatives in this area.
Agree with Grinnell. They’ve reconfigured their merit into three tiers. No more Trustee (which my D got, too), but Founder’s at 10k, Dean’s at 15k, and President’s at 50k (!) per year.
Colorado College is “need sensitive”. With your stats, I doubt this will be an issue. Still, I’d be reluctant to consider it (or Mt. Holyoke) a safety.
You ought to get merit aid (maybe in the $10K-$20K ballpark) from some of the schools you list as safeties and matches. However, merit aid generally just offsets “need”. At most schools it does not “stack” with need-based aid to further reduce your net cost. So if you do qualify for need-based aid, merit aid may not help (except as an ego-boost) unless it is greater than the amount of need (which may be more than $20K in your case). That could happen at a school like Lawrence, but I would not quite count on it as part of your safety-picking strategy.
(You should be fine, though, if your “state school” solidly covers your admission & financial safety base.)
@BatesParent2019 where would I find those? All the automatic scholarships I’ve seen are for large universities, whereas I’m looking more at small lacs. Thanks!
Look into Providence College, University of Vermont, St. Lawrence University. UVM is extremely strong in health related fields and is very generous with out of state students. I know a student that only pays room and board after merit. The setting in Burlington is amazing. UVM is a small public university.
My D had very similar stats as you and got good merit at Lawrence. She got their biggest merit scholarship plus an extra $2k per year for being a NMF. With that we are paying just over $30K per year. You would likely qualify for the same and be within your $30k- $40k range. If you apply there EA you would likely know by xmas that you were in. I don’t know how much Lawrence considers demonstrated interest, my D showed a lot of interest because it was her first choice. If you can’t visit you could contact an admissions officer to let them know of your interest. Good luck and feel free to ask any specific questions you may have about LU.
New College of FL has an automatic $15k scholarship for out-of-state students. That brings the cost, before any additional need-based aid, to around $25k - similar to in-state costs at many public colleges. The demographics in FL provide many internship and independent study project opportunities for students interested in health care.