English Major/Pre-Law 3.7 UW, 35 ACT [TX resident, wants non-TX LACs]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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US Citizen, Caucasian Male

Very competitive public HS in Dallas, TX (650 per class)

Major: probably English; plans to attend law school; also loves international relations/history/etc.

GPA: Unweighted 3.7; Weighted 4.1 (4 core per year are weighted)

Testing: 35 ACT (36 Reading, 36 English, 33 Math, 33 Sci)

Coursework: AP for Eng/History; started pre-AP Math/Sci but was in academic junior year. Back to all AP for senior year; 4 years foreign language

E/C: Nationally ranked in debate, which takes up the bulk of his time. Volunteers as judge and mentor for middle school debate. Has leadership role in Entre Club and helped group secure funding in multiple pitch comps. Writer/Reader - has self-published 5 novels, has hundreds (thousands?) of additional pages of writing; reads 150+ novels per year.

Budget: We wonā€™t qualify for need-based anywhere, but itā€™s also tough for us to pay sticker price at his target schools. Like everyone else in our position, would love merit award but I donā€™t think itā€™s possible at the schools he is applying to, esp given his GPA.

Schools - note: not considering any schools in-state for a variety of reasons and we support that decision. He is primarily seeking small LA schools in locations where he can get outdoors to hike, etc.

Safety - Is that even a thing these days?
Likely - Colorado Boulder (obvi not a LA college, but he loves the location and would consider it if he could get into honors college and honors dorm); Univ of Iowa (again, not LA, but has a renowned writing program).

Match - Lehigh, George Washington (he loves D.C.)

Reach - These are his top choices but I donā€™t know if he has a shot at any of them. Iā€™d rather he not apply ED to keep the potential for merit $ available. But, since thatā€™s so unlikely, might just do ED to up his chances: Davidson (maybe ED), Richmond (maybe ED/EA, loves the option to minor in leadership studies), Washington & Lee, Wake Forest

Thanks!

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Oberlin and Kenyon both have outstanding English and writing programs, and both offer merit aid. It would also be worth considering Macalester.

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My guess is that he has a decent chance at his reaches.

Are you looking for other college suggestions?

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When you say that it is ā€œtough for us to pay sticker price,ā€ do you mean that the money is not there, or do you mean that the money is there but you prefer to find merit? I would use the NPC and if the school is not affordable I would not ED.

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Heā€™s been getting a lot of mail from Oberlin but he hasnā€™t spent any time researching yet. Iā€™m about to sound like an absolute idiot, but Iā€™ve discouraged these two schools because of location. I grew up in Michigan and we were taught to hate Ohio (feeling is mutual). I will encourage him to check out both more carefully. Thank you!

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Iā€™ve used NPC and we definitely wonā€™t qualify for need anywhere. Could we figure out a way to make it work? I guess, but Iā€™m not exactly sure how yet. We wonā€™t ED unless we know for sure that we can pay.

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Iā€™d love to hear suggestions to balance the risk - so more matches. We are struggling to find matches that he likes as much as his reach schools.

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He might find some good merit at Midwest schools. Grinnell, Kenyon, Oberlin might be good ones to check out.

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To find matches that will give merit, you need to go down several levels. His reaches are unlikely to offer him merit aid, but schools like Franklin&Marshall, Dickinson, Juniata would.

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Furman, Rhodes and Wofford are commonly used as backups for your reaches by kids in our area (Atlanta). He would get merit at all of them

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Ha. I lived in Michigan briefly (and did a graduate program at UM), so I get it. But check them out anyway ā€“ they could be a really good fit!

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More suggestions, that have merit aid:

Connecticut College
Trinity
Union
Hobart
Furman
Rhodes
Skidmore
Grinnell (another reach though)
Sewanee
Dickinson
Gettysburg

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13

What about UVM?

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The honors college at U Alabama might be worth a look.
Unfortunately law school has become very expensive, there is little aid ( other than loans) so you would do well to minimize the undergrad cost.

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Anyone considering English as a major needs to look at Kenyon as itā€™s one of the very best and most prestigious programs in the country.

My boss sent kids to Vassar, Cornell and Oberlin. He says Oberlin, hands down, offered the best teaching/classroom experience.

If I were in your shoes Iā€™d rather compromise on the location than the school itself.

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Worth a look financially but seems a far cry from the small LAC feel they are looking for.

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These have come up a lot. Good ideas and Iā€™ll have him take a look. The great news is that heā€™s liked every school he has visited so farā€¦they just all happen to be reaches. We might need to take a trip to the Midwest this summer. Thank you!

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Thank you and good point about law school costs as well!

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Yes, a large state school honors college will be different. But with a cost of attendance at Harvard Law School of $111,000 this year, some sacrifices might be considered.

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I hadnā€™t thought about that. Itā€™s so farā€¦heā€™d be fine with it, but I have trouble thinking about being basically a day of travel away from my kid. But a close friend went there many years ago and loved it. It would certainly tick the ā€˜getting outdoors/pretty sceneryā€™ box.