There’s so many colleges out there and so much info about them. I feel like I’m missing out on the perfect school for me just because I’m not aware of it. I research colleges all the time, and I still discover new ones every day. I’m a senior in high school, and while I have a list I’d like to apply to, I would still like more options. I’d like a school that’s in or near the city and preferably smaller (though a huge school isn’t a deal breaker). My parents make about $60-70,000 a year, so I would need financial aid. My brother will also be attending college, but he will most likely go to community college, so the cost won’t be too significant. My dream job is to work with a non-profit providing psychological support to people affected by war, natural disasters, etc., but I could also see myself going into pediatrics. I want to go a school that will do the best job of preparing me for this. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’d be really grateful for any help!
Without knowing key things like your GPA, test scores and extracurriculars it’s really tough to say what schools might be right for you (not to mention your preferences for large vs small, urban vs rural).
However, just based on your goal I’d suggest you look at Clark University in Worcester, MA. Not only do they have a VERY strong psychology department they would appreciate your goal and are known for giving good aid. They are selective but a lot easier to get into that the Ivys.
Thank you for the suggestion! Sorry for the lack of info. I don’t know much about my weighted vs. unweighted GPA, but the one from my school is a 3.9. I got a 1440 on the new SAT, and I’ve just taken the ACT, so I don’t know my scores on that. I’ve taken 6 AP exams: AP Human Geography (5), AP Biology (4), AP World History (5), AP Calc AB (4), AP US History (5), and AP Lang (5). I’m currently taking AP Government, AP Economics, and AP Literature. I’m also taking Advanced Calc 2, for which I’ll take the BC exam.
I was involved with Girl Talk (mentoring program for young girls) for 2 years, and am in Beta Club (secretary) and the Student Leadership Team (secretary). I just started a UNICEF club at my school, and I’m vice president of that. I tutor at the elementary school every week and have a job at a tutoring place.
I think I mentioned that I want a school in an urban area and would prefer one that’s smaller.
What state are you in? And when you say you want to be in the city - are you talking about a big city?
Some ideas:
Brown - Definitely a high reach, but pretty much exactly what you’re looking for and meets full need.
Rice - Also a reach but you have a shot of getting in, and with your parents’ income your tuition would likely be free. It’s smaller, in the city, and excellent undergrad.
CMU - also very selective but less so for non-CS/engineering/drama majors. But less likely to provide good aid than Rice.
Macalester - small, urban, excellent academics and emphasis on international outlook and social good
Reed - also small, urban (Portlandia!), very intellectual, meets full demonstrated need
I live in Georgia and I would prefer a big city. Thank you for those suggestions! From a cursory glance, I like Reed and Macalester, but I will research them all more in depth.
Given those stats I suspect you’d get a full scholarship to Clark. It’s as urban as they come and not huge (3,100 students). Perhaps you should apply there as a safety.
Assuming your GPA is unweighted you have a shot at the Ivys which tend to have excellent aid. I would tend to agree with all of the schools that @insanedreamer mentioned as all are urban and not too big.
If you are open to women’s colleges, Barnard would be another school to research.
Here are s few smaller schools near (or in) a big city:
Barnard
Bryn Mawr
Haverford
Macalester
Occidental
University of Puget Sound
Wellesley
Tufts
With your parents’ income and you being the second child in college at the same time, I would think cost would be a huge issue. I would start by assuming that I would be going to my favorite state university which would be more than adequate for the educational goals you stated.
Beyond that, I would make a short list of economic/academic reach schools that would fit other criteria such as urban/rural, number of students, etc. A list comprised of the schools mentioned above (Brown, Rice, CMU, Barnard, Reed, Macalester, Clark) would be a good starting point.
Here’s a few more LACs in/near cities:
Knox college in Memphis
Trinity University in San Antonio
University of Richmond in Richmond
Lewis and Clark in Portland
Most of these don’t feel like they’re truly in the city (unlike, say, Barnard, which is right smack in NYC), but they’re all very near one.
@Troyus @Hellofagal @MamaBear16 Thank you for the help! I like Barnard, but I’m not sure how much financial aid I’ll get there.
@WISdad23 The majority of the schools I’m applying to are in GA because of cost but I don’t really like it here so I want at least a couple options out of state. I’m also not sure how to know how much financial aid I’ll get from a school. Thank you for the advice!
@musiclover12 you might find this list helpful to see which colleges offer more aid:
http:// blog.prepscholar. com/colleges-that-offer-complete-financial-aid
(added spaces so it doesn’t get redacted by this site)
Barnard is mentioned here as meeting full need with loans.
As I mentioned earlier, Rice would be free for you, without loans, if admitted. If I were you, I’d apply ED to Brown or Rice.
@rayrick Thank you! As long as I can easily get to the city, I would consider it.
@insanedreamer I think Brown is too high of a reach, but I’ll look into Rice. ED is binding right?
ED is binding. I would not recommend it unless you visit first, it’s really your top choice, and you are certain the finances would work out. Frankly, if money is a big issue most people recommend applying RD so that you can compare costs.
Duquesne is in Pittsburgh, you might get their $20k in merit. With two in college the FAFSA EFC might be low enough for a Pell grant, they also give some need based aid. Online app used to be free if you apply by Dec 15.
@MamaBear16 I don’t really have the time or money to visit any out of state schools, so I probably won’t apply ED. Thanks for clarifying!
@mommdc Thank you! I will research them as well.
@musiclover12 Yes, ED is binding, and I agree Brown is really a long shot so Rice would be better. The ED acceptance rate is significantly higher than RD so I’d recommend it. And with Rice you’re sure to be able to afford it they meet full need without loans if your family’s income is under $80K.
In terms of cost: You can go to a school where the students typically have lower stats and try for academic scholarship, or go for one of the “rich” schools and go for financial aid. Many of the rich schools that seem unaffordable (i.e. the Ivys, etc) will likely give you a full aid package and may even provide funds for transportation. So if you were to get into Brown/Penn/Columbia/etc, it’ll likely be cheaper than the in-state schools! The schools are supposed to have financial aid calculators on-line so you can punch in your family’s numbers and see where you stand financially. Note, I think it will be hard to get an academic scholarship that could come close to matching the financial aid you may get at some schools, if you can get in. Take the SATs & ACTs a few times and try to get that score up.
Also, the further you go from Georgia the more they’ll want students from Georgia to round out their diversity, so don’t limit yourself geographically either.
Other schools to consider: Tulane. (smallish, near enough to big city, but the cost numbers may not work out best for you). Also, NYU? Boston College? Tufts? Middlebury (in the middle of no where but a nice school and a possible fit otherwise). I’d suggest that the quality of the school, and the cost, would outweigh being near a city.
Good luck.
@insanedreamer Thank you for your help! I’ve been researching Rice and like what I see so far.
@kencc83 I’ll probably retake the ACT because it’s easier than the SAT and my scores were a little disappointing. I should’ve studied for it.
I didn’t think about schools wanting geographical diversity. Thanks for bringing it up!
I’ve heard that NYU gives terrible financial aid, which is sad because I’d really love to be in NYC. I’ll look at the other colleges, though. I agree that cost and quality are most important.
I know it’s not the big city, but my older daughter went to Cornell and I’m just so impressed by the school. It is the biggest Ivy so you may have a better chance getting in, but also because it’s a big school there is just so much to do there. Now, can you take the cold weather ? 