I’m trying to decide which colleges to apply to that would best fit my criteria.
I’m in the top 2% of my class (10/534), I have a weighted 4.27 GPA on a 4.0 scale, a 33 on the ACT, and a 1380 on the PSAT. I’ve also taken 7 AP classes throughout high school.
I don’t know for sure what I want to major in, but I’m leaning towards Accounting. I want to go to a midsize or large school in a suburban or urban area that’s within about 4 hours of Kansas City. My family is willing to contribute $100k total for all 4 years of undergrad.
I’ve already applied to the University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri and have been accepted to both schools. The other schools that I’m considering applying to are the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Iowa State University, Drake University, Creighton University, Washington University, and Saint Louis University.
Based on my academic profile and college criteria, what colleges do you think would be the best fit for me?
Have you run the Net Price Calculators on each college website to make sure that everything on your list fits within your family’s financial expectations?
You have a pretty good working list @chiefsroyalsfan. Wash U is the most competitive school on your list. Your academic credentials are higher than the averages at the other schools you’ve listed.
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign has a top notch undergrad accounting program ranked #2 in the nation. You’re out of state, but they may give you merit money since you have good stats.
With the exception of Wash U, the rest of the schools you listed would be considered safeties. I would consider adding more target schools.
Is 25K a year higher or lower than your EFC?
I agree with trying to find more"target" schools. Your 33 is a precious commodity that will likely get your merit scholarships (which I assume is what you want).
Make sure to apply to Honors at all the public universities plus SLU.
I still need to determine my EFC for all of the schools, although the public universities that I have gotten my EFC for fit pretty well within my family’s budget. There aren’t a lot of target/reach colleges around Kansas City, so I’m trying to pick the best possible options or go the honors college route.
I doubt UIUC will provide much aid for those stats. They’re tough with aid to start with (both in and out of state). The schools on the OP’s list would only be safeties if s/he can afford them all. A safe admission that’s unaffordable is just a waste of an app fee.
Run the NPC on every school, right now. This is very important.
EFC is the minimum your parents will have to pay in most cases - universities don’t have to follow that and often don’t.
Why 4 hours from Kansas City, by the way - you live in a big state, a bit larger radius could be fruitful.
I’d like to be within an easy driving distance of home. I’ll run the NPC as soon as I can.
5-6 hours means you can drive back easily for breaks, leaving in the afternoon after class (between 2 and 5pm, in all likelihood) and arriving at night.
(Don’t think you’ll be going back on the weekends. Your college life will be too busy.)
Are there any other schools that I should consider that are in the 5-6 hour range?
U Alabama would give you fee tuition and with lots of AP credits you might be able to double major or graduate in 3 years.
Here’s a link to the many nonstop flights from the Kansas City airport:
http://www.flykci.com/flight-information/nonstop-destinations/
It looks like Kansas City is very well served by Southwest Airlines, which is great for college students because the SWA refund policy is more generous and flexible than most other carriers.
Thanks for the suggestions! Does anyone have feedback on the schools I’m already considering?
I think Creighton is going to come in at about $30K
Take a look at Trinity University in San Antonio. They give terrific merit aid, and with your stats you should be in the range of $25-30K.
I am not willing to take out student loans to pay for college, and I’m not going to get any financial aid from most or all of the schools I’m considering. Is it worth applying to colleges if the only way I can afford them is to apply for and receive significant scholarship money?
My EFC is about $5,000-$6,000 higher a year than what my family can actually pay.
Creighton is a good option if it’s affordable for you. My brother is an alum and a CPA, and he was very happy there.
You understand that loans are likely included in your financial aid package - and as long as you stick to federal loans (5.5K freshman year) you won’t drown in debt that like people who took private loans?
Of course going to college is “worth it”. Just calculate one lifetime of a job that pays 20K a year, vs. a career where your salary starts at 45K and ends at 60K (low estimates - if you do accounting, you can almost double that.) Your college pays for itself after 4 years. The next 40 years are all benefits.
You may want to spend some time on the merit aid thread. You have great stats, and there are many colleges that would love to have you as a student. What did you think of the Alabama suggestion?