<p>I'm a rising senior and really need to narrow my college search soon as I start applying in the upcoming months. It seems like I can only find colleges I like that are reaches, or I go to a school that is definitely a safety. If anyone can help me with a college that sounds more like a match I would really appreciate it. </p>
<p>Location: Big cities - New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, DC, maybe LA. I would also consider smaller cities or a campus outside of a big city, preferably east coast. I definitely don't want somewhere rural in the middle of nowhere. </p>
<p>GPA: 5.0 weighted/4.0 unweighted.
SAT: 2000 - 700 writing, 660 reading, 640 math
Rigor of Courses: AP World History and US History - 5s, English Literature - 4, Art History and Eng. Lang. & Composition - only 3s. Next year I'm also taking at least 2 college classes and several APs.
Extracurriculars: Model United Nations team, Mock Trial, yearbook, news magazine, student government, NHS, photography club and also paid to photograph sports events and a few wedding on the side, yoga(?), ski club
Leadership: Board member on MUN, possibly president or at least board member of mock trial (election in the fall), section editor for the yearbook, editor in chief of the news magazine
Job: I've had a job at a frozen yogurt store for 13 months
Volunteering: Very involved with local nature center and volunteering. I've also volunteered at other local events.
Other: I attended a business camp over the summer and was elected CEO of my company, and my company won first place. There were over 240 kids and 24 companies - I'm not sure if this will help at all.
I've also traveled to Boston with my school, and visited Paris and Amsterdam last summer.
Possible hooks: Upperclass white so nothing there. I'm jewish but I'm not sure if that could help or hurt me. My dad attended Villanova for undergrad and UChicago for grad. I'm not sure if that wil help for UChicago since it was graduate school. </p>
<p>I think my GPA and extracurriculars are great, but I'm worried my SAT score will really hurt my chances at any top school. UChicago and UPenn are probably my top reaches. I'm very interested in NYU and GW as well and think they may be a little more realistic, but still difficult. Any input would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Villanova, University of Miami, Northeastern, George Washing University, Tulane and University of Texas - Austin are all solid matches.</p>
<p>what are you looking for in terms of size, potential majors, financial aid, etc?</p>
<p>Possible majors?</p>
<p>Cost constraints?</p>
<p>State of residency?</p>
<p>But it is the case that many students at the upper end of the academic stats will find mainly reaches (reach-for-everyone schools) and safeties.</p>
<p>Although your GPA is flawless, you may need to work your SAT Score up, if you get that up you could look for Tufts, a great school just outside of Boston, Umich is really good as well as UCLA, USC and NYU are also great. UChicago or Northwestern are great schools in Chicago and Boston University could also be a good pick. Washington University in St Louis is also a great pick. You can look down the list here of top colleges in the U.S and see if any fit your needs. [National</a> University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities?int=a557e6]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities?int=a557e6)</p>
<p>Thanks guys, you are all really helpful!
Possible majors are economics and international relations. That’s actually another problem I’m having because I’m unsure whether I should apply to business schools or not. For example, NYU’s Stern and UPenn’s Wharton have more prestige, but I’m more interested in government than actual business.
State of residency - Pennsylvania.
Size - I’m still debating the size of a school. I like the feel of liberal arts schools, but I don’t think I want to go somewhere with less than 2,000 students. Probably somewhere around 3,000 - 15,000
FA - Honestly, my dad is a doctor and I don’t think I’ll get much if any financial aid. My dad is going to help and I’m willing to have loans to cover the rest.</p>
<p>Take some time looking at the course of study at some of your favorite schools. You are right, there is a difference between international business and international relations…the latter is usually in college of arts and sciences, not a business school.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in IR or economics, you would definitely like anything in the DC area and Tufts. I think you have a shot at GW, given that my best friend is Elliott '17 and her SAT/GPA/activities were lacking compared to yours. </p>
<p>And if you’re looking for a lot of Jewish classmates…</p>
<p>However, I wouldn’t count on getting much, if any financial aid. Said friend got approximately $0, but her family’s EFC was apparently $78k (so I don’t feel too bad for her - mother is a physical therapist that works with special ed, dad is self-employed with a fairly profitable business). But ALWAYS, ALWAYS apply for financial aid. You never know what you might get because EFC calculations are dependent on variables besides income.</p>
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<p>You need to understand exactly what this means. Your dad may be willing to “help”, but a lot of the schools on your list are approaching $60K/year, and many of them do not give out much if any merit aid (especially if you squeak into the class with low test scores). So many students in the last 10 years have been “willing to have loans cover the rest” and have found themselves with a crushing debt burden for many years after graduation. </p>
<p>Have your dad run the net price calculator with you for some of these schools and discuss how much of the cost he would be willing to cover if you get in. There are limits to what you can take out in federal loans (don’t recall the exact total, but maybe around $23,000 total – someone else knows the exact figure out here, I am sure :)) if you qualify for them. Your dad can probably take out “Parent Plus” loans on top of that, and there are private loans with higher interest rates and fewer protections. But I think that cap on the Federal Loans is there for a good reason – you don’t want to get too deeply into debt, especially for an undergrad degree that may or many not very lucrative. Just because your dad is a doctor does not mean he has saved enough to pay for this type of college from savings, or that he has that much extra cash from annual income to just pay for it.</p>
<p>For federal loans, a student can take out $27,000 across 4 years. No more than $19,000 may be subsidized. If dad gets rejected for PLUS loans (unlikely), you can borrow another $4000 a year which is unsubsidized.</p>
<p>For some odd reason, [this</a> website](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized"]this”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized) considers the aggregate undergraduate limit to be $31,000. I do not understand where they are getting this number - it clearly does not add up.</p>
<p>$5500 first year/$3500 subsidized
$6500 second year/$4500 subsidized
$7500 for third or fourth year/$5500 subsidized.</p>
<p>The very first place to start your college search is with your parents. How much money are they willing to spend. Everything else is pure speculation. Do not be casual thinking about loans. You have to get real. No magical thinking. Kids can be smart in school but not so smart about real life. The best school for you might be the one where you don’t take out any loans.</p>