<p>I'm having trouble finding a good college on the West Coast to apply for. I'm leaning towards majoring in a science-related major, but a school having a broad range of majors for me would be nice in case I change it.
If it helps at all, I have a 4.3 weighted GPA, 29 on ACT. I'm in National Honor Society, Key Club, and helped volunteer for Relay for Life. I think my stats are okay for a good regional college, but I'm just worried about getting into somewhere out of state because I've had mostly A's in my classes... except for the C's in math. </p>
<p>some schools I'm interested:
University of Minnesota - Twin cities
University of Illinois at Chicago
Northeastern University
University of Florida</p>
<p>but I want to expand it so that I have more college options. It would help if the college has a low out of state tuition rate or offers a lot of scholarships for students like me. I'd rather not apply to a California/UC/CSU school because I'm from a middle income, out of state family and the out of state tuition would be too much for my family.</p>
<p>*It would help if the college has a low out of state tuition rate or offers a lot of scholarships for students like me. I’d rather not apply to a California/UC/CSU school because I’m from a middle income, out of state family and the out of state tuition would be too much for my family. *</p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>You need to apply to schools that either give awesome financial aid (if you qualify), or schools that give big merit. </p>
<p>I don’t think UF or UMinn Twin Cities would be affordable unless you’re in state for one of those schools. </p>
<p>What will your major be and how much can your family contribute? Can they pay at least their EFC?</p>
<p>I live in Nevada, which isn’t exactly the best place for education, because not only are we broke like California, we also spend the least on students in the nation. Not to mention here’s pretty much only TWO big colleges to choose from here (UNLV or UNR), unless you want to go to community college… not exactly much to choose from compared to other states…</p>
<p>I was thinking of majoring in Neuroscience (or maybe even a Psych/Bio double major?), but the problem with that is not many schools offer the major itself. </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: I checked that site you gave me, and I think I might be able to cover 95% of it. I’m not 100% sure thought because concerning finances, my parents don’t seem to tell me anything.</p>
<p>As for those colleges like Chapman and Gonzaga, would it be a problem for me fitting in? I was always worried that I’d feel alienated at religiously affiliated schools cause I’m not religious at all.</p>
<p>I was thinking of majoring in Neuroscience (or maybe even a Psych/Bio double major?), but the problem with that is not many schools offer the major itself.</p>
<p>It’s good to see that you’re open to Psych/Bio double major instead of only schools with neuroscience (that can limit your choices and isn’t necessary for undergrad). </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: I checked that site you gave me, and I think I might be able to cover 95% of it. I’m not 100% sure thought because concerning finances, my parents don’t seem to tell me anything.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you mean. What can you cover 95%?<br>
Ask your parents if they can plug in numbers for that site to get a rough idea of your EFC. Keep in mind that EFC is NOT all you have to pay. That is just a number to figure out if you qualify for any federal aid (which is not much).</p>
<p>*As for those colleges like Chapman and Gonzaga, would it be a problem for me fitting in? I was always worried that I’d feel alienated at religiously affiliated schools cause I’m not religious at all. *</p>
<p>Chapman is not religious altho is may have had a church affiliation at one point (hey, so did USC). </p>
<p>Gonzaga is Jesuit. The Jesuits don’t care if you’re atheist or whatever.</p>
<p>I live in Chicago and agree that UIC is a horrible option for a non-Illinois resident and seriously not that great for IL residents who have better options. If the idea of being in Chicago appeals to you, take a look at Depaul or Loyola which might offer you some decent merit aid with your stats.</p>
<p>Out West, Santa Clara (Jesuit but not religious) and University of Washington seem like good fits.</p>
<p>BTW, I’m a Nevadan who went Big Ten for undergrad and never regretted my decision.</p>
<p>University of Minnesota is quite affordable to out of state applicants. Cost of Attendance is approx. $25,000 this year. At most other state Flagships the COA is more like $42,000.</p>
<p>ricegal: I did, but the biggest problem is that there’s only ONE major that qualifies for WUE tuition rates there, which is Mining Engineering. A similar thing happens in University of Oregon, where only select majors are able to be granted WUE tuition rates. Should I apply anyway though?</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: according to that site, my family’s EFC would be around $12,000 - $13,000. I talked to my mom about it and she says she may be able to cover $10,000 of that.
And what about schools like the University of Portland and Loyola? Would Roman Catholics care if I’m religious or not?</p>
<p>LennyPepperidge: Oh really? If I may ask, what school did you go to exactly? </p>
<p>Ok…if your family thinks it can pay about $10k, then most OOS publics probably won’t work since they don’t give need-based aid to help with their high OOS costs.</p>
<p>Catholic schools don’t care if you’re religious or not. They have atheists at their schools.</p>
<p>However, many Catholic schools don’t meet need.</p>
<p>Hopefully, someone can suggest a school where an ACT 29 is likely to get accepted AND meets need.</p>
<p>The Jesuits schools particularly offer a humanistic and holistic approach to educating the whole person. This does not include making you Catholic, or religious, but may include, in some classes, spiritual or internal examination–in whatever form YOU choose.</p>
<p>Also, if you can’t quite cover EFC, realize that you may have some costs over it. I don’t think they include costs of clothing and such. But you can make your expenses less, by going home less often than plane allowance, taking cheaper off campus shared housing if allowed, making due with older or refurbished laptop, borrowing and buying used texts…etc. Cooking your own food instead of meal plan.</p>
<p>I hope that was clear, but EFC covers cost-of-attendance ON PAPER, not actual costs.</p>
<p>If you get into the U of Oregon Clark’s Honors college and qualify for WUE (there are only 5 WUE spots in the honors college) you are not restricted to certain majors but can choose any (and change). [Home</a> | Robert D. Clark Honors College](<a href=“http://honors.uoregon.edu/]Home”>http://honors.uoregon.edu/)</p>
<p>I’m not sure that a WUE school would be much help. The cost is higher and won’t give her the aid she needs. Her family can only contribute maybe $10k …less than EFC.</p>
<p>WUE seems to work well for full pay or scholarship kids.</p>
<p>Borflis.
I would recommend Occidental, Santa Clara University, St. Mary’s College (Moraga, CA), University of San Francisco, University of the Pacific, University of Redlands–all good schools where you might have both a good chance of being admitted as well as possible scholarship/financial aid. All of them value having good out of state students and each has an excellent academic reputation, particularly among California employers.</p>