Good range of schools?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi everyone, I'm a rising senior from Maine and I'm trying to put together a final list of schools to apply to. </p>

<p>So far I have:
Brown
UPenn
UChicago
Carnegie Mellon
Wesleyan
RPI
Case Western
(This list is probably a bit idealistic but flexible)</p>

<p>I go to a competitive public high school (#2 school in Maine, somewhere in the top 100 for the U.S.). The only thing I might consider a hook is that I'm a girl interested in majoring in either computer science or physics.</p>

<p>I have straight A's, my GPA is 97.3/100 (that's the only scale my school uses), and I've taken all of the most difficult classes available. </p>

<p>For SAT's I have: 770 CR 740 M 800 W (2310 total) from the same sitting.</p>

<p>SAT II's were not nearly as good... 700 Math I, 670 Chem, 680 US History</p>

<p>For AP's I have: Euro (5), US (5), Chem (4), and I'm taking Calc AB, Calc BC, Physics B, and Lit as a senior.</p>

<p>My EC's are okay-ish
7 years Field Hockey, not captain but have won awards (will get a good rec from coach/English teacher)
1 year swim team, 1 year ice hockey, 3 years tennis (first two worth mentioning?)
4 years Model UN
4 Years Outing Club
probably a few more, not as important
Private piano lessons since 3rd grade
self-taught html and java (if that helps at all)</p>

<p>Tons of community service, probably around 500 hours, from a variety of places including a Native American youth camp, church (Unitarian Universalist), a science & arts day camp, a local non-profit art center, the town library, and more</p>

<p>I'm mostly applying to RPI because I am a medalist and I think I can probably get good merit money on top of that.</p>

<p>I probably won't qualify for much financial aid in general, so I'm looking for recommendations on good safety schools that would offer generous merit money. My mom's side of the family is Canadian, so schools in Canada or on the East Coast would be best. Also, do you think my list is unrealistic? Are there enough matches/safeties?</p>

2

<p>Can your family afford RPI after considering scholarship $? If not then you don’t have a safety. Any chance you will make NMF? You should look here for some alternatives:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Also consider schools in Canada like Toronto, British Columbia, McGill, Waterloo, etc. if their cost is affordable (do you have Canada citizenship by descent from your mother?).</p>

4

<p>There is a chance I could make NMF, but I’m on the edge so I’m not counting on it. I would say we could definitely afford RPI with the medalist money, but I have a twin sister that is going to college at the same time as me, so that makes things twice as difficult. Thank you for the links, very helpful!</p>

5

<p>Yes, I have dual citizenship and my mom really wants me to apply somewhere in Canada. Does anyone know of good physics/CS departments in Canadian schools?</p>

6

<p>If you believe the QS world university rankings (not all people think much of rankings), then all four universities named in #3 are well ranked for CS, while British Columbia is well ranked for physics as well (though the others are not bad).</p>

<p>[How</a> Canadian schools stack up in the QS rankings (part one) ? - Maclean’s On Campus](<a href=“http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2012/07/18/how-canadian-schools-stack-up-in-the-qs-rankings-part-one/]How”>http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2012/07/18/how-canadian-schools-stack-up-in-the-qs-rankings-part-one/)</p>

7

<p>You may qualify for more financial aid at US schools than you think with two kids in college at the same time. If you haven’t yet, have your parents help you run the net price calculator for the schools you are interested in. Small businesses, trusts, and divorced parents can make those results somewhat unreliable, but if you don’t have one of those situations you can get a pretty good idea of how things will look.</p>

<p>This is a west coast school, but given your gender and stats you may get in – have you considered Harvey Mudd? You would need to take the SAT Math II this fall and do well (but my guess is with studying you could do that). I just think you would find it a perfect fit for your interests, although it is outside the geographic range you have given. They do give some merit aid. You might run the net price calculator and consider them. My D will be a freshman there in the fall (Physics major), so we have just been through a college search for that major.</p>

8

<p>I have considered Harvey Mudd before, and I love it, but I feel like it’s a bit too far to be flying back and forth on breaks and vacations… I’ll give it a second look, though. Thanks!</p>

9

<p>What else are you looking for in a college? Your list seems split between LAC, research universities and techie schools? What type do you prefer?
Brandeis, U. Rochester, Syracuse, RIT, WPI, Northeastern, BU…</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>No, there are not enough matches/safeties, especially if you are counting on generous merit money. Several schools on your list either don’t offer merit money at all, or if they do (as in Chicago’s case), you’d be up against fierce competition. </p>

<p>Would you consider Olin or Cooper Union?<br>
What about state universities, such as Pittsburgh, Maryland, or UMass Amherst?</p>

11

<p>@BeanTownGirl - Yeah my list is kind of all over the place… I guess it really depends on the individual school more than the type of school for me, if that makes sense?</p>

<p>Thank you for all the replies! I wouldn’t say I’m “counting” on merit aid, it would just be a nice bonus to have… I’ve decided to apply somewhere in Canada, probably UToronto, seeing as they almost exclusively look at scores/grades, acceptance rates are higher, and the cost is much lower.</p>

12

<p>You and your twin need to ask your parents how much they can spend on EACH child EACH year of college. </p>

<p>Then you and your parents need to run the Net Price Calculators at RPI and a few other schools to see what your parents would be expected to pay. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that merit scholarship money gets applied to “need” first.</p>

13

<p>Your list is entirely made up of great colleges/universities, but they are so different from each other. CMU and Wesleyan? Brown and Chicago? Penn and Case? Those are all polar opposites. What is your intended field of study? What sort of environment (academic, social, etc…) are you looking for?</p>

14

<p>McGill is entirely stats driven too. If you have Canadian citizenship you should definitely apply to Toronto and McGill and perhaps others. College is WAY cheaper in Canada for Canadians and these are world renowned institutions.</p>