I went to a small, alternative middle school and high school and loved it. I’m look for a similar feel in a college.
One that:
-is smaller than the typical college
-values community
-is “different” in some way
-liberal arts
-preferably has a recreational orchestra
-preferably has a lot of interesting clubs
-is cheaper and has good financial aid
I’ve found a lot of forums on here seeking similar schools, and I’ve found many schools that I would love. However, my school doesn’t have many AP classes; I’ve taken 3 and a half along with a few honors classes. My GPA really dropped junior year due to working two jobs at once. And I can’t get my ACT score for the life of me due to its time constraints. Basically, although I would love to go to them, I wouldn’t get into any of these awesome colleges that are suggested in the other forums.
Yes I know my GPA and ACT are low, but those just aren’t my strong points. If I could go back, I would tell my 16 year old self to try a little harder, but what’s done is done and I want to go up from here and I want to find a college I can succeed in.
What I do have is everything I’ve worked hard on outside of school, so I guess I would like to find a college that sees the value in things other than the numbers next to a GPA or ACT score.
Here are my stats:
I have a 3.3 GPA, 26 ACT.
My ECs include:
Junior State of America Chapter President and worked on cabinet for a year
Science Olympiad; won 3rd in the region on one of my events
Tri-M member
Played in a chamber orchestra
Played in a quartet (though we didnt compete or win anything)
Pit Orchestra
Other things:
I’ve worked a total of 4 jobs in high school; for the most part I have had 2 at once since junior year and have had 1 full time job
I taught a semester long class on politics and sociology at my school that went for actual credit and that other students of all grades took.
I’m graduating a semester early and living/backpacking in another country or state while doing an internship or self designed photography project.
i have 80 volunteer hours at my local library
i have a bronze and silver key award for academics
With this, what are some schools I might actually have a shot at? I really like Hampshire but I’m still not sure if I could make it in or not… anything similar to that?
There are a lot of small colleges in the south that would meet your requirements (although if they are small, they are going to have fewer clubs, unlikely to have an orchestra, etc).
Sweet Briar
Converse
Queens (NC)
LImestone
Belmont Abbey
Virginia Wise
Presbyterian
Ave Maria
Some may be more religious than you are looking for, but some of those are the schools that foster community service.
Hampshire is a reach, though not a high-reach… but it definitely isn’t “cheaper.” It isn’t a full-need-met school, although it does give pretty good aid to a lot of its students. Its admissions are also need-aware, so if you’re a borderline applicant (not unlikely), then needing aid will reduce your chances of getting in.
In order to make good suggestions, we probably need you to clarify what “cheaper and has good financial aid” means to you. There are, for example, public LAC’s that are considerably cheaper than Hampshire, but then you’re not going to get need-based financial aid at those schools. So… what is your actual out-of-pocket budget? And what does your EFC look like for need-based aid? Also, what is your home state?
You should check out Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA. Good financial aid, small, lots of individual attention, a chamber orchestra of students and community. I am surprised at the opportunities and outcomes for its students. If you add them on Facebook they will surprise you with their offerings. And super pretty school and setting.
Too small for what my daughter is looking for, but might be up your alley. Great funky traditions: Odds and Evens, Pumpkin Parade, etc.
Some of the public LACs listed in http://coplac.org/members/ may be moderately selective and therefore within reach with a 3.3 GPA and 26 ACT. If any are in-state for you, they may also be reasonably priced. Some may be relatively inexpensive even for out-of-state students.
Use the net price calculator on each college’s web site to get a financial aid and net price estimate.
Maybe College of the Atlantic? It isn’t much less selective than Hampshire, but the sticker price is less and the financial aid isn’t bad, so worth a look. (Website says they have an orchestra fwiw)
Agree especially with Hampshire, Earlham, and College of the Atlantic. Also agree check out Colleges That Change Lives, some on there would probably be a good fit, maybe Lawrence and/or Beloit.
You are obviously a bright and successful student and you will do well. To have worked that many hours, been so involved, and developed some real interests and passions – you a have a lot to offer anycollege so don’t sell yourself short!!
I think you should consider applying to some test optional colleges (you won’t have to submit SAT or ACT) such as Lawerence University (WI) and Mulenberg. Here’s a full list: https://www.fairtest.org/university/optional. It’s a long list but you can narrow to by geography and generous with need-based aid. (Ideally, they are need-blind in admissions.)
Agree with Earlham and Guilford as good choices.
Spend a lot of time on your essays to tell your story. The’s an Essay forum section here on CC if you’d like some advice.
I agree with Susquehanna, and there a ton of other LACs in PA that are a little less selective and would probably offer merit. You are one ACT point away from qualifying for Ursinus’ automatic 30k/year Gateway scholarship (one of my Ds is headed there). Another possibility is St. Mary’s College of Maryland. I think you’ll have many good choices.
As mentioned this is a great resource. We personally know many people going to or went to colleges in the book. My own daughter just transferred to Beloit since her old small LAC couldn’t accommodate her major. She is making her own major, wants a dedicated small school. Likes one on one with her teachers. Likes going out to coffee or having a professor invite a group of students over for dinner /snack just for fun or to discuss a project. These schools have bright hard working students. Beloit is in the top 20 schools to have a student go on to a PhD. My daughters high school was a special school for performers /artists /writers /actors and dancers. Had about 145 kids… Yes the whole school… So she wanted a small LAC. Friends of ours daughter just graduated St. Olaf (in the book) and she got a good paying job right after graduation.
Also Beloit doubled what my daughter was getting at her other LAC to $36,000/year. To say we are thrilled is beyond words.
Beloit is kinda cool bright funky kids all doing their own thing. Everyone was so nice. Just walking around waiting for her when she went for her interview everyone I passed whether student or faculty made sure they said hello. Maybe the flairs were out “be nice to the new people today”… Ha… But very welcoming.
Another school in the book we actually saw was Knox College. Great merit /financial aid… That they let you build scholarships on top of another one. Very cool vibe there. Artistic /musical school from what we saw. Again smart kids wanting a different atmosphere.
Roanoke College in Salem, VA. My son is a rising junior double majoring in computer science and business. Around 2,000 students, beautiful location. Very generous merit aid.
@bobo44 Wow just from checking their website I think i would really like it there!! Thank you so much, it’s not a terribly long drive, so I’m going to see if I can visit in these next few months
@twoinanddone I really liked some of those places, although I do have a question. Can an atheist go to a religious school like some of the ones you’ve listed? If I do choose to go somewhere religious would I be the only one who isn’t religious and would I have the option to not partake in any of the religious aspects of the school? Or would I just have to kind of fake it and go along with it for four years?
Although I wouldn’t mind being with most religious people it just doesn’t interest me and I’m pretty set in my ways about my stance on religion. So while I’m not shutting religious schools out completely, I was wondering if they could be a fit for me at all.
At some religious schools, a non-religious person would not feel comfortable and not be accepted. Ave Maria, for example, is very religious and you would not like it. IMO, the smaller the school, the more alike the student body and any difference, be it religion or politics or lifestyle choices, will make you stand out as different. The bigger the school (many of the Catholic schools tend to be about 5000-8000 students) and the bigger the city, the more accepting the schools seem to be. You said you wanted small.
I also found the south to be a lot more religious and for religion to be more of the community. Presbyterian doesn’t require anyone to be Presbyterian (and I’m sure there are more Baptists there than Presbyterians) but the town is really small and no where to hide. Queens is in Charlotte, so while the school is small the atmosphere may be a little more open because there are places to go off campus.
Not sure if this makes a difference, but I did get my writing ACT back right after posting this and scored a 10. Does this help me significantly with only having a 26? Not too familiar with the writing portion… I only took it just in case I found a school I liked where it was required.
