There’s no “in case I get a big scholarship” at meet-need colleges: you run something called the NPC, net price calculator. Each colleges looks at things differently: your parents’ income, whether they own a home and how much they have in equity, how many kids would be in college (even at a California Community College)… You enter the information, they tell you what you can expect to pay. Done.
Please don’t just apply to Duke, Brown, and Cornell.
Do run the NPC on the colleges I listed (also called “little ivies” because they’re smaller but as prestigious in elite circles). Try to do what I indicated in#23: for these colleges, you need to understand “fit” etc. to have the best chances so we can provide you with an overview. In addition, they provide VERY different financial aid, so you need to run the NPC (Vanderbilt v. Duke will be interesting, because they don’t use equity the same way, for instance.)
For English, you really want to look at the NESCAC colleges I listed like Bowdoin, Colby, Wesleyan, Amherst, Williams or Bates. If you want to be near a big city and near big sports, Haverford should definitely be a consideration.
(“NESCAC” is like “Ivy League”: the sports league’s name. But it ended up meaning more. I know the name “Ivy League” is known on the West Coast and NESCAC probably not, but on the East Coast, people who hire know that group extremely well.)
For instance, what do you like, specifically, about Brown, Duke, and Cornell? What are their main differences as far as you know?
(This type of information is crucial for your application and from your anwers we can help you figure out whatyou have and you’re missing that would sink your chances, so that you have the best odds of success.)
Apply to UAlabama, its Honors College, and the Blount program.
You can send your essays to me and I’m guessing other “senior members” will be willing to look at them.
Is your HS big or small? Rural? How many students attend a 4-year college? Have you seen the School Profile, if not can you ask your GC?
Have you completed a “brag sheet” for your teachers? Have they written recommendations for highly selective colleges before?
Does your GC know you? Can you meet quickly (zoom or other virtual systems OK)?
Is your current list
Boise State
U Alabama
UTK
Duke
Cornell
Brown
In case your GC didn’t provide you with this type of information, the typical list for a high achieving student would include:
- two affordable safeties
for you, that’d be UAlabama and another university your parents can afford, UTK perhaps (not sure their scholarship would be sufficient considering your parents’ income); look into Montana State or UMontana if you like Boise State. (Boise State is not a good pick for someone who wants to get out of the West and wants to major in English).
- 3-5 matches. In your case, it'd be national liberal arts colleges and national universities where you've run the NPC and figured out the best "fit": cross referencing fit+cost, you end up with 3-5 of them. They'd have a 25-40% acceptance rate.
- reaches: as many as you wish or can afford to apply to. For you, they'd be any university with a sub-25% acceptance rate. These will likely be "meet need" universities but because the formula vary so much, run the NPC before you apply and only apply to affordable ones.
What have your parents said about your budget?