So it’s the summer of my senior year and I’m trying to decide where I’d like to apply. I live in Tennessee, so I’m going to apply to UT Knoxville and UT Chattanooga as safeties. I toured both of them and liked them, but I don’t necessarily love them. Last summer I toured FSU, UF, and UMiami. I liked all three, with Miami being my dream school. I loved the size, emphasis on undergraduate research and the school’s vibe. UF was okay. I liked it but I don’t think I could afford it as an out of state student. I really liked FSU as well, and with my ACT score (33) I have a shot at in-state tuition.
So, I know for sure I’ll apply to UTK and UTC as safeties admissions wise and financially. FSU would be a match I suppose, with me going there contingent on me getting in and getting a tuition waiver. I’m not sure if I’ll apply to UF because I don’t know if I’ll be able to work out the finances and I don’t know if I like it enough to go there. And even though UMiami is super expensive and I really don’t want to take out loans, I plan on applying. I really loved it and there’s always the possibly that things will turn out well.
Anyways, I’m having trouble thinking of other schools that I should look into and possibly apply to. I feel like applying to 4 schools, with two of them being safeties, isn’t enough. A lot of people on here seem to apply to a lot more colleges.
As I’ve looked into more schools, especially private schools, I usually end up disregarding them because they’re too expensive. (I can afford to go to an instate public school without accruing debt.) So basically my questions are: Is 4 schools enough to apply to? What colleges are in the south east that are actually affordable? Are private schools like UMiami worth taking out loans for even if I’d like to go to grad school?
Thanks for reading through all of this!
If you’re happy with your list then you don’t necessarily need any more. Do yourself a favor and run the Net Price Calculator on each school’s web site to see how the finances look. As far as other affordable schools if your GPA is comparable to your ACT score then Alabama would give good merit $, as would UA Huntsville. Go to the Financial Aid forum and look at the pinned threads for good merit aid options.
Thank you!
That is quite a good ACT score. If your GPA and activities are similarly good, you may want to look at U of South Carolina and Pitt where you are likely to get merit that would put your tuition at or lower than in-state rates (but I don’t know how that compares to your home state rates). Tulane is likely to give you merit that would put your cost at about $35,000 a year. Many students who like U Miami apply to Tulane. U Miami has merit available so definitely apply. The earlier you apply for any of these schools, the better.
Here is a website that lists colleges and universities that offer merit aid, although you will need to go to the websites of the schools for updated information on scholarships: https://www.meritaid.com/
Also, here is a page on College Confidential to automatic and competitive academic scholarships that gives links to more specific threads on academic scholarships: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html#latest
You might want to add one or two more match schools to your list, out of an abundance of caution.
If you plan on attending graduate school, then your idea of keeping your undergraduate costs to a minimum is a very wise one. So, don’t take out any loans for an undergraduate education if you plan on attending graduate school, since your graduate degree is the one that will probably be of more ultimate importance in your eventual career, and that’s where you need to spend your money.
If you are looking at schools in the Southeast that are affordable, you have a number of potential options; but it would help to know what you are interested in studying, as well as any preferences about size, urban vs. rural environment, etc. Some large, public universities that give merit aid to OOs students that you might also look into are: University of Alabama; University of Kentucky; University of Mississippi; Mississippi State University. Getting money from public universities in North Carolina or Virginia is tough, unless your ACT score improves, and you have very high unweighted grades. Some private colleges where you might be able to get some merit aid are: Centre College (Kentucky); Birmingham-Southern College (Alabama); Wofford College (South Carolina); Millsaps College (Mississippi); Hendrix College (Arkansas).
You might also try running the Net Price Calculators for various schools, although that will require financial information that your parents have (tax returns, etc.); you may qualify for discounted tuition or grants from the institutions that you apply to.
One other thing: you might want to consider taking the ACT again in an effort to get your score to 34+; this would open up some additional merit possibilities. For example, you would be in a better position to qualify for a Hays Memorial Scholarship, which is close to a full ride, at Hendrix College (https://www.hendrix.edu/admission/admission.aspx?id=243); and if you matriculate at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, then assuming that your GPA is satisfactory you would qualify for an $8000 annual Volunteer Scholarship, whereas a 33 on the ACT qualifies you for a $6000 annual Volunteer Scholarship (http://admissions.utk.edu/2014/10/23/volunteer-scholarship/).
Thanks everyone! I may not have mentioned this but my 33 ACT score is a superscored 32.5, but it rounds up to a 33 
My highest single sitting is a 32 even. As much as I want to get a 34 on the ACT I don’t know how feasible it is because I’ve basically maxed out my English and reading scores at 34s each, then math and science are both at 31s. I might be able to raise my scores though.
As far as what I want to study, I’m interested in biology, particularly microbiology and molecular biology. Pre-med? I haven’t thought about it too much, but probably not. I also love environmental science. That is a potential minor.
Lastly, I have considered some of the universities of neighboring states. Alabama is on my radar since they have great scholarships. Some friends of mine have gone there but had some trouble fitting in and adjusting… I’ve yet to tour it, but I’ve heard a lot of negative things about the school. This all hearsay though, and I have obviously would have to see the school for myself. I have little interest in Mississippi however. It doesn’t seem like a great fit for me.
Anyways thanks @LuckyCharms913 and @gandalf78
Most colleges don’t superscore the ACT. http://blog.prepscholar.com/colleges-that-superscore-act-complete-list
You should look into UCF, they have a fantastic science program and also have OOS waivers. Your ACT score would have you very likely to receive your need.
@ellm98 Thanks for the suggestion. I haven’t looked into UNF, UCF and USF and talked to my parents about them. My parents’ concern with them was how good their reputation is and that I could potentially get a tuition waiver from FSU, and FSU is ranked higher than the regional universities. So I’m not sure how worth it’s worth pursuing
And @LuckyCharms913 thanks for suggesting Tulane! I researched it and it’s so much like the []_[] I actually booked a tour today!
Tulane, Emory, Vanderbilt, Davidson, urichmond have some features sim lar to UMiami.
Uga’s honors college is better than UT’s and I second Pitt.
UAlabama since you automatically qualify for honors college, honors dorm, and full tuition, plus could compete for cbhp which you’d likely be very interested in.
Hendrix or center, sewanee or Dickinson may be worth looking into.
for all of them, run the NPC s.
Have you run the online Net Price Calculators for a few private schools?
At some of the more selective private colleges, you should qualify for need-based aid with family income up to about $200K (depending on circumstances such as the number of siblings in college) … if you get in, that is. For most middle to upper middle income families, selective private schools have lower net costs than many OOS public schools (and sometimes even lower than in-state public schools).
@tk21769 I have run several calculators to see what scholarships I could get. I haven’t had all the proper documents with me regarding the finances, so I just estimated them. Usually they just said I’d get a $5,000 loan or something, but that may be because the information I put in is wildly inaccurate.
“At some of the more selective private colleges, you should qualify for need-based aid with family income up to about $200K”
My family’s income would be on the upper range of this, so what kind of aid would I expect? Just loans or could I possibly get grants and other forms of aid that wouldn’t have to be repaid? I’d love to attend a private school or OOS public but I’m not sure if I’m willing to take out loans for my undergrad school
You really should get that information together so you can get a valid estimate from the NPCs.
Then you need to discuss with your parents whether they could afford those estimates.
But if you’re at the upper end of that range, then your best values probably would be at in-state public schools, or else at colleges that offer large merit scholarships for your stats.
^ To do this properly, you will need your parents’ income tax returns; and you may want to sit down with them as you or they input the data requested on the various NPCs – “guesstimates” won’t really help you that much.
So I did net price calculators for Tulane and Miami with my parents today using tax returns and everything. Both schools gave me good merit scholarships. However the need base aid wasn’t too great- $5000 loan and work-study. My family has a good income and I have a college fund. But the deal my parents have with me is that my college fund is all they’re giving me. So basically I have the money in my 529 and that’s it, and it’s up to me for how I’ll spend. I can use it on an expensive private school for bachelor’s degree, or I can stay in state and use it for grad school.
I hope it doesn’t like I’m complaining or anything, because I’m not. My parents put a lot toward my college fund, and I’m very grateful. However, it doesn’t seem like colleges will consider that my parents will not contribute anything else to paying for my education. So basically, despite my family’s income and assets, only x dollars are really available for my education. Is what I’m saying making sense? Lol
WHen you say “grad school”, do you mean law school/med school, or PHD? Because Law and Med school are usually expensive and there’s no financial aid (there are some scholarships for law school but not that many) whereas PHDs are funded (if you’re admitted to a PHD without funding, don’t go, as not being funded is a “signal”. You’re better off waiting till you find a program that will fund you.)
No, colleges will estimate your parents will contribute their savings PLUS part of their income. Whether they want to or not is irrelevant. The college fund is unlikely to add up to both savings + income. If your family income is 200,000 to 300,000, you’d be full pay or close to full pay. Therefore, since your parents won’t be able to fund 60K per year, you must forget any “need based school” and focus on those with big merit, both competitive and automatic.
No, colleges won’t care that your parents won’t pay. If they did take that into account NO Parents would ever pay. As @MYOS1634 stated, focus on merit aid schools.
Okay thank you @MYOS1634 and @Erin’s Dad
I want to study biology and environmental science, so for grad work it’s unlikely that I’d go to Med school. I’ll probably just go to through a masters program. I don’t know too much about PhDs.
Don’t some grad programs in math and science pay tuition for their students?
PHD programs are funded, but not too many “terminal master’s” programs. If by Master’s you mean the Master’s you get on you way to a PHD, yes, it’s funded (you typically get a tuition waiver in exchange for grading student papers or helping with classes).