Help a friend !!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Sorry for being a little lengthy.....So, D1 is heading off this week to Penn as a freshman, but a friend is an upcoming senior and has had very little 'guidance' from her parents or guidance counselor, and I have been trying to help her sort out her options. Any help you all can provide would be great. The basics:</p>

<p>White female, rank in top 5-10 of large public school class of 475 in Central PA. School is considered one of top 2 in our region...a prior 'silver' medal winner from USNWR. She takes the most rigorous courses, including multiple APs.</p>

<p>GPA 3.94 unweighted</p>

<p>SAT 2230 (forgot breakdown, but pretty even). No SAT2s yet or ACT. PSAT was not NMSF.</p>

<p>Decent ECs: Field hockey 9-11, NHS, very involved 4 years in singing and school theater, operation smile club 10th, yearbook for 11/12 and editor 12th, future teachers club, plays piano and teaches piano lessons, leading worship at her church</p>

<p>Letters of recommendation should be excellent...she is bright, very personable, and well-liked by peers and teachers.</p>

<p>Her interests academically include mainly the humanities, including English, history, and languages. She is considering going on to an advanced degree and can see herself becoming a college professor.</p>

<p>She leans toward a small to medium school (class of 500-2500) on the eastern coast, rural or suburban but would not rule out a city. She defintiely wants to remain active in singing in some aspect as well.</p>

<p>One potential issue is that she probably needs a fair amount of financial aid...I am estimating her family income is $60-80K. She is a little nervous about applying to 'expensive schools'...but I have tried to reassure her that the top schools provide very good need based aid.</p>

<p>In talking to her over the last couple of weeks, by initial thoughts for her were:</p>

<p>Reaches: Dartmouth, Princeton, Amherst, Swarthmore, ?Brown/Penn-urban
Possible Matches: Hamilton, Colgate, Lafayette, Bucknell, William and Mary, Richmond
Safeties: Muhlenberg, James Madison</p>

<p>She has visited a few schools and really liked Hamilton. Did not like Gettysburg..not sure why...possibly too small or too close!</p>

<p>Here's where you all come in!! What other suggestions would you have for this gal? Are my thoughts for her possibilities realistic? Any help you all can give would be very much appreciated.</p>

<p>CDK</p>

2

<p>Start here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
Your D’s friend might get some very good FA from Denison University if she likes LACs.</p>

3

<p>I would say that Lafayette, Bucknell, and Richmond aren’t matches. They are more like low matches/safeties. James Madison is too below her level even for a safety</p>

4

<p>

I wouldn’t be making statements like that. Many stellar HS students have been welcomed and challenged at schools that were not in USNews Tier 1.</p>

5

<p>^ I only meant to say that she could use better schools as her safeties. I didn’t mean to insult the school, students, or alumni. Of course college is what you make it and the school could provided her with quite the challenge. I am sorry if I was unclear.</p>

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<p>Sometimes the best merit comes from schools where the applicant is in the top 5% of the pool. If a school has 5-10 full-rides, and the school otherwise is a fit, a “lower-tier” school is often the best option.</p>

7

<p>^good point</p>

8

<p>If you think family income is possibly less than $60K, Questbridge might be an option.</p>

<p>Schools that meet full financial need with no or capped loans would be good places to look. How about Davidson?</p>

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<p>Thanks all. I will definitely have her check out Denison and Davidson. Any other possible ‘fits’ or safeties that people would recommend??</p>

<p>I have heard of Questbridge…but what exactly is it and what is the income cutoff?</p>

10

<p>[QuestBridge</a> Home](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/)</p>

<p>She’d have a very solid chance at W & M, though OOS admits are tough and also tough to predict; sounds like she’d fit in well there, too. But the finaid for OOS students is not good. There are many excellent a capella singing groups on campus.</p>

<p>More of a safety, but with a similar feel - Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. Still a VA public, though, but perhaps more finaid for kids like your d, who would be among the very top applicants? She sounds like a strong applicant for merit (and need-based) aid at Richmond. Four years ago, there was an earlier application deadline there for merit aid applicants, so I suggest checking that out.</p>