Help an average student narrow the list...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have a list of colleges I'm interested in, but would appreciate more suggestions and could someone tell me what my chances are at these schools? I apologize for such a long list.</p>

<p>Background Information:
2 Years at an all girls boarding school in Massachussetts, only one Honors course with a 2.9 GPA (ouch!)...
Currently a Junior being homeschooled in Texas and making all A's, bringing my GPA up to 3.3, according to US News GPA calculator.
Frosh and Soph Years EC's:
JV Softball
JV Soccer
Alpine Ski Team
Sophomore Pages Yearbook Editor
Chosen by Head of School to be part of Leadership Research Team, where I interviewed the Prime Minister of Bermuda, the CEO of KMart, and several others...</p>

<p>This year I'm not doing EC's due to knee surgery and living in the boondocks, as well as commuting 1 hour each way every day to Sylvan to help me with my math.</p>

<p>I took the SAT when I had only taken Pre-Algrebra and Algebra I and these were my scores (def. retaking, now that I've had more math)
Verbal: 640
Math: 520</p>

<p>I intend to major in Psychology, and I'm looking for a small liberal arts school -NOT on the East Coast...any help would be appreciated, as I don't have any college counselor to help me. I will also be a first generation college student, for what it's worth.</p>

<p>I'm not sure where I will be going next year - I have been accepted to Brenau Academy in Georgia, and am still waiting to hear back from the Madeira School and the Colorado Rocky Mountain School. I am also applying to the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities, a dual college/high school credit program.</p>

<p>Whew! Sorry for the long post.</p>

<p>My List so far:
Reach?
Whitman College (WA)
Trinity University (TX)
Southwestern University (TX)
New College of Florida (FL)
Kalamazoo College (MI)
Grinnell College (IA)
Franklin and Marshall College (PA)
Dickinson College (PA)
DePauw University (IN)
Cornell College (IA)
Scripps College (CA)</p>

<p>Good Match Schools?
College of Wooster (OH)
Willametter Uinversity (OR)
Susquehanna University (PA)
St. Olaf College (MN)
University of Redlands (CA)
University of Puget Sound (WA)
Knox College (IL)
Hope College (MI)
Hood College (MD)
Hiram College (OH)
Eckerd College (FL)
Centre College (KY)
Austin College (TX)
Alma College (MI)</p>

<p>I'm not sure any of these are safeties, so if anyone could help me out there, it would be much appreciated. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>It's difficult to council you without seeing your curriculum and transcript or knowing how your final SAT scores will play out, but here are my thoughts based on your current SAT scores (really, we'd need to see your writing score for the new SAT as well to start to judge - some of these schools will be placing a strong emphasis on the writing next year):</p>

<p>High reach (by high reach I mean you are outside of their applicant pool with your current GPA and SAT scores):
Grinnell
Whitman College (WA)
Franklin & Marshall
Scripps
Trinity (TX)</p>

<p>Realistic reach (meaning you are in the lower part of their applicant pool with your current GPA and scores):
Southwestern University (TX)
Dickinson
St. Olaf
Kalamazoo
Willamette
University of Puget Sound</p>

<p>Match schools
DePauw
Kalamazoo College (MI)
Wooster
Knox
Austin
Cornell College (IA)
University of Redlands
Centre
Hiram
Eckerd
Knox
Hope
Pitzer</p>

<p>Possible Safety
Susquehanna
Hood
Alma</p>

<p>Now, you're missing some very good match and possible safety schools on your list. Take a look at the following schools which all have very good psychology programs.</p>

<p>Matches:
Beloit (Wisc.)
Lawrence (Wisc.)
Earlham (Indiana)
Hendrix (Arkansas)
Wittenberg (Ohio)
Hollins
Santa Clara U (CA)
Colorado College
University of Denver</p>

<p>Possible Safeties:
Augustana College (In Illinois, not too far from Knox)
Mills College (Calif.)
University of Portland (Oregon)
Otterbein (Ohio)
Guilford (NC)
Chapman (CA)
Lake Forest (Il)
Coe College (Iowa)
Pacific University (Oregon)
Seattle University (Wash)</p>

<p>Hope this helps you a bit!</p>

3

<p>too complex ~~~~ :(</p>

4

<p>I think Redlands is more of a high reach with those stats...carolyn?
But, yeah the rest of the list looks good.</p>

5

<p>I'd definitely look at Knox, Coe, Beloit and Earlham.</p>

6

<p>Look at these:
Reach: Trinity (TX), Southwestern
Matches: Tulsa, Austin, Baker U and Wooster</p>

7

<p>Thanks so much everyone - I have a quite a large list to narrow down.</p>

<p>Could anyone tell me what my chances are UT-Austin with those stats?
I'm a resident of Texas.</p>

8

<p>Ut Austin and Tx A&M are full of students admitted by the 10% rule- the top 10% of every graduating class in every TX high school is guaranteed admission at any TX school. They comprised 70% of UT Austin's freshman class last year, according to a recent article. As a home schooled student, I don't know how you'd fare with your stats. I do know that kids with similar stats from our high school don't make it. Our top 10% cut off last year was a 3.72 GPA. There's talk of eliminating or revamping the rules. Last year, the average SAT score of students NOT admitted under the 10% rule was HIGHER than the scores of those 10% students who were guaranteed admission.</p>

9

<p>Thanks cal0302, I really hope they do away with rule as UT is so overcrowded as it is anyway...do you know anything about Texas Tech? What would my chances be there? There isn't much info in these forums for Texas colleges...thanks.</p>

10

<p>Your list is all over the map in terms of the type of school and culture at the school -- Hope, for example, is a pretty conservative LAC in a pretty conservative part of Michigan. Grinnell is a very liberal school. UT-Austin is huge. You've got many LACs. You've got schools in the south, in the north, in-state, out-of-state... It would be really helpful if you could identify what you're interested in academically and ec-wise, what kind of environment you think you would like, if you need financial or merit aid, etc. If you've been to any colleges to visit, which ones, what did you like and dislike...</p>

11

<p>Well, my list is all over the map because I'm not concerned with where the school is located, but rather in getting a good education.</p>

<p>I'm interested mainly in psychology and philosophy, and I would prefer to attend a small school. UT and Texas Tech are on my list because my family will not be able to help me out with college and those schools have relatively cheap tuition.</p>

<p>I have not done any college visits - again, I'll be a first generation college student in my family and college has never been presented to me as an option.</p>

<p>I love to read and write, I love having discussion based classes. I haven't played any sports for more than one semester, so that isn't something I'll be seriously pursuing in college.</p>

<p>I don't want an extremely conservative school, nor do I want an extremely liberal school. I'd prefer middle of the road, with a good mix of students.</p>

<p>I'm not sure what extra curriculars I want in college, I've never been the type to take part in group activities. I would rather read a good book on my own than take part in an EC just because it looks good.</p>

<p>SO - I know I want to major in psychology and take courses in philosophy and perhaps some creative writing courses. I <em>am not</em> ruling schools out because of location. I will choose a school based on it's merit, not what state it's in. I don't want a party school, but I don't want to attend a school where students are studying 24/7, either. I want to be free to explore and experiment in college, which is why I was focusing on LACs. I am going to have to have good financial aid because my family will not be helping with school.</p>

12

<p>New College, St. Olaf, Whitman and Pitzer are all awesome schools you could probably get into.
Although New College's average scores are considerably higher than yours, they place a lot of value on the essays and some people with even lower stats can get in. This is true with a lot of liberal arts colleges.</p>

13

<p>" UT and Texas Tech are on my list because my family will not be able to help me out with college and those schools have relatively cheap tuition."</p>

<p>If your parents have such low income that they can't give you any money for college, then your #1 priority will need to be finding a college that you can afford. </p>

<p>Only a relative few colleges in this country promise to provide 100% of students' documented financial need. In addition, only a relative few colleges in this country also make admissions decisions without taking finances under consideration.</p>

<p>Because you have such high financial need and you also lack scores that would put you in range of places like Ivies, which are among the need-blind colleges that promise to give students the aid that they need, your options have some major limitations. Typically, the bottom SAT scores for places like Ivies is about 1200, and very few students get in with such low scores. </p>

<p>If you will be going to a prep school next year, your GC probably will have some connections that could help you with scholarships and admissions. </p>

<p>If that doesn't happen, probably your best bet for affordable college would be your state university system. It may even have a special program like Trio or Upward Bound for first generation college students. One important thing to keep in mind: Many public institutions do rolling admission. As the academic year proceeds, the admission standards become tougher as the class fills up. In addition, financial aid may be alloted on a first come, first served basis, so apply as soon as possible during your senior year.</p>

<p>it also may be that some private colleges near your home have special programs/scholarships for low income, first generation local students. Check into that. </p>

<p>In addition, community college might be a good option. Depending on your state, the community colleges might have excellent scholarships plus virtually guarantee admission to state public institutions as long as you keep your grades up and take the courses that would allow you to transfer. Community colleges also tend to have services/programs in place to help first generation college students, so take the time to find out what's available in your state.</p>

<p>One private college that you should check out is Berea College. It is a small liberal arts college that is affordable and accepts only low income students:</p>

<p>"Do I Qualify for Admission?
*
Admission to Berea College is competitive. Eligibility is determined in two major areas:
academic and financial.
ACADEMIC ELIGIBILITY
Admission to Berea College is academically competitive. We have a limited number of spaces in each year's entering class, and are looking for financially deserving students who have strong academic potential.
Most of our students score between 20 and 30 on the ACT (930-1350 SAT) and have a cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.0 in a strong College Prep curriculum. Students may take either the ACT or SAT. We also consider other factors such as community service, leadership qualities, and level of motivation.
We recommend, but do not require, the following high school curriculum:</p>

<ul>
<li> Four (4) units of English (including composition, rhetoric, and literature) </li>
<li> Three (3) units of Mathematics (at least Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry) </li>
<li> Two (2) units of Laboratory Science </li>
<li> Two (2) units of Social Science/History (including World History) </li>
<li> Two (2) units of foreign language </li>
</ul>

<p>Transcripts and official score reports are required for evaluation of academic qualifications.
FINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY
Since Berea College provides a remarkable opportunity for students who have great academic promise but limited economic resources by awarding everyone a 4-year, tuition scholarship, the College has established a policy for determining each family's financial eligibility for admission.
For 2005-06, that policy permits a maximum annual parental contribution of $4,200—as determined by Congressional Methodology, using each family's information as provided on the FAFSA. "</p>

<p><a href="http://www.berea.edu/futurestudents/domestic/admissions/doiqualify.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.berea.edu/futurestudents/domestic/admissions/doiqualify.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>