Help guide me compile a list of colleges. Confused senior here. Immigrant parents--

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm the child of Polish immigrant parents. They don't know much about college apps, and I thought I could get some help from the CC community. I appreciate it. </p>

<p>Let me know what facts you guys will need to help me make a list of schools. I don't have a limit to the number of schools I'll be applying to. Eventually, I'll ask for your help in picking the right ones.</p>

<p>I'll start off with some stats:</p>

<p>White male
Cum. GPA: 3.955
Lowest GPA in a class: Physics, 3.7
APs Junior year: 2, Bio (4), USH (4)
APs Senior year: 5, Comp Sci, GoPo, Lang/Comp, Calc BC, Physics C
SAT: CR 650, M 690, W 720. Total: 2060
ECs: Recycling Club 2 years, Swim Team 9th Grade (lettered), Rowing team all years, Rowing team captain, 5th and 9th in Varsity 8+ at Youth Nationals.
Community Service: approx 100 hrs. (2 food banks, 2 years at a camp for disabled youth, auction, retirement home)</p>

<p>Another fact: I switched high schools, and then switched back for 1st semester of Junior year. This isn't a red flag. I have a reason, but it's private. Got a 4.0 at the other school.</p>

<p>I don't have a list of schools I want to apply yet. However, I think I'll be applying to the University of Washington. I would love to go to a top school in Boston. Please make recommendations on where to apply and where not to apply, and give a short reason why you think so.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Here's the first school:</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>University of Washington - because it is a great local school, state flagship, and family is close.</p></li>
<li><p>XXX - …</p></li>
<li><p>XXX - …</p></li>
<li><p>XXX - …
…</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>And disregard major right now. I’m undecided. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Tufts
Boston College
Boston U (Bad financial aid)
Northeastern</p>

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<p>Cost should be a major factor.</p>

<p>What can you family afford?
Best to ask if your parents can show you their 2011 Income Tax return and you run the Net Price Calculator (NPC) from each college’s website.</p>

<p>Is the GPA weighted or unweighted?</p>

<p>Is the SAT 1 sitting? If so, you should consider taking ACT or the SAT again. Many scholarships will want 1400 CR/M.</p>

<p>Do you want an Urban school?<br>
Why Boston in particular?</p>

<p>Do you only want large schools?</p>

<p>Rowing should be highlighted on your apps as much as possible. Many of the Boston schools have rowing.</p>

<p>You need a solid safety school – Have you considered Western Washington?
or Evergreen (based upon the Recycling club)</p>

<p>TUFTS - You should try to get the SAT score up a bit for Tufts.</p>

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<p>As far as majors go, consider that many majors require a competitive admission process to declare for undeclared UW students (computer science is said to be extremely difficult to be admitted to):</p>

<p>[UW</a> Advising - List of Majors](<a href=“http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/majors/majoff.php]UW”>http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/majors/majoff.php)</p>

<p>In what general area (science, engineering, humanities, social studies, etc.) are your possible majors?</p>

<p>Cost constraints should be a major factor; check the net price calculators on college web sites.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Not sure why recycling club would imply Evergreen (it does have unusual course and curriculum offerings that may be attractive to some students, but completely inappropriate for others, but that is beside the point). Washington State would be another possible in-state public to consider as a possible safety.</p>

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<p>@LongHaul Cost is not a factor. The GPA is UW - my school doesnt weight GPAs and none should. Also, I will not be considering schools like Western and Evergreen. Like I said, cost isn’t really a factor. I would like to go to the best school I can get into. Or, at least try to get in the best schools I can, and then choose from those which school would best fit me.</p>

<p>I don’t care if the school is in a big city or in the middle of nowhere. I just like the city of Boston, and if I could go to a top school there, then that would be awesome.</p>

<p>I don’t really consider Tufts as a school inside Boston.</p>

<p>Yes, I am aware that many schools in Boston have rowing. I mean, I’ve been in the sport for years and hope to row in college.</p>

<p>Recycling club isn’t something I was very passionate about after the teacher died, but it was an EC nevertheless. I’m more passionate about rowing. As you can see, I’m the team captain.</p>

<p>@LongHaul, why do you suggest that I should emphasize rowing more than anything on my app? I think it’s obvious that rowing is a major part of my life evident in the hours I spend in practice and impressive race results. There’s more to me than rowing.</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus I am interested in bioengineering, biology, philosophy, and languages. Fairly broad interests, but I plan on going to med. school or attaining some other terminal degree.</p>

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<p>“cost is not a factor”</p>

<p>“I plan on going to med. school or attaining some other terminal degree.”</p>

<p>Generally speaking, if you aren’t good enough to receive full funding for a Ph.D. program, you shouldn’t attend. However, there are very few scholarships for an MS Eng. or Med School (hence the standard advice to attend the undergraduate college/university that works out cheapest for you). Unless your family has upwards of $500,000 stashed in your college fund, you certainly need to think about the potential costs of your undergraduate education and the various post-grad programs you could end up in. Sit down with your parents, and find out what kind of money really is available, and whether or not they plan on helping you pay for your post-graduate studies.</p>

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<p>@"happy"momof1 ^Don’t tell me what is and isn’t a factor. If you are really curious, my parents don’t even HAVE a college fund set up for me (or need one). Let me inform you that you did not respond to the thread. I’m tired of parents - that’s right, PARENTS - going on a high school forum trying to, I don’t know what you guys say anymore, “beat” some sense into us. OK! Thanks for the lesson! Why don’t you post another 10,000 things about if your daughter should take AP Lit or AP Lang/Comp. Parents, stay out of this. Or, just answer my question.</p>

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<p>student1017</p>

<p>You may be aware that relatively good colleges will more or less “grade” you on your social interactions and your ability not to irritate the other students or the staff during the college tour and the interview process. You may also be aware that in approaching people to whom you broadcast a request for advice, your mannerisms come off as inflexible, moderately egocentric if not monomanical, and puerile (that’s an SAT word, also). You had better be bringing with you a dufflebag full of gift money to the college if you intend to sustain that level of arrogance and derangement.</p>

<p>Notwithstanding all that, I support barrk’s recommendations of Boston College and Tufts.</p>

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<p>Ok cool. Thanks for the recommendations. Nice job trying to impress me with SAT words. </p>

<p>P.S. This is a shared account, and there is more than 1 person represented.</p>

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<p>The top schools inside Boston-Cambridge are Harvard and MIT. Your SATs are not high enough to have a realistic shot at either one. Your other options (inside the Boston/Cambridge city limits) include Boston College, Northeastern, and Boston University. BC does not have engineering programs (but you might like it for philosophy or biology.)</p>

<p>Tufts does have a school of engineering, and your stats are high enough to give you a shot at admission (although it would be a reach). True, it is not inside Boston (it’s in Medford). However, it is on the Red Line (Davis Square station) into Cambridge and Boston.</p>

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<p>Yikes! What an attitude!
You go on a <em>public</em> forum asking for advice and then you verbally abuse the people who are trying to help you (most of whom are parents, by the way, who have been to college, worked with people who’ve been to college, and who’ve been through this process with one or more of their own kids).</p>

<p>Nowhere does it say this forum is for students only. </p>

<p>If you want better advice, and since you can clearly afford it, hire a professional college counselor. Seriously! You get what you pay for :-)</p>

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<p>“my parents don’t even HAVE a college fund set up for me (or need one)”</p>

<p>Then your parents presumably are earning significantly more and/or have significantly larger assets than what most “immigrant parents” who “don’t know much about college apps” tend to be earning and/or have in assets. Which is why I brought up the issue of the combined cost of a full undergrad degree and medical school (another thing that immigrant parents often are pretty clueless about). Unfortunately, come April, a surprising number of students whose parents’ earn amazing amounts of money and/or have ginormous investments find themselves starting threads in the Financial Aid Forum asking how they can pay for the colleges and universities that they have been admitted to. </p>

<p>Now for some more free advice: Don’t share your account. Each of you will be able to get more personalized advice if you create your own accounts. You can always read each other’s posts and follow each other’s threads if you wish to, but your individual voices will be much clearer to your readers.</p>

<p>Wishing all of you all the best.</p>

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<p>Sharing your account is a violation of CC’s rules.</p>

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<p>Northeastern isn’t really an ideal school for those wanting to study languages or philosophy. But it IS an interesting choice for those interested in engineering or sciences: the school’s biggest attraction (besides the downtown-Boston campus) is the co-op program. Co-ops are paid, full time, semester-long internships in your field. You can do as many as 3 internships (and graduate in 5 years) or as few as 1 (and, with summer school, still graduate in 4.) </p>

<p>With your grades/stats you could possibly get decent scholarship/grants. And Northeastern is building its regional diversity, so your west coast location is a plus. </p>

<p>Also, as long as money is not an issue, why not consider the University of California? The Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses are world famous. Santa Barbara, Davis and Irvine also have world-class departments. You have the grades to get in, and you imply also the $50,000+/per year, so why not give the UCs a shot too. </p>

<p>PS You owe happymomof1 an apology. She’s a CC regular and has helped countless numbers of students, many of them international students or children of immigrants.</p>

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<p>You need to apologize to Happymom. She’s a very nice woman who provides thoughtful and accurate information to students and parents.</p>

<p>You’re very lucky to have immigrant parents who earn so much money that they can pay $60k+ per year out of current income. Few are so lucky. </p>

<p>You’ll have lots of choices for college as long as the schools don’t get a whiff of your unpleasant personality.</p>

<p>P.S. Who told you that this is a “high school forum”??? It’s not.</p>