My daughter just finished her junior year and we’d both like for her to make great progress on college apps this summer/
She should be a NMF, so her safety/match schools are UCF, USF, UF, and maybe UA or UTD; we expect she’ll receive more or less full-ride scholarships from these options.
All her other schools will likely be reach schools, including match schools that are a financial reach because she’d very generous need or merit aid. Since they all seem like a lottery at this point, we’re having trouble narrowing down the list - and in fact, the reach list seems to keep growing.
So I’m hoping to get some pragmatic advice on reach schools that are a financial/academic fit and not a complete pipe dream.
STATS -I hate the term, but I would say she’s an “average excellent” student. IB program, highest rigor, 4.0 UW, 4.8-ish W, not sure about rank but top five in county (of ~5000) so I think she’s at least top three in her class, 1550 SAT (one sitting only). She hopes to score a 36 on ACT (mainly b/c her friend has a perfect score. LOL. I’d give 50/50 odds.)
ECS - Mainly varsity and club swimming, part-time work, and a handful of typical EC clubs. A few awards, but nothing at the national level. No research etc. Some leadership, but ECs are a weak point - hard to fit more in when she swims/works 25 hours/week. (She started swimming in 8th grade, so is not recruit able at the most selective schools. HPYMS are incredibly fast for D3 swimmers! But her times are competitive at some D3 schools.)
FINANCES - Huge part of our decision-making. Single mom, no support or contact - father would likely not complete forms if we were to track him down. We are not receiving court-ordered child support, so I think we have a reasonable shot at a wavier, but it’s another hurdle. Our EFC averages around 14k, except at the most prestigious schools. This would be a financial stretch, but not impossible, particularly if loans aren’t included in package.
FIT: We both realize that she may very well need to go to a state school for financial reasons - and we’re grateful that’s an option. BUT she wants to take her best shot at looking at other options. She is particularly focused on leaving Florida, and is not excited about NMF schools in Texas, Alabama, Kentucky. (She’s never been to those states, so I am encouraging her to keep an open mind.) I worry about cold climates, as she’s never seen snow or experienced cold weather, but maybe I worry too much. (I came to UF at 17 b/c I found Virginia too cold…lol.)
She is also overly-focused on the rankings and prestige factor, but really what she wants are rich opportunities in terms of internships, study abroad, research, etc. She is adamant that she doesn’t want just an “average” career - she wants to make a difference AND have a reasonably high income. Unfortunately, she also doesn’t know what she wants to do - but it will likely be in science/math/statistic/economics/finance, but not engineering or pre-med. She also has an interest in working for the FBI or NSA as an analyst. (Her sister was an analyst, so I suppose that’s why.) She had considered a military academy, and while that’s now off the table, she does still have that inclination and has not ruled out ROTC if she can get the right scholarship.
Even though she is undecided, I think a school with a more pre-prof vibe might be best, as she’s very pragmatic, analytical and logical; I think the vibe at some universities might be too intellectual for her. She is also not interested in any women’s colleges. She is also politically liberal, but conservative in many other ways. For example, she found New College to be too “weird” and “crunchy” in her words - she ruled it out quickly."
In terms of size, I think mid-size would be ideal, but she’s flexible on that - as long as she’s not bored! She does have concerns about remote locations such as Grinnell and Sewanee.
I also hope she finds a school that will help her grow beyond being an excellent student; she has leadership skills and potential, but she needs the right environment to help her develop that side of herself.
QUESTION: So given the novel I’ve written, what reach schools would you suggest? Should she focus on schools that are an admissions reach (which tend to be pretty generous with need-based aid) or on less selective schools that offer large scholarships. I realize either approach will be very competitive, but I’d like to steer her towards schools where she has more than a snowball’s chance in Florida!
Some possibilities on the radar include Vanderbilt, Rice, Amherst, Davidson, Williams, Swarthmore, U of Richmond, Centre, Grinnell, Washington and Lee…then there are a ton of less selective schools that offer a handful of scholarships. We’ve also crossed out many “top contenders” because I don’t see a reasonable chance of an affordable financial package - Duke, UNC-CH, Wake Forest, UVA. But really, I feel like the more we’ve learned, the less we know…!