I decided to not apply to any public schools and do strictly private due to financial circumstances. I am looking for schools that meet almost 100% financial need. I have been looking into Oberlin, Macalester, and Reed but I feel as if those are reaches because my stats aren’t too superb. Also, I am looking to stay mainly in the midwest (I have Reed up there because I’ve always loved Portland). I currently have one other match/safety- St. Olaf. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
3.7 UW, 3.86 W, 29 ACT, currently in AP Psych, AP Calc AB, AP Comp Sci Principles, okay EC’s (involved in orchestra, member of a few clubs, volunteer hours, NHS), also not sure if this helps but I currently am a dental assistant and am planning on going into pre-dentistry.
Often your in-state public schools are going to be your best deals. What state do you live in? If you are in Minnesota or WIsconsin, have you looked at UM-Morris? It is a public liberal arts college, and you should get in-state tuition from either of those states.
What is your specific financial situation?
You might look at Franklin & Marshall. It isn’t probably as close to home as some others, but they are strong in the sciences and meet need. However, they are not need blind for admissions (so if you need a lot of aid, it could hurt you). But they would still be a worthwhile addition to your list.
I assume you know how to run the net price calculator on each college website to see what your costs might be.
If you are willing to travel east, there are several such LACs that you’d have a somewhat better shot of getting into, like:
Lafayette - Low reach/high match
Connecticut College - High match/match
Trinity (CT) - High match
Holy Cross - Low reach/high match
Union - High match
Franklin & Marshall - High match/match
This is the list i referenced. Obviously there are many more schools for you to peruse:
Lots of those schools meet need, but are not need blind in admissions. So if you need a lot of aid, you should be aware that it can reduce your admission chances.
Another thing that you must consider is if you are a young woman, it could be even harder for you to be admitted due to gender balancing. The schools on your list they tend to receive a lot of applications from young women an will need young men to balance the class.
Yeah I’m from Illinois and UIUC in-state is still super expensive, so I was thinking of just omitting that entirely. I would apply to UIC, but my sister goes there and they aren’t that helpful with financial aid. @intparent
I will look into that list, thank you so much! @prezbucky
Yes I am a woman, will that really be that big of a factor? @sybbie719
Yes because gender balancing is part of the institutional mission. If you look at the common data sets for these schools you will see the that the number or women applicants far exceed the number of men applicants but the number of admitted students of each gender is approximately the same. It will be easier for a young man to be admitted than a young woman. There is an article : to all the women I’ve rejected written by the dean of admissions at Kenyon that addresses the gender balancing issue
Connecticut College, Denison, DePaul, Franklin & Marshall, Marquette (probably won’t get money but my score’s already sent so there’s no harm in trying), Reed, St. Olaf, Trinity, Tulane, Union. Thoughts/suggestions?
Also I am applying to Oberlin and Macalester through QuestBridge.
I’d suggest you get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and read carefully about each college on this list. Your GC or local library should have one. It is okay if it is a few years old, the descriptions should still hold up.
if you fit academically, environmentally and socially with each of those schools and can afford them -- run the NPC for each school -- that list is fine.
Regarding the women’s colleges, they’re all selective and very good. They are all in consortia with other institutions. You can take classes at the other schools if you so desire.
Smith & Mount Holyoke are in the 5 Colleges consortium with Amherst, UMass and Hampshire.
Bryn Mawr is in the Quaker Consortium with UPenn, Swarthmore and Haverford.