Help me decide where to go to college - PLEASE

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi,
I've been a big fan of CC for a while now and have gotten tons of info! This is my first time posting, so if necessary please help me if this is the wrong place for this thread.</p>

<p>Here's the deal: I'm a senior and need help choosing where to apply for colleges. Because the good people at CC seem to know a lot about this, I thought I'd ask you guys for help.
If it is relevant, here are some "stats":</p>

<p>ACT 35
National Merit Semifinalist
GPA 4.0, Class Rank 1 of 68
Activities: XC, Musical, Track, Speech (State Champ), NHS (President), Student Council, Teens for Life, etc.</p>

<p>I'm looking to get the most bang for my buck (as far as how much money nat'l merit and act can get me - full ride would be nice) but I also want to go to a great school.
I know that I want to go to a "bigger" school. I do not care if it is private or public. I'm interested in musical theatre, but am not sure if I will pursue it as my main degree. I'm planning on majoring in something else (a degree that has more stable job prospects), but I'd like a school with great music opportunities. Location is not a big deal for me.</p>

<p>So far I thought I'd apply to: UNL, Yale, Harvard, Princeton. Penn State and Michigan are options. </p>

<p>What do you guys think? Do you know of any great quality state schools that would give me a lot of scholarship money? What do you think of Ivy's for me?</p>

<p>Again, I am really lost right now in my college search. I've been working really hard throughout high school to set myself up for options, but now I'm worried because I can't think of any colleges to apply to. Thanks for all your help!</p>

2

<p>In terms of NMF scholarships, one of the best is at U of Southern CA (it’s the highest ranked sponsored school if that matters to you). It’s $21,000 per year (total cost per year is 31K), which is half tuition, but USC requires you to list them as your #1 choice school. If you already put down a reach school as #1 choice then you don’t need to change that now, just before Feb. when they will expect the notification letter from NM corp. But do keep in mind that most of your reach schools won’t care as much about NMF standing since they have hundreds of them attending already. That’s why often students choose not to list their top reach school, but use the #1 choice school to strategize for scholarships. You can also update admissions for all schools on your own via email in Feb. to let them know that you reached Finalist standing. Only that one school will receive the letter in Feb/Mar, but it still is in your favor to let them know you are a Finalist. They all responded back to my son, “thank you for this additional information. We will make a note of it in your file”.</p>

<p>Some NMF sponsored schools do not require you put them down as #1 choice. Denison U. is one and offers a full tuition ride to some NMF (son got it --it’s called the Paschal Carter and is a separate application/essay due in Jan). You only have to send Denison a copy of your notification letter when it arrives in late Feb. early March. If you take the full tuition ride to Denison then you do have to change them to your #1 choice before mid-April. You can read about all the factors involved in choosing which schools to target for NMF scholarships here:</p>

<p>[National</a> Merit Scholarships - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/]National”>National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums)</p>

<p>Some families go for the full ride at Alabama (complete full ride, zero cost to you for entire undergrad!) and Mom2collegekids may fill you in on all the factors/benefits to taking bama’s NMF offer. </p>

<p>Obviously, you have some amazing stats and are likely to have some great offers come spring (or winter if you apply EA or ED somewhere). Even with these stats, do submit theatre supplements to all your reaches if applicable. Take the opportunities to interview if available. High stats is just no guarantee anymore in other words. The OOS school tuitions may not be worth it to you in the end, so determine how much your family can really afford --do a FAFSA forecaster on the gov. site. You can get a good indication of how much FA you will be offered. </p>

<p>Based on your stats, I would recommend that you apply to U of Virginia (where my son is a 1st yr. Art Scholar double majoring in Physics and Fine Arts :). I think you actually stand a chance to be chosen as an Echols Scholar (this does offer a scholarship). Their theatre dept. has recently had money poured into it (they just built an entire second theatre) and they are looking for talent to grow the dept. further. You have missed the deadline for a theatre supplement for Early Action (Oct. 1), but you still may be able to submit a supp. for regular admission round (but not sure). </p>

<p>So my suggestions would be:</p>

<p>-UNL (how much does NE offer NMF? I know they are a sponsored school, but not sure how much. And, see if they require the #1 choice letter if so since you need this to be a financial safety as well as a safety school).
-Yale
-Harvard
-Princeton
-Penn State (if you apply here, also apply to Shreyers Honors College-there’s another app.)
-Michigan
-UVA
-USC (if you aren’t willing to put them down as #1 choice, then you will need to choose another option for NMF that doesn’t require you to list them. Mainly bc you may have to list UNL as #1 choice school).
-Carnegie Mellon (need to have 3 subjects tests rather then the standard 2 at most top schools). </p>

<p>Good luck!!!</p>

3

<p>More UVA scholarships:</p>

<p>[College</a> and Dean’s Scholarships — Undergraduate, College of Arts & Sciences, U.Va.](<a href=“http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/college/awards/scholarships/]College”>http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/college/awards/scholarships/)</p>

4

<p>UVA meets need so if your family has a good income that may not be the best choice. If you are OOS for UMich and Penn State you would pay close to $50K/year. They don’t have much aid for OOS students. And you would be competitive for Ivies but they are all a crapshoot and only offer FA (though it tends to be among the better aid available).</p>

5

<p>Erin’s Dad, true, that’s why the link to the dean’s scholarships and mention of Echols Scholar program. You’re right, it’s only a good idea if OP is given one of the scholarship awards (but she can’t know unless she applies), OR if she’s eligible for need-based aid.</p>

6

<p>UNL (I have never heard of this.)
Yale, Harvard, Princeton (Good luck with these, but you don’t really have the stats)
Penn State (Decent safety; easy to get into)
Michigan (much closer to what you should be looking at)</p>

<p>You are missing the bulk of the schools in the 25-45 range.</p>

7

<p>Hi - thanks guys. Not a big deal, but I’m a “he”. </p>

<p>informative: As far as Ivy’s go, I know they are nearly impossible to get into. I’m wondering how I could improve my stats to get me in though? (Besides a point on the ACT). Thanks</p>

<p>Erin’s Dad: Disappointed to hear that about Mich and Penn. I knew they were rough on OOS students, but I had heard of some people on CC getting great scholarships to each of these schools.</p>

<p>jkiwmom: Thanks for your suggestions. I’m definitely looking for a school that I can study an academic area (maybe engineering) and the fine arts. I’ll have to look at Virginia. I do not plan on receiving too much financial aid due to my parents income. </p>

<p>informative: What do you mean when you say I am missing the bulk of schools in the 24-45 range? (Also, UNL is University of Nebraska at Lincoln… in my home state).</p>

<p>Thanks again guys.</p>

8

<p>I just wonder if you should add a few of the larger LACs just for comparison when spring comes. Wesleyan and Oberlin, for example----with very good to excellent music scenes. I’m not sure how much NMF aid there is, though. I think what the person who said 25 - 43 are missing meant was US News rankings; and I agree that it seems like a jump in quality on your list from Princeton to Penn State (with only Michigan in between). Not sure what the person meant about your stats! Northwestern might be a good place for music and theater but, again, I don’t know how much aid there could be.</p>

9

<p>

</p>

<p>This caught my eye. Actually, Carnegie-Mellon only requires two SAT subject tests. Georgetown is the only university I know of that that requires three; there may be others, but not CMU. </p>

<p>CMU probably isn’t your best choice of schools for merit dollars anyway.</p>

10

<p>Virginia and North Carolina are two good public schools that are said to meet need for out of state students.</p>

<p>Minnesota has a relatively low out of state list price.</p>

<p>Alabama has a lot of merit scholarships for your stats.</p>

<p>But a lot of public schools will be expensive with little financial aid for out of state students.</p>

<p>Some of the super-selective private schools like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT are quite generous with need aid. But getting in is difficult for everyone. Assuming you took the most rigorous courses available in your high school, your stats of 4.0 GPA and 35 ACT are plenty high enough that you won’t get rejected immediately on that basis, but because these schools are flooded with “near-maximum stats” applicants like you would be, the chances of admission are still low.</p>

<p>Try putting “cost of attendance” and “financial aid estimator” in each school’s search box.</p>

11

<p>@Mr. K, thanks for the correction. CMU did used to require 3, as did Princeton, but looks like that’s been changed. The only reason I thought 3 was because my son crossed it off his list last year. He didn’t want to take a 3rd, so his laziness made me remember that one. I know school admissions change from year to year, so I should have checked before blurting out that CMU required 3! I wasn’t obviously suggested CMU for merit, but because of the musical theatre program -one of the top.</p>

<p>OP, I have a question, does your school weight GPA’s? I’m assuming no, based on that you have a 4.0 and are ranked #1. Is that correct?</p>

12

<p>Nope, we do not weight GPA’s. I have a 4.0 on a 4.0 scale. Thanks!</p>

13

<p>Hey guys, I’m still floundering here a bit. Thanks for the help so far. I feel a little lost because it seems like I may be able to get decent scholarships to most schools - so where do I go?<br>
I’ve worked really hard for good grades, and I"d like to go to the best college possible for me. Does anyone have any schools they love? I want to be in a vibrant environment - great facilities, interesting teachers, and diverse students. Thanks.</p>

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<p><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;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html&lt;/a&gt;
What is your home state?</p>

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<p>USC does NOT REQUIRE you to put them as first choice UNTIL the May NMF deadline!!! Your 1/2 Tuition scholarship is AUTOMATIC if you are accepted[which I’m confident you would be, as USC is eager to attract students with your abilities], and make them your #1 choice after you decide to matriculate there . In addition, you should apply EARLY , BY Dec 1, to USC, in order to be considered for one of their 150 full tuition scholarships- the most offered by any top 25 U. Miss the Dec 1 deadline and you lose that chance. </p>

<p>USC Merit Scholarships</p>

<p>Administered through the Office of Admission, USC Merit Scholarships require students to apply for admission to the University by the December 1 deadline. All students who meet the December 1 deadline will be automatically considered for a scholarship.</p>

<p>Ranging in value from a few thousand dollars up to full tuition, merit scholarships are awarded based on academic excellence, leadership, service and talent. These include the full-tuition, four-year Mork Family and Trustee scholarships, the half-tuition Presidential Scholarship, and the one-quarter tuition Deans Scholarship.</p>

<p>“I want to be in a vibrant environment - great facilities, interesting teachers, and diverse students.”
USC has all of the above and profs their love nothing more than to work with really smart students! They have great Honors Freshman Science and Honors Humanities [ Thematic Options] programs, the student population is the most diverse of any top private U and USC is on a mission to become the Stanford of Southern California. Their financial goal for their endowment drive is 6 BILLION dollars- the largest of any U in US history. USC is on a ROLL- stealing great faculty from top U’s , building new facitilities all over campus, and attracting top students with their incredibly generous merit scholarships. </p>

<p>USC has a highly ranked Engineering school and a great Fine Arts school.</p>

<p>[Freshman</a> Profile - USC Undergraduate Admission](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/fresh_profiles.html]Freshman”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/fresh_profiles.html)</p>

<p>[USC</a> Scholarships - USC Undergraduate Admission](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/scholarship.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/scholarship.html)</p>

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<p>There seems to be some conflicting CC info. on USC then, bc I have heard that the Mar. notification letter has to go to them. One way to solve this is to email their admissions dept. and check. This USC link does say that it’s not automatic --the amount of scholarships available for NMF varies. If you get it then it’s half tuition or 21K. I agree, I think you will get it! </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1112/uscScholarships1213v2.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1112/uscScholarships1213v2.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>May 31 is date to fax #1 Choice (last year it was April 27). Page 3</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

17

<p>Hi, thanks guys. Thanks for the list of merit and NM guaranteed - I had been looking through that earlier.<br>
My home state is Nebraska.<br>
As far as USC, it may be worth applying to. I would probably only attend if I received the competitive full tuition scholarship. Although it sounds great, I want to keep costs low and I would have to spend a lot of money traveling.</p>

<p>UNL (the university in Nebraska) would offer me full tuition plus at least $2k for room and board. I definitely am not set on staying in Nebraska however. The idea of getting out and meeting new people (adventure) excites me.
I guess I could justify traveling to a great school… If it is a school similar to UNL, it seems a little unnecessary.</p>

18

<p>Menlopark mom was partially correct! However, USC does not go by the NM deadline of May 31 --it’s May 1 for USC. I was wrong that they don’t require #1 choice by March notification letter. I emailed USC admissions and here is there response:</p>

<p>Thank you for contacting the Office of Admission at the University of Southern California.</p>

<p>You should choose USC as your first choice as soon as possible, but our notification deadline is May 1.</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>OFFICE OF ADMISSION
University of Southern California</p>

<p>UNL is a wonderful university, so you certainly have a great option if that turns out to be where you will attend in the fall. I spent many time during my summers in Lincoln while growing up and I personally love Lincoln (grandparents lived in downtown by the Capitol). Do they have an honors college that you can also apply for? </p>

<p>Another option full tuition ride for NMF, and high academics (which USC is only half as you already know), then do look at Denison U. The campus is gorgeous and it was my son’s second choice school. It’s small, friendly, and they share a consortium library with Kenyon, Oberlin, and College of Wooster. There is a separate application for their NMF scholarship and it’s due at same time as Common App. (I think Jan. 1?). Google Paschal Carter Scholarship for PDF. It’s a long essay, so be prepared for that. You only need to send a copy of your National Merit Finalist letter when you receive it in late Feb. If you get the scholarship,iIt’s $156,000 over four years, bringing total cost to room and board only -about 13K yr. You also receive a $3,000 stipend for research. Good luck!</p>

19

<p>Northeastern offers full tuition for those that choose them as their first choice by the end of April. This year they had a hair under 150 people come in under this scholarship. Their US News ranking is #62, but their average SAT score is 1341 (to compare Boston College’s is 1342, BU’s is 1296), and they are the most applied to private school in the country. In addition they have a pretty robust Honors Program that leads to a lot of undergraduate research and co-ops. Here is a good slideshow that I stole from the faculty senate if you are interested. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.facultysenate.neu.edu/documents/Provost_Faculty_Senate_presentation_Sept_2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.facultysenate.neu.edu/documents/Provost_Faculty_Senate_presentation_Sept_2011.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>They also have a really cool music industry program. I know a lot of friends who have worked at different recording studios in NYC and LA for co-op, or people will start up their own company during that time. Jojo (that might age me) goes here as well as LL Cool J’s daughter so you see them around campus.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.music.neu.edu/[/url]”>http://www.music.neu.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>*one of the best is at U of Southern CA (it’s the highest ranked sponsored school if that matters to you). It’s $21,000 per year (total cost per year is 31K), *</p>

<p>??? Total cost per year is not $31k. </p>

<p>USC</p>

<p>tuition and fees:… $42,818
Room and board:… $12,078
Books and supplies:… $1,500
Estimated personal expenses:… $1500</p>

<h2>Transportation expense:… $580 (this is low) </h2>

<p>Total cost is about…$59k per year.</p>

<p>Alabama would give you…</p>

<p>Free tuition
Free housing (including honors Super Suites with private bedrooms)
study abroad money
$1k per year
iPad</p>

<p>And…if you major in Engineering or Comp Sci, you’d get an additional 2500 per year…so essentially a total FREE ride. </p>

<p>Bama enrolled 182 NMF freshmen this last Fall. Over 50% of Bama frosh are from out of state. Bama has students from all 50 states. </p>

<p>Bama has a brand new mega-sized Science and Engineering Complex (SEC). Over 600,000 square feet of new labs, classrooms, etc with state of the art equipment. It’s gorgeous and amazing. Another 200,000 square feet will be added this next year.</p>

<p>The buildings colored in blue are the new SEC Complex
[Science</a> quad building approved | TuscaloosaNews.com](<a href=“http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100409/NEWS/100409617?p=1&tc=pg]Science”>http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100409/NEWS/100409617?p=1&tc=pg)</p>

<p>Here’s a pic of Phase II of the SEC that was completed a year ago
[Earmark</a> loss won’t halt construction | TuscaloosaNews.com](<a href=“http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110116/NEWS/110119728]Earmark”>http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110116/NEWS/110119728)</p>

<p>[The</a> University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences “This is How College is Meant to Be” - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>