<p>Cumulative GPA: ~3.25
Freshman GPA: ~2.6
Sophomore GPA: ~3.1
Junior GPA: ~3.9
ACT: 31 Composite; 33 English, 34 Math, 30 Reading, 26 Science
SAT: Have not taken
Extracurricular: I'm lacking in these, and saying that is probably embellishing.
Finance: Costs do need to be taken into consideration.
Essays: I'm confident in my ability to right a decent if not good essay.
Recommendations: Got a few from some good teachers that liked me and I learned a lot from.</p>
<p>So I'm looking to stay instate (Michigan) because it is so much cheaper. I have almost nothing that could count as an extracurricular or as volunteering. I know this is a big negative and I'll try to get something to put on my resume. My grades were pretty bad at the beginning of high school, but I have brought them up a lot and have always had an improvement in each semester, getting a 4.05 in the second semester of junior year. My course load was not too rigorous, mostly standard classes. I am currently in AP Spanish 5 so that's five years of a language. </p>
<p>The colleges I'm looking at include Michigan State, Michigan Tech, U of M Dearborn and transferring to Ann Arbor after two years, and maybe Oakland University as a backup. I'm interested in going to school for computer science or maybe engineering. Can anyone guess my chances at getting in, or have any reason why I should pick one over the other?</p>
<p>One of my major questions is about financial aid. I'm not sure what kinds of financial aid I qualify for, or how to find out. This is something that may be crucial when picking my college, and I really want to be more informed. If someone could point me in the right direction for this that would be great.</p>
<p>I really want to go to the best college I possibly can, and some responses would make a world of difference to me. Tell me if I'm reaching too far or too low, or throw a new college on the table. Any input helps.</p>
<p>Colleges all have something called the net price calculator on their websites now (usually on the financial aid page). Go and run that calculator for all these schools, and it will give you an idea what you would be expected to pay and what kind of financial aid package you might get. You will need help from your parents, as their financial information is needed. Note that the calculators aren’t always correct if you have divorced parents, they own a small business, have trusts, or own investment real estate. Usually you will have to pay more than the calculator shows in those instances.</p>
<p>I would say you are a match for all the schools on your list (Dearborn & Oakland are probably safeties). Your first three are going to be your strongest choices – you should visit all three, compare the cost and financial aid offers, and pick the one that suits you best. The risk with Dearborn is that you won’t successfully transfer to Ann Arbor, though. In that case, State or Tech would probably be better options.</p>
<p>Which of the universities is within 45 mins - 1 hr commuting distance? You can save about 60% of the expense in boarding & lodging if you can stay at home & commute. </p>
<p>Michigan’s Flint campus has a guaranteed 2+2 (engineering) or 2+3 (dual degree, engineering + liberal arts) transfer program to Ann Arbor campus that might be attractive.</p>
<p>You may also explore Michigan State’s course in web design / user experience / information authoring called “Experience Architecture” in the college of arts. </p>
<p>As mentioned, utilize the net price calculator ; add 3-5% for tuition increase per year, and roughly 8-10% for higher division (Junior & Senior level classes) to estimate overall cost of a 4 year education.</p>
<p>Your cumulative GPA would be low for Michigan State. With your upward trend and your well-above-average scores, you might have a good shot at admission. Can your family afford the ~$20K/year costs? On average, MS covers 62% of demonstrated need. So if you get in and get aid, there is likely to be a gap in coverage. </p>
<p>Michigan Tech is slightly more expensive, but on average covers a higher percentage of demonstrated need (about 70%). Still, you may be left with a significant gap and a heavy “self help” burden (student loans + work-study).</p>
<p>Unfortunately, outside the 75-100 most selective schools, colleges typically do not cover anywhere near 100% of demonstrated need. So to cover your financial safety base, you probably should apply to at least one public school within commuting distance in case you need to eliminate room & board costs.</p>
<p>Another possibility:
if you do well on the SATs and first semester senior year GPA, you might have a decent shot at admission and aid from a private school such as Kalamazoo or Hope. These schools are much more expensive than in-state public schools (at full sticker). However, the net cost after n-b aid could wind up being a little lower than Michigan State’s. Run the net price calculators to check.</p>
<p>Try to be creative (without stretching the truth) about your extracurricular activities. These could include reading or hobbies. How about volunteering this semester at a local soup kitchen or Habitat for Humanity? You sound like (and can honestly present yourself as) a late bloomer.</p>
<p>The good news for the OP is that a comp sci or engineering degree will likely position him/her to pay back some loans if necessary. I would say that K-zoo and Hope are not very strong schools for those majors, also. Tech is actually quite good (one of the national merit finalists from D2’s high school from a nearby state – not Michigan – just started there as a freshman).</p>
<p>Both Michigan Tech and UM Dearborn are very good for CS and you’re very likely to be admitted. Even without a transfer to Ann Arbor, you’d be fine staying at Dearborn for your degree. Saginaw Valley also has a very up-and-coming CS program, and Western Michigan also has a very good Engineering program. With your ACT you might qualify for their honors program and one of their scholarships, too. Kalamazoo College is a great small LAC but they only have 2 CS faculty now as they’ve really decreased support for that program. Enjoy your search!</p>
<p>Thank you for all the replies. Right now I think I’m leaning towards Michigan Tech but I’m going to do more research. </p>
<p>The thing with maybe living at home and cutting the cost of room and board is that I really don’t want to live at home anymore. That might sound like a stupid thing to say considering how much money it could save, but I want to try living on my own, or at least away from my parents. </p>
<p>My dad and I will probably look at the net price calculator for these schools sometime this week. Are there any third party scholarships or something that I could apply for? Anything is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>By far the best merit scholarships are given by the colleges themselves. Look at the financial aid website of each college you are interested in and see if there are special application materials or cutoff dates for any merit scholarships, though. I know there is a big one at Tech, but it is hard to get (the NMF kid I know who went this fall was hoping to get it, but did not).</p>
<p>Usually the third party scholarships are just for one year. Still do them for the extra help if you find some. Use the library for searches, librarians usually know how to look for these or have resources. You can sign up for some of the online searches but use a disposable email account because you will get spammed forever.</p>
<p>Just a word of caution about Michigan Tech. </p>
<p>Based on my son’s experience a couple of years ago, Michigan Tech was the stingiest. Despite the fact that he was a National Merit finalist, had perfect ACT/ SAT II scores, GPA, great engineering related extra curriculars & excellent teacher recommendations, he was not even offered an inviation to their campus specially reserved for scholars. My S was very disappointed with Michigan Tech’s scholarship offer of $4000/yr, the least among several engineering schools that were better known than Michigan Tech. </p>
<p>Michigan, Michigan State & quite a few other nationally reputed engineering schools were far more inviting & generous with their scholarships.</p>