I’m a junior in high school and I’m starting to look at colleges. Looking through colleges, I’m completely overwhelmed. Looking through thousands of colleges is nearly impossible. I was hoping someone could suggest come colleges to look into, here’s some of my grades and what I’m looking for in a college:
GPA:3.8
SAT:1400
I’m an IB diploma candidate
I’m graduating in 2018
My out of school activities are dancing, soccer, key club and band.
I’ve completed around 80 community service (planning to have ~150 hours by graduation)
What I’m looking for in a school:
Far but not too far- I live near Buffalo, New York
The “name” of the school is relatively important to me
And that’s really all I have so far, I know it’s not too much information but I would really appreciate it if someone could recommend some colleges for me to look into.
Get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges as a good starting place. A copy a few years old is okay, the description part is still good. Your GC or library may have it.
Also talk to your parents about how much they can pay, and ask them to help you run the net price calculator on the website of each school you look at.
Work on finding a couple of safeties first – schools you are quite sure if getting into, has your planned major, you know you can afford it, and you would be happy to attend. Stop thinking about the “name”.
There are websites like College Board and College Confidential on which you can enter your preferences and recommended colleges will pop up. They’ve been pretty useful for me.
Is there anything in particular that you want in a college? You haven’t mentioned many preferences (big/small, rural/urban, lots of parties, etc.) If you know, post them so people can give good recommendations. If you’re not sure yet, I would suggest that you try to visit a few places to see what type feels good to you.
Also, try not to stress too much. I would say you’re in a very good position starting your college search early in your junior year.
Good luck!
This generally implies a “reach” school at which your SAT score would be no higher than typical. You can compare your score here to colleges of potential interest:
How much will your parents pay each year? Ask them, please don’t guess. We see later posts from a lot of disappointed students who thought their parents would pay more.
Make a list of all the colleges within a half-day of home.
Sort them by size.
Tour a variety of college types (say a small private college, a professional-oriented school, a large state campus).
Even if you don’t want to apply to the local small, liberal arts college (for example), it can be a stand-in for one that is further away to just see how you like that type of school.
Figure out if a particular type or size of college appeals more to you than others.
Make a list of all the classes you’ve done in high school and the activities.
Sort them by love/hate.
What would you love to do more of?
What sorts of classes/activities bubble to the top? What specifically did you like or hate about the experiences on your list?
Figure out what sorts of majors will let you continue to do the kinds of things you enjoy.
For HS Freshman - Juniors, parents and student should absorb articles and have an understanding of information - US News and World Report Best Colleges 2017 edition is a very good read. Under $20 via B & N - got free ship with ordering a couple other books I wanted. Can order via Barnes and Noble or can order direct from source, 800 836 6397. ISBN 978-1-931469-78-4. Use to be able to get retail when it came out at bookstores like B & N, but past couple of years have needed to order.
By understanding over time how various schools operate, how scholarships operate, thinking through all kinds of options - one can be best prepared for senior year applications and decisions.
It is helpful to visit some of the very possible school options to see what you like/don’t like - very much get on campuses before senior year - helpful to spread out over HS years to be thinking things through, and also have parents/family views too. It also gets the reality of college expenses and decision making in focus.
Sometimes one may sharply decide a different major along the way. Try to explore careers and even participate with programs that help you decide (Student Introduction to Engineering one week summer program for example). You want to be able to start and stay at the same campus especially if you have four year scholarships there - it also helps with ‘finish in four’.
Some parents and HS advising may be helpful, some may not be well informed.
University of Rochester is an excellent school very close to you. Highly-ranked and steadily rising in recent years. Good mix of liberal arts and STEM and research and music. Pretty campus, private, medium sized. Since you’re a junior, check out the Bausch and Lomb Scholarship ($7500/yr to UR).
Find out how much your parents will pay/year. NYU is $70k/year and doesn’t offer much aid. Syracuse offers merit, but I don’t think it’s guaranteed. Michigan will be expensive for an OOS resident. Cornell is tough to get into. Maybe run some Net Price Calculators to see what these colleges might cost and find out if your parents are comfortable with the results.
First: calculate your efc. Then, alongside your parents, run the NPC on your state flagship as well as your favorite colleges.
Discuss budget, financial aid, merit aid.
Do local visits as suggested in #7.
Then, look for safeties - 2 colleges that share some characteristics with your favorite ones, but admit 40-60% students. Make sure they’re affordable.look into scholarship criteria and deadlines.
Then, look for about five matches.
Add the reaches at the end. Decide if you can apply Ed to one.
There are so many very good schools, that when I referred to USNWR was not using the numbers to ‘choose’ a school, Many students have a goal of admission to a high ranked school and not seeing beyond the numbers. By having enough information early enough, parents and students can sort things through with all their specifics and what they find out from the degree programs looked into, the campus visits, etc.
Safeties do mean affordable and where a student can gain admission; hope to have all the program specifics student is looking for, and somewhere that the student will be successful and happy - often intertwined. Happy enough to be successful, not “I won’t be happy unless I go to XXX”.