Help me find a safety?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I’m a rising senior, with an UW GPA of 3.6 and a weighted of 4.1, and my SAT is 1310, 610 math and 700 ERW. I have a max budget of ~35k/year but less is better. I’m interested in majoring in English, Communication, or Marketing, leaning towards English. I’d like to be in a city, but it seems like that’s a more expensive option so I’d be willing to compromise. Right now, my college list looks like this:
University of King’s College (Canada)
UNH (I have no interest in the school, I’m just applying because I’m in-state)
SUNY (Albany, Buffalo, Purchase, Binghamton, Geneseo)
Temple
UVM
Emerson
Hofstra
Pace
Seattle
DePaul

It’s a long list and I’m probably going to cut it down a bit, but I’m looking for advice on where to apply that will be affordable and interesting. Right now, the only schools I can count as affordable safeties are King’s, UNH, Albany, and Purchase.
Thanks for any help!

2

Any suggestions are welcome

3

If cost is important then look to the north midwest (like the Dakotas) or the south (Louisiana, Alabama, etc)

4

I think your list is a very good one. It looks like you’ve thought about it and found some places that would be a good fit. It sounds like Emerson would be great for you. AND you are correct to be looking at the financial side.

If you’re willing to travel, the Midwest might offer some opportunities. Some of the flagships are outstanding national research universities. They don’t receive as many applications as schools like UVA, UNC, Michigan, etc. that are ranked higher. Still, they draw many of the top students in their states, and quality OOS students as well. They are often much less expensive than some of these other schools, like Michigan. And many of them are urban.

University of Kansas: Lawrence is a great college town. Not a big city, like Boston, obviously, but a very nice restaurant area right by campus. We know a professor there who raves about the large number of restaurants, of all types.

Nebraska and Iowa are also urban schools. Iowa is very well known for creative writing, especially for grad students.

https://www.writinguniversity.org/content/writing-iowa

You can research what sort of aid is available to OOS students and run the NPC. I’m not sure if you can get the cost under $35k, but possibly.

For example, scroll down on this link to check out scholarships at UK for OOS students. Looks like you could get money and close to in-state tuition with KU Distinction scholarship.

https://admissions.ku.edu/tuition-scholarship/freshman

Another great possibility is VCU’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. VCU is really a better school than it appears in general rankings. It is especially strong in communications and art. It has a med school as well. It is an urban campus. Richmond (RVA) is undergoing a complete remodeling and has become very popular with students and young professionals in recent years. The campus is very close to the Fan, with many restaurants, etc.

https://robertson.vcu.edu

It would be too expensive without aid, and that would be more difficult to get as an OOS student, but you could run the school’s NPC.

https://finaid.vcu.edu/apply/cost/

Good luck!

5

Thank you so much for this! Do you think UMN would be a good midwestern choice?

6

Great school! It is one of the most urban state flagships, so that seems like it would great for you. I know less about your areas of interest there, and I’m not sure about financial aid. But you could check that out and run the NPC.

Good luck!

7

I heartily agree that the Midwest & South are going to be the best places to get a good education at a good price. Some of the major public universities in these areas will give you significant aid based on your grades and test score, and some will give you nothing. You need to look at each school’s website under out of state freshman aid. Remember, the starting pricss at many of these schools are often lower than comparable schools on the coasts, so when you factor in thousands in merit aid, they can end up much cheaper than their coastal counterparts.

Check out: U Kansas, U Nebraska, U Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Florida State, U Kentucky.

8

Thanks for the help! As for in the northeast, are there any more affordable options? I know the SUNY system is around my budget, but does anyone know of more urban schools that have merit available?

9

bump

10

check out Michigan State and Purdue as well

11

Purdue is not going to fall within the OP’s financial criteria; and most OOS admits will get no merit money from Purdue.

Here are lists of schools that have automatic and competitive merit scholarships:

http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/