Help me find some matches?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics
African American

  • US domestic *(US citizen or permanent resident) * or international student
    US permanent resident
  • State/Location of residency: *(state is important if you apply to any state universities) *
    Minnesota
  • Type of high school *(current college for transfers) *:
    Public (I only take one course there though; the rest are all DE at a college).
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional):
    Female
  • Other special factors *(first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.) *:
    First Generation, URM, extenuating circumstances
    Intended Major(s)
    Computer Science (which of course makes everything harder lol)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.7 with all classes included, 3.96 when the college considers 10th-11th grade core courses.

  • Weighted HS GPA *(incl. weighting system) *: 5pt scale 4.78, all core courses through 10th-11th grades.

  • Class Rank: top 25th percentile, however this is subject to change because I am only a junior. My school uses unweighted GPA and that’s how I am ranked.

  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1510 SAT (will retake in March)

Coursework

*(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s)) *

I am practically full time enrolled in PSEO at the moment, I am taking 4 college courses this semester, 5 next semester and then some over the summer, and then around 5 falls of senior year. 14 in total. 2 are CS courses and then since my schedule will be a bit freer this summer and senior year, I plan to take more CS courses. My high school offers no CS courses until I am a senior.

Going to take the AP com. sci exam for fun (yay!)

I am pretty average in math, took geometry freshman year, algebra one sophomore year, and algebra 2 this year.

I completed up to Spanish 3, I am not taking a language this year because they would have placed me in immersion.

I was also in AVID for two years and took college classes sophomore summer.

Awards

None, not that stellar lol

Extracurriculars

-Debate for two years

  • robotics for 3 years
  • I’ve worked since freshman year and currently work about 35 hours a week.
    -I’ve been a part of an internship for 2 years where we do diaper drives for the metro area, volunteer at local events as well as speak to the board of education with concerns etc.
  • I am also mental health advocate for students in my district
  • Joining another internship where I am able to advocate for more stem (not just funding but funding for things outside of football as all the other departments are begging for money) funding across the district
  • Created a website that helps other students advocate for things that are important to them. (don’t want to elaborate.)
  • I am starting a jewelry business that sells jeweler made entirely from bioplastic because I am allergic to a majority of metals in jewelry and would like to be able to wear some. (Also, bio plastic is so cool in general?)
  • My research paper on Affirmative Action is something I am trying to get published.
  • I am fluent in Java, HTML, and CSS.

I’d like to do more coding and CS related projects! I just run out of time every day.

Now that I list everything off this list is so much longer. I don’t plan to include everything in my application. only things that apply to my theme.

Essays/LORs/Other

No essays yet so I can’t really comment.

I am really worried about my LOR’s because I am a covid student and I wasn’t in school physically for 9th-10th grade. I am thinking a few of my professors will be willing to write recommendation letters.

Extenuating circumstance

I was neglected and abused throughout my childhood, because of this I have pretty bad PTSD (diagnosed) “flare-ups”. Most of the time I get flashbacks in my dreams and because of that I lose an immense amount of sleep. I also have other issues that are linked to this, but my PTSD is the most applicable here. I also have MDD.

Not really sure if this will excuse the two C’s while taking a rigorous course load freshman year, if it helps my trend is up (by a significant amount).

Cost Constraints / Budget

My calculated EFC is 0.
My parents can’t afford to send me to college, so It’s just me by myself paying so none of the UC’s or anything outrageously expensive. Good financial aid is a must?

I have a good list of matches going but if anyone wants to recommend any more, I’d love to take a look. It really depends on the quality of STEM programs or more specifically CS programs. Good financial aid is a must!

Thank you, guys!

2

adding on because I can’t edit…

Because of my trauma I learned how to be more independent and do things by myself (brought myself to school, brought food for siblings, cleaned etc. was my own parent.) This also caused me to develop an insatiable drive to break out of the cycle of abuse and defy the statistics about abused children :}

1 Like
3

So not sure how permanent resident status works but if your EFC is zero, look at meets need schools. Your parents will have to fill out the CSS profile.

Obviously, UMN is a great school but will have a cost.

Good luck.

Here’s Every College That Offers 100% Financial Aid (prepscholar.com)

4

wait a second, i am a u.s citizen my bad

5

If your EFC is zero - same list - go onto each schools NPC - and don’t be afraid to look at some of the LACs - don’t just go for the names you know. Local to you, for example, Macalester, Grinnell, etc.

Good luck.

6

Congratulations on all you have accomplished. You are doing great!

Did you take the PSAT this year? College Board has award designations you may trigger based on your score and/or being an URM.

You will go into college with a lot of college credits. Students from early/middle college or just heavy DE course selection need to decide if they want to get all of those credits and get out sooner or have a traditional 4 year college experience. Many of the 100% meets need colleges will be excited to see you apply.

Do you want to be closer to home? Within 4 hours? A direct flight?
Urban or rural?
On campus housing guaranteed all 4 years? (It can be hard to figure out off campus housing for some students with financial aid, credit checks, etc)
Other interests beyond CS that you may want to take classes in or learn about?

Start to make a list of high reaches, like:
Princeton
Vanderbilt

And moderately high reaches, like:
Wellesley
Wake Forest

Safeties:
St.Olaf
Marietta

College Board narrows it down to about 40 colleges that meet full need and have CS and/or CS engineering. College Search - BigFuture | College Board

1 Like
7

Congratulations on your achievements. I strongly encourage you to consider applying to colleges via questbridge.

https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match

Do you have a college counselor helping you, whether from your HS, CC, or Avid?

Are you working 35 hours per week when school is in session?

6 Likes
8

Carleton, Grinnell, Smith.

9

I have no one helping me, my HS counselor has a history of giving me misinformation so I don’t really trust her but no one else is really there to help me.

I am worried that if I apply via quest bridge I’ll be rejected because of the fact it’s questbridge etc. I am assuming admissions going that route are infinitely more competitive ?

10

Also yes, I am averaging 35 hours a week right now :{

11

Yes, the QB process is competitive but it gives applicants potential advantages even if they aren’t matched with a partner school. Unmatched finalists can roll their applications easily to all of the QB partner schools, and an additional several thousand QB applicants end up at partner schools this way. I do believe you would be a competitive QB applicant.

I encourage you to apply for free college counseling thru both of these organizations, hopefully one will work out:

CollegePoint: Sign up - CollegePoint

CollegePossible: https://collegepossible.org/

Meanwhile, stay here on CC and posters will be able to help you too.

2 Likes
12

What do you mean by “rolling” your applications ? I just don’t want to hinder my chances of getting into a competitive college by applying via QB.

13

You will increase your chances of getting into a competitive college by applying thru QB if you become a finalist. Somewhere around 35%-40% of applicants become finalists each year.

If you become a finalist you rank 12 schools and have a chance to match to one of them. If you don’t match, as an unmatched finalist, you can apply to any or all of the QB partner schools with the click of a button. Finalists are usually announced around Dec 1, and some schools will still allow unmatched finalists to get into the ED1 and EA pools, even if the deadlines have passed.

You can apply to as many non-QB partner schools as you want. But if you do match, that is binding, even at schools that don’t offer a binding round of admission.

3 Likes
14

Okay, this was really informative! Thank you. I think that if I don’t end up a QB finalist I will just apply RD at my schools of choice. I’ll probably try out QB next year :))

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!

15

My pleasure, happy to continue answering questions here. And do reach out/apply to college possible and college point…they have excellent college counselors who can guide you thru the process, including QB, for free.

16

You sound like you’d be a wonderful student and any college would be lucky to get you. I really can’t recommend any specific colleges for you but do want to add that because finances are a huge challenge you might want to check out some lower tiered schools as well. Many of them would love to attract top students from backgrounds other than their usual more regional applicants and may have full ride scholarships available to get them there. I was looking through the Elizabethtown college site and they have a couple full rides available. I’m not pushing them in particular but schools in their tier. Another reach could be Rice, it’s far from your hometown but in a bustling city. Good luck and keep us updated!

17

Another full ride possibility for you would be Ohio State’s Morrill Scholarship.

Kudos for your perseverance and also for getting on top of the planning process now, when you have plenty of time to research and strategize. You should have excellent options if you play your cards well!

1 Like
18

Do you think that applying to Stanford via QB is a terrible decision? I think Stanford is the only college I’d be truly happy to be admitted REA. But Stanford’s admission rates are incredibly low which limits my chances etc.

19

First off, congratulations on all of your accomplishments and in keeping such a positive attitude. I have little doubt that you will be successful in life (and I’m not talking prestige/money, though that may well come as well).

You mentioned your parents but also indicated that you have a history of abuse/neglect. If you were adopted from the foster system or in the foster system at some point, there may be additional forms of financial assistance available. This article mentions that, “Minnesota’s new grant program will cover the full cost of attendance — which includes tuition, fees, room and board, meals and other living expenses — at public and most private colleges across the state. Minnesotans under 27 years old who were in foster care after age 13 are eligible if they are accepted to a participating college.” There also appear to be programs from other states that offer special scholarships for people from any state who had been in the foster system. If you think you might be eligible for any such program, I would definitely research further.

From the list that @Pathnottaken linked to from the College Board, Carleton College and St. Olaf College are both in Minnesota, and depending on where in the state you live, Grinnell might not be too far. You may (or may not) have decided whether you want to go far from home, but I think it’s always wise to have some closer options in case that’s the route you decide to go.

Once you have a better sense if you’d like to see a different part of the country, or the size of the school, or urban/rural, we might be able to give more recommendations of lower “tier” schools that might be likely to provide a full ride.

2 Likes
20

This is why it’s great that you’re starting now. You have plenty of time to research the many great schools that are Questbridge partners, in addition to others that aren’t.

There is no earthly way that Stanford is the only school on the QB list that’s worth ranking in the Match process, if you qualify as a finalist. Sure, you can always rank it as your first choice… but you get to rank twelve schools. You don’t have to choose that many, but if there’s only one that you’d be truly happy to get a Match offer from, that just means you don’t know enough about the other 44 Partner Schools. (Also keep in mind that a Match offer is financially better than almost any school’s normal need-based financial aid.)

Questbridge has a program for HS juniors, called the College Prep Scholars program. It includes lots of guidance on the college application process, fully-funded summer programs on partner school campuses, campus visits, cash grants to support your application process, and more. The application opens in February and is due in March. This could be a great opportunity for you, and it doesn’t constrain what you decide to do in terms of your applications in any way. QuestBridge | College Prep Scholars Program

5 Likes