Help Me Narrow Down!

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I have an extensive list of colleges right now and I'm looking to narrow it down. </p>

<p>White Male
Junior High School
Rank is probably 1 or 2 out of 100...
SATS: 1980 as of sophomore year
Cross Country Captain
TV Club Producer/Director
Interact President
Sailing Skipper
Peer Leader
Drama/Chorus (13 Plays)</p>

<p>I can speak Spanish/learning Thai (I work at a Thai Food Restaurant), won some scholarships, worked on some national projects...anyways, it's not one of those Chance Threads. Could you help me narrow down/add some colleges to my list?</p>

<p>I love California, I'm from New England, not opposed to the South...here's my list:</p>

<p>U San Diego
U Southern Calif
Vanderbilt U
Emory U
Pepperdine U
UPenn
Loyola Marymount U
Northeastern U
Boston C
U Denver
Emerson C
American U</p>

<p>Can you help me narrow it down? I'm really looking for 6 or 7 colleges that will give me scholarship money, Business [Marketing/International] & Communications, great weather, etc. Thanks everyone!</p>

<p>-Pat B</p>

<p>take the sat again and maybe the act</p>

<p>What do you mean by "scholarship money"? Do you mean need-based or merit? If your parents have a fairly low income, you can get need-based aid. If a school wants you for your accomplishments, you can get merit aid. Not all schools give merit aid, but some on your list do. You can get both kinds of aid, also, if you are qualified. The top schools like UPenn do not give merit aid, only need-based. Boston College gives both. People say that Holy Cross is good. Northeastern is probably a good choice. If you want aid, do not apply to the state schools in California. They are very unlikely to give you any.</p>

<p>Thanks! I'm taking my SATs again next year, I hope to hit the 2150 mark (that'd be realistic...I've been doing an online practice course.)</p>

<p>For scholarship money, I was really looking for merit aid. I know a lot of the schools on my list are highly competitive so merit aid would be hard to find. Are there any lesser known schools in CA or the South that give really good merit aid that anyone knows about? Thanks OneMom and ajr62807!</p>

<p>It's great that you are starting early in your college planning. To get merit aid, you should be in the top 25% for each school. Higher is better. So, you should aim a little bit low. Also, many of the smaller liberal arts colleges need guys, so if you are a guy, it will help. Some of the bigger places have good aid, too. Boston College, Worchester Polytechnic, and Boston University give aid. Look at Ohio Wesleyan, Rhodes (known for great aid), Kalamazoo, Earlham, Holy Cross. George Washington University gives aid, but is quite competitive. There have been a lot of discussions about aid on this website in the recent past. OH- Tulane offers many people $22K. It seems to me that it is easy to get $10 to $15K. More than that is tougher.</p>

<p>Vandy and Rhodes give out merit $, along with a lot of LACs like Denison and Wooster in Ohio, Washington and Lee in VA (might be a stretch for $ though), Davidson in NC (again, a stretch for $), Ursinus, Lafayette, and Muhlenberg (sp?) in PA. For merit money and good academics, your best bet is probably LACs in the 25-50 ranking range, however by the looks of your current list you want a bigger school.</p>

<p>U San Diego
U Southern Calif
Vanderbilt U
Emory U
Pepperdine U
UPenn
Loyola Marymount U
Boston C</p>

<p>I would pull Emory out, but it does give some balance.
I actually like this list</p>

<p>Holy Cross and Babson. HC has very good reputation.</p>