Help me see through the prestige!!!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Alright guys, I'm going to start this post with the simple truth, I am not a genius. Nor do i think I am some high hitting individual. Now that that is out of the way we can begin. I have always dreamed of going to an amazing college and being extremely successful in life because of it. In my mind the name and prestige of the college meant everything, until recently. A few weeks ago, after asking several of my older friends who I admire and look up to, I began to realize that the right college may not be Harvard or Yale, but a school that I would enjoy. This leads me to my dilemma. The schools that I have chosen to apply to as a rising senior are almost all based off of their name and accomplishments. I will not tell you their names as not to skew my results. My stats are not phenominal but I am proud of what I have done and I know that I will keep trying to improve myself. I need help finding a shool that will fit me and I could think of no one better to ask than the community here at CC. I will lay our my stats for you guys so you can tell me what you think and give me a rough estimate as to how much of a reach certain schools will be.</p>

<p>Me: I am 17, Hispanic, and foreign born in Naples, Italy. I am currently working at a job I intend to keep until I graduate. My mother just completed her masters at Southern Methodist University and she does not work. My dad is a former marine and my mother previously held a government job if that helps for scholarship or anything of the sort. I really love the bigger school enviroment and I feel that I would not do well in an urban setting. I plan to double major in a combination of either psychology and marketing or sociology and marketing. Coed college is a must ofcourse and I, although living in Texas, am quite liberal but I do not require the same enviroment. I love to meet new people and I am very interested in college away from home. </p>

<p>School work: I made the amazing mistake of taking regular classes my freshman year but we wont talk about that. My GPA from the end of my sophomore year is a 3.52, I do not currently know my GPA now although i know it will be bolsteredd by my previous Junior year. I have taken the hardest classes offered at my school since sophomore year and sadly we do not have an IB program at my school. My AP classes have been my highest scoring classes all recieving above a 93 except AP US History with an 86.</p>

<p>AP Classes: Taken and scored: World History (4)
Taken, not yet scored: US History, Human Geography, Microeconomics, and English Lang.
Plan to take/Enrolled in: Biology, Calc Ab, Macroeconomics, English Lit, and US Government.</p>

<p>Volunteer work: I volunteer with two local organizations that help special needs children and i will leave with around 100 hours in total. I am also flying to volunteer in Palestine for two weeks this July at a relief center to discuss how American youth view the conflict in Israel with Palestinian youth.</p>

<p>EC: SMU TAG program recieving four hours of college credit with a 4.0 GPA summer 2010, Cornell Univeristy summer college for 8 hours of college credit with a B average summer 2011, National Student Leadership Conference representative at American University summer 2011, Duke TIP program recognization for SAT scores in 7th grade summer 2007, John Ben Shepperd Leadership Conference hosted by SMU 2010 , Eduacation in Action Leadership Academy Summer 2008, National Honor Society 2011, Rotary Club Acedemic Excellence Award 2010 and 2011, Acedemic Decathalon team captain and gold medalist 2011, Raytheon LASER award in math and sciences 2011, Kiwanis Key Leader seminar and program at SMU summer 2012. (some of these sound rediculous but I am putting everything I can think of down that could help me even a little.)</p>

<p>And now the juicy and scary part... Standardized test scores.
ACT: Sophomore year, 26. Junior year, 30. Senior year, ?.
SAT: January 2008, 1460. Dec 2008, 1560. May 2011, 1700. May2012, 1960 (v/m/w) (700/670/590 ouch) Senior year ?.
SAT Subject tests: Lit 730. US History 750.
I do plan on retaking the SAT and ACT again early senior year so they will be ready by the time applications are due.</p>

<p>I am number 67 out of 395 (from slacking), but when class ranks are recalculated I should move to around number 30 or 40 atleast, putting me almost at top 10% I believe.</p>

<p>I copied that info from an earlier "chance me" post I made so I am sorry if it is lengthy. I hope this can help you guys in helping me find a solid college to attend. While name does not hold as much weight with me it still holds a bit and I really do require rigourous acedemics. I hope I am not too needy for you guys and that you will be able to help me. Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my post, you guys are the best!</p>

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<p>You left out two very important factors in your college selection:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>What can you and your parents afford to pay? Is it in line with what colleges’ financial aid offices expect you and your parents to be able to pay (expected student and family contribution as given on the net price calculators on college web sites)?</p></li>
<li><p>What subjects are you considering majoring in?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Your GPA, class rank, and test scores make it extremely unlikely to get into the super-selective high prestige schools.</p>

<p>However, assuming that you are a Texas resident at a Texas public high school, your class rank within the top 25% and SAT CR+M >= 1300 (with each section >= 600) gains admission to Texas A&M (see <a href=“http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshmen/gettingin/waysAdmitted/academic.aspx[/url]”>http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshmen/gettingin/waysAdmitted/academic.aspx&lt;/a&gt; ). Some other Texas public universities (not UT Austin) will also be automatic admission for you – check their web sites. However, this may not necessarily mean admission to a specific division or major.</p>

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<p>I sort of want to look at colleges that match me without regards to the cost at the moment. I also put what I wanted to major in in the, “Me” section. Thanks for the info!</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC</p>

4

<p>Hope they don’t penalize you for your SATs, anyways your stats are good. I don’t know of any schools in Texas but I know you’ll get into alot on the east coast. it’s true, BIG schools aren’t everything; it’s actually better to go to them during your graduate years, well unless you’re a complete genius.</p>

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<p>

Why? Why set your sights on a school you can’t afford?</p>

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<p>You really need to get your financial baseline established first. Not doing so will likely lead to disappointment.</p>

<p>Some to consider, all give merit aid to OOS students and you don’t have to have perfect grades and test scores…</p>

<p>U Iowa
Iowa State
Kansas
Alabama
Ole Miss
LSU</p>

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<p>I only want to look at schools that fit me academically now because I will be applying for massive amounts of scholarships and I won’t set my goal for a school I know is financially out of reach. If you all need a financial range look at me being able to pay around 40k per year. Also, I won’t be hurt by my taking the SAT several times as twice were through the Duke TIP program in 7th and 8th grade. Right now I am just looking for the right type of school to go to without being blinded by prestige like I so stupidly have been. Thanks for all of the input.</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC</p>

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<p>SMU
Wisconsin
U of Miami
Lehigh
Penn State</p>

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<p>SMU and Penn state are actually two of the schools I am applying to, I’m not very familiar with Leigh though</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC</p>

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<p>Here is a list that you may be interested in:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>First, you need to work on your writing. I know you wrote your message quickly, but, not including probable typos, there are at least 7 spelling errors and 4 major grammar/usage errors in your first post. Essays can make or break you and if your writing in the essays is comparable, it will hurt you… </p>

<p>Second, the fact that you want to double major in sociology or psych and marketing narrows your list. That isn’t possible at many universities. At many schools, the business school is separate and students in it can’t major in subjects in other schools within the university. At some schools, everyone takes similar course work the first two years and then you apply for the business school and, if admitted, attend it for your junior and senior years. This will give you the opportunity to figure out if you really want to major in business, but it also means that you may not be admitted to the business program, as there are usually more applicants than openings. At most such schools, it isn’t possible to double major in a major outside the business school. </p>

<p>So, if you are SURE you want to do this, my recommendation would be that you look up the course bulletins of the universities that interest you on-line. Check out the requirements for admission to the schools within the university. Check out the number of courses which must be completed in each major. Try to plan out your courses for all 4 years to see if it’s possible to double major in the way you intend. </p>

<p>I know it’s probable you’ll change your mind along the way. Yet, I think trying to plan out your courses can be a valuable exercise. You might, for example, want to avoid universities where you have to apply for the business school after completing 1-2 years of course work if you are sure you want to major in business. You might want to avoid the schools where you are admitted into the business school your first year and the number of required courses and/or school policies would make taking courses in psych or sociology impossible. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

12

<p>Thanks tons for the list! I had been looking at UMinn twin cities and I was unsure of weither to apply or not. As to my grammar issues thank you for pointing them out! I will say that I am typing on a jacked up hardware keyboard that auto corrects selectively and I was in a rush to type the message because I was about to get a haircut and I have work in an hour. Also, my first post was at one in the morning after a double shift. Not to make excuses, just letting you know that I will be taking far more time on my essay for sure and it will contain no errors by the time I’m finished. Anything else would be appreciated guys, thanks heaps!</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC</p>

13

<p>Also, I forgot to touch on the issue of my majors. I am not set in stone on my choices by any means, I just know what I enjoy and would like to find a way to combine them. If it is not at all possible then I will find something else. Thank you for also bringing that to my attention.</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC</p>

14

<p>It IS possible…just not at all universities. So, if you want it to be an option, you should take your desire to pursue both into account in deciding where you want to apply.</p>

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<p>I am not 100 percent sure I will stick with those as many people change their majors. I am really looking for a college enviroment that will mesh well with me.</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC</p>

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<p>Would your possible majors all be in the same general area (e.g. social studies and business) and without extremely heavy prerequisites? That may make your freshman year course planning simpler than if you were considering several very different majors with heavy prerequisite requirements (e.g. a science, music, and art practice), in which case you may find it difficult come up with a schedule that will let you choose any of them later without delaying graduation.</p>

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<p>Yes, my majors would be roughly in the same area such as social sciences and buisness. I previously leaned heavily towards humanities and I am positive that I would still enjoy studying a field in that realm. LACs seem to fit the need quite well but I am unsure of how my scores stack up. I see a lot of people on CC, most it seems, have SAT scores of over 2000 and although I am retaking it with a goal of over 2100 it still worries me a little.</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC</p>

18

<p>LACs generally do not offer business as a major, although most offer the liberal arts bases of business (economics, psychology, and sociology, plus a little bit of math and statistics).</p>

<p>Not all LACs are super selective, or super expensive. However, they tend to be less common at lower levels of selectivity, since students at lower selectivity schools tend to more heavily favor pre-professional majors over liberal arts majors.</p>

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<p>So what type of school is right for me. All things aside and basically a preface to my application essay, I have never wanted anything more than to go to a good, solid college with a bit of a name and I know that I will be successful because I will never give up. I’m willing to major in anything and although I really want a high paying job, I may not want to admit it but my forte is for helping others and international problems have always reached out to me So tell me, what kind of college would best help me to help others with potential that others may not see. As an awkward side note to draw away from my epic monologue, how do I look for an application to Boston College. I think I am alright for BU but I want to know if I have what it takes for that notch above. Thanks for helping me so personally.</p>

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