Help me with my college list

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey guys, this is my first post on this board. I discovered it today and it seemed like a good community for learning about the college search and admission process.<br>
I'd like some advice on forming my college list. Right now it looks something like this (in no particular order):
MIT
Renssalear
Harvard
Worcester Polytechnic
Brown
Northeastern
UMass Amherst
Boston University
CalTech</p>

<p>Some information about me: I am a junior living in Massachusetts. I like to think I'm a good student; I have a 4.5-4.6 weighted GPA (roughly 4.0 unweighted) and will most likely be valedictorian of my class of about 220 kids. I scored 2250 on my SATs, and will probably take them again to improve my score. I plan on taking 3 SAT Subject tests this June. I am a "National Merit Scholar Qualifier" or something of the sort- supposedly I will get a letter next fall if I am a semi finalist. My major interests in school are math and math based sciences(physics, chem); hence, tech schools such as MIT and RPI are very appealing to me.<br>
Academics aside, my major interest/ commitment is High School Cross Country and Track and Field. Although I'm a fairly mediocre runner, my team is very successful in Cross Country and I love and enjoy the sport more than anything else. I would really like to continue to run in college, and this would most likely happen at a D3 school.
Sorry if this was a long post. If you can help me in any way narrow my list, give me some schools I missed, or give me advice of any sort, I'd be happy to hear it. If you need any more info from me, just ask. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>One more thing- I really can’t afford to pay alot of money for school. I will probably end up going to a school where I can get a good financial aid offer. Hopefully it will be a higher end school, but if I don’t get the money, it is unlikely that I would be able to go there. Thanks again.</p>

3

<p>Rensselaer, you mean? I’m not trying to be sniping, I had to check the spelling too.</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins (JHU) might be worth a look. I’ve heard (anecdotally) there is decent aid. I like that they’re strong in science/engineering and they have a very good writing program as well. Since Brown is on your list you may find JHU could be a good fit for you? I believe it’s DIII.</p>

<p>I don’t know necessarily if you need to cull your list now, because it’s still early on, and 9 colleges isn’t that much.</p>

4

<p>Would you be interested in an LAC? If so, Swarthmore might be a good fit. It’s D3 and you might be able to run there. I believe that their aid is need-based only but I could be wrong.
You also might want to check out the U. of Chicago. Strong Math dept., I believe. Also D3.
Good Luck!</p>

5

<p>Whoops it is Rensselaer, tough name to spell…thanks for the schools, I’ll definitely do some research on John Hopkins, and U Chicago. Where is Swarthmore? And what is an LAC?<br>
Also, I’m worried that I might be light on “safety” schools; right now I feel like UMass is my only one. Does anyone know of any schools that would be good ones to fall back on, but still have a strong math and science program? Thanks</p>

6

<p>Its not much of a Safety school, but have you considered UChicago?</p>

7

<p>*One more thing- I really can’t afford to pay alot of money for school. I will probably end up going to a school where I can get a good financial aid offer. Hopefully it will be a higher end school, but if I don’t get the money, it is unlikely that I would be able to go there.</p>

<p>My major interests in school are math and math based sciences(physics, chem); hence, tech schools such as MIT and RPI are very appealing to me. </p>

<p>I’m worried that I might be light on “safety” schools; right now I feel like UMass is my only one. *</p>

<p>Since money is an issue (and you’re smart to consider that concern), what is your situation? </p>

<p>Are your parents low income with a low EFC, or are they middle income or higher but can’t afford to pay much? The strategy for how you pick your schools will depend on which category they fall into. if your parents are divorced, your non-custodial parent’s (NCP) income will also be a consideration for many top schools. </p>

<p>If they are low income (including any NCP income) then your strategy needs to include top schools that will meet full need without loans or with only small loans. Your safety schools would be schools that will give assured BIG merit for your stats. You can also include some match schools that have competitive big merit for your stats…however those schools might still gap you if the merit awards aren’t big.</p>

<p>However, if your parents have a good income or a high income, but they can’t pay their expected contribution, then you need to have a different strategy. Applying to top schools that meet need won’t help you because you won’t have the means to pay for the “family contribution.” So, then the strategy needs to include schools that give assured BIG merit scholarships and/or low cost schools and some competitive merit schools. And, as in the above situation, you can choose some competitive big merit schools for match schools.</p>

<p>When finances are a problem, you have to carefully employ a strategy depending on the reason for the financial concern.</p>

<p>So…what is your situation? Do you know what your EFC is? Do you know how much your parents will pay each year?</p>