I’m currently a senior at a fairly average public & diverse high school in Illinois. I currently have a very random list of schools I’m interested in. As of right now, I think I want to study Journalism/Communications or English with some (or several) minor(s) because I love writing. But, I’m not 100% sure and therefore I’ve been looking at more medium to larger schools so I’d have greater flexibility if down the road I want to change my major. The schools I have on my list right now were selected based off of criteria like the strength of their journalism/communications program, size (again, ideally not too big or too small), and campus (preferably by a city, or nice college town).
In no particular order…
-UIUC (I would get in-state, but in-state tuition in IL is still not the best)
-University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Already applied & based off my ACT alone I would get in-state tuition, not sure how I feel about being in Nebraska but I’ve heard they have a nice Journalism program?)
-Syracuse University (Newhouse is the obvious draw here, but would they give me money?)
-University of Missouri-Columbia (once again, Journalism school is the draw. But, I visited & for some reason didn’t absolutely love it?)
-Miami of Ohio (smaller, but still seems like a nice size for me. I’ve heard it’s very preppy/conservative though, which deters me a bit)
-University of St. Thomas-MN (liked this school a lot when I visited, seemed to have a very friendly student body/faculty. Would it offer me enough opportunities though if I decided to change majors?)
-American University (I like the idea of being near D.C., but not so sure about how financially feasible this one is…)
-University of Vermont (This one may seem random, but I have a close family friend that goes here & loves it. Burlington seems like a cool little town, too. Only issue is they don’t even have Journalism as a major, so I’d probably go in as an English major)
-University of Wisconsin-Madison (great school overall, but IL students rarely get money from them. I’ve been debating whether I should even keep it on the list)
I like the idea of going to a school where it’s not just about sports, but also not too academically intense. A student body that is both social, but still cares about their academics. Also, money is a big factor as well! I come from a big family that already has 3 other kids in college currently so securing as much merit aid/scholarships as possible is crucial.
Here are some stats about myself to help:
White female
ACT: c: 30, superscore: 32 (I’ve taken it 3 times and gotten a 30 every time. My English & Reading scores ranged from 32-35 on the tests I took were unfortunately dragged down by my math score of 26. I don’t see myself taking it again as I’ve already done prep, etc. and received the same score every time 
)
GPA: 4.05 (weighted on 4.0 scale), 3.54 (non-weighted)
AP classes/scores: AP Human Geo-4, AP World History-5, AP Eng. Lang & Comp-5, AP US History-5, AP Physics (got a B both semesters, but only got a 2 on the test). This year, I’m also taking AP French, AP Eng. Literature, AP Enviro. Sci., & AP Psych.
Extracurriculars:
-4 years on my school newspaper, this year I’m Editor-in-Chief.
-4 years on Varsity tennis team, captain my junior/senior years (I plan on not playing in college)
-NHS (inducted junior year)
-4 years class council member
-I did publicity for the Spring Musical at my school two years in a row, this included being in charge of designing & distributing posters/advertisements around school & around town
-4 years as a member of a volunteer club
-Student Election Judge last year for the November 2016 Election
-I played soccer freshman year & was also involved a few other low-involvement clubs I don’t think are worth mentioning
-I’ve also worked a part-time job throughout the school year and several different jobs during the summer since my freshman year.
Ultimately, I am completely lost right now. Please tell me if these schools seem like a good match/what your general thoughts are, or if you know of some colleges I don’t have listed that might be a good match! Thanks!