<p>Hi, </p>
<p>So far the schools I firmly plan on applying to are UVA and University of Washington (in-state). (Q:Is UW a safety for me?) I have also looked into going to a liberal arts college such as Lewis and Clark College. </p>
<p>I don't know exactly what I want to study. I have some interest in Computer Science, as well as Economics and Pre-Law. I would like to stay somewhere on the West coast or go to the East coast. </p>
<p>At this point UVa is my top choice. But I obviously need more than two schools to apply to (I have some more in mind) so please give me some advice. Thanks.</p>
<p>My stats, etc:
As far as ethnicity I'm a caucasian male.
SAT CR: 750
SAT Math: 690
SAT Writing: 590 (plan on retaking in October)
Combined: 2030</p>
<p>Taking ACT in October.</p>
<p>Possibly taking SAT 2 (Math 2, US History) in November. (Should I?)
GPA: 4.0 UW / 4.0 W</p>
<p>AP Language & Comp: 4</p>
<p>ECs:
Varsity Golf
Knowledge Bowl
FBLA
(competed @ state level in above)
FRC FIRST Robotics
Technology Club (4 members last year)
Was a class officer last year (doesn't mean much at a small school, also was officer in clubs)
The last two summers I have worked at a nearby engineering company. This summer I did some Research and Development type work.</p>
<p>Some things to note about me: I go to a very small public school in a small, rural town. There are around 50 students in my graduating class. As far as class ranking, I don't think my school ranks, probably because there aren't enough students for that to be necessary. But unofficially I'm tied for first Also, my school offers 2 AP classes, Language & Comp. and Literature. Another thing to note is that I am from a single parent home.</p>
<p>The big question: will you need financial aid? The answer to that will affect the advice we offer.</p>
<p>The other big question: are you potentially recruitable as a golfer? Do you expect to play in college? Again, the answers will have a major impact on our suggestions.</p>
<p>One more big question: do you potentially have any interest in studying engineering?</p>
<p>somewhat, sorry that we all harp on the financial aid question, but it really does matter. For instance, the California State schools are offering more spots to out-of-state applicants than ever before, but don’t offer them any aid. OOS tuition to UCs is very expensive. I don’t know about UVA. I bring this up because in your previous thread you mentioned some UCs. LACs are also expensive but often offer need based aid (based on your parents’ income and assets) or merit aid (based on your academic achievement) and sometimes they’ll offer both. Have a discussion with your parent, now is not too soon. </p>
<p>In general, large state schools offer preprofessional tracks, more choices in majors, Div 1 sports, more EC choices and more name recognition than LACs. The drawbacks are larger classes, less individual attention, and bigger bureaucracies. LACs have smaller classes, more close knit communities, more access to professors, less competition for research and leadership spots, and more opportunities to participate in Div 3 sports. The drawback for LACs are less preprofessional options and fewer class offerings overall. LACs sometimes turn out to be less expensive than the state schools due to more generous aid packages.</p>
<p>You’ve done well in high school so far, keep it up. You’ve already noted that you should try to bring up your SAT writing score. Definitely take the ACT, some people find they do better in one test or the other. Most UCs require SAT subject tests, and if you do well on them it can only enhance your applications to the other schools on your list.</p>
<p>It’s an exciting time, and you’re smart in doing your own research. CC can give you a ton of information, but be sure to also consult college guides and school websites. If you have access to a knowledgeable college counselor, that’s a big help. We live in a rural area also and found that the school counselor wasn’t very helpful, I hope you have a different situation.</p>
<p>^ UVA is one of two public Us that meets need for OOS students (UNC-CH is the other). </p>
<p>OP, tough to tell if UW is a safety when the essay is more important than scores. The cost/FA question is very important, too. Look at WWU. Very good school.</p>
<p>^Yay, good to know about UVA. In general its good to cast a wide net, reaches, matches and safeties. I don’t think you can be absolutely sure that UW is a safety, and I second Erin’s Dad in urging you to consider some other Washington publics as well. My motto is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. My S applied to 13 schools, miraculously he was accepted to all, but he couldn’t afford to attend 4 of them (all the highest ranked) because of the financial aid offered. But, he ended up with terrific choices that we could afford.</p>
<p>One last observation, Computer Science will require a distinct department and reputation probably matters, some LACs have Computer Science majors, lots do not. Most schools, big and small, offer Economics. As far as law is concerned you don’t need a prelaw program to get into law school, lots of law students majored in history or philosophy in undergrad. I just found a lawyer on CC that studied chemical engineering in undergrad. The same is true of medical school, although I’d think biology would be helpful for that. I know my son’s LAC has premed advising, meaning there is not a premed major but they suggest certain classes that will make med school easier. If you have no idea what you want to study, but are open and want to explore several areas, then the LAC route can be great.</p>
<p>Thanks all. So far I’ve gathered that WWU is a good option as a safety. To reconsider applying to UCs, but UVa is viable. Also, UW has a strong CS department.</p>
<p>I’m interested in going to school in California. Are there some good private options for me?
Also, are there any general rules to follow as how many reaches and safeties to apply to?</p>
<p>There are no rules on how many reaches/safeties to apply to. It’s what your family can afford there. As long as you have one solid safety you can afford, can get into, and are willing to attend you don’t necessarily need any more there. Unfortunately I don’t know enough about CS to give you good privates. This thread shows some CA colleges with good aid: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1371945-financial-aid-california.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1371945-financial-aid-california.html</a></p>
<p>California has a ton of privates that are worth looking at, I suggest you get a copy of the “Fiske Guide to Colleges” and/or “The Princeton Review: The Best 377 Colleges” and start making a list. The great thing about these guides are they give descriptions, data sets, acceptance rates, deadlines, costs and opinions on the quality of the instruction and the strengths of certain departments. It’s a good starting point, then you can go to the websites for the ones that catch your eye. There are good private colleges all over the country that offer generous financial aid, so you might want to expand your search to other states.</p>
<p>We were told that 3 reaches, 3 matches, and 3 safeties was a wise list. However, because we needed good financial aid packages it turned out S applied to 4 reaches, 5 matches, and 4 safeties. He applied to 4 in-state publics, in-state tuition is a very good thing. As you will read on these pages the safeties are very important, choose schools you can afford and LIKE. It’s not a safety if you wouldn’t ever consider attending.</p>
<p>Need based aid is, as I said above, based on your family’s income. You said that you come from a single parent household, beware that if your absent parent is living, their income will also be considered as contributing to your ability to pay tuition, this makes need-based aid very tricky. A FAFSA will need to be completed to receive loans for need based aid from the institution, the aid can change from year to year based on your parent’s resources. The most selective schools offer only need based aid and they often use their own formula for calculating how much you need. For need based aid it’s better to be very low income than middle class. Need based aid is most generous at the really wealthy schools, think Ivy League and Stanford.</p>
<p>Merit aid is golden! This is based on your academic achievement and in most cases remains the same all 4 years. Look at the SAT/ACT scores and GPAS of admitted students for the schools you are applying to, data sets show the middle 50%. If your scores are in the top 25% for that institution then you have a good chance of receiving some merit aid. In our experience the closer your scores are to the middle of the pack, the less merit aid you’ll be offered. LACs seem to have more interest in attracting students who possess certain qualities, so ECs, essays, and letters of recommendation count more than just numbers at the smaller schools.</p>
<p>Oops, I forgot something and the way I described it up there is confusing. Need based aid can come in the form of loans or grants. Obviously, loans have to be paid back and grants don’t, therefore grants are better than loans. There are some highly selective schools that say that all aid is in the form of grants. Others do a combination of loans and grants. Some only do loans. </p>
<p>Merit aid is grants (often called scholarships), so again you can see merit aid is superior.</p>
<p>Here are a few California privates (these widely vary in selectivity):</p>
<p>Claremont Consortium (5 colleges in Claremont Ca): Pomona; Harvey Mudd; Claremont McKenna; Pitzer; and Scripps (women only)</p>
<p>Occidental
USC
Chapman
Redlands U
University of the Pacific
Cal Tech</p>
<p>Jesuit Colleges (Catholic but very tolerant) :
Santa Clara U
University of San Francisco
Loyola Marymount U of Los Angeles</p>
<p>University of San Diego (Catholic but not Jesuit)</p>