Help with College Search

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I already posted a thread about my college list, but since a lot has changed since then, I decided to create another one.</p>

<p>I am currently a senior and I'm not quite sure what I want to major in, but I'm leaning toward Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or Mathematics.
[list]
[<em>] SAT I (CR/M/W): 2040 (680/670/690)
[</em>] ACT (E/M/R/S): 2nd time: 35 (35/34/35/34) 1st time: 33 (35/29/33/33)
[<em>] SAT II: Biology 680 (not sending); Math II (not yet taken); Chemistry (not yet taken)
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97 (made one B in 1st semester of AP Calculus)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/360ish
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5); Biology (4); US Government (4); US History (3); Calculus AB (3)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: All taken at local university
Calculus III
Spanish II (My third spanish, I placed out of Spanish I at the college)
Chemistry I (AP Chem at my school is horrible; everyone but 2 people last year made 1's on the AP test)
Physics I (School doesn't offer AP Physics)
Chemistry II
Economics
Composition II
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Commended
[<em>] Extracurriculars: Marching Band (9th, 10th, 11th, Snare Caption 12th), Model UN (11th - 12th), Baseball (9th), Tennis (10th - 12th), Swimming (11th - 12th), NHS (12th grade - Treasurer)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Lifeguarded this past summer, currently work at local university as a student assistant.
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Decent amount, mostly with band and NHS.
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): GA</p>

<p>This is my current list:
Reaches: Yale (EA), Duke, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Penn, Princeton
Matches: GA Tech (in-state), Emory, Rice, Vanderbilt
Safeties: University of Tulsa (good chance at full ride + free app), UGA (in-state), Minnesota (free application)</p>

<p>I am also considering applying to a few liberal arts colleges such as Swarthmore or Claremont McKenna, but I'm not sure if I have the type of resume to have a chance there.</p>

<p>What schools should I add/delete from my list? I am interested in schools in/near an urban area, and also schools that are not too small (2000 students would be about the smallest I could handle). I am also interested in good schools where I would have a good chance at getting a full ride. I would appreciate any suggestions of such schools. </p>

2

<p>Hey! Snare Captain is always fun. Drumline is definitely the best section to lead. Got rhythm. </p>

<p>Some safeties to look at may be Temple University in Philly and the schools in the SUNY system. Also schools in the south (alabama especially) are happy to give full rides for good stats.</p>

<p>Although I’m in the same position as you, I do cringe a little bit when I see lists of stats. They are awesome - but admissions tends to want stats in little font and passion in big font - look at some schools that seem to have the departments, clubs, campus environment, etc that you think you’d enjoy. Although Yale tops lots of lists on academic rankings, they have a really strong culture of people with strong passions that show though and, as long as you have decent stats (which you definitely do) that’s what the admissions officers are going to be looking for. </p>

3

<p>Nice rank, nice GPA, nice ACT (drop the SATI). Trash those SATIIs and you could be looking at some serious aid.</p>

<p>I like your list of schools. I’d cut any number of the ivies because you haven’t indicated a strong desire or fit for any one of them and your ECs aren’t world-shaking. If the SATIIS don’t rock, the reaches are hurting. The matches are nice, and they have some money, and I particularly like UMN-TC as an academic safety. It has to be affordable, OP. </p>

<p>Have you run the net price calculators? what can your parents provide each year?</p>

4

<p>Yale (EA), Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Princeton</p>

<p>Your ECs don’t have the “snap” for any of these schools, IMHO. Drop a few of them and focus on schools you are more likely to get into. And agree, go with the ACT and don’t send the SAT.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the advice. I think I might drop Columbia, but I don’t necessarily want to drop the others because I have specific reasons for why I want to attend them other than their prestige (I have family near all but Stanford, and Stanford has been my dream school since I was little). If I get accepted to Yale EA, my plan is to drop any schools I would not attend over Yale to save on some fees.</p>

<p>I know my ECs aren’t all that great, but I put a lot of time into each of them. I’m hoping that the schools will realize that instead of doing a wide variety of ECs, I did a small number of them that I was passionate about.</p>

<p>I ran the net price calculator and all but Tulsa and UMN-TC would be affordable without scholarships, although they would still cost some money. My parents are willing to spend some money (~10k) but would prefer a full ride, which is why I’m looking for advice on those. I did some research and found the Morehead-Cain scholarship at UNC and the Eminence Scholarship at Ohio State, but I’m not exactly sure how selective they are. Would they be possibilities for me or are they out of my reach?</p>

<p>Also, intparent, you say to focus on schools I am more likely to get into. Could you give me some examples of such schools? I’m having a hard time finding match schools that will still be affordable for me since most schools that meet full need are reaches.</p>

6

<p>You’ve run the npcs and the schools are not affordable. Then why are they on your list? </p>

<p>The ivies won’t offer any merit. Emory and Rice won’t offer enough probably. That leaves you with Vandy and GT, and your chances at full tuition are really slim at GT because they give few.</p>

<p>The merit schools require you to win full tuition to bring your costs down to $10K plus 5550 in loans. If you work a little you can scrape by IF you win full tuition.</p>

<p>Put all your cards on Vandy ED, make UMN and Tulsa safeties, and forget the rest of these schools. Look for some other full tuition schools like UAlabama and Temple.</p>

7

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<p>Doesn’t matter how much you like them or what great reasons you have for wanting to attend… it won’t help your chances of admission. I am confused by your financial information, too. If your parents are only willing to spend $10k/year, what do the net price calculators show for these schools? “Meets need” means meets THEIR definition of need, not what your parents want to pay.</p>

8

<p>Sorry, I think I worded that confusingly. EXCEPT for Tulsa and UMN-TC, every school on my list IS affordable. In other words, at Tulsa and UMN, I would be relying on merit scholarships. Everywhere else gave me ~10k for the net price, which my parents are willing to pay. </p>

9

<p>In state tuition at GT is pretty cheap. You need to give it a chance. Probably not a full ride, but GT is ranked among the best “returns on investment” in the country. You are looking at STEM majors and GT is a fantastic STEM school.</p>

<p>Also take a look at Ohio State and University of Alabama. You would get full tuition at Alabama, perhaps room and board. Tulane is another great choice, with excellent merit aid and not far from home.</p>