<p>How is LMU a safety? Can you afford to go there ($52K/year)?? What are your stats?</p>
<p>If Sonoma is a school you would go to, are you familiar with the Hutchins program there? It’s like an LAC within the school–small discussion based classes, more experiential, guaranteed classes, and by the end of your first 2 years all your requirements are met. It is first come, first served, so you would need to apply right when applications open. As for the rest of your list, I don’t see Bard as a reach. It fits in more with the match range of schools. If you really like Bard, they do have a nonbinding EA.</p>
<p>Is Loyola that expensive? The last time I checked I thought it was around 40.</p>
<p>I’m really struggling to find good safeties in my general area for English. UW is more of a high match and I feel like Sonoma is a little bit too much of a safety.</p>
<p>Any suggestions? Thanks so much. :]</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://financialaid.lmu.edu/General_Information/Undergraduate_Cost_of_Attendance.htm]Undergraduate”>http://financialaid.lmu.edu/General_Information/Undergraduate_Cost_of_Attendance.htm)
Tuition and Room and Board are $47.5K before books etc.</p>
<p>As a safety, take a look at the University of Redlands, Johnston Center for Integrative Studies.</p>
<p>Ouch. Loyola does seem out of the question at this point. Right now, I’m looking at:</p>
<p>REACHES: Bard, UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles
MATCHES: Pitzer, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Whitman, Washington University
SAFETIES: University of Redlands, Sonoma SU</p>
<p>This brings me to 10. Is this too much?</p>
<p>I’d love to minor in some sort of photography or fashion, but unfortunately the only schools on my list that have photography are Bard and WU. I will probably be sending them a small sample of my work.</p>
<p>Most people consider the UC’s one application, so those 4 are really just one. And really, Bard doesn’t belong up there with UCLA and CAL. It’s no harder to get into than Pitzer or Whitman.</p>
<p>Hmm…</p>
<p>Thanks so much again. I realized now that I should probably look at some CSUs as well and my sister suggested UC Santa Cruz. Seriously, though, you’ve all been a lot of help.</p>
<p>I think 10 is a good number.
I’ve also heard that UC - I has a really good English dept.</p>
<p>More financial advice; you’ll find that all private LACs are very pricey. Don’t just look at tuition, you’ll also be paying room and board, books, fees, transportation, and personal expenses for anything extra you want to do, or need. The real cost is on average $50.000. Many of these institutions do offer financial aid in the form of merit and need based aid. You need to know how all this works before you charge ahead with applications, so you aren’t blindsided when the acceptances roll in. For instance, my son was accepted to UC Berkeley but we were told by the parents of kids we knew there that getting the classes they need is very difficult. It’s not uncommon to take 5, or even 6, years to graduate. That great in-state tuition doesn’t look so great anymore after paying it for 6 years. He decided to go to Whitman, where he got a merit scholarship, which knocked off enough tuition that it was more affordable than going to a UC.</p>
<p>Can you get a parent involved to investigate some of the ins and outs of tuition and financial aid?</p>
<p>One more thought. My son also applied to UC Davis, UCSB and UCSC. At Santa Cruz he was offered a Regent’s Scholarship, which is great because along with it comes priority registration. He, however, did not like the quarter system they’re on, as is UC Davis. Many things to consider. How is your school guidance counselor?</p>
<p>My D also chose Whitman over Berkeley. They offered nice grants making it financially similar, and as in your case the overcrowded classes at Cal made it an easier decision. You definitely do have to wait and see what the private schools offer before assuming the publics are better deals.</p>
<p>My mother is saying that I should only apply to five colleges. I’ve already tried to reason with her and just ended up getting into a heated argument. Any tips on how to convince her that five colleges is way too few?</p>
<p>We hired a private college counselor because my S’s high school counselor just didn’t have the time or knowledge to help much. He told us that 9 is ideal; 3 reaches, 3 matches and 3 safeties. In the end S applied to 13 schools because the UCs were easy to apply to, one application, however, they each have an application fee. What is your Mom’s reason for limiting it to 5? Time, effort, money?</p>
<p>To the best of my knowledge, her reason is entirely money-based. I offered to pay for some of the application fees myself but she thinks it’s still a waste of money.</p>
<p>Also, if I apply to Bard’s Nonbinding EA, am I permitted to apply to Whitman’s binding ED as well?</p>
<p>You might point out to her that while it may cost more initially to apply to 9 (or 10) colleges instead of 5, doing so might save you a lot of money. If you apply to schools where your GPA and SAT (or ACT) scores are in to top 25% of applicants, the chances of being offered merit aid are quite good. This applies to UCs as well as privates. Do you have a good guidebook to look at schools’ acceptance stats? College Board (collegeboard.com) has a great feature for student’s who are searching out schools. You enter your stats and then pick a college you are interested in, it will show you where you fit in the applicant pool; reach, match, or safety. </p>
<p>Early action is non-binding, so you can apply to Bard EA and ED to Whitman, however (and it’s a big however), Whitman’s early decision IS binding. The rule is that EA is non-binding, ED is always binding. So if you get into Whitman ED and into Bard EA, you have to go to Whitman. If you don’t get into Whitman, but do get into Bard, you can go to Bard if you want to but can still apply regular decision to more colleges.</p>
<p>This was my previous list:
REACHES: Bard, UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles
MATCHES: Pitzer, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Whitman, Washington University
SAFETIES: University of Redlands, Sonoma SU</p>
<p>This is my prospective current list:
REACHES: Bard, UC Los Angeles
MATCHES: Pitzer, UC Santa Barbara/UC Irvine, Whitman
SAFETIES: University of Redlands, UC Santa Cruz</p>
<p>If, hypothetically, I’m forced to cut down to 5, here is my list:
REACHES: UC Los Angeles
MATCHES: UC Santa Barbara/UC Irvine, Whitman
SAFETIES: University of Redlands, UC Santa Cruz</p>
<p>Is there anything out of place? I’m very worried that I’m not making good decisions in terms of colleges to apply to. Also, which would be a better fit for me as an English major: UC SB or Irvine?</p>
<p>I think you need more input from from someone with more info about the schools and about you. There is no crazy hurry here. Do you have a trusted teacher or can the school guidance counselor help you? What you haven’t even addressed is the idea of which schools “fit” you. Are you going to visit any? You need to slow down and get more information from more sources.</p>
<p>I talked to my parents and looked through a bunch of colleges and options and we settled on 7 schools. How’s this?</p>
<p>REACHES: Bard, University of California: Los Angeles
MATCHES: Ithaca College, University of California: Irvine, Whitman
SAFETIES: University of Missouri: Columbia, University of California: Santa Cruz</p>
<p>You have a great combination of schools that allow for you to have a choice of small or large come April. It’s just that you’re calibrating them wrong. Because Bard is SAT optional, you may be looking at their SAT scores (which only 50% of students submit) and thinking that is the level of all admitted students. It’s not. Bard belongs in your match category. Ithaca is much more of a safety than a match. 27% of Ithaca students are in the top 10% of their graduating class. Bard - 64%. Whitman - 67%. SAT scores for Ithaca’s mid 50% range from 530 to 630 (CR) and 530 - 640 (M). SAT scores FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO SUBMIT at Bard are 680 - 740 (CR), 650 - 680 (M). Mid 50% SAT scores for Whitman are 630 - 730 (CR) and 610 - 700 (M).</p>