Heres my application. Best econ/finnance schools for me? :))

College Search & Selection
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<p>Demographics: White, male, Arizona resident, strong public school district (ranks nationally),~60k income, intended major is Econ</p>

<p>Numbers:
GPA: Unweighted: 3.628 (Upward trend, had a terrible freshmen year)
Weighted: 4.448
Rank: 31/432 (~7%)
AP's: 7 total (AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, AP Physics C, AP Lit, AP Language, AP Economics micro/macro, AP Bio)
Honors/Pre-AP: 7 classes total</p>

<p>Testing:
ACT: 1st attempt I scored a 23 (I know this is terrible, I had extreme anxiety); however, I have taken numerous practice exams, and I am comfortably going to retake the ACT twice more, expecting 30+.
SAT Subject Tests: Planning on taking Math Level I, Math Level II, and Bio. Expecting above average scores.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars/Leadership:
Site Counsil Position: Ran election, and won. Only one student was chosen. While on site counsil I met with the principle and board members every two weeks to discuss the well being of our school. To shorten this up, I had a huge influence and made my school a much better palce. I gathered students, and organized focus groups/field trips to different schools sampling their lunches. I then took the positives from each school (including student output) and translated it into our school's lunches. I also created a food counsil that now meets once a month discussing the quality of food, and ways of improvement). I worked with board members to establish a cafe within our school, ran by the students (cost ~30K). Finally, I also pushed for our school to landscape our campus, and make many visual improvents (which was sucessful).</p>

<p>Summer of Excellence at UofA: Took two college classes at the University of Arizona. Total of 6 units (English & Physical Universe). I recieved an "A" and a "B" grade in the classes. While taking the courses I lived on campus for about a month and a half.</p>

<p>Internship/Shadowing with Wealth Mangement Firm: My mentor was a credible man, he manages $100+ millions of local funds within my city. My other mentor was a portfollio manager of one of the largest banks in the country, he also manged large sums of money, but on a national scale. I made several suggestions and presented my own ideas towards allocation of clients' money. Worked with bonds/stocks/options/futures ect...</p>

<p>Volunteer Position at Pima County Attorney's Office: ~35 hours</p>

<p>Volunteer/Coordinator Position "Cienega Soccer Nights": ~300 hours over a spread of 3 summer breaks. Worked with young kids teaching them soccer.</p>

<p>School Soccer: 4 years (3 years on Varsity).</p>

<p>Club Soccer: 10+ years of competive soccer. Practiced 4-5 nights a week (took up all of my time). Was the captain of my team for a majority of that time interval. Team was ranked top 15 in state. </p>

<p>Olympic Development Program (Soccer): Played with the best kids in the state for a few weeks out of each year. Highly competitve. During this time I would have overlap of my club practice with these practices, and on some days I would practice twice a day.</p>

<p>Key Club: 1 year (Junior year) (No position)</p>

<p>Reccomendations:</p>

<p>Should be amazing. Will have either my principal, college professor, or mentor write mine. I also have a few others in mind. I have a teacher that takes great interest in me, as well as a soccer coach.</p>

2

<p>How much is your family able and willing to contribute to your college expenses?
For a family income of $60K, with typical assets, your Expected Family Contribution might be about $20K/year at many schools. Use online Net Price Calculators or collegeabacus.com to get more reliable estimates for your actual circumstances and the school. </p>

<p>Most colleges will not cover 100% of demonstrated need. Arizona State, for example, only covers 58% on average. With total in-state costs of almost $20K (including room & board), you might not get any aid at all. Most out-of-state public schools will cost much more, and may not cover enough of your need to be affordable.</p>

<p>Unless you have a large college savings fund, or your family is very frugal, you probably should be looking at schools within commuting distance of home. However, especially if your scores come up (to, say, the 25-30 range), you might have a good shot at some of the CTCL schools ([CTCL</a> Members | Colleges That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/list]CTCL”>http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/list)). Beloit and Lawrence cover more than 85% of demonstrated need on average. Clark University covers 95% on average … and, it is test-optional (as is Lawrence).</p>

<p>You might want to have a look at some other test-optional schools ([SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest)). Holy Cross is an excellent test-optional school that claims to meet 100% of demonstrated need. Ditto for Connecticut College. American University, Brandeis, Dickinson, Franklin and Marshall, and Juniata are all highly-regarded test-optional schools where your GPA and rank should give you a decent shot at admission (with perhaps a small bump for geographic diversity).</p>

3

<p>My family’s income is 60k; however, we have other assets and could pay much more. Should of stated above.</p>

4

<p>@tk21769 Thanks for your insight, I will look into some of those schools listed. My new ACT scores will be 30+, and I can say that with a high degree of certainty.</p>

5

<p>Arizona State
Arizona</p>

6

<p>If cost is not a major issue and your scores hit 30+, then more options open up. It becomes a question of what you’re really looking for. Large school or small? Does location matter? Etc.</p>

<p>Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota are 3 state universities with well-regarded economics departments. Total cost to attend such schools (as an OOS student) is roughly $30K-$40K. The University of Rochester is a small private university that seems to have a strong econ department, has fairly good need-based aid, and may be in range if your scores do go up.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that other family needs (like retirement planning) might be competing for those other assets, and that expensive colleges will take savings into account in calculating your net costs. So be sure to cover your safety school bases for cost as well as admission.</p>

7

<p>@tk21769 Thanks once again, im looking into all of these schools extensively. What about some of the other top tier schools? Such as Northwestern, UChicago, NYU, and ect. I’ve heard the higher ranked colleges provide more financial aid to their applicants. Is this true? Are my scores competivie for some of those schools (ACT test scores pending)? I’m also applying to Northwestern in Illinoise ED, hopefully that will increase my chances.</p>

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<p>NYU doesn’t give good financial aid.</p>

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<p>@barrk123 I wasn’t fully aware, but thanks. I guess it is not as viable as I was told. Are these out of state schools I am applying consider my geographic location heavily?</p>

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<p>You can check yourself to see if your scores are competitive by checking the Common Data Set for each college. You can check the estimated cost by running the NPC on each college website. But since you have moderate income and large assets, I don’t know how accurate that will be. </p>

<p>There are colleges that pledge to meet full need (NYU does not), but you have to meet your EFC. There are colleges that give merit aid, but you’d need to be in the top of the applicant pool. Wikipedia has a list of colleges that pledge to meet full need.</p>

11

<p>It is true that many of the more selective, higher ranked schools tend to provide more generous need-based aid. However, Chicago’s average ACT score is 33; Northwestern’s is 32. Even if you raise your composite scores to these levels, they still will be reaches.</p>

12

<p>Bryant University is a test-optional, business oriented school. I think you should look into it! Your GPA is in the right range for it. They have many different types of economics and finance majors.</p>

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<p>Bryant costs over $50K and on average meets only 53% of demonstrated financial need. Average indebtedness of 2012 graduates was over $44K (higher than any of the ~300 Kiplinger “best value” colleges).</p>

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<p>Sorry I did not consider the finances, but southeastwest was not too specific about the finances. And the average does not really mean anything. An average of something is the least likely statistic to be relevant to an individual. And if southeastwest gets a 30+ on his ACT, he will get merit aid.</p>

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<p>Arizona and Arizona State, of course. Both will meet your needs and be relatively inexpensive. They are both in the top 50 programs for economics, btw - they’re tied for #36 according to U.S. News. The National Research Council has ranked Arizona State’s economics department as between #12 and #22, and the University of Arizona’s program between #30 and #56. Arizona State also has the #30 business school in the country, and UA is ranked at #44. Arizona State lists the companies that recruit there on their website ([Recruiting</a> Companies - Finance- W. P. Carey School of Business](<a href=“http://wpcarey.asu.edu/finance/careers/companies.cfm]Recruiting”>http://wpcarey.asu.edu/finance/careers/companies.cfm)) and most of them are huge businesses that also recruit at top schools.</p>

<p>So honestly, either of those may be the best mix between value and academic rigor for you. Honestly, unless you got into one of the very top schools - like Chicago, Northwestern, URochester (who’s economics department is very good), Princeton, Penn, Yale, something like that - or if you really wanted an LAC experience and got into a top LAC like Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, I would say that UA or Arizona State are probably best for your major interests.</p>

<p>Chicago has one of the best economics departments in the country - the world, really - but even with an ACT score of 30+, you’re still in the middle of the pack. Same with Northwestern.</p>

<p>The other great places to study economics are also very competitive universities - Princeton, Yale, Penn, etc. However, someone mentioned UMinnesota above and they have a very strong economics department (and are affordable for OOS students). Boston U has a strong economics department, but is not known for good financial aid. Penn State has great economics, and I know that they give merit aid to OOS students - but you have to get that ACT score up. Boston College also meets 100% of financial need and is a possibility if you score as you say you will.</p>

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<p>@juillet I am so thankful for your post. I believe I will apply to UBoston, URochester, UA, ASU, Northwestern, and UChicago. I am applying ED to NW. Should I consider applying ED to one of these other schools? Or are my scores competive enough for me to get in without the ED hook? I know NW and UChicago are still reaches, less NW. However, I love Chicago and want that to be my #1 priority. If I raised my score 32, is there a decent shot I will be admitted?</p>

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<p>Also applying to UWiscon, Umich, Umin, boston college</p>

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<p>Your list covers a good range of safety-match-reach schools for admission. Just be sure to cover your cost bases, too. If your family can easily afford the EFC for each of these schools, fine. Otherwise, fat envelopes in December or April do you no good if you cannot cover the net costs. And if you are admitted as an ED applicant, you are committed to accepting the offer (unless you truly cannot afford to attend). For this reason, high-need applicants often are discouraged from applying ED. It eliminates the option of comparing aid offers. </p>

<p>I ran a few net cost estimates on collegeabacus.com. I assumed the student had no assets, the parents were in their late 40s, there is a 15 year old sibling, and the parents have no financial assets other than $10K in a checking account. Here are estimated net costs per year for parents’ income of about $65K:</p>

<p>University of Chicago $7,655
Northwestern $11,348
Macalester College $11,638
Boston College $13,827
University of Arizona $15,357
Arizona State $18,048
UMinnesota (Twin Cities) $29,679
Wisconsin $33,062</p>

<p>If your parents (or you) do have significant assets (other than the equity in your primary residence), the net costs might be higher. I suggest substituting private schools in your “match” range for some of the OOS public universities (unless my assumptions are way off). Don’t count too much on hitting the jackpot at UChicago or Northwestern. I added Macalester College above just as an example of what another fairly selective private school might cost.</p>

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<p>@tk21769 I did the net price calculator you suggested and found viable numbers from a majority of these schools (except the OOS public universities). The remaining schools on my list wernt able to calculate due to site updates (URochester, UMichigan, UBoston), however I believe they will be very expensive as well. I tried searching for other strong econ programs, but couldn’t exactly find any that were private. What are some schools I could substitute in for these very expensive OOS unversities?</p>

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<p>Consider Brandeis University. US News ranks its graduate econ department in the top 75. It is a need-blind, full-need school. Abacus estimates its net cost to be $13,725 (given the assumptions I’ve been using).</p>

<p>You might also want to check out some small liberal arts colleges, such as Macalester or Grinnell. Adjusted for institution size, Macalester and Grinnell alumni earn PhDs in economics at higher rates than alumni of Yale, Northwestern, Duke, or Berkeley. LACs offer consistently small classes and total focus on undergrads (with all instruction by professors, not grad students). Grinnell is a need-blind, full-need school. Abacus does not provide a cost estimate for it. I would expect its net cost to be in line with Macalester’s (or maybe a bit lower).</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/academics/economics/aftermacalester/[/url]”>http://www.macalester.edu/academics/economics/aftermacalester/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;