hispanic student--help with college???

Student Lounge Hispanic Students
1

<p>so im hispanic (born in costa rica, dual citizenship US/ CR)
mom- didn't go to college
dad- didn't go to college
<strong>first generation college student</strong>
both sides of family from and some still lives in costa rica</p>

<p>i now live in CT</p>

<p>gpa- 3.25 UW my school doesn't weigh
sats- (really bad....below 1600)
i was diagnosed with a severe anxiety problem though, which explains the scores</p>

<p>i attend a nationally ranked top 100 high school in an affluent town but my family income is different each year (sometimes low, sometimes high) because my father works on his own(small business) and my mom works for my school district not as a teacher or anything (only reason we live in the town is because of this)</p>

<p>family (grandparents on dads side)--wealthy and possibly can pay for some of my college
so cost isn't a concern</p>

<p>one question though--SHOULD I STILL DO THE FINANCIAL AID STUFF? WILL THAT AFFECT ME IN ANY WAY?</p>

<p>i really really want to go to a good school and i know i can...i am capable of a lot i was just diagnosed very late for my problem and my school is really hard (shouldn't be an excuse..i know)</p>

<p>I have really good extra curricular activities -- i am very involved in my school and community...a lot of leadership too
some being..
-hospital volunteer
-domestic violence educator
-ect.</p>

<p>i know il have amazing recommendations
and I'm going to try and make my essays stand out </p>

<p>schools I'm looking at....help? (which are reach, safety, target)</p>

<p>franklin and marshall
union
saint josephs university
UConn
elon
muhlenberg
bucknell
villanova
richmond
boston university
connecticut college
george washington university
fordham
loyola maryland </p>

<p>any other suggestions? (i forgot a lot and probably listed a lot of schools out of my reach...)</p>

<p>so basically in conclusion (sorry for so much)-
hispanic(costa rican)
first generation college student
really good high school but underprivileged in my town compared to others
some money from my wealthy grandfather to pay for college but should i still apply for financial aid?
and lastly will all of this add on to help me get into a good school?</p>

2

<p>

</p>

<p>This depends on the individual college and whether or not they have need aware admissions. If they are need aware, that means that they may use your ability to pay as a factor in admissions. </p>

<p>That said, you can apply for FA in general (ie. submit FAFSA and Profile) and if some schools are need aware, you could choose to mark that you are not applying for FA on their applications and not send FAFSA/Profile to those schools.</p>

<p>The strength of being first gen to college varies with the college, and is generally believed to be a tip factor at the most. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Underprivileged is not a concept that is relative to others in your community. Rather it will be defined by income level, attending an underserved HS, qualifying for low income programs, etc. </p>

<p>It would help to have the breakdown of your SAT score, are you planning to retake it?</p>

<p>While essays, LORs and ECs are needed to set you apart from other competitive candidates, the first and most important factor IMO is always your academic record (gpa, rigor of coursework and standardized testing).</p>

<p>I’m afraid I’m not that familiar with many of the schools on your list, so it’s difficult to give a realistic safety/match/reach evaluation. What does your HS GC say? Have you checked SAT 25:75 ranges of these schools from the Common Data Sets or the CB College Search function?</p>

<p>Hopefully others have more experience and will be able to help with your list.</p>