<p>Throughout high school, I made sure to work hard in order to maximize my choices for colleges and universities. However, I have no idea where I want to apply to. I'm undecided (leaning towards ChemE, but I have a wide varieties of interests that do not overlap). I'm looking for private universities with good financial aid because LACs are too small for me, and I have no money for college. I'm looking mostly at the East, California, and Chicago; I just don't want to be in the middle of nowhere or the Midwest. Currently applying to: Tulane, Northeastern, UVA (instate), Duke, Columbia, Princeton, Harvard. I can list "stats" if needed. </p>
<p>I'm worried about going to a school where I either hate the student body (which is why I'm looking at medium+ sized schoos) or do not have a potential major I decide on (the engineering interest makes this difficult, especially at schools where engineering is a separate application). Advice, insight, tips? </p>
<p>You need to begin by finding schools that will give you enough financial aid. Familiarize yourself with the net price calculator on the financial aid page of each school. Run it and ask your parents if they can afford the EFC. If they cannot, you’ll need to look elsewhere or the EFC must be something YOU can provide by working summers–probably the most that would be would be several thousand dollars. I see you’ve chosen a lot of schools that offer large merit and needs-based FA. You could do a lot worse than UVA, so you’re fortunate in that regard.</p>
<p>If your stats are extraordinary, a public like UMD or OSU or even UMich or near public like Pitt might be interested in recruiting you with a full ride. Tulane might not have the kind of engineering you’re interested in, but it’s a great school and city. UMich has great aid for the low-income family, even from OOS.</p>
<p>The reach schools on that list do not expect a financial contribution from the parents, and a local scholarship I’m applying for would cover all four years. </p>
<p>I didn’t know OOS had decent financial aid. I know the UCs have terrible OOS aid, but I didn’t know about UMich.
How extraordinary should the stats be?</p>
<p>some OOS publics have no aid for the OOS (PSU, for instance). Others like UMD and OSU have great merit for OOS students they really want. These are the top of the top students, the kids who likely are drawing interest from all the ivies. UMD, for instance, has a Stampp scholarship that pays full ride to these (five?) students, and OSU has the Eminence Fellowship which is full ride but given to only 25 students. Btw, you should check out the Stampp Foundation if you have that kind of qualifications; they support merit at many schools. We’re probably talking about 4.0 unwtd with the most rigorous course load possible and then some, plus a 2400 or 36 on the standardized tests plus ECs that Mother Teresa would be embarrassed by. I’m exaggerating, but not by much.</p>
<p>UMich on the hand has great need-based aid for the highly qualified student from a low-income family. They also have great merit.</p>
<p>Many schools also have scholarships upto full ride within departments or for students who meet certain qualifications. These are much more difficult to find out about.</p>
<p>If you want, you can give us the info requested here and maybe we can be more helpful. If you’re a junior and come from a low-income household, there are college programs just for you that I haven’t mentioned.</p>
<ol>
<li>On the calculators, the average cost has been around $3,000/year. I don’t know how much they can pay (not a lot is an understatement) and income is about $50,000.</li>
<li>Very undecided. Considering pre law/business/med. Undecided, but thinking of engineering, specifically ChemE. Also thinking about business (entrepreneurship). I’d like to minor in a language or two. Maybe just plain chemistry or a general science. Also like psychology. I’d like to major in something useful that can get me various jobs, so I was thinking double major.</li>
<li>I’d like East Coast, CA, Chicago mostly. Just no midwest, middle-of-nowhere places. Looking for a larger size (4,000+). I want a social life. I like to always have the opportunity to do something.</li>
<li>I have a 3.965 GPA. All AP and Honors Classes. I self-studied Stats and Environmental Science and got a 5 on both. Also got a 5 on Chem, US, Euro, and Psych. Taking AP: Gov, Lit, Calc AP, Pysics I, Bio, and Spanish Language and an independent study in organic chemistry. Took 4 years of web design and jazz band.</li>
<li>33 ACT with subscores of 32-24 and an 11 on writing.</li>
</ol>
<p>It appears that for at least the foreseeable future, you can afford college without depending on merit. Presumably the npcs have included 5500 in federal loans; if there is no work-study provided, then you have the school year and summer to raise 4 or 5 grand. That’s about as good as it gets. If they gave you work-study, that leaves you the summer to save that 3000; that makes college living pretty tight. But you’re going.</p>
<p>The major doesn’t matter, except as you might choose by May 1 you want a school that gives you the option of majoring in business or ChemE. I would suggest you consider a minor in compsci because of the money in CS even if it isn’t your primary career. ChemE tends to be lucrative, comparatively speaking. Having another language or two would be helpful in any field. But you don’t have to decide on major now; just figure on applying to schools that can offer engineering and perhaps business.</p>
<p>Schools of more than 4000 undergrads in CA or near Chicago or along the East Coast with some social life and things to do.</p>
<p>The GPA is right, and the rigor is there. The 33 is fine. </p>
<p>If you like urban settings and are looking for merit aid, you might consider some of the smaller[url=“<a href=“http://theaitu.org%22%5DAITU%5B/url”>http://theaitu.org”]AITU[/url</a>] schools. They are modest-sized and are known for their engineering programs.</p>
<p>I’m going to fudge the business school thing by suggesting that you consider economics at those schools that don’t have business.</p>
<p>The safeties can be any school that fits the criteria, offers enough either merit or need-based aid, has an acceptance rate above 30%, and you would go there: UMD-CP, UMN-TC, Pittsburgh, NortheasternU, Syracuse, Arizona State, Case Western. There are many more. You need one or two.</p>
<p>You don’t really need matches if you’ll go to your safety for sure, but… Matches can be Vanderbilt (great merit and need-based aid), Washington University in St. Louis (ditto), University of Michigan, URochester, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>Choose a couple “ivies” that do ChemE. Columbia, Stanford, Northwestern, and MIT or some other schools. Reaches for everybody. Forget about them once you apply.</p>
<p>30% also but with higher selectivity
(ie., 30-40% kids admitted, with average SAT CR+M around 1200 vs. 30% admitted with average SAT CR+M 1330 makes the second example higher in selectivity even if the admission rate is similar.)</p>