I have weird stats and I am not sure what college would be a good fit for me. Please I need your suggestions.
I am currently a junior.
Cumulative GPA: 3.56
SAT: 2320
ACT:34
And these are my AP scores
AP chemistry: 5
AP lang and composition: 5
AP calculus ab: 4
AP computer science: 4
My SAT ll scores:
Biology: 750
Math level 2: 760
World History: 756
Extra Curricular:
Speech and debate
robotics club
youth commissioner for the city I live in
founder of chemistry club
Went to states for track and to sub-districts for cross country
editor of newspaper club
A mentor for incoming freshman students
went to confrences for FBLA
AP scholar
PSAT finalist
Other info:
URM
I wan to be a computer scientist or go pre med.
second place for photography competition
I plan on participating USCHO
I dont care where the college is as long it is in the US.
I don’t know what colleges will be e a match or reach. What do you think? Please leave your suggestions and I will have a more in depth look at them.
I think you are a good candidate for so called “public ivies” ie. U Mich., UNC Chapel Hill, UVA, UC Berkeley University Of Illinois at Urbana Champagne so on. All the schools I just listed are relatively inexpensive and have good programs in both pre-med and comp sci. Could also look into some higher tier, but not ivy, private schools like Davidson, Johns Hopkins etc. Right now from your stats and interests I think Urbana Champagne, Chapel Hill and Johns Hopkins look good for you.
I have reread your post and don’t understand the “weird” part. Are you concerned about your GPA? What is your class rank? Do you show an upward trend with your grades? Your test scores are very good.
You need to decide what your preferences are and then talk to your parents about finances. There are some schools where you can likely have a full ride if your are a NMF. If you qualify for financial aid, then you should apply to meet full need schools. If money is not a concern, then you can apply to some reach schools as long as you are happy with your safety.
@Gumbymom and @txstella my family can not afford anything. I have to either think about loans or a full ride. @txstella the “weird” part is the combination of the mediocre GPA with really good test scores. I am not sure whether to look at top schools or just my reach schools. Do you have any suggestions for schools?
Check out this list and pick out 3-4 and really research them. Are you confident you will be named a NMSF? Are you Hispanic? The National Hispanic Recognition Program gives you the same scholarships at many schools. There are some good schools on this list but look for full rides.
Are you a possible athletic recruit (this could help you get in)?
Are you female? If yes, then consider Smith, Bryn Mawr or Mount Holyoke where you could possibly get a lot of financial aid.
You are doing great keep up the great work. Is it possible to talk to your counselor since he/she might know you.
I am not so sure about this but I have heard that the ives just give out money for people who really need it but seem to be great students. That is always something to consider.
@txstella Thank you for the list. I really hope I will be named NMSF. I am not Hispanic, but I am African American. I don’t know how athletic recruiting works and I have not been recruited. I am a female and someone told me about smith and wellesley college. They seem really interesting and I will research them more.
I have heard about people who have been accepted in to Harvard and the ivies with just a 3.6 and I am not far from that. Is that really impossible for me? Do I have hope?
@dreamer2426 thank you. I am not close with my counselor, but hopefully he will help. I will try to email him.
My parents did not go to college, and I do not have anyone to talk to about colleges, so that is why I am coming to the people of college confidential.
I have no idea about your chances for Ivy League schools. Your strong scores, being African American and first generation college could all help your chances. Your ECs look strong. What is your involvement with robotics? What is your class rank? You took some tough classes as a junior and did well on the APs. Does your school have a hard grading system?
Being a woman computer science major may put you in demand at schools where they need women.
Here is a list of schools that meet full need. You can run the NPCs on the websites to see how much the schools would cost you.
I graduated from Rice University a very long time ago. Rice has very generous financial aid, is strong in comps sci and is excellent for pre-med. Check it out.
@txstella I am really involved in robotics. Our school does not go to competitions, but our adviser for that club really admires my work and I am planning to run for president for that club at the beginning of junior year. I am not sure what my class rank is, but I think it is 16 out of 220. My school does not have a hard grading system, I have a 3.56 because of my freshman year and the school I went to. I was not comfortable in that school and I had a lot of personal problems, so I decided to move and when I moved my grades kept going up. Thank you for the list, there are some really good schools. I will do a more in depth research and I will look at rice university too.
I am glad you are open to the womens colleges. They are SO wonderful. Please check out Mount Holyoke as well (same area as Smith.)
My daughter had a similar “imbalance” of GPA and test scores. She also needed substantial financial aid. She was most interested in smaller liberal arts colleges, so she applied to Bard College, Skidmore, Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire as a safety. She is attending Mount Holyoke with a ton of aid (they are a “meets full need” school so they will pay everything except your family’s EFC and very minimal subsidized federal loans.)
Have you done a trial FAFSA to see what your family’s EFC is? With that knowledge, if it is a low/affordabe amount, you should look at meets-full-need schools as your matches and reaches, in addition to some guaranteed full-ride schools of lesser ranking.
@staceyneil Thank you for your reply and for the schools that you have listed. I have not done a trail FAFSA, but I will make sure to do that as soon as possible.
Every college and university has a Net Price Calculator on its website. Sit down with your parents and run the NPCs for several of your target schools, and talk with your parents about the results. You need to know now what they can afford to pay.
If money is going to be an issue for you, spend some time in the Financial Aid Forum. You will find good links there.
