I need guidance - please help :/

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello! I thought I had things figured out for the most part but this past week has been really influential and my mind has changed a lot about my future. As for my career plans, I think that I want to major in broadcast journalism (with a possible minor in French) and then go to law school. </p>

<p>I am absolutely certain that I want to go to NYU or Columbia for law school.</p>

<p>Where would I fit in? I was thinking Kenyon for a while but recently visited and came to the conclusion that the tiny, 'bubble' environment would drive me crazy. I need a bigger school, preferably in the city, surrounded by culture and experiences. I also would really like to go to a well-respected place - wouldn't we all? - where I would get great internships in NYC (for law/broadcast journalism) and an excellent chance of getting into the aforementioned law schools. NYU is probably my first choice, but I don't know if I will be able to visit. Financial need is a factor.</p>

<p>PROFILE
Caucasian Female
Region: St. Louis Area (still in Illinois, though)
School: Competitive, large public
GPA: 4.839w (on 5.0 scale)
Thus far, I have taken the hardest possible courseload at my school.
Class Rank: 19/592
Note: GPA/class rank increased substantially after freshman year. My only B's were in two courses my freshman year and I've gotten straight A's ever since.</p>

<p>ACT Composite: 30 (going to retake in September and October after seriously studying math/science)
English: 35
Math: 26
Reading: 34
Science: 25
Writing: 11
Question: will this large discrepancy between my English/Reading/Writing and Math/Science scores look better since I am going for an English-related field? My guidance counselor said that it would probably make my score look a little bit more like a 32-33 to adcomms, but I don't know. </p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULAR (this, in my opinion, is my strongest area)
Marching Band (9, 10, 11, 12)
Concert Band (9, 10, 11, 12)
-in top concert band/wind ensemble (10, 11, 12)
-1st chair French Horn
Top Vocal Jazz Ensemble (10, 11, 12)
-will be an 8 person group (12), I will be one of 2 altos
-made ILMEA All-district (10, 11, 12?)
-made ILMEA All-State for Vocal Jazz as a junior (only offered to upperclassmen), one of 9 altos in entire state of IL
French Club (9, 10, 11, 12)
Newspaper (9, 10, 11)
Theatre (9, 10, 11, 12)
-multiple starring and supporting roles
Member of French Honor Society, English Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Thespian Society, NHS (all 11, 12)
Cantor at my diocese's Cathedral
Student Teacher/helper for local Catholic PSR Program (10, 11, 12) (like a sunday school)
Employed at local Dairy Queen (11, 12??)
Take piano/music theory, french horn, and voice lessons
In a 2-person band</p>

<p>AWARDS
*Won National Anthem Competition for State of IL through rigorous ILMEA Auditions, one of ~10 vocalists in entire state. Will sing the National Anthem for the IHSA '14 Girls Volleyball State Finals to crowd of ~10,000. The principal and the music teachers will attend with me as an honor
*High Honor Roll</p>

<p>LEADERSHIP
Mellophone/French Horn section leader for marching band (12)
-organize sectionals to help other members improve music and marching, responsible for actions and performance of section
Vocal Jazz Alto Section Leader (11, 12)
-lead altos to correct ILMEA location, sign them up for ILMEA audition times
President of French Club (12)
-spearhead meetings, organize fundraisers and group activities, lead club on field trips, order club items, lead other officers
Features, Centerspread, and Editorial Editor for Newspaper (10, 11)
PSR Student Teacher (10, 11, 12)
-assist adult teacher in explaining theological points, gathering documents, errands
Leader of a Luke 18 group (official title: Disciple)
-organize/teach/guide group of middle schoolers in a Catholic church retreat
Invited to sing at local Cancer Benefit Concert, performed original songs</p>

<p>VOLUNTEER WORK
Server/cook at Cathedral Parish/St. Vincent dePaul free breakfast for the needy
-provide a free hot meal to needy/underprivileged locals every Saturday
Assist in babysitting local girl with Autism</p>

<p>I hold liberal views and have a passion for helping the underprivileged. I love to be surrounded by people, especially those who have had vastly different experiences than I (and thus can teach me something about both the world and myself). I want my college to change my life, culture me, improve my outlook.</p>

<p>I'm considering: NYU (this is the absolute dream), BU, U of I, Northwestern (my ACT is low for NW), I guess Mizzou? </p>

2

<p>Take the ACT again. Depending on the results, apply ED at either NYU or Northwestern. You get a significant boost in acceptance rates at Northwestern for ED, but you do need to get that composite up to about 32 with higher math/science. NYU has ED1 and ED2, so you could have a plan A, plan B, and plan C (regular decision elsewhere.) If you were my daughter, I’d support you in every way I could to get those quantitative ACT scores up just a little and try Northwestern ED. The rigor of your coursework will be very very very helpful, much more important than your scores. Your essay will also help to mitigate the lower quant scores.</p>

3

<p>Check on American in Washington, DC. </p>

4

<p>@trekslxchick‌ I was thinking about ED for NYU because, from what I’ve seen, I am IN LOVE with the school and the city. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am going to be able to visit unless I am accepted, and the financial aid is a factor (I’ve heard fin aid at NYU is sub-par?). I would really love to apply ED there, though - do you think it would be a good decision? </p>

<p>Both schools superscore, correct? So if I work on greatly improving math/science (already improved science 2 points in my practice tests since then, moving superscore to 31) would that help?</p>

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<p>@trekslxchick, OP says financial need is a factor, so it would be foolish to apply anywhere ED. OP needs to cast a wide net she can compare financial aid offers.</p>

<p>OP, are you aware that NYU’s financial aid is notoriously poor? The school uses its FA to reel in the topmost applicants. Stories of those who have been accepted with woefully sufficient aid are legion. Don’t get your hopes up. Also keep in mind that it’s very expensive to attend college in NYC, apart from school costs. I’s tough to be the one in the crowd who can’t afford to buy a movie ticket, share a cab or go out for sushi. </p>

<p>As for law school admissions, your undergraduate choice won’t matter. A sterling GPA and top LSAT score are the keys to the first tier law schools.</p>

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<p>I am usually a huge proponent of ED because of the admissions boost that it usually provides, even if financial need is a factor (because you can decline the offer of admission if the financial package is not affordable. You also have a little leverage to negotiate because you have already been admitted.) However, upon closer inspection of the most recent common data set for NYU, it looks like there is not an admission boost for ED - it appears to be about 32 percent for both ED and RD. And yes, NYU’s financial aid is notoriously poor. These two factors taken together do not present a compelling case for ED for NYU.</p>

<p>I struggle with the concept of casting a wide net in order to compare financial aid offers when there is a significant admissions boost for the ED choice. The net may be wider but the top choices may not be an option if the opportunity to apply ED is passed. Since an ED admittance can be declined for financial reasons, I still like ED where the admissions boost is significant.</p>

<p>OP, have you visited Northwestern? If NYU is still your top choice after visiting Northwestern, I would probably recommend you apply regular decision. If Northwestern moves to the top, I’d still consider ED if your ACT scores improve.</p>

<p>I can’t find any evidence that Northwestern superscores the ACT. I believe that NYU does superstore the ACT. It is included on this master list of schools that superscore the ACT (<a href=“Colleges that superscore the ACT - BS/MD Admissions by College Admissions Partners”>I Don't Care About your A+ Grade - BS/MD Admissions by College Admissions Partners) NYU’s website states: “For the ACT, we will review the highest composite ACT score with Writing - regardless of test dates.”</p>

<p>NYU does have considerable flexibility on testing requirements though. According to its website:</p>

<p>"To be eligible for admission, applicants are expected to submit results from one of the following testing options:</p>

<p>The SAT Reasoning Test; or
The ACT with Writing Test; or
Three SAT Subject Test scores; or
Three AP exam scores; "</p>

<p>You mentioned that you have taken the most rigorous courses offered at your school. If by chance you have 3 AP scores of 4 or higher (1 literature/humanities, 1 math/science and one elective), that could be another option for you.</p>

<p>If you stick with the ACT, consider that time management is a huge part of acing the Math and Science sections. You should be able to find some prep materials in that regard. </p>

<p>Good luck! I do think you have a reasonable shot at NYU with your rigorous course load and your ACT of 30 is right at the 50th percentile. Whether the finances will work is anyone’s guess.</p>

7

<p>NYU is not very good for need-based financial aid.</p>

8

<p>The standardized test scores have to change, but USC has a terrific broadcast journalism major and offers a lot of money. A 32 might get you a half-tuition, and a 34 might yield a full tuition (maybe). Or the SAT equivalents. Penn can be really generous, too, to some Annenberg students, and they’d love your ECs.</p>

9

<p>Would you guys advise against Mizzou, then?</p>

<p>And in terms of finances, does UIUC have enough recognition/respectability in communicatons/humanities for me to do that undergrad and save ~30k? Unless I can get more money somewhere else, whether via merit, need, etc. I was thinking that if I save money for undergrad, but still go to a place with good programs and name recognition, that I could apply the rest of that money towards a top notch law school. So if and when I do attend law school in NYC, I’ll be more prepared. But NYC firms are the ultimate goal. </p>

<p>Is that a reasonable plan?</p>

10

<p>I second the suggestion to take a look at American. Another idea would be Emerson College in Boston, which also has a great journalism program. Smaller school in a big city. Emerson has some nice merit scholarships too.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.collegemediamatters.com/2012/12/04/50-best-journalism-schools-and-programs-at-u-s-colleges-and-universities-updated-for-2013/”>http://www.collegemediamatters.com/2012/12/04/50-best-journalism-schools-and-programs-at-u-s-colleges-and-universities-updated-for-2013/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>What is your unweighted GPA? That’s the important one.</p>

<p>I was also going to suggest Emerson in Boston. Terrific journalism school and Boston is a GREAT city to live in. Temple University in Philly also has good journalism and I know a kid who got better FA there than to Emerson.</p>

<p>Also, have you run the Net Price Calculators for the schools you are interested in? You should be doing that for all the schools. You’ll need your parents tax and investment/asset info (along with your own.) When we did this for my daughter’s initial college list, it had a dramatic impact as we saw how some schools were just completely unaffordable while others, that we hadn’t considered as closely, became much stronger contenders. An easy way to run the NPCs is to set up an account on the College Board’s BIG FUTURE website and enter the info into one school while you are logged in, then, it will auto-fill in the other schools and you won’t have to tediously retype it all :slight_smile: (Plus that’s a good place to look at other things about the schools, like where your ACT and GPA fall in their spectrum, what majors are offered, etc.)</p>

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<p>???</p>

<p>Uh, no matter when you apply (ED or RD) any “negotiations” occur after you have already been admitted. If you are not admitted, you don’t receive a FA pkg.</p>

13

<p><<<
ACT Composite: 30 (going to retake in September and October after seriously studying math/science)
English: 35
Math: 26
Reading: 34
Science: 25
Writing: 11
Question: will this large discrepancy between my English/Reading/Writing and Math/Science scores look better since I am going for an English-related field? My guidance counselor said that it would probably make my score look a little bit more like a 32-33 to adcomms, but I don’t know.
<<<</p>

<p>I think your GC is wrong. It might help for admissions, but not for aid/merit.</p>

<p>Most/all of NYU’s aid is either merit or talent-based and often with a need-component. </p>

<p>When you say that FA is important, what is your situation? Are you low income? Have you had your parents run NYU’s NPC? What was the result? Do you know how much your parents will pay?</p>

<p>we need more info about your situation. If you have an unaffordable EFC, then your list would likely change. If you are low income (and don’t have a NCP with a good income), then your list could change. </p>

<p>If your parents have a good income, but can’t pay much, then that can change a lot of things. </p>

14

<p>Ithaca College’s Park School is really good for all areas of communication including broadcast journalism. I know people who have gotten internships in NYC through the school, including one girl who graduated in May and has already been offered a potential job at Fox. </p>

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<p>Perhaps Emerson in Boston?</p>

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<p>I find this

rather amusingly at odds with this.

</p>

<p>If you truly want college to change you, ditch the road map. Take the opportunity to explore interests you didn’t even know you had. If you want to change and develop, seek out opportunities to do so – you’re not a piece of clay to be passively molded, regardless of the college you attend. Consider taking some time off after graduation to do Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, or the like before law school. </p>

<p>In fact, consider doing AmeriCorps before college, particularly City Year. It’d be excellent experience for someone with your interests, and I think it would only strengthen a college application. More importantly, you’ll get a lot more out of college with real world experience. </p>

<p>You’ve gotten some good suggestions so far. U Miami is an obvious addition to the list. It’ll be hard to beat in-state Mizzou for journalism and cheap tuition. </p>

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<p>@warblersrule I’m considering taking a gap year between undergrad and law school to do Peace Corps work or something similar. And I realize how much those two statements contradict each other - what I really mean is this: I’m 17 and about to make a decision that will affect my entire future. I know that things change - that I’ll change - but I just want to give myself the best shot possible. I see my life now as the beginning of the road that has an end, somewhere down the line, in NYC; everything else in the middle is a line that will probably curve around on itself a few times. And hell, the end point may change too. That’s life; I know. I’m 17. In 6 months I won’t be the same person I am now, let alone in a few years.</p>

<p>I just want to make the line from this beginning to that end solid. Good school, good law school placement, good internships, good environment. Where I go and what I do in the in-between is the fun part.</p>

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<p>Emerson is about as bad as NYU for financial aid. If money is a factor at all, you need to run some net price calculators and see what matches up with what your parents tell you they will pay.</p>

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<p>@mom2collegekids‌ @trekslxchick‌ I forgot to mention that I have a double legacy at Duke via my grandparents on my father’s side. Since I have a lower EFC and Duke meets 100% of demonstrated need, would you recommend using my ED bullet here? I don’t know if I can visit, but Duke was my top choice for a long period of time.</p>

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<p>Journalists from undergrad journalism school at UIUC I know think very highly of their training and have gone on to great careers. </p>