Hello, I am a high school student that lives in South Carolina. I would like to be able to leave the state and go to university some where else, preferably a city. Also, preferably in the eastern half of the continental United States, and not in the deep south. The problem is out of state tuition is tremendously high at many places. I am also not that academically gifted, so all of the ‘no-loan’ schools like Amherst College are out of reach. I have a 3.2 GPA, a 25 ACT, and 1125 SAT; I took the ACT after the SAT. I would not be able to afford a tuition + room and board that adds up to any more than around $20,000 - $25,000. With that I would have to take out loans, but not too much to handle. I would also like the school to be LGBT friendly, though I believe most tend to be anyways. Are there any options? I do not know what to do. I have been searching, and have come up with nothing. Any help in any way would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Does your family income qualify for financial aid?
Can you retake both act and sat? Are there two subjects where you’ve taken honors or AP courses?
What majors are you interested in?
What’s your budget? And your efc or parents’income?
I am a senior graduating very soon, I do not know if you can take those tests once graduated or not. Last year I took APUSH and before that I took APEURO. A couple of my classes all through High School have been honors (English). I took 4 Dual Enrollment classes this year (English 101 and 102, Problem Stats, and Government). I really have no idea what I want to major in. I do not know my family’s efc, but I do know that there yearly income ranges around $90,000 (They also have loans they are paying off, I do not know how much). I have been accepted to the College of Charleston, and I deferred admission to be able to work and save up money during a gap year. I am also look at going to community college than transferring to a 4 year university. Though, I do not know if this is a good idea. I would also really like to be able to study abroad for one semester… I just have no idea what I am going to do.
It’s a reach but mt Holyoke might not view the testing as strongly as others. And with the right essays and recommendations it could work out. I believe they have good financial aid for the 90k family income range. Also University of Rhode Island. Your home state being unique would be a good hook. It’s a little bigger than a lac but not huge and very good school.
Another two schools to check out are stonehill college in mass and Plymouth state in new hanpshire
I just did a search with your stats/price range and came up with a few schools. Look into West Chester University (PA), University of Southern Maine (ME), Worcester State University (MA), Framingham State University (MA), SUNY Buffalo (NY), Baruch College (NY), Lesley University (MA), and Florida Atlantic University (FL). Also, you can totally retake the SAT’s if it’s something you’re interested in. It would definitely help with merit aid. Good luck!
“Affordable” and “OOS” don’t really go together, except maybe for those with high stats. Your current stats are not particularly high, and so the affordable OOS options may be extremely limited or non-existent.
Your options could improve if you retake the ACT and get a higher score. For example, you would automatically qualify for the University of New Mexico’s “Amigo Scholarship” with a 3.0 GPA (which you have) and a 26 ACT (you are close at 25). The scholarship would basically allow you to attend UNM at the in-state cost, which is around $22,500 for tuition + room & board. UNM obviously isn’t in the eastern US, but it isn’t in the Deep South either, and it is in a city.
https://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/non-resident.html
https://admissions.unm.edu/costs-financial-aid/index.html
College of Charleston has a pretty good array of study abroad programs, for which you just pay your normal tuition and fees. You might want to look into whether it’s possible to go abroad as a sophomore, if you start planning early. If you can log 2-3 semesters of good grades, and then get your study abroad in at the in-state price, you could potentially aim to transfer out of state as a junior. At that point your HS grades and scores won’t matter anymore, and you will have gotten a great deal on your first two years of college and your semester (or even full year) abroad. You might love the place and decide to stay, but if not, you’ll at least be equipped to use it as a stepping stone. You’ll have more options if you college record is good, and you’ll probably be able to be a little more flexible on cost at your transfer school because you’ll only have two years to go.
Is that $20,000 - $25,000 you can afford per year, or total for 4 years?
I think Mount Holyoke is a reach with this student’s stats.
There are schools that might work, but the eastern half of the US is a challenge. Iowa State clocks in at about $33K/year for OOS students, for example. New Mexico State is about the same. Minnesota State (not in a city, but decent sized directional in Minnesota) is about $26K.
^^^. “It’s a reach but mt Holyoke might not view the testing as strongly as others”
starting off the sentence by mentioning its a reach.
And my Holyoke doesn’t have the selectivity it once had but still a reach. It’s not Wellesley anymore.
Honestly… a 3.2 is very unlikely to get into MHC these days. I don’t think it is LESS selective than it used to be.
Some of the lesser known universities in Canada would be in your price range, and are also the ones that you could get into with your stats. Other than that, the obvious ones that come to mind are your in-state public universities, or two years of community college followed by a transfer to an in-state university.
Is your GPA unweighted or weighted?
What don’t you like about College of Charleston? And what are you looking for in a college that you couldn’t get at, say, the University of South Carolina?
If your parents are repaying loans on top of regular household expenses on a $90k income, they probably can’t cosign loans for you, and you can only borrow ~$5500/year on your own. How much can your parents pay? If they can’t pay much and there are 4-year colleges near you, I’d consider commuting. You could also start at a cc then transfer to a 4-year school.
The SUNY costs for OOS would be above your budget.
Your scores are probably fine for admittance but not likely high enough for significant merit.
CofC is a great school!
@intparent Certainly not looking to debate. I have no skin in the game. However Mt Holyoke has a small base of single sex applicants and is very smart group of kids. But with 51% admit rate rd and 57% admit rate for ea it isn’t what I remember 20 years ago. As I mentioned it is an fantastic school and the education it offers is super. I just think it has become a tad bit less selective due to the competition from other coed schools.
A 3.2 makes MHC very unlikely, even if test optional (bottom 25% cutoff is 28). Only 6% admitted students had a GPA in that range. Acceptance rate is high but so is selectivity, the pool that applies self selects.
Agnes Scott, Eckerd, Guilford, Simmons, St Catherine’s (in Minneapolis), Chatham, Goucher may have better odds. All would be LGBTQ friendly. Run the NPC to see if any would be affordable.
I second West Chester (I’d prefer CoC myself but to each their own), University of Maine Orono, UIowa?
Run the NPC on Capital Ohio, Allegheny (not in a city but good college), St Michael’s (near capital city), Hobart and William Smith, UDayton, UScranton, Earlham (not urban), Lewis and Clark.
Simmons, St. Michaels and UScranton area all schools that D and I visited and to where she applied. But I’m not sure they would grant merit with your stats. I think that’s where you should focus…test scores. You just need to bring them up a bit for even this tier schools for merit awards. With an income of $90K these schools will still be expensive, most likely above your budget. Take a look at University of Massachusetts, ULowell. Also look at Clark University, Worcester is not Boston but its not rural either.
@privatebanker - re MHC and admissions % - You can’t compare those rates with coed institutions. Applicants to the women’s colleges already are self-selected, so the pool is quite distinct from that applying elsewhere.
- Yes you can take the ACT and SAT during a gap year. Don’t worry about that at all. If you think you can pull your score up, go for it.
- Go have a chat with the transfer advisor at the CC where you earned your dual-credits. Find out what you would need to do to make yourself a competitive transfer applicant who might be able to land decent merit-based aid somewhere. Also, find out if you qualify for any scholarships at that CC.
- Your parents’ EFC is likely to be higher than they can easily afford, so it is really important to find out what they can afford, and to run the Net Price Calculator everywhere that you apply. If you attend a CC first, will what you save them for that year or two be available later after you transfer?
@RahsHasAwoken College of Charleston is a great school in a great location. Kids in my NJ suburb go there! Frankly, I am having a hard time thinking of colleges in my region where you could get accepted with your stats and that would be considered better than CoC (other than their non- SC location) .
I get wanting to get out of SC. But I am with @juillet - what exactly is it that you do not like about CoC or Univ. of SC, other than that they are both in SC?