I need help with my college list please

College Search & Selection
1

Hi, I am a rising senior in high school in Maryland. I am currently making my college list and have come up with 7 colleges that I want to apply to. However, I need some different opinions about my list and I am open to other college options that can be on my list.

High School info:
My school does not do rank and my high school is not extremely highly regarded.

unweighted GPA: 4.0
weighted GPA: 4.72

Freshman year: 1 AP (U.S Gov and 5 on test), 3 honors classes, and 3 on level classes.

Sophomore: 2 AP’s (APUSH: 5 on test and Computer Science Principles: 4 on test), 4 honors classes, and one on level class.

Junior: 4 AP’s (Chem, Physics 1, Lang, and Modern World. Also, no scores yet on AP test.), 2 honors classes.

Senior year (projected schedule): 4 AP’s (Bio, Macro/Microeconomics, Lit, and AB Calc) 2 on level classes.

Going to get recommendations from AP Lang and AP Chem teachers.

SAT: Took it once last August (1340: 690 English 650 Math). I am scheduled to take it again this August. I do not know if I should submit my SAT Score b/c most schools have gone test optional.

Extracurriculars:

Cross Country team (4 years) → going to be captain senior year. Varsity all four years and four varsity letters too.

Indoor Track (4 years) - varsity for all four years.

Outdoor Track (4 years) - varsity all four years.

National Honors Society member - Junior and Senior year

Science National Honor Society - Junior and Senior year (going to apply for leadership senior year)

Rho Kappa Honor Society - Junior and Senior year (going to apply for leadership senior year).

Red Cross - Junior and Senior year. Leadership role, helping organize school blood drives. Lead Committee member.

Youth and Government - Freshman - Senior year. Senior year, I am the secretary.

Relay for Life Social Media Committee Chair - Junior and Senior year.

UNICEF club member - Junior and Senior year.

School Ambassador - Junior and Senior year, but had unofficial acceptance in freshman year.

Over 440 hours of community service.

College Wants and List so far:

I have a variety of interest right now:

Finance and Accounting for Business
Biomedical and Industrial Engineering
Bioinformatics/Computational Biology and Data Science
Possible Pre-Med interest, not entirely sure though

I want a school that is not to small (minimum of 5,000 undergraduate students)
Parents would pay for tuition only for highly acclaimed schools, but I would love scholarship opportunities.
I want a school that is academically challenging and has a strong sense of spirit.
I need a diverse campus and a noncompetitive atmosphere.
I want to be able to explore my interest before I have to select my major. Also, I want to be able to switch majors with ease.
Want medical opportunities (research, internships, facilities, possible accelerated program)
Would like a strong sports culture, but it is not a requirement.
I do not really care for location. But, I do not want a rural campus and preferably would want it on the east and west coast. I am open to southern and midwest schools.

UMBC (University of Maryland - Baltimore County) - applying to honors college
UMD (University of Maryland - College Park) - applying to honors college
CWRU (Case Western Reserve University)
USC (University of Southern California)
UNC (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) (Mom is an alumna) applying to honors college
BU (Boston University) (Dad is Alumnus) applying to honors college
University of Rochester

Thinking about:
Penn State (Schreyer College)
UMiami (University of Miami: Coral Gables)
UT Austin (University of Texas: Austin)

Thank you for the guidance and I wish the best for all of you!!!

2

The out-of-state (OOS) admission rate for UT-Austin is 8%. Based on the stats and course load you have presented in your post, you would not be competitive for admission. If you are truly passionate about going to UT, then I would suggest trying to improve your SAT score well into the 1500 range. “Test-optional” will most likely not be an advantage to you.

To make matters more difficult, UT-Austin admits by major (Business, Computer Science, and Engineering being the most competitive). You will not be able to explore your interests before you select your major, nor will you be able to “switch majors with ease”.

3

Thank you for the advice !!

4

Anyone with any other suggestions for colleges please let me know

5

Look at Florida State. It is highly ranked and most likely will satisfy your requirements you listed in your post. Even if you do not receive one dime in scholarship money or financial aid, the TOTAL price tag for out-of-state students is one of the most reasonable in the country at $37,000 per year.

6

Ohio State has a good Data Science program, as do Purdue and William & Mary… If you want to add another reach, Northwestern is a good choice, as is Tufts.

Northeastern is worth a look, as well.

7

Thank you !!

8

Thank You!!

9

Have a chat with your parents about what their actual figure is, and which places currently on your list they consider to be worth paying for. Sit down with them and run the Net Price Calculator at each university’s website. Are they truly ready, willing, and able to pay those figures for those universities?

You don’t have any safeties on your list. You need to find at least one place where you are guaranteed admission for your stats, that you can pay for without any aid other than merit aid that is guaranteed for your stats and/or federal aid that you are guaranteed after filing the FAFSA and/or guaranteed state aid. If you like the community college in your county, that can be a safety for your first two years and you can transfer within the MD state system for the last two years with an articulation agreement between that community college and one of the state Us. If you don’t like your community college or any of the ones in neighboring counties, you are going to have to dig a bit deeper for that truly safe option.