<p>Before I get into anything let me just put forth all the numbers. I'm currently a senior (MD resident), I have a 3.92 UW gpa, and a 4.55 W. I received a 690 on reading, 700 on math giving me a 1390 combined (650 on writing; 2040 total; I am also studying my butt off to retake it in October to get past 1400). I have gotten a 4 on the AP Chemistry and AP Calc BC exams. I want to major in Physics, and I've pretty much narrowed my interests down to Astrophysics. I really need some help choosing what colleges to apply to. As of now I'm thinking about the University of Alabama due to the generous financial aid and decent physics program, University of Chicago, UMD-CP, University of Arizona, and Princeton. I feel like I have to ends of the spectrum and no in-between. The biggest issue for me is money. My family's income is around 110k, but my family has had tons of medical issues so we really cannot afford much (For instance, my state flagship is too much w/o any aid). Any advice any of you can give me as to additional schools that I should look at would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>okay, so UMDCP is going to cost your family around 24K. You’re saying your family cannot pay that much, and in fact they may not have to given your family’s medical bills. They will have to pay something, and to get some idea what UCD will expect them to pay, you need to run the net price calculator here: </p>
<p><a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator;
<p>If you already have a CollegeBoard account of any kind, you should be able to use that userid and password to log in. The npc will produce an estimate, and the medical bills might make that estimate more inaccurate than it otherwise might be, but it’s a start on figuring out what UMD will cost.</p>
<p>Lots of schools use the CollegeBoard account, so for most schools you won’t have to re-enter all the info each time you use the npc. That is, if you log into your account or create an account. As a guest, they don’t keep your info.</p>
<p>You should find acceptance at UMD without any changes; the Honors program is a lot of fun and you can do a lot with it or nothing at all. Good groups of kids tho, and you won’t see many of your MD high school classmates except at a distance or to say yo to, if my S’s experience is any indication. You’re probably good for 5K in merit aid at UMD. Princeton is a very long shot, like it’s not going to happen longshot at 2040 without some outstanding ECs, essays, and letters. Chicago likely is the same longshot. If you can get in, both should offer some need-based aid. Arizona’s physics program and admissions for physics I am not familiar with. At Alabama you’re guaranteed tuition if the SAT comes in at 1400, leaving you with about 20K residual. At Arizona, even if you won the full Excellence award you’d likely have about 25K residual. </p>
<p>You would do well to try to find a school where the physics is good if not this good, and there’s a guaranteed or competitive full tuition scholarship for someone with your stats. But first run the npcs and see if your family’s financial situation will provide more need-based aid than normal for a family making $100K. UColorado would still cost you about 40-45K OOS. Reed doesn’t offer a lot of aid. Northwestern is not known for its generosity, but you might check. You could probably do UPitt for free tuition or a 10-15K scholarship or something like that; rank is important to them, but it’s not an impassable obstacle if you don’t have it. Tulane might offer full tuition or 30K. It’s going to be hard to beat UMD. </p>
<p>Remember that any merit aid less than tuition goes to pay off any loans and grants offered by the school before it affects what your family has to pay. Hence the need for full tuition or full ride. You’re in a good spot with time to improve your situation. If you have the ECs, essays, and letters, and you interview well, you could be in a really good spot. However, it’s not likely to beat out UMD.</p>
<p>full tuition/ride scholarships</p>
<p><a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<p><a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<p>As an OOS student myself, Arizona gave me a huge scholarship which made it more affordable than attending my in-state flagship (UW). However, with tuition increasing and such, scholarship amounts are most likely being reconstructed to some extent. If you are a minority, I know Arizona gives full-rides to specific students based on their ethnicities. Also, our physics and astronomy departments are stellar - I’m an engineer but took an astrophysics class last year and it blew my mind on a daily basis - the faculty in that department are some of the best in the world at what they do. </p>
<p>Check out Boston University and University of Pittsburgh.
<a href=“Physics”>Physics;
<a href=“http://www.physicsandastronomy.pitt.edu/undergraduate/programs”>http://www.physicsandastronomy.pitt.edu/undergraduate/programs</a></p>
<p>Both have strong programs which combine physics and astronomy. They also are in between U.Alabama and Princeton/Chicago. I am not sure about their scholarship policies, but I think BU is pretty decent, especially for non-New Englanders.</p>
<p>Both schools are city schools, campuses crossed by major city streets, but Pitt has more green space and more a more open “feeling.” Pitt’s costs are 20K lower than BU’s and Pitt offers better merit. BU’s seem to top out at 20K as I recall, which might have been good money a decade ago but doesn’t help much now. Pitt’s in a city almost as nice as Beantown with better weather. It has terrific museums and a lively night life. The ethnic food’s better than Boston’s, but it’s the same kind of working class chow. The heavy industrial has been replaced by corporate headquarters for national corporations. </p>
<p>Holy Cross has decent physics program and offers good financial aid-meets 100% demonstrated financial need.</p>
<p>Because Holy Cross is the answer for EVERY STUDENT… not, @par72. Give it a rest.</p>
<p>Lots of good advice here. Beware that BU scholarships are quite difficult to KEEP. I think you need to maintain a 3.5 in a school with serious grade deflation. Pitt is much more reasonable. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, I take exception to comment about ethnic food in Pittsburgh being better than Boston’s. Fat chance!</p>
<p>Now that’s something I’d definitely like to test out… comparison eating in different cities.</p>
<p>gotta be an academic, @Erin’s Dad. some of us have second PhDs in the subject.</p>
<p>Are you going to give the Meyerhoff scholarship at UMBC a try? Up to full ride if you get it, perfect for anyone who wants to get a PhD eventually.</p>
<p>Thank you all for all the information. I’ll definitely look at Pitt, BU, and the ones I listed previously. The scholarship at UMBC also looks great and I’ll definitely go to my counselor to apply to it. </p>