<p>you aren’t applying to the top schools because you don’t have the money? that’s very unfortunate. i hope you gather the cash because i think with solid recs and rockin’ essays, you could probably get into many top schools, and that can really influence your life. don’t waste money on applications to schools that you aren’t interested in or aren’t as good as other schools you can get into. apply to the ivies and other top schools if you can! gl!</p>
<p>If I could consider Pitt or American a safety, I could definitely open the door to apply to a top school (since I could take College Park off the list, which I am NOT particularly interested in). The problem is that it’s the top schools I’m not entirely interested in. I’m pretty picky, and for some reason, I can’t find one of the top eight that “fits” me. I think I’d like Columbia best, except for the core - and of course, the core is a HUGE program. Brown is a little too free-spirited. Penn wasn’t too bad.</p>
<p>of the top eight, i think people are happiest at Yale, Princeton, Brown, and Dartmouth. i spent a summer taking courses at columbia. NY is a rough place to go to college. it all depends on what you want…</p>
<p>NYC does seem too big for me. I like smaller cities, like Boston and DC. To be honest, I haven’t really looked at Yale. Princeton had that elitist air (I’d have to visit), and Brown’s not really my cup of tea, either. I can look at Yale.</p>
<p>Just to be safe, I would keep UMCP on the list. You have a good shot at a full ride, Banneker Key scholarship there.</p>
<p>It sounds like you would like Philadelphia, so you should consider Penn. They have generous aid for low income students. It’s close to Maryland, so why don’t you try to visit? Penn has a great atmosphere, but you need to see it to get the feeling.</p>
<p>Have you checked into the Questbridge program?</p>
<p>If money is an issue than Columbia is not a good choice. Every thing in NYC is super expensive.
Try a school like Tufts. It’s not an Ivy but it’s still a top school. The people there are not snotty at all and you can probably get a lot of money to go there.</p>
<p>You can get application fee waivers from most, if not all of the top schools. You would get a full ride from Cornell (Ithaca, small city, very diverse campus population) and most likely get a full ride from the University of Rochester ( medium city). Most students at these schools are so busy with on campus stuff the surrounding area doesn’t really matter. What are you interested in studying? In your situation you will have to be aware of travel costs. It will cost you more to get to WashU than to destinations closer on the East Coast.</p>
<p>I haven’t checked into Questbridge because none of the schools involved in that program have interested me, unless I go ahead and choose an Ivy to apply to. In that case, yes, I will definitely look into Questbridge. I’ve heard good things about it.</p>
<p>I have already factored in the four fee waivers from Collegeboard, which is how I decided I could afford to apply to six schools (four free plus two more). Do you think that top schools offer institutional fee waivers? That is, would they supply fee waivers even if I had already used me fee waivers from Collegeboard? I will apply online if the fee is reduced, but I’d prefer to apply on paper.</p>
<p>Cornell doesn’t really interest me because it’s kind of a drinking school, it’s cold, it’s incredibly tough, and it’s in the middle of nowhere. However, I’m reading about Yale online at <a href=“http://www.u%5B/url%5D”>www.u</a> n i g o.com and I kind of like it. It definitely sounds laid back and it’s ranked for “most race/class interaction”, which is something I’m DEFINITELY conscious of. University of Rochester sounds like a winner as well - I’ll look into it. I plan on staying on campus to do a lot of stuff, but being in a city just means something to me. It’s just part of what I really want in a college, even if only for occasional purposes. Aside from that, I don’t have a car or a license, so cities offer more public transportation.</p>
<p>WashU has scholarships with a stipend, which if awarded, would neutralize travel costs. WashU is pretty much too far away for my tastes, though; I just like EVERYTHING ELSE about the school. It’s an important factor, so I’d have to get a kickass financial aid package to be able to go there (I can work through the summer and on breaks to make some money).</p>
<p>I’m interested in studying IR, Poli Sci, Urban Studies, Geography, or any of the social sciences. However, I haven’t really ruled anything out (another pro to looking at big universities with lots of good programs). I’m looking into grad school, which is another reason that a good financial aid package would be ideal for undergrad.</p>
<p>your stats leave me in awe
edit: you leave me in awe…i’m pretty sure you can get in anywhere</p>
<p>Hey, my stats leave ME in awe. I knew I could score about a 2100 on the SAT (we have an intervention period in our middle and high schools, but since I tested out of reading and math intervention, I went to SAT prep - so I’ve basically been studying since the sixth grade), but I was flabbergasted by a 2250. I thought my GPA was a 3.6, not well over a 3.8. I can’t say I’m not happy about, though, and I’m not about to say I haven’t worked for it.</p>
<p>You should look at this for application fee waivers. You should be able to get institutional waivers from your institutions above and beyond the collegeboard stuff. There is also a fee waiver checkbox on the common application. </p>
<p>[FAQs</a> for Application Fee Waiver Form](<a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/CareerDevelopment/Resources/Pages/FeeWaiverFAQ.aspx]FAQs”>http://www.nacacnet.org/CareerDevelopment/Resources/Pages/FeeWaiverFAQ.aspx)</p>
<p>Septiambre,</p>
<p>I have never heard of that fee waiver before, but I definitely qualify. If that fee waiver pulls through for me, I will be so thankful!</p>
<p>I’m looking at Yale, and, even though it’s surprising - I really like it. The residential system sounds ideal (I definitely want a medium or large school, but the residential college system sounds like the best of both worlds). From what I’ve read, the students seem more down to earth than at other Ivies (again, from what I’ve read) and it, along with Harvard and Princeton, has some of the best financial aid of even the Ivies. It sounds really promising. With an NACAC fee waiver and maybe even knocking off Pitt or Boston, I could definitely apply there.</p>
<p>My SAT II scores are this:</p>
<p>Lit: 670
USH: 730
Math II: 700</p>
<p>Not so hot. Should I retake those now that I’m probably applying to Yale or another Ivy? Given those scores, what’s my shot at Yale (given, of course, that it’s pretty much random - I DO know that)?</p>
<p>Have you thought about Georgetown?</p>
<p>YOU ARE DEFINITELY SELLING YOURSELF SHORT! Listen to me and only me lol. No, seriously listen:</p>
<p>Apply to these schools:</p>
<p>-Maryland(Saftey)
-Boston University (sort of a safety)
-Harvard (full financial aid, trust me)
-MIT (full financial aid, trust me)
-Dartmouth (full financial aid, trust me)
-Penn (you’ll get generous aid)
-Yale (full financial aid, trust me)
-Columbia (mehh. you’ll probably get full financial aid)</p>
<p>its that simple: You’re a poor black girl with a 2250 and a perfect GPA. You will most likely get into each and every school on this (and who cares if you lose out on 2 or 3, even). IT JUST DOESNT HAPPEN. Poor black overachievers DO NOT EVER get rejected from every ivy!!! I promise you that. Can you trust me on this??!?!</p>
<p>Yeah, you’re not going to get into all of them, but enough to make a difference. Lobzz is 100% right. My black male friend had mid-1900 SAT’s, a high B GPA, and just a few APs and few ECs, and is enrolled at UPenn.</p>
<p>I would not retake anything. Do a good job closing out your high school career and spend some quality time on your Common Application and school specific essays. You will need to bring more clarity and focus to your career and educational objectives (not that you can’t make changes and transitions later) and you will have a very good chance at least one Ivy (most likely several) and any other very competitive university that you apply to. With your current credentials and impoverished URM status you are good to go, and to go far with a full financial ride.</p>
<p>Okay, are you really all that interested in going to one of the Ivies?</p>
<p>If WashU is your top choice, do it. You’re already in, as long as your common app essay is strong. I promise. I got in, it was my top choice, and my stats aren’t as good as yours (2260 SAT, valedictorian, but a lot fewer ECs and I’m white.)
WashU is an amazing school, the “noncompetitive Ivy”. It’s just as strong but not as elite. So if you want it, go for it. Don’t worry about Ivies if you aren’t really interested; that would just be a wase of an application fee.</p>
<p>And while it’s true that WU does give out merit scholarships (which you could probably get, by the way, and they’re full-ride), their need-based aid is great too. They didn’t give me enough originally, but when I visited I brought more information to the finaid counselor and got my aid doubled. </p>
<p>But you’ll get into most or all of these schools, no worries. And good luck :]</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Georgetown doesn’t fit me very well. Plus, their financial aid program isn’t as good as other schools - if I’m going to apply to one school that has a great financial aid program but doesn’t fit me well, it probably wouldn’t be Georgetown. But thanks for the suggestion. I am considering a lot of things right now.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Most of them, no, but Yale sounds good. The reason that I’m looking at / people have urged me to look at the Ivies is because of their outstanding financial aid programs. Graduating debt free from anywhere would be a MIRACLE. I think the only Ivy with a “home” for me would be Yale. Yeah, I’d definitely prefer to go to WashU - but I wouldn’t turn down a full ride to Yale (I probably would at the other Ivies, though, unless the financial aid packages from other schools sucked).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks for the anecdote. It definitely helps. I think I have a good subject for my Common App essay, but I’m not sure yet. I’m waiting for the release date (I believe July 1st is pretty universal for the Common App and other schools) to really get crackin’. I will have a lot of “Why ____?” essays to write, so I have been thinking about those.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’ve been reading, but it’s been tough deciding WHAT I want to do. There’s a lot that appeals to me. But by the time applications roll around, I’m sure I could pick one and stick with it at least through the application process - then switch it out as my college years progress.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>alleycatanna, this is the only reason I’m looking at schools I’m not 100% sure of but am still willing to give a chance to. A full ride for me would be… unbelievable. It would allow me to go so far - onto graduate school especially, but also to take out loans to go on a summer study abroad or to live in DC to complete an internship (again, I have absolutely not more than $100 to spare for ANYTHING, so even stuff like that would require me to take out loans). That’s huge because at other schools, if I had debt JUST for attending, I’d definitely not be able to do anything above and beyond the school year (although it probably wouldn’t cost me anything to study abroad for a semester). It also lifts a lot of worry. I mean, if I graduate with $50,000 debt and then don’t get a job, I just don’t have the option of turning to my family and asking for help for a month. That’s a lot of worry off of my back and the backs of my family.</p>
<p>But getting into Yale isn’t exactly a piece of cake - it may not matter in the end, but I think other posters are really stressing how it can’t hurt to try, and I’m willing to listen and act on that advice.</p>
<p>One more thing…have your guidance counselor recommend you for Emory Scholars program; also great merit aid and no commitment (but your app has to be in by Nov 1st)…</p>