I'm a senior and I have no idea what colleges to apply to

College Search & Selection
1

I’m a senior and I’m trying to put a list together of where to apply to, but I honestly have no idea. Here is some info:

I live in NJ. I want to go away to college and live in a dorm, but I don’t want to be so far that I can’t come back and visit (I want to stay in the tri-state/new england/pennsylvania area, basically the northeast)

I have NO CLUE what I want to study which is a real problem, I know. I’ve been looking at some undecided programs at universities (Penn state, northeastern, Carnegie mellon) but idk if i could get into those schools and they’re very expensive

I am thinking about maybe going into engineering or some type of stem thing and as a girl I know this would be beneficial.
But I also kind of want to be a writer/editor/publisher or something
Also maybe psychology or something about mental health

My parents want me to do nj stars and go to community college for free but I don’t want to stay here, I want to go away.

My family has enough money so that we won’t get enough financial aid, but not enough to actually afford really expensive colleges, if that makes sense. I’m not too concerned about debt though, I’m okay with having some.

stuff:
SAT: 1440 (750 reading, 690 math) I want to retake in December to bring up math
APs: 4 on APUSH, will take ap calc ab, ap euro and ap lit this year
GPA: 4.07 weighted, idk about unweighted but i’ve taken the most rigorous schedule possible at my school and got all a’s (or minus or pluses)
EC’s:
NHS
Spanish Honor Society
marching band 9-11
concert band 9-12
jazz band 10-12
fbla 9-12, Public relations officer 12
cross country 9-12, captain 12
yearbook 10-11 (maybe 12?)
I have like no community service which sucks.
Also my school is pretty bad, we are very small and poor and don’t offer a lot of classes and we have low standardized testing scores

I’ve been looking at some colleges but they are expensive and some of them are definitely major reach schools, but here is a list of what I’ve been looking at (by this I mean going on websites):

most of these are really expensive but I want to go to a big school. also most of them are reach schools:

UConn (not a reach w/ my scores but expensive. also the merit scholarships want applications in by dec 1 but i’m retaking the sat in dec)
Penn State (undecided program)
Carnegie Mellon (reach for sure)
Northeastern University (reach) (explore program)
Boston University
NYU (very expensive I know)
Rutgers (too close by though)
Emerson college (if i want to go into publishing/writing)

I feel like I’m being really unrealistic in my search so I’m wondering if anyone has any suggestions of schools to apply to that meet my needs. Basically, schools that match my stats, are in northeast US surrounding NJ, and aren’t too expensive. If they have a good undecided program that would be nice too.

Also if you have any suggestions about getting merit based scholarships and aid then that would be appreciated. Sorry if I seem clueless, it’s because I am. Thanks!

2

What is an “expensive college” to you? What is your EFC, and what will your family actually pay?

As a student, you can only take $5500 of loans. Anything more would be private loans, which require a co-signer. Generally a bad idea, and it doesn’t sound like your parents would co-sign anyway.

If you need merit aid (your EFC is unaffordable), then you should look outside the northeast.

3

You posted something similar in July. Did you speak to your parents about whether or not they can cover the balance if you get a merit award or mention that if you attend cc first you’ll lose out on freshman grants? The issue may be that you, and both your older & younger sibling, have high enough stats to get tuition grants but your dad’s ~$100k income may not be enough to cover 4 years of room and board x 3 children.

Get a firm budget from your parents. How much can they actually pay? You can borrow $5500/year, and if you work summers you can probably raise $3k/year. That gives you ~$8k. Run the Net Price Calculator on the websites of the schools you’re interested in and see if your parents can afford the schools you want.

4

I would start with your interests. What would you like to be involved with on campus–do you want to continue being part of a band, publications like yearbooks, cross country or Spanish. Do you want to travel to and live in a Spanish speaking country for some of your college experience. Look for colleges that have vibrant activities you are interested in.

Next think about the fields you want to study–does that college have that field, and do they have some great ways to learn in that field.

After that think about distance. I wouldn’t worry too much about money right away because if you’re a good fit, the financial aid services may offer you a good package. Even families that make a decent income get some financial support. Sometimes expensive colleges have more to give. That being said though try to apply to some schools that you know will be affordable.

Don’t worry about reaching–make a list with a few sure-bets, some medium-reaches, and a few real reaches. You never know how it’s going to end up.

Use college discovery search engines too to see what pops up when you add all your interests. https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

Colleges for publishing: http://study.com/what_colleges_or_universities_offer_a_masters_in_publishing.html

Creative writing: http://colleges.startclass.com/d/o/Creative-Writing

Colleges

5

Will your current scores get you any merit at UConn? Because you shouldn’t ignore the merit aid application deadlines if money is a factor. Some schools readjust your merit if you are already accepted and want to send improved scores later. Ask.

What STEM classes have you taken in high school and what were your grades? I don’t see STEM in your EC list. (I’m wondering if you are truly STEM-oriented, or if you are trying to make yourself apply for that because you think it would be beneficial somehow.)

Have you run the net price calculator for any of your schools? There is no point in applying to schools that you cannot afford to attend. Penn State, NYU, and BU are all known for mediocre to awful aid packages. (I made my own kid cross BU off when the NPC gave us a financial aid package stuffed with loans.)

There are some free starter college lists at CollegeXpress, and you can buy a PDF of paid listings arranged by selectivity from Rugg’s Recommendations. I like Rugg’s because it doesn’t just rank the “best in the country” but suggests safety, target, and reach schools for each major. (They only sell their lists in PDF now, the paper versions are all out of date.)

Kiplinger’s has “best college values” lists for hunting for merit aid, and College Transitions Dataverse has a merit aid list as well as some suggested schools by major.

6

Inputs:

  • 4+ weighted GPA, let’s call it 3.75 unweighted
  • 1440 SAT

Fit:

  • Large school (>10,000 student pop)
  • Northeast location
  • Large number of available majors. Interests in diverse fields like writing/English and STEM fields like Engineering
  • Probably not a ton of need-based aid (but still run NPC!), and not a ton of money the parents can afford to pay. So look for merit aid and/or low price tag.

So you need a university.

UConn OOS - Match/low match. You can apply for merit with the 1440 – no need to miss that deadline, imo. You may keep this on your list, IMO.

PSU OOS - Match. But way too expensive, probably. Unless you get a big merit award.

CMU - Reach

Northeastern - High match

BU - High match/match. Not the greatest need-based aid but you might get some.

NYU - High match. Worse need-based aid than BU.

Rutgers, in-state flag - Low match/safety

Emerson - Low match/safety

So in terms of admissions selectivity, you have a pretty decent list – a reach or two, a handful of matches(ish) and a couple of safeties.

But not all of these will be affordable, probably.

So let’s concentrate on your expressed preferences – largeish schools in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic.

Here are some additional ideas. Run NPC and look at merit aid opportunities:

U of Rochester (decent need-based aid…)
Villanova
Syracuse
Pittsburgh (strong merit aid possibilities)
Temple

If you are willing to bend a bit on your “large school” preference, you can add Lehigh, Boston College (not sure about Engineering), Tufts and Brandeis to your search – all offer pretty good need-based aid. Worth running NPC, anyway…

7

Okay I’ve been speaking to my parents a little bit and I’m going to fill out the FAFSA with them soon. They are also going to give me information about our finances so I could run NPC for different colleges. I think the colleges I’ve been looking at are too expensive. Does anyone have any ideas of colleges that are within 5 hours or so of NJ but aren’t too expensive? I found out that the University of Alabama offers really good scholarships that I qualify for w/ my SAT and GPA, but I don’t know if I want to go 10 hours away from home. That school also doesn’t seem to be great for undecided people. Are there any less expensive schools closer by or schools that offer good scholarships? Thanks!

8

@AroundHere Last year I took physics and it really is what got me interested in STEM stuff. I was really good at it and my teacher recommended that I think about engineering. I really enjoyed the course and I almost took AP Physics this year but I didn’t. Also I’ve always been a math person. But also I think I’m more of an English person than a math person, which is clear based on my SAT scores. I don’t know. I am interested in it but I have way too many interests so it’s hard to narrow it down.

9

@stressedgirl21 How much can your parents afford per year?

10

What about your other NJ State options?

A lot of kids this no they need to go really far to get away. I went to college 45 minutes from home and it was great; I could get home when I wanted to, bit it felt like I was plenty for away to feel “free”. Your in-state options are your financial safeties.

11

“I’m not too concerned about debt though, I’m okay with having some.”

This is easy to say now. A few years after graduating university when you are living with your parents to save money so that you can pay off your student loans, and working at a boring job because it is the only one that you can get that is close enough to live at home, you will be sorry that you took on debt.

Apply where you want to apply. Also apply to your really great in-state public options. That way when your offers arrive you will have affordable options. If you live on-campus at Rutgers or NJIT it will feel like a completely different world compared to high school.

12

I wouldn’t base your math talent on your SAT score. I have a math-powerhouse kid who couldn’t crack 700 on SAT math and had to switch to the ACT.

Alabama is far from home, but keep it in the back of your mind as a financial safety if it turns out you need one. Knowing your FAFSA EFC and your family budget will help others match you. Unfortunately, the NJ area is not one where I’m familiar with a lot of the schools since I’m in the Pacific time zone!

Liberal arts colleges are often a good place to look for the undecided. Your in-state public liberal arts college is Ramapo. They have most of your possible majors including Math, Creative writing, Literature, Psychology, and Engineering Physics (plan to go to grad school for engineering after that one, though). It has a reputation as a “hidden gem” for music, but I don’t know tons about it beyond that.