<p>I am a rising senior. After the last two years of casually searching for the perfect college, all the names/facts/etc are swirling in my mind and I need some help. so many colleges has been on and off my list at one time or another--i'm really confused.
My facts: 35 ACT
1490 SAT (retaking) will have 9 AP Classes done after next year
top 10% of class
4.81 GPA (weighted)
solid E.C.s (including German club president and lots of volunteer work)</p>
<ul>
<li>i either need to get major merit aid or go to U of Illinois</li>
</ul>
<p>iprobable major: biochem/neuroscience/pre-med? +mandarin chinese </p>
<p>COLLEGE LIST so far:</p>
<p>U of I Urbana-CHampagna (instate)
~With 30,000+ undergrads, I'm worried I'll just be lost. PLus, they are known for biz and engineering, but how is their biology and research opportunities?
St. Olaf's
~this is my mom's fav...I'm just not 100% sure about the social life. Any details? Also, I hate chicago winters, so I'm not sure I'm going to like Minneasota...
Northwestern
~Is there really no merit aid as I always hear?</p>
<p>Reaches
Wash U.
Rice
UNC-Chapel Hill</p>
<p>Super-reach
DUKE
Stanford <-- I actually probably won't even apply :(</p>
<p>For more safeties, I was thinking Miami U in Ohio, but again I would have to get some merit aid.</p>
<p>If anyone has any suggestions/insights from experience, they would be greatly appreciated. Any "If only I had known this during my college search/applications..." advice. Applications are just around the corner.</p>
<p>Dont get down on yourself about Stanford, you have amazing stats, dont sell yourself short. Plus if you get in to Stanford they’ll meet all your demonstrated need.</p>
<p>I don’t think any college will be a “super-reach” for you given your stats. If you were to apply to Miami U in Ohio, I would be shocked if you didn’t receive the Harrison Scholarship. However, this only covers in-state tuition and fees.</p>
<p>I think you’ll get in to UNC, and might be pretty competitive for one of the merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Why would you have to settle for UIUC if you didn’t get merit aid? I assume that your EFC is rather high and that your parents are not willing to cover OOS or private school tuition?</p>
<p>If all the facts are swirling in your head and making you feel confused, my guess is because you don’t have a systematic way of evaluating colleges. And I see this in your post, too; you list a few colleges and some random factoids about each. However nowhere have you said “I’m must have A, B, and C, but don’t want a school with D. X, Y, and Z are plus factors, but I could live without them”. And until you know what you’re looking for, you’re going to have trouble making choices. Maybe its just me, but I have trouble seeing a common thread that would tie interest in UNC, Rice, and St. Olaf together …</p>
<p>What I suggest is stepping back for a bit. Spend a week or so reading thru a good book about college admissions so you understand the whole process. One book I recommend is “Admission Matters” by Springer that covers the topic pretty well, including what fit means, questions to think about when you’re evaluating a college, how to do a campus visit, etc. Another worthwhile book is “Colleges that Change Lives” by Pope, which has a LAC bias but really makes some good points about the college experience. After reading a book or two you’ll have a good idea about the various options you can choose among (location, size, type of instruction, where students live, social life, etc), and can build a list of what’s important for you. Once you have the list evaluating colleges will be much easier; you can cross many off right away, and you can build a set of reaches/matches/safety that provide you with what you’re looking for in college.</p>
<p>Rhodes is one of the LACs in Pope’s book. We’ve got biochemistry/molecular biology and neuroscience majors with research opportunities at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and elsewhere. There’s also a Chinese minor. Your stats sound like it would easily be a match for you.</p>
<p>Wow. Thank you all so much for your replies!</p>
<p>saejinbilly: Yep I think we’ll have a pretty high EFC and also my mom thinks UIUC is just as good as anywhere. Also, thanks for the link. In the “books” I read the UNC is extremely competitive out-of-state, but for me I liked the combination of perfect college town and warm weather and good value even for out-of-staters. It also seems like the academics are very competitive, but I’m looking toward med school possibly, definitely grad school, and will it make a significant difference in my acceptance if I get good grades from UNC compared to the same from a more academically prestigious school? </p>
<p>erin’s dad: I really liked the idea of case western but after visiting I just felt like I didn’t feel right there. Thanks though.</p>
<p>mikemac: Thanks so much for your indepth reply. I completely needed that. my list is all over the place. I think all the schools have something I really like, and are all bigger than the really small LACS but smaller than UIUC (except for UIUC obviously). But I’m reevaluating my wants and am going to the library for that book. I’ll let you know how it goes! Thanks again.</p>
<p>lynxinsider: I had Rhodes on my list for awhile, but I was a little worried about the restrictions but my friend told me felt very small and very southern ( which might take me a while to get used to), while she said vanderbilt felt a little more urban. Also, I think the small size would be fine as long as opportunities/resources in the biology weren’t restricted, but is it very science oriented? For example, St.olaf and rice are small but are known (i think?!?) for their biolgy departments. Is the same true for Rhodes? Again, opportunities and graduate/med school in mind.</p>
<p>You have a very strong profile so I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of either Duke or Stanford. I just don’t know that your profile is so remarkable that any or your reach or super reach schools would offer you merit aid. That’s not a knock on you, it’s just recognizing that the schools on your list are very competitive and your profile would probably be considered “average”.</p>
<p>As far as safety suggestions…</p>
<p>Wisconsin - I know. it’s cold there.
Wake Forest - don’t know about the aid situation
Emory - Not exactly a safety, but good weather
UArizona - A while back they were pretty aggressive with their Honors College offers.</p>
<p>My one disclaimer is that, like many parents here on CC, I have a hard time justifying paying OOS tuition when there is a perfectly good/great in-state flagship. UIUC is big, but remember that UNC (28K total students) and Stanford (20K) aren’t exactly tiny.</p>
<p>Small and southern would be two very good descriptors of Rhodes. It’s a 100 acre campus with less than 1700 students. And we serve grits at every breakfast and cook fried chicken every Friday at lunch; don’t know it gets more southern than that ;-).</p>
<p>I can’t imagine what the “restrictions” are that your friend has in mind. If you’re interested in a medical career, the best person to talk to would be Prof. Alan Jaslow. He advises all of the students looking to go into health professions. See [Rhodes</a> College | Health Professions Advising](<a href=“http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/3981.asp]Rhodes”>http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/3981.asp). There’s a paragraph on that page, “We work equally with all students and are not gate keepers. Our goal is to help students find the career and program where they will be happy and able to excel.” There are also some mentions of the research opportunities - Prof. Jaslow could really get into specific details with you, though.</p>
<p>Have you looked at Grinnell yet? You might get some merit aid from them. Just be sure to send only your ACT’s (don’t retake SAT’s, you don’t need them).</p>
<p>watermelonkate: I can’t speak for all your choices but as a parent I can understand why your mother would like St. Olaf. I have visited there with my D and it would be one of my top choices for her as well. (but I don’t make that decision). It is an outstanding college with some of the friendliest students I have ever met, great professors and a real sense of community. It also has a brand new science building that you have to see to believe. As far as the social life, that may be a drawback for some. It is a dry campus and does not have any fraternities or sororities. It is a true bubble campus and the nearby town is not a hotbed of activity. However, Minneapolis is a quick 35 minute drive. If you are a party person this may not be your place. Otherwise I think it is a real hidden gem. </p>
<p>My S went to Miami University and we were just there a few months ago. It is the opposite of St. Olaf. It has a huge Greek presence, lots of parties. It is one of the most beautiful campuses you will ever see. My D is considering the school but has to decide if she wants a smaller LAC like St. Olaf, Furman or F&M or a larger school like Miami. Good luck in your search</p>