<p>I’m in the same situation as pennsylvania12. Senior year is quickly approaching, and my plans for which colleges I will be applying to are rather blurry. I live in Pennsylvania as well, and I’m hoping to attend an out-of-state college. This hope to get away often makes it difficult in my college search, as I don’t have anyone I know who has attended these universities. Some information about myself:
-3.5 GPA
-1780 SAT March 2011; Plan to retake October 2011
-1 AP as Sophomore, 3 AP’s as Junior, 3 AP’s as senior
-Several Honors classes each year (4 each year)
-JV/Varsity Basketball Freshman and Sophomore years
-Varsity Softball Freshman year-present
-Club Softball (3 Teams)
-Active in Church/youth group
-Leo Club
-Prom Committee
-Volunteered as a softball coach for 13 and under girls Freshman and Junior year
-Volunteer at the Humane League
-Honor Roll</p>
<p>I plan to take the ACT in September of 2011, and I plan on retaking my SAT in October, as I’m sure that I can score about 200 higher. I was sick when I took it in March, and had not fully prepared. I intend to have a final score of about 1900-2000.</p>
<p>Some of the colleges I have seriously looked into are: West Virginia University, East Carolina University, and The University of Mississippi. If anyone has any information about these colleges, or any suggestions to broaden my college search, I’d really appreciate it!</p>
<p>There are schools that have substantial merit scholarships available for students with 3.x GPAs and 19xx SATs. You will need to look for them, however. It’s also likely you will qualify for some significant need-based aid.</p>
<p>Annasdad, do you happen to know of any schools of the top of your head? I just want to get an idea of the types of schools I should be looking for</p>
<p>In general, they’re going to be mostly LACs. I’d use the college search function here or elsewhere to find some where your stats are well above the 75th percentile. Select some of those that interest you, then check their websites for scholarship information.</p>
<p>Thank you. I will definitely try that. Just out of curiosity, are my stats really all that bad? Lol. I had felt confident about college options, but now not so much. I really hope to improve my SAT score…</p>
<p>pennsylvania12, Would you consider a school in California? With your stats, you should be able to qualify for some merit-aids from Chapman University if you get admitted. Keep in mind that if you are looking for good merit-aids, you’ll most likely find them in a D3 rather than a D1 school because a D1 school will put most of their money in their athletic programs compared to a D3 school which they’ll focus more on their academic programs. So what’s more important to you, good merit-aid or D1 sports? Also, about Greek scene, most schools will have some sort of Greek scene, but you don’t have to join.</p>
<p>Since you are interested in going on to med school you might want to take a look at Muhlenberg - I know it is not out of state for you but worth a look. Based upon our time spent on the tour & info session we came away with the idea that they are really looking for smart kids with good scores and aspirations to go on to grad programs so perhaps there could be some merit money there for you ( not sure). They have a much later ED deadline than most schools. They also have a few medical cooperative programs one with Drexel & one with Temple - both seemed very interesting.</p>
<p>OCELITE, I appreciate your advice but California would be too far for me to travel. My entire family would be strongly against me traveling across the country. </p>
<p>ccmom33409, I should probably seriously consider Muhlenberg college. The actual name of my high school is Muhlenberg so how ironic would that be? Haha. I will look into that school, though. Thanks!</p>
<p>Good luck with your search!</p>
<p>Thank you very much! I posted another question regarding presidential scholarships. Do you happen to know of any universities that offer these kinds of monetary awards? I know Alabama has a presidential scholarship for students with a GPA of 3.5 and SAT of 1400-1600. I hope to up my SAT scores to match this, but I was curious if other schools offer similar things.</p>
<p>OP
Your stats are fine. Please don’t feel that the responses are putting you down.</p>
<p>The issue is that you are not just asking where you can get in but where you can get in with substantial merit. Add to that you need to conserve funds for medical school. </p>
<p>Many private PA LACs offer merit money that in essence are tuition discounts. If you are willing to forgo the football, you may want to focus on private in state schools that are for the B student. This would put you in the top of the heap where you have a good shot of large merit. Susquehanna (which has up to full tuition), Ursinus, Albright all come to mind in addition to the schools already mentioned.</p>
<p>OOS publics are not very cost friendly in our region.</p>
<p>When looking at Penn State, consider starting at one of the satellite campuses that cost a bit less. </p>
<p>IUP - Robert E. Cook Honors College appears to be a hidden gem. Take a look there too. I have not visited yet. My son was put off by the location and the drinking culture in general at IUP, but we just keep hearing so many good things on the Honors College that he can’t discount the school.</p>
<p>I appreciate your post Longhaul! Is your son a senior this year or is he already in college? I actually liked Susquehanna a lot, I just thought it was too expensive. But if they offer merit, I should definitely check into that. Thanks!</p>
<p>My son is HS junior. For many reasons he is starting early.</p>
<p>My niece did very well with Ohio Wes. and Arcadia (outside of Philly).</p>
<p>What schools are your son looking into?</p>
<p>pennsylvania,
First the money, a family income of $50-60,000 should entitle you to NEED based aid at many colleges. Ask your parents to use an on-line calculator to get a firmer idea of how much need based aid you might receive. Especially if you have siblings in college, you may get more than you expect. Assets are also considered, not just income. Oddly enough some of the more selective colleges are the most generous with need based aid.</p>
<p>After you’re clear on your need-based standing, you can tackle MERIT.</p>
<p>Second, You need to address why your SAT rscore is out of proportion to your GPA and class standing. (Assuming that that 4.0 GPA is out of 4.0)</p>
<p>Some kids just don’t test well. Or they do better on the ACT. Sometimes there are other issues. Try to determine what the problem is and compensate for it. In my opinion scores are NOT the most important factor in admissions, but if they’re relatively weak when grades are very strong, you do have to explain discrepancy.</p>
<p>Could you please list your highest scores by category? Also, have you taken a SAT prep class?</p>
<p>Third, Are you willing/able to participate in varsity sports at college? This could be a big plus with the money.</p>
<p>Once you zoom in on those three issues, you will be able to widen your list, to include some more selectives.</p>
<p>Reading - 620
Math - 650
Writing - 680</p>
<p>I generally think of myself as a good test taker just not one of this length. I found major improvement in time management from the first to second testing. Also I am taking the ACT for my first time in September and SAT for third time in October. I hope to score very well on ACT first time or improve my SAT scores to qualify for presidential scholarship at Alabama. I improved 200 points from first to second testing. I hope I can have similar improvement on the third test. I do not take SAT prep classes but I do study rigorously on my SAT prep book.</p>
<p>I am not a good enough athlete for varsity level sports. I am being completely honest with this. Hahaha!</p>