@cowycam7 yes the Ivies have good FA because they have large endowments. However those are a huge reach for you. And many other of the schools you list do NOT have endowments like that and do not meet need. You will be full pay for UMich and Penn State.You need to sit down with your parents and run the Net Price Calculators for each of the schools.
OP, of course JMU/GMU/VCU have “below average” (actually, average to slightly above average) business programs. There’s a reason it’s called a “safety” and not a “dream school”. Seriously, read some of the “shut out”/“didn’t get in anywhere” threads here. It happens to people with better stats than yours, better stats than mine even. You’d really rather take a gap year or go to NVCC (where the N stands for knowledge) than go to VCU, if it came to that? Really?
I got into Harvard, and a lot of other top-ranked schools. But I also applied to Providence College (60% acceptance rate). Why? Because I was in the “strong upward trend” boat too, and there was no telling how things would shake out. Obviously I was happier going to Harvard. But if it came down to it, Providence had a beautiful campus, a rigorous core and an amazing merit aid package that would have made things liveable for 4 years.
Really, you’d rather go to community college than VCU? That seems crazy to me. No one’s saying not to apply to the reach schools too. We’re just wondering why you don’t want an insurance policy for if things break against you.
OP, I think what many of us are suggesting is that you don’t seem to be realistic in terms of your chances at many of these reachy schools, especially based on your GPA. If your sister is an undergrad at Columbia, how do your grades and scores compare to hers? Do any of these schools actually recruit for figure skating, or have you just heard that some of them like figure skaters? Those are not the same.
To put this bluntly, you shouldn’t discount Virginia schools just because their business programs are not the top programs in the nation. You may not be able to get into the top programs in the nation, and you many not be able to afford them.
@NavalTradition congrats at harvard!!! may I ask what your passion was?
To everyone, I guess I would have to take a 2nd look at geore mason.
@ErinsDad Yes I have talked about UMich many times with my parents, and they do support me because they know that uMich is worldly known for their business program, so they think it is worth applying to
I got in years ago when it was easier. Just a well-rounded kid with sports/leadership/state-level awards, good SATs and good GPA from sophomore year on. Good luck!
@cowycam7 I understand your sense of optimism, backed by a confidence that would certainly serve you well in business, but I think you need to approach your college prospects more realistically, based on current reality and not projections. Your current, actual GPA is a 3.2, and you haven’t taken your SATs yet. Let’s leave projected SAT scores out of the equation for now.
I have never seen a student raise a 3.2 to a 3.9 in three semesters (which is the time you have until you are applying). Even raising it to a 3.6 might be a challenge. So right now, you need to plan your list based on a 3.2 GPA. Now, should you raise it later, you can adjust that list. But currently, with a 3.2 GPA, every school on your list is a reach. (that said, continue with your plans to raise it, because I like your can-do spirit and an upward trend will reflect well on you)
There are two ways for you to determine a match and/or safeties: 1) your GPA (and later SAT) fits well within their range of average accepted students. With a 3.2, you need to look at state schools/less selective privates. You can’t focus on how highly ranked their b-school is because currently your odds of getting into the most highly ranked undergraduate business programs is low. Your main focus should be “can I get in?,” “do they have a business major at all?,” “can I skate there?” and “Can my parents afford this school, assuming I get in, and the school meets my need?” To answer the third part of the question, you have to have an honest, non-pie-in-the-sky conversation with your parents. It’s not “if I get into an Ivy, can you pay the rest?” But “If I get into XYZ less competitive match/safety school and that school meets need beyond your EFC… what is our family’s actual EFC, and what can you afford?” Is your family’s EFC the 10-15K a year they pay for your sister? Or was Columbia just generous, and their EFC is much higher? What’s the real, per-year budget? That will help you determine which match/safety schools are actually affordable.
This is not to bring you down, but to realign your expectations so you aren’t left at the end of your senior year with a sea of rejections and no plan B. It sounds like you’ve started to consider some additional schools, which is good… just keep widening your sphere of consideration. In fact, given your figure skating, why don’t you work backwards: find the schools on this list (http://usfsa.org/Content/colleges.pdf) that are not the super elites (ie: they accept at least 50% of those who apply), and find a safety/some matches that way. I noticed UMD is on that list, which might actually be a decent match school for you. You’d definitely need to show an upward trend in GPA, but you’re not beyond their scope, and it’s a good school. That said, definitely look at non-East Coast schools where you’ll be competing with all your fellow NoVA graduates… they are superstar students (they were notorious at BU) who flood admissions and you’ll stand out better in another region. Good luck!
You have a good chance of you apply ED to either Vandy or WSUTL, I’ve seen students accepted there with much lower GPA, something like 3.2. You have excellent ECs and you can change your SAT scores, possibly write good essays.
Btw, I was thoroughly confused by your post regarding numerators errors about Penn as Penn state and Wake a forest as reach. So I think you may not be as savvy with colleges as you think you are, despite the claim that your sister went to Columbia.
I’m currently a junior in high school, on a similar search as you. So here’s my two sense:
- I know it may seem that some of the posters here are coming off as rude or trying to shoot you down, but they are really just trying to help you, and a lot of them are very very intelligent, as they have gone through this process 1, 2, or even 3 or 4 times.
- B-school rankings are not the top priority when looking at match and safety schools. If you want to apply to the top b-schools as your reaches, than 100% go for it.
- For finding a safety school, here is my advice- Can you get in? It doesn't matter if you can afford an Ivy League, as those schools aren't safeties, and you can't count on getting in Can you afford it? A good safety school should give you some scholarships Does it have an undergrad business program? Most schools should, besides maybe some small LACs. Can you skate on a club team? If this is make or break for you college, than I would google "colleges with club skating" and work from there.
I wish you luck and I know it can suck to have to lower your standards a little, but it’s better to do it now, than wait till after you have been rejected and have to wait a whole year to try again
@DrGoogle I wouldn’t necessary say the chances are good ED with a school like Vandy or WUSTL. They both have 90% of their students in the top 10%. Additionally, just because a few students were accepted with lower GPAs doesn’t necessarily mean much. We don’t know if they were URM, legacy, etc. I think the ED admit rates for both, though higher than RD, were still relatively low.
I think you are overestimating your schools (sorry). You may need to readjust a little for now. While your junior year GPA may reach as high as a 3.85, you will be lucky if your average GPA hits 3.5-3.6 (unweighted). A strong upward trend is great but you don’t have it yet.
My daughter didn’t have a great GPA her sophomore year either. And her SAT/ACT scores were not the best (she took them in June of sophomore year). Nonetheless, we looked for schools matching those lower stats, not stats she aspired to receive in her junior/senior years. By focusing on this level, she found several schools she really liked and was happy to attend. By the end of her junior year, her grades did go up and her ACT score increased significantly. Those schools she had picked? They became her safeties rather than matches.
I suggest you follow a similar strategy. Look at what your stats are at this moment. Look for schools that are aligned with them. There are dozens of good schools that want and accept the B/B+ student (because like it or not, that’s what you are). Seek out those with good Econ and Math majors or business programs. Focusing on top business programs isn’t productive right now.
Good luck.
Post #48, my daughters friend in high school was a ORM and his GPA was lowish around 3.4 UW and he did get accepted RD as a full pay. But that was a while back like 5 years ago, there is no guaranteed but with the right high school(rigorous high school) then the odds are even higher.
UVa is in-state and has one of the best b-schools around but “you don’t like UVa”.
OK.
@DrGoogle It was 3 am in the morning when I was talking about my reach school and match, so if you are an understandable person then you would know that my head could barely function while I was responding to people’s questions. thank you for the input though!
@PurpleTitan I think UVA is an awesome school. But with everything that has been going on (fraternity rape, hannah graham, etc), really makes me question them. 2 years ago I always told my dad how great UVA was, and my dad used to work there and told me that the people at UVA came off to him as arrogant and conservative (we like more liberal schools). Also, a year later my sister visited the college and told me that there were many cliques, which makes me think of high school. One more thing: everyone there is preppy like me, and I want to stand out more instead of blend in (thats a petty thing, but I thought it was worth mentioning).
I do not think I am too good for UVA, if I got accepted then I would be very happy because it is a top 30 school with great professors, I am sure. I just think that some of the people there (and there are a lot) makes UVA seem unfriendly to me, therefore, would give me a bad college experience
I hope this clears things up for everyone, and this is just my personal opinion. Now that someone mentioned it, I might apply there solely for the purpose of their b-school and to save money, which are some pretty good reasons if you ask me. But if what my dad and my sister said are not exaggerated or underexaggerated, then I will definitely have to consider transferring, or at least leave for a different grad school.
@SlackerMomMD i don’t think you counted my senior year grades!
@ntk131998 like i said, I am considering george mason
@proudterrier ive looked at that website! thanks for everything, truly, but I don’t know if I want to make a list of schools that fit for someone with a 3.2 GPA. Of course if it comes to that in my senior year, I have no choice, but I feel if I did that now then I would be more likely to get a lower gpa than a 3.6, since it would make me less motivated because I have already planned to get a 3.2 gpa if that makes sense? I feel like if I had high goals in the beginning then I would be more likely to reach them then barely having any goals. This list and the top 9 are my goals.
You won’t HAVE senior grades at the time of application.
This statement speaks volumes about how ill informed you are about current events regarding colleges, and reflects that u just believe what u want to believe. The BIG story about the UVA fraternity rape is that Rolling Stone magazine admitted it was all made up, and how the magazine has damaged the credibility of real rape victims.
Post #52, thanks for the explanation.
@GMTplus7 Thank you for the update, but I don’t really read the news everyday since I am a high school sophomore, and obviously do not have time. it does not mean I “just believe what i want to believe”.Its not like I can check out CNN for updates every single day on 1 topic out of a billion. That is really offensive to me, and completely inaccurate because you cant just reflect me based on 1 statement. Yes I made a mistake, and people make mistakes but there are still many more reasons like the ones I stated as to why I still am not a big fan of UVA, so please…
@Alfonsia colleges look at 1st quarter or 1st semester grades if you apply ED/A or RD
DrGoogle, no problem!
Just a quick note of perspective on applying to UCB. My daughter also applied to over 10 schools (and was rejected only by 3). The UC application was a pain in the neck and she was rejected. Her GPA is a 4.0. She had a 2290 on the SAT. She will have 40 college credits from AP and is a national merit finalist. She’s also legacy. I’d say that from our experience OOS it is very, very difficult to get in. (For reference, she is in the Echols program at UVA next year.) So if your waffling, it’s probably not worth your time.