I am from California and I am going to apply to one of these schools to make my final college list. I have not visited any of these schools and am not sure which one to choose. I have a 1240 SAT but am retaking twice in October. I’m not submitting my ACT score. I have a weighted GPA of 3.9. I have taken 4 AP classes, and passed two of the four tests I took. I want to know which school is the best for me to apply to. I don’t want to waste time or money to apply somewhere I might not get admitted. Also, being OOS, I want to know what the weather is like, the school culture and important facts to consider about each school. School appearance and surrounding town/location is very important to me. Although I am from a large and bustling city, I think I could thrive in many different environments, not just large cities. If you have any questions that would
I think realistically with your test score and GPA, Alabama would be a match. Michigan and UVA would both be reaches.
Good to know. Thanks for the feedback!
Unless you want another reach school, you can skip UMich.
Is it worth applying to UVA with my scores and grades or should I just apply to Alabama?
UVA is very difficult to get into out of state, so your chances there really aren’t good. So yes, Alabama would be a much more likely admit.
For admission, Michigan and Virginia will be reaches, while Alabama will be a low match at most. However, if you need financial aid to attend as an out-of-state student, Alabama is unlikely to be affordable unless you raise your SAT or ACT score to earn its large merit scholarships (see https://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.php ). Michigan and Virginia may offer financial aid; check their net price calculators on their web sites.
In terms of school culture, all three of them have undergraduate student populations that are more skewed toward those from high income families (only 12-20% Pell grant) compared to most California public universities. Their undergraduate student populations are also majority white (around 60% for Michigan and Virginia; around 78% for Alabama), unlike most California public universities.
You likely won’t get accepted to UVA or UMich with your stats.
You will get accepted to Alabama?
Either way, what are your parents saying? Will they pay the OOS costs for Alabama?
Well I have seen that Alabama does give good merit scholarships for OOS. If I could get one of those and any grants or aid, Alabama could possibly be less than some of the California schools. Also, if I were to raise my SAT score, would I have more of a chance at Michigan even though my GPA is kind of low?
To echo others, UVA and Mich are both really tough out of state. My son’s friend, with a legacy, was waitlisted and later rejected from UVA this year with a 35 ACT and 4.0. He was flat out rejected to Mich. You could always try but I wouldn’t count on them. I think U of Al would be an acceptance. Good luck!
Agree that UVa and UM would be very big reaches especially as an OOS applicant. Your SAT would have to come way up to have a reasonable chance at those schools. As things stand, I’d go with Alabama if it seems affordable. And you should do the research but it looks like you’d need a higher SAT to qualify for merit scholarships at UA. https://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.php
If you want to learn more about each school for now I’d try doing an in-depth review of the school website, read the write ups in some of the good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review, Insiders Guide), and go on the CC page for each college where you can read old posts and ask any specific questions you may have. I’d recommend that if possible you visit before you make a final decision to attend any college.
What is your uwGPA? Anyway, if your wGPA is below 4, your uwGPA is likely too low or lack of course rigor for UMich.