List Suggestions + Identifications

College Search & Selection
1

I’m a rising junior at a private, college prep school in Connecticut, and I am a white female. Obviously, I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but at the school I go to, we’re encouraged to start identifying our possible college options by early-mid junior year, so that our college counselors on campus can help us out. So since I have some free time this summer, I decided to start my college search now! I’ve already done a college visit (Wesleyan University) and plan to do some more soon.

BASIC

I know interests change, but I’m rather unwavering in my plan to major in Theatre, with a possible double major in a subject I find interesting/more practical (most likely either Spanish Language or Biology.) Here are some of my statistics:

GPA: Right now, not too great, honestly. My freshman year was barely a 3.0 due to personal issues, and I didn’t really get out of the funk until my second semester of sophomore year. Overall, my current GPA is a 3.2, but I can rather confidentially say it will go up (unweighted, weighted would be much higher) to a 3.4 to 3.6. I feel my ECs will make up for this, though. Also, my school is actually rather famous for difficult academics, and students have a history of getting into top colleges with lower GPAs but insanely high test scores.

Rank: School doesn’t do rank.

PSAT (new format: I received a 1280/1520 on the PSAT I took early sophomore year (94th Percentile), and am projected to do proportionally well (most likely better) on the SAT.

ACT: Haven’t taken it yet, though I’m hoping to.

SAT Subject Tests: Haven’t taken any yet. I’ll probably be taking Literature, US History, Spanish, and Biology.

ECs (Yes, I do all of these each year.) (I have a very well-planned schedule, if you’re wondering):

– Drama Club (Presumptive President for my senior year) : I do at least five shows a year, acting, directing, writing, stage managing, lights, sound, makeup—basically wherever they need me, I’m there.
– Student [Theatrical] Productions (Presumptive President for my senior year)
– Student Council Representative
– American Sign Language Club (President/Co-Founder)
– School Newspaper (Journalist)
– Satirical School Newspaper Basically The Onion
– Interact Club (Possible President)
– Dance Crew
– Student Ambassadors (Possible President)
– S.U.R.E. [Racial Equality Club]
– School Tour Guide
– Yearbook Club
– Informal/Recreational Squash Player
– I also play piano, as well as write my own music and plays.

For community service, I’ve volunteered hundreds of hours in the children’s section of my local library, fundraised and orchestrated many events for multiple charities (especially the CT Food Bank), and some other various jobs – helping out at my Church, etc. I’ve also worked as a cashier at a business in town for a couple of years.

Summer activities: I’ve taken Math and History courses over the summer, and have done some community theatre work.

I plan on having a similar EC schedule my next two years, and possibly add a few things (Writing Club, Film Club, various community service clubs etc.) If anything, they’re a testament to my time management skills.

COURSES (I’m including Summer courses, as they’re full credit classes at my school, with the following school year. Also, my school does not allow students to take APs before their Junior year, and no more than three a semester – usually no more than two, though. Since I go to a rather prominent school, most of the Northeast schools are aware of this, as well as other prestigious universities.)

Freshman Year:

Algebra I
Biology
Atlantic History I
English 9
Spanish I
Theatre Workshop
Digital Photography

Sophomore Year:

Geometry
Algebra II
Chemistry
Atlantic History II
English 10
Spanish II
Film Production (full-year)

Next year I’ll be taking:

AP Music Theory (Part One)
Origins of Popular Music
Writing for Stage and Screen
Writing Semester
Moral Questions in Literature (English)
Comparative Religion (Social Science)
Spanish III
Pre-Calculus
Atlantic History III
Contemporary Issues in Biology (Discussion-based AP Biology course, basically)

Senior year I will take:

AP Music Theory (Part Two)
AP Environmental Science
AP Statistics (Or Calculus, I haven’t decided yet.)
Creative Writing
Shakespeare in Performance (Required Shakespeare class at my school.)
Writing Short Stories and Memoirs
Spanish IV
Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics (Social Science)
(Maybe physics over the summer, too??)

OTHER

As far as price range, my family doesn’t make much, and we’ll take financial aid where we can get it, but it’s also not an issue in the sense that I’m blessed enough to have a family that’ll do whatever they can to support me, so they’ll help me a lot, I’m sure.

Next year, I’m also hoping to take a Pre-College course at Wesleyan University, which, you may have gathered, is my top school choice.

MY LIST

If you’ve gotten this far, bless you. Here are my current ideas, but I’d really appreciate any more suggestions (hopefully ones that are a little less selective academically.) A few things I’m looking for are a strong theatre program (obviously) and less-rigid academic programming, while still being challenging (essentially, Wesleyan.) I know most of these are definite reaches because of my GPA – if you could give me your opinion, that’d be awesome – but I still think it’d be worth to try them.

In no particular order:

  • New York University
  • Wesleyan
  • Carnegie Mellon
  • Boston College
  • University of Michigan
  • Vassar
  • Hamilton
  • UConn
  • Columbia (obviously impossible, but my sister wants me to put it on here, so, I must appease her, haha.)

Thanks so much in advance!!!

2

With the exception of UConn, these schools are unrealistic reaches. UConn may be possible with higher test scores. I don’t want to sound rude, but the top schools have extensive applications. It’s a waste of time & money applying to schools where you’re in the bottom quarter of applicants.

It’s great your parents are willing to support you. But, are they aware college costs can now reach $75,000? NYU is notorious for low financial aid, and out-of-state publics (UMich) won’t offer much. Ask your parents what they can afford.

Consider:
-DePaul University (Match)
-Ithaca College (Low Match)
-Valparaiso University (Safety, known for good financial aid)

Luckily, you’re researching early; you won’t find yourself with no affordable options!

3

@newjerseygirl98

I don’t think it’s rude! Trust me – I’m a very realistic person when it comes to these types of things, but I suppose I also have a habit of dreaming big. Either way, none of what you said is too surprising to me.

If you wouldn’t mind answering, why do you believe all of the schools would be unrealistic reaches? Obviously my GPA is very, very detrimental, and I fully understand that, but I do have the minor advantages of an upward trend (went from mostly B’s freshman year to A-'s and A’s by my second term sophomore year, and I plan on doing just as well - hopefully better - junior and senior year), as well as going to a very prestigious high school (side-note: I hate saying that! Sounds braggy. I apologize if it does.).

For reference, literally 10% of our graduating class goes to Yale alone, and 70% to what would be considered ‘Top’ schools (essentially, Ivies, MIT, Connecticut College, GT, Wes, NYU etc.) And most of those students had GPAs of 3.5-3.6 or less, because my school is really just that well known for being difficult. One of my friends who recently graduated got into NYU with a 3.2 (and she doesn’t do any sports, or have any real ‘hooks,’) and that’s not a uncommon occurrence.

Also, there’s the added fact that for a couple of these schools, I’d be applying for their theatre programs (NYU and Carnegie) which, if I’m not mistaken, don’t really have academics in their purview. So, I suppose those are rather subjective and I really can’t expect strangers to properly chance me on them, since they’re mostly audition-based. So that one’s on me, haha.

About financials – I suppose I made it sound like my family is a lot worse off than we are! My main point with mentioning it was that money really isn’t a factor my parents or myself want to be focusing on when I’m choosing schools to apply to. I’ve already discussed this with them extensively, and I know exactly what they are willing to do.

Also, any suggestions (beyond getting a literal perfect score on my SAT and ACT exams) on how to supplement my low GPA? I figured my EC’s would, but maybe they aren’t as good as I thought! I am taking pretty much the most rigorous course load possible – like I said, my school doesn’t do Honors classes or AP’s until Junior Year, because there’s a general consensus that everyone is pretty much academically matched and advanced.

Finally, even though you’ve confirmed my suspicions that it’s probably impossible, I’m admittedly relentless and I am definitely going to apply ED to Wesleyan no matter what. I’ve heard it helps a little to do so, even though, save Columbia, it’s probably my least realistic option (though Columbia is less of an option and more of my older sister’s idealistic dream, lol.)

Thanks for the response!

(PS - Ithaca has floated on and off my list for a while. I’ll definitely be checking it out more extensively.)

4

How much can your parents pay per year? You can only borrow ~$5500/year, so if your parents can’t pay much you need to pay a lot of attention to costs.

5

It’s great that you are thinking about college planning now – the most important conversation to have is with your family about finances. Ask them to run the Net Price Calculator on the website of a few schools to see what it predicts in terms of aid. Students can only borrow $5500 a year and most highly selective schools cost $65,000+ a year now. The NPC will identify your family’s Expected Family Contribution – EFC – which is what the school defines as your contribution, not what you think you can contribute – as well as what financial aid the school would likely offer, including loans, work study and grants.

In terms of thinking about schools, your list is small liberal arts colleges (Wes, Hamilton, Vassar), some mid-sized universities (Columbia, Carnegie Mellon), and large (U Conn, Michigan).

Consider some less competitive (but still not easy) admissions LACs, such as Conn Coll, Skidmore, St Lawrence, Dickinson, Denison. If you are willing to look at the midwest, Lawrence University, in WI, has very strong arts. Other schools which would still be reaches include Kenyon and Oberlin. Muhlenberg in PA is well-known for strength of its theater program and is less competitive for admission, though I hear the theater program is still very tough. Women’s colleges, such as Mt Holyoke and Bryn Mawr, are also worth exploring. If the goal is to be in and around NYC, then perhaps take a look at Fordham.

Michigan can come off your list – for out of state students at public flagships, admissions are heavily stat driven, and your lower gpa, even from an excellent private school, will not likely help. NYU is notoriously unaffordable, with poor financial aid. Columbia is not possible.

Keep in mind, between application fees, fees for sending test scores, and the fee for submitting the extra financial aid forms (Profile) which many smaller schools require, it costs about $100 to apply to one school, unless a family is eligible for an application fee waiver. So, take the time over the next year to explore schools which are good fits financially and educationally, so that you can have a solid list with several safeties, several matches and a few reaches.

6

My parents have put enough away that they could pay somewhere between $12,000-$17,000 per year, maybe a little more. I also have another relative who makes much more than my immediate family, and would be willing to chip in around the same or more, depending on how he’s doing. I’ve also saved up a few thousand from working, and I intend to get a part-time job (or two…or three) when I go to school to help out as well. I also have various other family members who would probably be able to chip in a few hundred a year, should it be necessary.

7

@kam314 While the details will change over the next year, the important thing is to ask your parents to run the Net Price Calculator on a few schools websites (typically it is found on the tuition/financial assistance page, though you can just use the search function to find it). Your parents will need this year’s tax returns, plus info about their savings and other assets. That calculator will predict how much you are expected to pay, and how much aid you will get, including loans, work study etc. The NPC is generally pretty reliable, except when there is a family-owned business or when there is a divorce and a non-custodial parent who is expected to pay. The good news may be, that your EFC is in line with what your family can pay. But if the EFC is more than you are able to pay, then you need to target schools which will be affordable, through merit awards or because they are lower cost. Also, generally, counting on help from others, even beloved relatives, is tricky – their own circumstances might change, while you are in school, and they can no longer help – meaning you have to drop out. Or, they may decide at the last minute that they don’t approve of the school you have chosen, and won’t contribute. Putting your future in the hands of relatives, even well-meaning ones, can be precarious.

Counting on working a lot of hours during school is not a good solution – generally, students are advised to work 10-15 hours a week and not more, or they are not able to focus effectively on school.

Run the NPC, and see where you stand.

8

@Midwestmomofboys Unfortunately, my family’s main source of income is a family-owned business. I remember we had to jump through hoops to figure out my tuition for high school, and I don’t doubt it will be similar for college. I do thank you for all of your school suggestions, though! I’m definitely interested in Conn College, Oberlin, and Fordham. Oberlin is actually really great. My only hesitance is that it’s far away from NYC, and, preferably, I’d want to be within a two to two and a half hour drive from it at most. But I’ll definitely be checking it out.

Thanks again for all your help!

9

A 3.6 at a very competitive school is great! With a 3.3 at a well-known school, the colleges I suggested are probably all safeties. (DePaul is quite well-known for theatre, though).

You should definitely raise your test scores, though. A 1280 new SAT is equivalent to a 27 ACT; far below the averages for those schools.

A 27 without studying is good, though. With a 30+ ACT, you’ll have a chance at the top LACs.

10

Since you mentioned Connecticut College, I thought I would link to this much discussed article by a former student who took out too many student loans to go there.

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2016/01/student_loan_crisis_at_its_ugliest_i_graduated_and_found_out_i_owe_200_000.html