hi im a junior in high school and ive just started looking into the whole college search. i live in nj but id prefer to go somewhere warmer, or at least not super cold, and near a city. im interested in majoring in communications as well, but im not completely sure of that so that’s not all that important to me. can someone give me a list of schools that they think would be a good fit for me and that i could get into with my stats?
weighted GPA: 4.032
unweighted GPA: 3.98
PSAT: 1140 (will probably improve to 1250 range for when i take actual SATs)
Grades:
FRESHMAN:
Basic Foods A 95
Communication in A 97
TV and Social Media
English I CP A 94
French II CP A 97
Geometry CP A 95
Health 9 A+ 98
Physical Ed 9 A+ 98
Physics First CP A 97
Theatre Arts I A+ 98
World History 9 CP A 96
SOPHOMORE:
Algebra II H A- 91
Chemistry Lab H B+ 87
Driver Theory A 96
English II H B+ 89
French III CP A 95
Physical Ed 10 A+ 100
TV Production I A- 92
US History I H A 93
JUNIOR (so far-1st quarter):
AP US History A 94
Biology H A 96
English III H A 95
French IV H B+ 89
Physical Ed 11 A+ 100
Pre-Calculus H B 86
TV Production II A 97
Extracurriculars:
Freshman: volleyball, relay for life participant, Renaissance academic achievement award
Sophomore: relay for life participant, Renaissance academic achievement award, HOWGlobal Fundraiser volunteer (3
hours), babysitting on my own time
Junior: Key Club member (volunteered for 2 events so far), Student Council member (helped set up for school dance so
far), volunteer at retirement home, relay for life participant, thinking about getting a job soon
Senior (plan): key club member, student council member, thinking about starting a film/TV club at my school
Hi. I have a few questions. Is it normal for students at your school to take few AP’s? Do you know what (or about what) your class rank is? What type of school do you go to? Context is always helpful. Do you have a size preference for colleges? Are there any schools that you’re interested in as of right now? (it’s okay if not) What kind of social scene are you looking for? Do you have any cost restraints? Do you want to stay relatively close to home (ie east coast) or go further? Thanks
If you can get that SAT up to about 1300 I think these could work:
Reach/low reach:
Davidson - half an hour from Charlotte
Tulane - New Orleans
U of Richmond
Wake Forest - Winston-Salem
Match range:
Rhodes - Memphis
SMU - Dallas
U of Miami
TCU - Fort Worth
Safeties:
College of Charleston
Rutgers
TCNJ
Belmont - Nashville
If you wanted to go out west:
Reach:
USC
Reed - Portland
Pitzer - an hour (?) from LA
Match:
Pepperdine - Near LA
Santa Clara
U of Arizona
Arizona State
Safety:
U of San Diego
San Diego State
I chose private schools because, assuming you are not rich, you can usually get pretty decent financial aid, often making them cheaper than paying OOS prices at state schools. I added U of A and ASU as examples. Run NPC to check if these schools are affordable.
hi thank you for reaching out. yes, my school offers a good amount of AP classes which also worries me since i have only taken 1 so far. I go to a public school and my class rank is 10.4, just making the top 10% in my grade. school size isnt a major issue for me but if i had to choose, i would say i would prefer small-medium sized classes where i know the professor. i definitely want a good social scene though with sports games i could go to in a fun college town and dont want to be in the middle of nowhere. as for cost, id like to receive at least some scholarship/financial aid (which i probably will through FAFSA) but it’s not a major issue for me either as im willing to get student loans. Im not entirely sure yet where id like to go but i know im almost sure i want to avoid the middle states and south. i either want to stay close to home, florida, or go out west in california/colorado/arizona.
@mel098:
Before you start looking at colleges, you need to find out your EFC (minimum estimated family contribution) and what your parents are willing to pay. No school will be a safety if it is unaffordable.
FASFA does not provide financial aid. All it tells you is if you are eligible for Federal aid. The schools will determine your costs so run the Net Price calculators on any schools of interest.
For example, San Diego State for a out of state applicant will cost $36-40K/year to attend with no financial aid available other than the Federal aid you could qualify. As a student, you can only take out loans totaling $27K for 4 years and federal aid such a Pell Grants (maximum $5980 only if you are low income). SDSU will give no other aid/grants/scholarships since you are not a California resident.
Please do you and your parents a favor and have the money talk before you start getting hung up on any particular college(s). The reality is most college decisions will be based on affordability.
Unless you get that SAT up as stated in the above post, you may be limited by not only your budget but your stats.
Thanks for answering my questions. Your ECs look good. Also, don’t worry too much about the number of AP’s. You’re in the top 10% of your class which is good.I think prezbucky has some really good suggestions, most of the schools I thought of actually. Look into: Butler, Furman, Tulsa, U Miami, Villanova, St. Louis University, Marquette, Providence, DePaul, Gonzaga, Syracuse. Some of these are in the mid-west/south but still perhaps worth a look.