<p>Stats: GPA - 3.4 UW, 3.8 W
SAT I - 2380 (800 Math, 800 Reading, 780 Writing)
SAT II - 690 US History, 710 Math I, 660 Literature</p>
<p>APUSH - 5
AP World History - 4</p>
<p>Currently taking AP Music Theory, AP Gov, AP Lit, Intro to Calc, Honors Spanish III
My high school is competitive and sends a fair amount of graduates to ivies and top universities each year.</p>
<p>EC's: 10 years of piano
Youth leader at my church
Member of audition only choir at my school
100 hours of community service
National Merit Commended
NHS
some other less important things...</p>
<p>So far I'm thinking of applying to: Villanova, Providence, American, George Washington, Brown, Columbia, Northwestern, UChicago</p>
<p>I'm looking for schools that I have a solid chance of getting into.</p>
<p>Also, for the record, my state school is Uconn, and finances will not really be a problem, but it would be appreciated if anyone could recommend schools with a good amount of merit aid.</p>
<p>Yes, I definitely have an upward trend. I had all A’s and one B junior year, so it was mostly my freshman year bringing me down. I’m also fairly sure that I will have all A’s for my first semester of senior year.</p>
<p>aim lower for good merit aid - many privates will give money to attract candidates whose stats are well above their other applicants’ average. Also consider schools in the mid-west – I’m thinking Macalaster, Kenyon, Denison, Washington University of St. Louis – schools outside the radar for many people on both coasts.</p>
<p>*So far I’m thinking of applying to: Villanova, Providence, American, George Washington, Brown, Columbia, Northwestern, UChicago</p>
<p>I’m looking for schools that I have a solid chance of getting into.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I think you’ll have a problem at top schools because they look heavily at rank. What do you think your class rank is going to be? </p>
<p>your unweighted GPA is going to be a problem at top schools. </p>
<p>Your SAT IIs seem a bit low for elite schools. Hopefully others will comment whether they agree/disagree.</p>
<p>Also, for the record, my state school is Uconn, and finances will not really be a problem, but it would be appreciated if anyone could recommend schools with a good amount of merit aid.</p>
<p>Are you looking for some financial safety schools that would give you generous merit?</p>
<p>There are 2 different types of merit scholarships from school…</p>
<p>1) Assured merit based on stats. If you have the req’d stats and apply on time, then you are assured of getting the stated scholarship. It’s a good idea to apply to a couple of schools that will give you assured merit.</p>
<p>2) Competitive scholarships. Schools pick a small number of scholarships recipients from a pool of high stats students. Some of these require the student to attend a “scholarship interview” for consideration. </p>
<p>Since you seem to prefer a more urban environment, take a look at a few urban LACs (similar to Brown but a bit smaller and no engineering): Macalester and Rhodes come to mind. Both offer merit. If you are female, check out Barnard. If you are male, Vassar.</p>
<p>*I’m thinking Macalaster, Kenyon, Denison, Washington University of St. Louis – schools outside the radar for many people on both coasts. *</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>Not for merit aid. </p>
<p>And…Wash U is a reach for everyone.</p>
<p>For schools that give good-sized merit, I don’t think an upward trend will make much difference for merit money. They tend to award strictly on overall stats. </p>
<p>Like I said, finances are not really a problem. My parents are willing to pay for the majority of my expenses, as long as I don’t end up further west than Chicago. </p>
<p>As for my ranking, it should be at least in top 15%, because my high school is generally fairly strict about grading, and I did make it into NHS. However, my school does not officially release rankings, so I won’t know for sure. </p>
<p>Mom2collegekids - could you possibly give an example of a school with assured merit? I’ve never really come across that, as far as I recall.</p>
<p>If so, use it. Your GPA in context of your school may not look low.</p>
<p>American does an in-depth review and are not all by the numbers more so than some other schools their size. They will definitely take into account if your school is strict grading. I think even on just stats alone you are a match for American.</p>
<p>Your list seems to be urban areas. You don’t specify a major. </p>
<p>In the Philly area, I’d recommend Drexel and LaSalle as likely/merit. Ursinus if 'burbs and smaller # of students are ok. </p>
<p>University of Pittsburg (Pitt) uses weighted GPA if provided on transcript and would be a GPA match.</p>
<p>Based on reports on this site, it would seem likely that you’d be in line for a full tuition award at Pitt based on your SAT. It is very urban, but adjacent to a large park, and you may also be offered to apply for a Chancellor’s award there, which is a full ride in addition to tuition. It is a little larger than the others on your list though. Knowing your intended major would help; Pitt’s strengths lie in premed/bioscience/health sciences/philosophy and some other humanities.</p>
<p>I’m looking to study English, history, or possibly music.</p>
<p>Is that still true? What is your intended career? Do you plan on law school?</p>
<p>Just curious…</p>
<p>you wrote that your parents are willing to pay for the “majority” of your expenses? What does that mean? Do they expect you to take out student loans and they will pay the rest? Or what? </p>
<p>For instance, if a school costs $55k to attend, will they pay $50k and then you borrow $5k per year for the rest?</p>
<p>My parents are willing to pay 50k per year, so I will probably end up taking out some loans. </p>
<p>I’m a female still looking to study English and History, and my intended career path is publishing, but I’m not writing off law school at this point.</p>