<p>So I'm kinda new to this website so just like to say hi guys! </p>
<p>Anyway, now the serious part.</p>
<p>I'm kinda lost in life. I have to look into colleges but the problem is that I don't know where i'd like to go, I want something with good variety for what I'm looking for (I'm pretty indecisive to begin with). I'm thinking about doing something in either biology or foreign language studies, with a minor in art and music... but then yet again, I'm not sure as I may find something else I might want to do. I really like traveling, so that's why I'm leaning towards bio/languages, but I'm kinda unsure what opportunities these would provide to travel. </p>
<p>I also don't know where to cut off my college choices, like where I would have a chance to get into for my reach/match/safe schools (for anyone that knows what these are), and whether or not it would be affordable.
I have a 3.4 GPA as a throughout three years. I got a D in my chemistry class for one quarter and a C for both semesters, and same for my AP U.S. history class. Also I have gotten either Cs or Ds in my math classes until this year in which I managed to pull off an A. The rest of my classes are really good, and i have a lot of interests. I've taken French for two and a half years, German is going on two and so is Mandarin. I've taken art lessons since I was seven, and many people consider me to be one of the best artists in my grade (I paint & draw, and have won some awards). I also started taking music lessons (on and off) since I was 12, and started learning piano when I was fifteen and have kept up with it for 2 years now, and have begun to learn guitar. I can write my own music and have been told it's pretty good. I volunteer for the local art center, and will be doing volunteering for the anti-smoking society and the animal shelter. I've been apart of the philosophy club and i'm vp of the literary magazine at my school. My SAT was 1830, and i'll be graduating with 30 credits.</p>
<p>I don't know if this is all relevant to getting into college, but I'll take any advice I can get about this. My parents have been on my case about this and don't fully understand everything either. They think I could easily get into somewhere like Bates or Colby, but I'm a bit doubtful.</p>
<p>Anyway, to anyone who could offer some meaningful advice I'd be really grateful!</p>
<p>I am just researching schools too, so not an expert by far, but to help, those in the know will need …your scores, your state, the area of the country you want to be in, the amount you can afford each yr for school, and the size school you are most interested in.
You definitely want to know how much you are prepared to pay. Have you checked out the college search feature on this site?</p>
<p>I don’t know, what are your test scores? how rigorous is your overall program? The D’s can really hurt you. are D’s for quarters shown on your transcripts? Your EC’s are good, and your talents show. Bates and Colby are selective, under 30% admitted so I wouldn’t consider that you can easily get in, though it is certainly worth an application and those are nice schools. You need to identify your real safeties, though.</p>
<p>I don’t think you have to decide just yet what you are going to do or major in, although you will want to examine that the first or second year of college. Job prospects are not too good with just a BS in biology alone. Most will get advanced degree. Just target schools that cover your areas of interest and have a career center. Maybe you will be interested in International Relations. That can open up other schools to consider.</p>
<p>While it isn’t ‘exciting’, I’ve always felt like Community Colleges are a great place to dip your feet in if you are still trying to figure out what you want from life. (There are some out there that even have dorms, etc.) Teachers in Community Colleges tend to be more approachable about what you want and you will find that you may tend to bring those grades up a bit in that environment. I’d much rather spend 300 dollars on a class and find out I hate that type of class than to spend 5 times that much to find out the same thing.</p>
<p>You can take the Community College credits after a year or two and go anywhere your heart desires and your degree would still be from the 4 year school, so you can still have that ‘prestige’ factor. </p>
<p>If you are bent on going to a four year school, I’d tend to look at larger schools just because of your indecision. A small private institution might look nice, but often times, they don’t offer as many choices on degree programs - For example, if you get into an Anatomy class and find you mght want to be a nurse, well, many smaller schools don’t even offer that option and you’d have to either transfer or major in something that might not be your first choice.</p>
<p>I got an 1830 for the SAT: 670 in reading, 610 for writing and 550 for math.
I mostly took high level classes, honors or the level below that. I don’t know how much it matters what high school you went to though.</p>
<p>I’ve actually considered International Relations. It seems interesting, I should probably look into it more. I’m just torn.</p>
<p>My family can’t afford much, and that’s why I either have to look into a really cheap school or something with a lot of financial aid (my family has over 100K in debt from when my mom went to college). Apparently (using that online calculator that measures financial aid) if I went to say, a 50,000 private school I could get 43,000 dollars paid for. I don’t know how accurate that is, but I would probably be paying less to attend these schools than a state school (the one in my state are apparently the most expensive for instate students).</p>
<p>I’d say my options are more limited to the east coast.</p>
<p>And I don’t mind for the school size, nor if it’s in the city or country. I guess I’d prefer somewhere that’s near the city but not in it, but I won’t be too picky.</p>
Are you using the Net Price Calculator for the school in which you are interested? All the calculators will be different, based on the financial aid available and general student characteristics for each school. From the numbers you posted it seems like this would be a school that meets need. Good for you if your family is LOW INCOME (not has a lot of debt). But schools that meet need are also among the most competitive for admission (in some cases <10% are admitted and you must have high stats to really be in the pool for consideration).</p>
<p>What is your home state? What is your family able to afford? Ask your parents. I think your mother will agree you need to keep debt to a minimum.</p>
<p>Rather than hoping people throw out names and then picking from those, I suggest you start with a solid foundation. Go to your local library or a bookstore and get a good book on college admissions. Learn how the whole process works.What schools look for, what you should look for, how financial aid is calculated. One book I like is called “admission matters”, there are many other good ones. It’s the summer, you have time to read a book. Go do it!</p>