<p>I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but I'm wondering what colleges and programs I might be interested in. I've always liked math and science, but I am by no means great at them, although I can manage good grades. I am a very analytical and meticulous thinker who enjoys language (taking Latin and French). I also very much like and am good at English, especially Shakespeare and other key literarature. Assuming that my stats are good for most schools, does anyone have any suggestions for a potential major/focus and which schools and programs seem to align with my interests? I am open to most schools east of Chicago or so. Thanks so much!!</p>
<p>I’m going to take the easy route, admittedly. You don’t have to worry about your major for a couple more years. When you get to college you’ll be required to take some writing, math, and science courses your first year or two. These courses will help you to decide in what to major. It’s not that big a deal accomplishing this feat after a couple years of courses, so trust yourself. Get to know your professors; maybe look to work with one or two of them. Talk to the counselors provided in your college. Most likely you will be placed in the college of arts and sciences to start out, and this will be fine for now since you show no predilection for engineering, and other possible majors such as business or communications aren’t that difficult to get admitted to. I went to college as a chemistry major but found my interests drifting increasingly toward American lit and ending up in grad school for English. Nothing is written in stone; I had a friend in grad school who majored in ChemE. Shudder. </p>
<p>Before we suggest schools east of Chicago, talk to your parents about how much they are prepared to offer you each year in support. You need to have this talk with them sooner rather than later because it is much more important than any other criteria of a college application. You’re not going anywhere you cannot afford. No miracles here. Then tell us your GPA, SATI, ACT, SATIIs, and size and urban/suburban/rural preferences. There’s no point in our suggesting schools you will have no interest in.</p>
<p>@jkeil911 Thank you soooo much! That does relieve some pressure. I’m confused why finances are such a huge deal in choosing where. I thought I would apply to schools I like and see which give me reasonable financial aid. My parents tend to say they can afford up to a fourth of tuition (roughly). Does this help? As far as SATs, I got a 2150 (will probably retake December because I know I can do much better). SAT IIs: 800 French, 750 Math, 760 Bio. GPA is a 3.95. I have very little preference as far as urban etc. Also, I’d probably prefer at most 15,000 students (smaller). Does this add valuable info? Thank you very much!</p>
<p>Lots of applicants make your mistakes about financing, so you’re far from alone in this. Parents, too, commonly take the approach you’ve taken, and then learn to their dismay in March when the financial aid packages arrive that they cannot afford the schools their children have chosen.</p>
<p>YOU can only borrow $5500 your first year and 27K for four years, so you and your family have to find a way to make up the difference between what you can borrow, save, and scrimp together, including what your parents can provide, and what the costs of attendance are. </p>
<p>What any college will cost is dependent upon their retail price (tuition + r&b + fees + books + supplies + travel, et al.) minus any financial aid they will offer. Financial aid will consist of loans YOU can take out, lucky you, possibly a PELL grant, OOS tuition waivers (in a few cases), need-based grants, and merit-based scholarships. Usually schools offer grants or scholarships, and scholarships are usually used to first reduce any loans offered and any grant-aid (thus limiting the help scholarships can offer to the bottom line). </p>
<p>So it would be wise to consider cost first, because chances are you cannot afford every college and you’re not going anywhere you cannot afford.</p>
<p>So pick out some schools you’re interested in, a variety consisting of your state flagship, a couple LACs, a medium sized private uni or two, and a dream school or two. Go to their financial aid pages, find their “net price calculator” and get your parents to help you fill out the calculator. The NPC will create an Expected Family Contribution, which is what schools estimate your family will need to produce each year to pay for your education–regardless of what they want to pay. </p>
<p>Do this and then get back to us.</p>