Match a Rising Senior!

Chance Me / Match Me!
21

A high school, where almost half the students have an unweighted GPA of 3.9?
Meaning in every single course and subject, half of the students got an “A” grade, every year of attending?

Things changed a lot in the past 4 years as far as grade inflation.

When my daughter graduated from HS, there was a “Platinum Scholar” award for that level of consistent performance handed out during the graduation ceremony, and their names are added to the school’s “Hall of Fame”.
I just checked, and that year it had been reached by 5 out of approx. 250 graduates.

With that and for that tier of colleges, she had received acceptances from UVA, UMA Amherst, URich, NE, BU, NYU, GWU,… to their honors colleges (if available), with merit scholarships of 15K to 35K p.a. (e.g., enough to bring out of state down to “in-state” cost), etc. No sports or other unique factors.

Of course, the results were more varied for her “reach” colleges, which generally also don’t offer merit as any criteria would apply to all applicants.

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22

Congratulations on all of your work in high school! Below is a list of schools with my guesses as to what your chances of admission might be. Make sure you run the Net Price Calculator at any school you’re considering. If it asks for your academic stats, it is likely to include the minimum level of merit aid you might expect. Colleges that are a part of the Colleges That Change Lives organization are indicated with a CTCL.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Lawrence (WI): Meets 97% of need as they define it, and seems more generous than many others. CTCL
  • Lycoming (PA ): Meets 92% of need

Likely (60-79%)

  • Simmons (MA) – women’s college. Extremely likely for acceptance, but due to finances moved to Likely. Meets 85% of need as it calculates, on average, but with the strength of your application, I think you stand a very decent chance at getting quite a generous price after scholarships and any financial aid)
  • College of Wooster (OH): Meets 93% of financial need. CTCL
  • Knox (IL): Meets 93% of need CTCL

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Kenyon (OH): meets full need
  • Lafayette (PA ): meets full need, but perhaps not very generously. Run the NPC.
  • Franklin and Marshall (PA ): meets full need, but I’m not sure how generous they are in defining need.
  • Connecticut College: meets full need, but like F&M, make sure you’re running the NPC here.
  • Mount Holyoke (MA): women’s college, meets full need, probably more generous than others in this category
  • Union (NY): meets full need
  • Dickinson (PA ): met 99% of need; probably one of the more generous schools in this category

Low Probability (20-39%)

  • Colgate (NY): meets full need
  • Smith (MA): meets full need
  • Wake Forest (NC): meets full need
  • Bryn Mawr (PA ): For admission I think it’s a toss-up, but in looking at the net price for families under $75k, it seems this might have a lower shot of hitting your budget number. Definitely run the Net Price Calculator here (as well as at all schools you’re considering, but especially here)
  • Macalester: Met 97% of need

Lower Probability (less than 20%)

  • Wellesley (MA)- women’s college, meet’s full need
  • Carleton (MN): meets full need
23

unless your particular HS gets several admitted every year?

Yeah, it’s not uncommon. UVA, UNC, UW-Madison, UCs, UMich, UGA, etc. My school’s seniors are frequent flyers of these OOS universities, with sizable scholarships to boot.

Also, if possible can you state what courses you got Bs in and what your unweighted gpa was junior year?

Transcripts are unavailable during the summer, but my GPA went down primarily because I got a C in a summer pre-calculus course (bummer)

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Yes, unweighted, counting any level of A as a 4.0, any B as a 3.0 , etc. . Now with weights, the kids who do it in honors/AP get much higher rank, but in many schools A- in regular is not at all rare and in fact A- and above is often given out to more than half the class . This is true of publics and privates and when our school has had local teachers come from public to private they have often been asked to tighten their grades and give out less A range grades especially in honors and AP, where A ranges can be less than a third in some classes. Regular classes still have over half A range. It is not unusual nor limited to this area and I mention it only because I have seen it too many times locally with friends and on CC where parents and kids think they are “probably top 10%” with one or two Bs but below the average amount of honors for their school, and later realize they are middle of the pack.

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25

The thing is only about 1/3 of HSs rank anymore because ranking has fallen out of favor over the last decade or so.

Many high schools not only don’t provide rank, but they don’t publish other info that would allow an AO to infer rank (which AOs don’t have time to do for all applicants anyway)…for example, some counselors don’t complete the level of curriculum section in their counselor letter.

On the high school profile, some schools show a class median GPA only, some give a mid-50% range…deliberate obfuscation ensues here too because some schools will provide data for unweighted GPAs while the transcript has weighted GPAs (and these two GPA calcs use different sets of classes).

Most schools that still rank are private. Of course, most Texas publics still rank.

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26

Depending on your family’s adjusted gross income, you might also qualify for a gates scholarship. The scholarship doesn’t help with college admission, but it certainly helps with paying for it! The competition is intense (in that a lot of students apply), but my sense is that once in the semifinalist stage, the review is holistic and they care as much about extracurriculars and essays as gpa and test scores.

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Our administration (well-funded suburban public district) was strictly against naming Valedictorian/Salutatorian. They felt that all of the high-performing kids were already applying enough pressure on themselves day-in day-out, and that it would be unhealthy and somewhat unproductive for them to try to compete over (somewhat arbitrary) decimal points.

However, they did provide deciles in the transcript, as they felt it was useful information for those applying at highly-competitive colleges.

28

Have you also checked out Ohio University in Athens? Excellent allied health professions, nursing school. And a DO school on the campus. Might be affordable for you.

As an aside…I do not see any medical observation or shadowing on your EC list. How do you know you want to be a doctor…if that’s where you decide to head.

Also, the average age of beginning medical school students is mid-20’s. Many take a gap year or two after undergrad to beef up their ECs for medical school applications and study and take the MCAT. If you apply to medical school as a very young applicant, this might not work in your favor.

Re: colleges…you need to pick a place where your GPA and sGPA will be high, that has good health careers advising, where you have the ability to shadow in the medical profession, and where you can choose a major that will give you a Plan B…because every premed needs a plan B.

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29

Our local public HS has no rankings either, no Val/sal, no cords at graduation for top students and the like because they are adamant that these comparisons/potential goals create unhealthy behaviors.

Similarly, they believe (admin and board) that giving colleges info that might allow the AO to compare students, like decile rank/GPA, is also inappropriate because it could harm a given student’s admission chances…so nothing beyond a rudimentary GPA range, nor a rating of a student’s level of rigor in their curriculum in the counselor letter. This is a well known, affluent public school with a college going culture where unhooked students in the bottom half of the class regularly go to top 10% colleges.

Back to OP, Questbridge still might be worthwhile but I understand if the time investment doesn’t seem compelling.

30

If you like Pomona and are open to women’s colleges, be sure to add Scripps to your list. Bryn Mawr and Haverford might be worth adding, too.
And Macalester!

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31

Gonna bump this thread really quick and share my (rough) college list!

HARD REACH:
Cornell
Rice
UC Berkeley

REACH:
CWRU
UC San Diego

MATCH:
UC Irvine
UC Davis
UT Dallas

SAFETY:
OSU

Top choices are UCSD and UCI :slight_smile:

32

So back to message one. Your family makes $75k and you are an Ohio resident.

Cornell, Rice and CWRU. have your folks fill out the net price calculator and see if it works $ wise. Cornell has no merit aid btw. The other two do but not to get to your price unless they show you have need (it’d be need aid).

Your UCs - you can’t go cheap - do you have $65k+ a year and travel money ? Why I mentioned Alabama. You need to follow the money, not the name. Any in state flagship or major college will be fine so OSU, Miami, Cincy, Ohio U. Take the UCs off the list financially you can’t make it work. They give little to no aid OOS.

You need to redo your list. Check NPCs. If they are too high, then remove those schools …at least Cornell as the others have merit.

Your OOS publics - for low cost u need schools like Bama, MS State, directional and more but frankly staying in-state is your best bet and Ohio has many good ones. UVA and UNC meet need OOS So u can try a Hail Mary there.

Good luck.

33

Agreeing with @tsbna44 that the California UC’s will be closer to $67K/year to attend and offer little to no financial aid to OOS students. Plan on being full pay so how will your parents pay if their income is $75K?

UC’s offer good need based aid for California residents but nothing for OOS students other any Federal aid you would be eligible. Merit aid is highly competitive so you should not count on any merit scholarships in your affordability budget.

34

OP good luck! Before you waste a lot of time on schools like Mississippi State or Alabama please be aware that both schools have an Asian population of about 1.5%. As a person who self describes themselves as Asian not sure of this matters but certainly worth considering.

“The enrolled student population at Mississippi State University is 71.1% White, 17.2% Black or African American, 3.42% Hispanic or Latino, 2.13% Two or More Races, 1.57% Asian, 0.596% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.0783% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders.”

https://oira.ua.edu/factbook/reports/student-enrollment/fall-term/students-by-race-and-ethnicity/

Only 589 Asian students out of 38,320!

I agree with others that some of the SLACS may check your boxes.

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35

Again providing low cost options since money matters. And Bama, shows nearly 600 Asians so it’s not zero and the OP may(or may not) have interest in programs such as Randall Research or MCCullough Medical.

OP you should look at scholarships the state offers for its low income residents. This is one for people whose families earn up to $96k.

In general, states look to take care of their own residents. Lucky for you, Ohio has a fantastic college system from Akron to Toledo and Cincinnati and all geographies in between.

https://www.ohiohighered.org/ocog

36

I would be very surprised if Alabama or some of these other schools are a good cultural match or acceptable to the student or parents. Investigate very hard and investigate again before seriously considering. Money is not everything.

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37

I’m simply pointing out schools that are affordable. Hence I gave the scholarship link for Ohio folks at a certain income - the schools may or may not be diverse in Ohio. However, there is not point in looking at a UC if a family cannot afford over a quarter of a million $$.

I gave financially cheap OOS ones - it’s up to the OP to review - but when a school is 60% OOS (many from the NE and MW) and there are thousands of minorities there including 600 Asians, I’m not sure why one would be quick to dismiss. Yes, a kid should take the chance and visit or visit on line and ask to speak to a student.

Money is not everything - but it is the first priority - and the students list won’t get them anywhere near an affordable acceptance - and I’m simply showing those opportunities.

You/I don’t know the student so i’m not going to guess on cultural fit.

My son is Jewish - doesn’t love Bama (most do) but it has nothing to do with “culture” - frankly, he likely wouldn’t love anywhere but that’s more a personality thing, etc. People wise he’s fine and his Korean friend from home in EE loves it. Frankly, the population is very NE and MW - in addition to local because they “buy” kids in.

So I’m not sure preconceptions on anybody’s part are wise - but it’s a fair point to bring up to “review”. In the end, you need an education and hopefully no debt - but certainly not more than $27K.

38

The CA public universities will be full pay for you. Can your family pay $67,000 a year for you to attend college with an income of $75,000? I would say…probably not.

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39

Thank you for sharing your updated list. Others have already commented on the affordability of the UCs, but what is it that attracts you to those three campuses? There may be schools that have those elements that would be willing to meet your family’s financial need.

Has your family run any Net Price Calculators (NPC) yet? I would suggest they run them at Cornell, Rice, and Case Western. After using the calculator, the school will provide its Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Is the EFC these schools are providing a price that your family is willing and able to pay? If not (and for many people the answer is “not”) then you will need to find a school that offers merit aid in addition to financial (need-based) aid.

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40

I’m very confused as to how this narrowing of the list occurred. You told us up-front that your family income is 75K/year. Then you generated a list that is half UC schools, which cost 90% of your family’s income and which offer neither need-based aid nor significant merit to OOS applicants. “Hoping for a scholarship” is not going to get you anywhere with the UC system. Not to mention that being premed at the UC’s is very competitive and unforgiving. (Premed is hard work anywhere, but some environments are more supportive than others.)

UTD offers great scholarships to National Merit Finalists. Did you take the PSAT last year?

Rice and Cornell are big reaches. What does the NPC say about affordability at these schools? How about the NPC at Case? (At least there, you could potentially commute to save money, although living on campus for at least the first year would be better in terms of the full college experience.)

How far from home do you really want to be at barely-17? If you like CWRU and the financial aid projections look good, going all-in with an ED application could be a great idea. You could still have the “away at college” experience and only go home for breaks; but being close to home could be a great backup, both for when things come up (illnesses or just needing a break), and as an option to save money by commuting once you’ve made social connections in the first year. It’s a great school and great for premed.

What happened to your interest in LAC’s and women’s colleges? If you really want a California school that meets financial need and is good for psych/neuroscience/premed, Scripps would be a terrific choice! You could major in psych or neuroscience, or you could do an off-campus major in cognitive science through Pomona. My daughter had at least one friend there who started college very young, and it seemed like a good place for this. (I started college at 17 myself, and it can be challenging in ways that you might not anticipate after feeling just as mature as your high school classmates in that more-structured environment.) You get to start out in a small LAC, but also have tons of room for growth and exploration across the Consortium. If you want to keep doing journalism, the shared student newspaper of the 5C’s is top-notch, and you can get paid for a variety of positions. I think you’d be a great applicant for Scripps; your basic qualifications are strong, and they would love your array of EC’s.

Anyway, you need to go back to the drawing board, and start with financials. Start a spreadsheet, and run the NPC for every school you’re considering.

Also, look into the Morrill Scholarship at Ohio State. Even though Asian students aren’t typically considered URM, I would think that your engagement with social justice and Muslim-community issues could make this a possibility. As a Morrill Scholar, you would have a built-in supportive community within the large (huge) university; and the full ride would be one of the best possible financial deals you could get.

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