match and safety schools help!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm a rising senior and can't really do any college visits because my parents don't have a lot of time for vacations. I'm looking for safety and match schools where I will get merit aid or where the cost will be lower than the elite private universities but still have good educational oppurtunities.</p>

<p>Stats:
Weighted GPA:4.5ish unweighted:4.0
Class rank: 2
SAT: 2250
Subject tests: took 3 in June and did pretty well, i hope
ACT: 34
Will be taking 11 AP's by the end of high school but have only taken 5 so far.</p>

<p>ECs-not great but I'm involved
varsity cross country(possibly captain this year)
track
debate(leadership position)
NHS
SNHS
Family-employed - I help with my dad's medical billing
will have 300+ hours of service when i apply - i volunteer at a hospital currently</p>

<p>What i want in a college:
Majors: computer science, math, applied math, physics, econ(not too sure what i want to do)
Finances: i probably won't get financial aid anywhere and my family could afford most places, but i dont want to pay an exorbitant amount of money
Location: northeast, california, middle atlantic, midwest
Size: not too picky but no LACs and if the school is big I would like the option of an honors program
Must have's: far away from home(KS), not too choosy otherwise</p>

<p>Reach schools I'm thinking about:
Stanford(only school I've visited)
Princeton
Brown
Cornell
Dartmouth
Northwestern
USC
Vandy
UNC-CH</p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

2

<p>Minnesota, Virginia Tech, and NCSU may be candidates for low match or safety, and are relatively low cost. NCSU and Georgia Tech have competitive full ride scholarships available.</p>

<p>But also take a look at the automatic big scholarships for your stats:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>National Merit? Texas A&M has a good scholarship for National Merit Finalists who designate the school as the first choice. USC (Trojans) also likes to give National Merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Many of the UCs are good for your potential majors, but they will be expensive, and most of the merit scholarships are relatively small.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, I’ll check out those schools and the link, but I’m only commended so won’t get any scholarships there.</p>

<p>Anyone else have some suggestions?</p>