Match Me/Chance Me: Help a Junior Balance College List

[mauiii12]

Demographics

• US domestic
• State/Location of residency: Washington State
• Type of high school: Public
• Gender/Race/Ethnicity: White Female

Intended Major(s): Business, Economics or Political Science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

• Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
• Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): School does not weight
• Class Rank: 1/453
• ACT/SAT Scores: 1490 superscore (790 reading, 690 math). 1480 single sitting (790 reading, 680 math). Hoping to retake this spring to improve math score.

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s)): Full IB Diploma student.

Awards
Volunteer of the Quarter with business association, student of the month.

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience):
High School Varsity Dance Team, Captain for two years.
High School Business Club, Co-President (11).
High School Student Council Coordinator (10, 11)
High School Key Club, PR Officer (10, 11)
National Honor Society, Events Coordinator (11)
Church class teacher at Catholic Church
Food blog about experiences with Celiac Disease. Planning to write my CommonApp essay about this & the impact it has had on my life.
Volunteer with local business association.

Cost Constraints / Budget
(High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.) Target price for school is about $35k. EFCs for most schools put cost around $60k-$65k, so looking for schools that will offer a good amount of merit aid.

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)
I’m unsure of my chances at any of these schools, especially with finances taken into consideration, so I’m just listing them!
University of Alabama, Gonzaga University, University of Georgia, University of Miami, Tulane University, Vanderbilt, Southern Methodist University, Baylor University, Samford University, Boston College, Notre Dame, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Wake Forest.

I would leave feedback on which schools I should take off and which schools I should add. Notre Dame is my first choice right now, but is definitely a reach for admissions and financial reasons.

My biggest factors when choosing a school are school spirit (I want to go to a school with lots of school spirit and a student body that really loves the school), strength of program, and cost. I would love to go to school somewhere warm and sunny, but this also isn’t a dealbreaker.

[tsbna44]

So because your EFC is $65k but your target is $35k, you can cull any schools that don’t offer merit.

Sorry Princeton. UND and Vandy do have merit albeit not easy and an ED will hurt you.

Bama will be huge merit…at least $28k vs. $31k tuition if they don’t change. UGA will likely be a half or full OOS waiver. Miami $25k…they have bigger…but likely won’t meet your need. Tulane you must apply EA and you may get merit.

So Yale, Princeton etc should be out but an Emory, Rice, WUSTL can replace as merit, while unlikely is not impossible.

Obviously you should apply to UW And WSU.

I’d add Arizona…yiur tuition will be $3k if tables hold next year. U of SC and their top ranked Honors College will likely work with merit. Miami of Ohio. Florida if you get merit and definitely Florida State will work.

Your list is good but you have small private and big public …all over.

You may step down from the Ivies. A Rochester or Case Western may work. Smaller …W&L has big merit opportunities.

Or try smaller but great LACs like Macalester, Dennison, Oberlin or Whitman.

To me you have too many safeties but if you are seeking great cost, hit those publics where you can achieve it. And go for Honors Colleges. Or apply to “lesser” privates.

Also it seems you may want a religious school…some give great aid, others not. Run the NPCs…you’d be a home run for Samford!! You’re way above their norms!!

Good luck.

[Peruna1998]

If you are interested in business, you really should look at South Carolina. It has a too notch international business program and honors program. Plus it has well defined merit aid. You may not beat Washington or Washington State though for cost.

[Mjkacmom]

My 18 year old was chasing merit to get costs down to $35,000 as well, and then she visited Clemson. Beautiful campus, incredible school spirit, coming from the northeast I was not familiar with crazy college football and the whole day event it is. Weather is great. My daughter is in the business school, she really liked her classes this semester. There is a competitive honors program that she didn’t apply to when she applied because it was all last minute (and with her 33 act I don’t know if she would’ve gotten in anyway), but applied this semester (her gpa is a 4.0, her HS gpa was 3.9 with a B freshman year). The only downside is merit, she got $8000, I think the highest is now $12,000 (a few years ago it was $20,000+). Oh, and she’s celiac and happy with the food.