<p>I'm looking for some safeties and low matches. I like schools that are urban or that have a good college town. I'm flexible on size, although over 4000 would be great. I don't mind if they are LACs or liberal arts schools, but I probably wouldn't fit in well at a purely technical school (but if it has a strong hard science/engineering program, that's okay). I would really like a school on or near the East Coast. I would like something in an 8 - 10 hour radius from MD. It can't be a religiously affiliated school, unless the affiliation is week.</p>
<p>Here are my stats:
GPA: 3.6
SAT: 2080 (should be 20-30 points higher on April 7th)
6 APs / like a dozen honors
My ECs are weak. I work 20-30 hours a week to pay for my own private school (my public school really sucked) and I am a secondary wage-earner in my family (my mom has to take a 10% pay cut from the state, so soon that may be primary wage-earner). I do have 200 - 300 local volunteer hours.</p>
<p>Every student needs a rock solid True Safety. That is a school that:</p>
<p>1) Has to admit you based on your statistics. Note that I’ve written “has to” not “is likely to”. For most students, this will be a home-state public U that has numbers-based admission, or their local open admission community college.</p>
<p>2) You can pay for with no financial aid other than federally determined financial aid.</p>
<p>3) Offers your expected major (or in the case of a community college, offers the first two years of a transfer program in your expected major).</p>
<p>4) You will actually attend if you aren’t admitted anywhere else, or if you don’t get enough financial aid to attend any other place that admits you.</p>
<p>U of D might be your True Safety. If it is, you should apply there as early as possible so that you are in line for the best financial aid and scholarship options. Once it is pinned down, you can take another look at the rest of your list knowing that you do indeed have somewhere to go if all else fails.</p>
<p>Just a note: your ECs are not weak. On your app, make sure you mention the wage-earner support that you are providing. Adcoms will understand that earning money to survive comes before typical extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Happymom’s definition of a safety is solid but very conservative. If you really want to get away from UDel–and I also live less than 30 minutes away, so believe me, I understand–you should still apply, but also apply to at least two other safeties (highly likely rather than guaranteed admits).</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, Keilexandra. The only fault in that plan is that I go to a private school (which I pay for singlehandedly), so that might look wonky - nothing that can’t be explained in an essay or supplement.</p>
<p>I’m looking to apply to six schools (the sole amount you can apply to on a single FAFSA). I have two reaches, two matches, and two safeties, so I’m not sure whether I’ll apply to the U of D yet. But it is definitely a good example - the only problem is I’d have to pay out of state tuition even though I live 20 minutes away. That’s the ONLY reason I’m not really considering it.</p>
<p>Why are you considered OOS for U of D even though you live 20 mins away? Are you across the state line (in which case what state are you in)? Or are you an international? That could change all kinds of recommendations.</p>
<p>Yeah, I live in Maryland. U of D is not far from the border. Like, you could live in Ohio but only be an hour or so from Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>I checked out Temple today and it is a great school. The best part? Well, they give out full tuition scholarships to some applicants with 3.8 GPA, 29 ACT, and 1330/1600 SAT (I think that’s what he said). I can flatten that with the exception of GPA, which they will weight. So - awesome. Thank you for pointing out Temple to me. I had heard of it, but I had never researched it.</p>
<p>You’re welcome. Yeah, we give out a good amount of full scholarships to attract top students like yourself. I go to Temple, so if you have any questions, let me know.</p>