<p>sorry to add another one of these posts, but it's a question i'd like a fresh prespective on </p>
<p>i'd definitely love to double major in four years. i plan on going to some form of grad school or law school. my primary interests are english, french, comparative literature, international studies
i'd like to try crew, continue with debate in a competitive league, have a chance to do some singing/acting even tho i haven't had experience with that in hs musical or play. i'd like to get involved in student government.
as for politics, i'd love to get involved. i'm basically a democrat, but i definitely don't buy the party line on everything. i'm a liberal catholic and i'd like to stay involved with the church.
i wouldn't mind going to women's college
i live in new jersey and can't go farther than about 5 hours, meaning mass in the north and maybe nc in the south. can't go midwest either.
i would enjoy having easy acccess to a city but wouldn't mind a rural atmosphere either. i haven't taken any campus visits yet.
i want close ties with my professors and people to talk to about the meaning of life. i want to have great discussions in class and hone my writing/analytical skills. i don't want to be surrounded by cutthroat people that only care about grades.
i want to have great internship and study abroad opportunities.
ps financial aid is a must. on the natl scale, my parents make a lot of moneybut i live in a wealthy area where money doesn't go as far.i'd love to go somewhere that would give me merit aid even if its not as prestigious.
i care about prestige to the point that it will help me get into a HPY type grad school.</p>
<p>here's my stats (have only taken sat i once)
800 cr 640 math 720 w
3.8 uw gpa on 4.33 scale
my school doesn't rank
big regional verycompetitive hs
have taken all ap and honors courses in all major subjects
the only college prep level courses i've taken are electives</p>
<p>forensics 9 10 11- 8th in state extemporaneous speaking 10
spring track 9 10
winter track 9 10 11
mock trail witness award 10
mock trial attorney 11
choir 9 10 11
ymca youth and government officer 11
ymca y & g nominee to conference on natl affairs (cona) 10
ymca y & g alternate to cona 11
school news team member (not anchor)</p>
<p>i'm very interested in an open curriculum</p>
<p>so here's my list- i realize some of these are reaches
any guidance as to where my reach, match, safeties lie would be appreciated. i would especially appreciate ideas on good safety schools you think i would like. do you think these colleges will provide what i'm looking for?</p>
<p>williams
amherst
vassar
brown
rutgers newbrunswick
the college of new jersey
college of william and mary
wellesley
smith
bryn mawr
haverford
princeton
suny binghamton</p>
<p>Wow...Excellent all around. I'd say you have a great chance at ALL of those, with Williams, Brown and Princeton being the most difficult. I would drop TCNJ or Rutgers if not both, because i'm sure out of the 11 remaining, you'll get into 5 or more, and wouldnt choose those schools (unless money is an issue--doubt it)</p>
<p>wow thanks you made my day :)
money is definitely an issue my paren'ts combined income is 150000 whcih sounds like a lot but there is a high cost of living. somerset county, the one where i live, is the richest in the country. my efc (when calculated on the college confidential calculator) is about 25000. also i have two younger sisters who lwill also go to college. when i am a jr in college, my sis will be a frosh in college, so when that happens we should each get a lot more aid-until then i think it would be pretty tough.</p>
<p>I agree with jPoD. However, NJ people get screwed over (I'm from NJ also in an affluent part--Brielle/Spring Lake/Manasquan area) because the high cost of living is not factored in for financial aid, meaning I got basically nothing. I have two younger brothers and my parents make about 120000 a year. I only got 6,000 in financial aid from Wake Forest (and some of it was loans) so that is just some food for though.</p>
<p>I'd also look at Davidson in North Carolina which sounds like it fits you very well. I also thought Wake would suit you until I read about the open course load. Wake has a liberal arts core which requires you to take about 13 classes, but most are humanities. </p>
<p>TCNJ will definately give you a nice scholarship as they are quite generous to top NJ kids. Good luck!</p>
<p>money is definitely an issue my paren'ts combined income is 150000 whcih sounds like a lot but there is a high cost of living. somerset county, the one where i live, is the richest in the country. my efc (when calculated on the college confidential calculator) is about 25000. also i have two younger sisters who lwill also go to college. when i am a jr in college, my sis will be a frosh in college, so when that happens we should each get a lot more aid-until then i think it would be pretty tough.</p>
<p>7th richest, but yeah. Somerset is def. wealthy.</p>
<p>Several of your schools don't give merit money, Princeton, Williams, Amherst and Brown are those I'm sure of. They give only need based aid which doesn't sound like it will help you if your parents make $150K and have other assets such as a home with any equity. Does the $25K EFC include profile which counts assets FAFSA doesn't?</p>
<p>For merit money, focus on schools where you are in the top of the applicant pool. The women's colleges seem like good candidates for you.
You might add Mount Holyoke and Sweet Briar.</p>
<p>Run your numbers through some calculators like the one here and the one on the Princeton web site. Unfortunately, it won't make sense to apply to the schools giving only need based aid if your EFC (plus profile) is more than your parents can pay.</p>
<p>If you've only taken the SAT once, it would be worth it to take again as where merit money is concerned, scores really count. If your class rank is high and you can up your SAT cr and math to over 1500, you'd have an excellent chance for merit dollars at many great schools.</p>
<p>Of all your choices, W&M is the best value on your list. It has all the name prestige but is 33% less expensive than the private schools. Alums Pres. Jefferson, Tyler, Monroe as well as John Stewart! You cant beat that.</p>