also how difficult is it to get into the HTC program?
@TTG
@thumper1
Its a small therapeutic boarding school with a 1-1 staff student ratio – so there isn’t really a college counselor –
as for the tuition – the NY State is paying most of it – and the school helps out as well
thank you @twoinanddone i will check it out
If you are attending a therapeutic boarding school, presumably it’s for a therapeutic reason. That being the case, 8 would definitely be discussing college, post high school plans with the staff at this school. The know where their graduates will be more successful, and also where therapeutic assistance can be continued if needed.
Frankly, that is the most important thing you need to find in post college study…
Sorry for the typos. Let me try again.
If you are attending a therapeutic boarding school, presumably it’s for a therapeutic reason. That being the case, I would definitely be discussing college, post high school plans with the staff at this school. They know where their graduates will be more successful, and also where therapeutic assistance can be continued if needed.
Frankly, that is the most important thing you need to find in post high school study…
And adding…if you are currently at a school with 1:1 support (and I know about several of these in the northeast), make sure you are well prepared for college where this absolutely will not be the case…at all.
PSAT of 1450 - OK, cool! Do you have the report? What’s your Selection Index (SI)? It should be a three digit number starting with a 2.
If you don’t know, I can calculate it for you if you post your score breakdown for Math and ERBW.
I’m wondering if you might make NMSF.
@DiotimaDM it’s a good thought but
that’s going rule out NM.
I was suggesting you communicate with the admissions rep for NYC at Miami (if it looks good to you) with a very positive, forward-looking email explaining very concisely that you have some financial constraints and would they consider you for a merit award based on your SAT and your post-freshman year grades. There is a 3.5 minimum to be considered. If you have a 3.3 UW and 4.0 after freshman year, it might be worth at least asking if they’d consider you based on your strong performance after freshman year. Again, just asking to be considered, that’s all they could tell you now. If those numbers are a weighted GPA, you could still ask, but I think it would be a much harder sell.
If they would consider you, you can see from the chart, if it stays the same next year, you’d be eligible for a 1/2 to full scholarship (would still have to pay room and board).
In regard to the CTCL schools, I had forgotten that you thought the schools would expect your family to pay more than the $10k it feels like
Good luck!
Getting a full ride (merit) anywhere is very difficult. Getting one in the northeast is almost impossible. Many of the schools in the northeast only give need based aid. Merit aid heavily weighs the gpa and test scores. You’ll be competing against students who have 4.0’s for every year.
If you get ‘help’ with school now, why do you think you won’t get it for college? The NY state schools are a good price.
215 @DiotimaDM
thank you TTG – I will certainly try that
my GPA is 3.3 unweighted
and more like a 3.5 wieghted
i didn’t quite understand what you meant about the CTCL schools
@TTG
CTCL schools are a group of mostly smaller LAC located in more remote locations. The schools are marketed together, in a book and website, and sometimes at school fairs. Most have holistic admissions and may overlook things like your first year grades.
But you have to want to live in Appleton, WI or go to a smaller school in Tennessee. Clark is on the list, but most are not located in the northeast.
215 will be National Merit Commended, but probably won’t make NMSF, sorry! If you don’t find what you’re looking for at small LACs, there are threads here on automatic scholarships based on things like your SAT score. Some of the places (e.g. Bama) will let you keep taking the SAT to raise your score (and thus get a bigger scholarship) even after you’re accepted.
@3scoutsmom I was thinking that there are still good scholarships for NMSF even if GPA kept OP from NMF. But I don’t think 215 will clear the bar for NY (predicted at 219) plus I don’t know if OP’s school means the boarding school school cutoff might be in play.
Once more…you are at a therapeutic boarding school with 1:1 staff to student ratio. There is a reason you are at that school. I strongly urge you to consider this when you are looking at colleges. Your current school certainly has some info and ideas where their graduates will be successful…and will have access to continued services if needed.
Ignoring this key thing could really be an issue for you. You want to find a place where you will have the proper supports to help with success.
Sorry I didn’t finish about the CTCL schools. You might look through them and see if any look really good. Then run the NPC. It sounds like it will be tough to get enough money, but maybe worth a little exploration.
Anyway, I wanted to add that you might look at the Dutch University Colleges. These are small schools patterned on US LACs. Dutch universities are very large and pre-professional. A Dutch educator wanted to create something like US LACs. Now there are several. Here’s what you can consider: They are excellent schools. They are very small. They have an international focus. ALL CLASSES ARE IN ENGLISH. You get your BA/BS in 3 years, not 4–so less expensive. At least a few years ago, they cost about $12k per year for US students and less for EU students. Now GB is presumably leaving the EU, so you’d have to research how much they cost and how much they would be for you, as a dual citizen.
A couple of things to consider: how would you do starting college in a different culture. Maybe it would be fine, maybe it would be a significant challenge. That’s for you, and maybe your family and teachers, counselors to evaluate.
There are several of these. They are often affiliated with other universities. Here are some examples.
https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/university-college-utrecht
http://www.ucr.nl/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/education/bachelor/bachelor-university-college-maastricht
@thumper1
Thank you thumper –
I did not intend to disregard what you had said
I am absolutely taking that into account and have met with both the headmaster and college counselor –
they haven’t been particularly helpful – but I will continue seeking out their advice
@DiotimaDM
don’t know if this changes anything in regard to the NMSF
but I go to school in Massachusetts
@TTG thank you – I’ll check those out
btw – should I bother with applying for scholarships that are separate from the college?
I really am surprised that no one has mentioned the elephant in the room; the 1.3 gpa you achieved Freshman year. Yes, it is part of your academic record and will be included in your quest for merit scholarships and admissions in general.
Congrats on turning things around. Yes, you and your counselor and address what happened freshman year and the upward trend that you have been on. You really need to take a bottoms ep approach to building your list. This means making sure that you have an academic and financial safety.
I agree with the CTCL schools as they will take a chance on admitting you, but with an overall 3.3 gpa it is highly unlikely that you will get substantial merit money.
Alas, Massachusetts makes it worse. 
Their cutoff is estimated at 222.