My College List

Since I’m a rising senior, I figure that it’s time for me to really narrow down where I’m going to apply. Here are my stats/interests/extracurriculars:

Me: white female, not a recruited athlete/musician/artist/etc, income about ~225,000, not first gen. There’s absolutely nothing about my demographics that a college is interested in.

33 ACT single sitting(34 R, 34 E, 31 M, 31 S), but my best science/math scores were 33 and 32, respectively.
Biology subject test: 700(still waiting on results of math II and physics), I also got a 4 on the AP
3.917 UW GPA, 4.361 W, ranked 5/237
I will be taking 8/11 AP classes my school offers and I’ve taken every honors class we have. In terms of academic awards, I have pretty much the same things everyone else does, like being on honor roll, getting my academic letter, being in NHS, etc. I also won a silver key for writing humor in the Scholastic Writing awards at the regional level.

For my extracurriculars, my main focus is riding horses. I will be the captain of my schools equestrian team this coming year and I have won a state and reserve state champion title. Related to that, I also do 4H, where I am an officer of my club and have won state/reserve state titles in public speaking, horse judging, quiz bowl, and horse science competitions. I also placed 9th in the conformation division at the national 4H horse judging competition. Through 4H, I’ve began showing goats. I have been involved in Science Olympiad since 6th grade, and my team has qualified for the state meet every year along with personally having won many events at the regional level. I also really like to run, as I do half marathons, but I don’t do cross country or track or any sports like that. I have about 120 volunteer hours and 800 work hours, but by the time I apply, those numbers will be closer to 150/1200.

What I want in a college: I don’t really enjoy greek life/partying, since I’m pretty nerdy and socially awkward. I would definitely prefer a school in a warm location, but would also consider the east coast, if it fit everything else. Significant merit scholarships must be available, as I won’t get need based aid and my parents won’t pay more than $35k(and even that’s pushing it), as I have University of Michigan in state. I’m not opposed to women’s colleges either. I have toured UChicago and loved the feel/vibe there and definitely don’t like Michigan State. I toured Michigan a while ago with my brother and don’t remember having strong feeling either way about it.

Thank you so much in advance!

Intended major?
Preferred size of college?
Urban/Rural?
Any other preferences?

Probably either physics, statistics, math, or comp sci for my major. Size and how urban the location is doesn’t matter. I also would not consider a school with any religious affiliation whatsoever.

You should use the SuperMatch feature on here to help narrow down your options. Since I have nothing better to do right now, I plugged in what you mentioned into the SuperMatch and the top schools that popped up were Chatham University, Hollins University, Berea College, Meredith College, Bob Jones University, and Cedar Crest College, all of which match your given preferences 96% or higher. Of course, I’m sure you would do a better job telling SuperMatch your preferences than I can.

Bob Jones wouldn’t work since OP doesn’t want religious schools.

University of Michigan is honestly great for engineering/CS and I hope you at least apply there. UChicago is a huge reach but I also say you look into UIUC, Wellesley, Smith, Brandeis, Wheaton, Bryn Mawr, and Mount Holyoke.

My D with stats and ECs on par with yours qualified for good merit aid at Mt Holyoke. It’s strong in science (produces a high proportion of students going on to grad school), has many nerdy students and an equestrian team. No Greek life. It’s not in a warm climate by any means but considering your wants and needs it’s well worth a look.

What didn’t you like about Michigan State? This might help narrow down schools that could be a good fit for you.

Most colleges will be very interested in this. They do have to balance their budgets somehow.

Make sure that a school maintains an active religious affiliation rather than just a passive one. For instance I’m an atheist Jew and I attended Emory University which is technically Methodist. However, outside of a few scholarships for children of Methodist pastors and its name, Emory was not a Christian university. The same is true for a number of schools which at one point were religious but have since drifted away from that. To find out how religious a school actually is, look at the mission statements of the universities in question. Brigham Young University - Idaho, an LDS institution, states that

By contrast, Emory states that its goal is to “create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity.”
There is no mention of religion in there, nor is there any reference to spirituality. The mission statement, while seemingly insignificant, can say quite a bit about how central religion is to the university’s goals.

Here are some suggestions:
-University of Arizona
-Colorado State University
-Seattle University (Jesuit school, welcoming to non Catholics)
-Trinity University (TX)
-Case Western Reserve University
-Bryn Mawr College
-University of Rochester
-University of Miami
-Iowa State University
-Santa Clara University (Jesuit school located in Silicon Valley)
-University of Southern California (occasionally give out strong merit scholarships)

University of Texas at Austin would also fit almost all of your requirements, budget, as well as list of majors.

Ok, this might be a bit rambling because I haven’t had enough coffee yet, and your situation is one of the more tricky ones. Please bear with me and I hope some of this might prove useful to you in terms of clarifying your thinking.

You have a lot of outstanding academic credentials, but your financial constraints are going to narrow the field significantly. The essential problem is that the majority of the schools that would be the best fit for you academically are also largely the schools which tend to make most or all of their aid need based, and so aren’t going to be affordable to you. That leaves you in a position where you may be forced to compromise somewhat in terms of academic rigor or prestige by dropping down the rankings to find a school that will meet your financial criteria (either through lower cost or more likely large merit awards), without ending up at a place where you are going to be unhappy because the academics aren’t challenging.

Honestly, the University of Michigan sets a pretty high benchmark that is hard to beat for your situation - not saying it can’t be done, but the combination of in-state affordability and academic rigor and prestige is tailor made for you. However, you don’t seem very excited about it, and that is a very important consideration as well. I do think you definitely should look into it more - maybe you will find it is a better match than you initially thought. Or perhaps you will still not be interested, but you will have a better idea of exactly WHY it doesn’t appeal to you (the size, the social atmosphere, maybe you just really want to get out of Michigan, whatever.)

There are definitely alternatives - @whenhen listed some pretty good ones above. Case Western definitely popped into my head, given your need for merit aid and the majors you are considering. Finding these types of “thread the needle” type schools isn’t that easy though and I think you can help yourself out a lot by thinking a little harder about some of your criteria - up above, in response to my questions, you sort of hand waved my questions about school size preference and the urban/rural thing. Your geographical preferences are also a little vague. The problem, for me or anyone else who wants to give you some suggestions, is that you haven’t really narrowed the search space enough for anyone to be able to give you a manageable list that you are going to be able to research carefully. I think your best move is to try to get a little more specific on some of these issues if you can - it might take some campus visits to clarify your thinking, but there are some things you can probably do just by thinking a little more about them.

Here’s a couple of examples:

School size: You expressed no preference. Here’s my take on that.

First of all, you have a range of majors you feel are appealing to you (math, stats, physics, comp sci) - that’s a good range of stuff you might end up in, and it makes sense that you should pick colleges that cover ALL of those pretty well, so you won’t get caught having to transfer when it comes time to choose. My personal take on that is that it definitely should eliminate most schools below a certain size, because some of those majors either won’t be available at all or might be very tiny departments that are going to feel restrictive. (Yes, there are some very small schools that do specialize in STEM, but as a general rule this can be an important issue with smaller schools.) So, I think that you should consider just crossing off most schools below about 3000 students, because they won’t have the options for you.

Secondly, your comments about wanting to avoid the frat / party scene and feeling that you are somewhat social awkward should be explored a bit further to see if you can’t draw a few more lines. At a very small school, some people find it social oppressive because everyone knows everyone else - some people like to be able to get lost in the crowd a bit or maybe they want a bigger pool so there are enough people that they can find a sub-culture / niche / clique they are comfortable with. Alternatively, some people like that small community feeling - they don’t want to feel that they are just a face in the crowd. This is something you need to think about a little more and see if you don’t really have more of a preference than you have expressed so far.

(Quick note on the socially awkward thing - lots of kids feel that way in high school, and then it fades away with astonishing speed in college. For others, it remains an issue…you really need to think about it a bit, and try to imagine what kind of environment is most likely to make you feel comfortable and like you fit in.)

Geography:
I think you are a little vague on this. You mentioned you’d prefer somewhere “warmer” - what exactly does that mean? Warmer than Michigan? Or “Shorts in January?” Another thing to consider is how far away from home is your limit? You mentioned the east coast, so obviously you are fine with being relatively far from home, but are there limits? I really suggest you sit down with a map or a list of the 50 states, and cross off the ones that just aren’t worth considering.

Urban / Rural:
You said this doesn’t matter to you - maybe that really is the case, but I think you should consider it a bit more. So much of you life / EC activities has revolved around horses and 4H. Given your self-described “social awkwardness,” you do really need to consider if you might find the adjustment to college easier if there were good opportunities to maintain some contact with these activities that have been such a big part of your life. Maybe that doesn’t seem important to you right now, and maybe it REALLY isn’t important, but I think that’s something you really need to consider carefully. Certain schools are going to make these kinds of activities very convenient and available to you, and some are most definitely not.

Anyway, I hope you find some of this at least a little bit helpful.

In your case, as @NickFlynn suggested, it’s hard to beat Michigan for <$30K COA. Half-tuition merit (<$25K) probably won’t even do it because most of the schools you’d be interested in – to come close to the academic quality of U Mich – have $60K+ COA. That would leave ~$38K+ and it sounds like your parents might have a hard time justifying even $5K+ per year over U Mich (I wouldn’t blame them). You’re in the market for a full-tuition award, bottom line. And with a 33 ACT, though that is a very good score, it’s going to be hard for you to compete for the top awards at comparable schools. If you can receive a full tuition award, however, the cost savings compared to Mich might be enticing (especially to ma et pa!) even for a “lesser” school.

Automatic…

U Alabama: http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html

Competitive…

LEEP program at Clark U: http://www.clarku.edu/leep/scholarship.cfm

Ann P. Neupauer Scholarship at Stevens Tech: http://www.stevens.edu/sit/financial-aid/merit-scholarships

Boston U: http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/costs-aid-scholarships/scholarships/trustee/

U Richmond: http://scholars.richmond.edu/about/index.html

You might as well try to improve your ACT again. Extra points on any section could help a lot toward your competitiveness for these awards. None of the above competitive awards will be easy for you, as you’ll be up against 4.0 / 33+ ACT students, but you have less-than-common ECs, which helps a lot. Be sure to study the requirements for the merit aid that you go after, and try to fine-tune your profile to give them what they’re looking for. Leadership is huge, as is service, personal integrity, intellectual curiosity, being able to see the world past your own feet, etc., so don’t give up hope with a 33 ACT – most of the big awards are evaluated holistically.

I’m sadly well aware of the difficulties of my financial situation. There’s no way I’ll qualify for need based aid, but there’s also no way I can convince my parents to pay much more than michigan would cost in state, and I can’t blame them with the quality of the school. I’m planning on going to visit Michigan again this summer, and I’m hoping that I’ll enjoy the school more when it’s for me, not when I’m being forced to tag along with my brother. I also know that I’m for sure applying to Purdue as well, since both my parents went there and my brother goes there currently, so that legacy status should help me with scholarships. I’m retaking the ACT tomorrow so I can hopefully get a better score, as that 33 was with no studying whatsoever. I didn’t open a single prep book or do one question before the test, so I know I can do better.

In terms of location, I am 100% fine with going anywhere in the U.S, even if it’s 3,000 miles away. And urban vs rural really doesn’t have an effect on me either way, as most schools have equestrian teams, even a lot of pretty urban ones.

I think you might be overestimating the popularity of equestrian teams. I know nothing at all about this, but a quick google search took me here (https://www.usef.org/_IFrames/colleges/search.aspx) and it looks like there are only about 140 colleges in the country over 2000 students with teams.

I’m not sure where they got that number, as pretty much every school I know of at has at least a club team. I know there are very few NCAA teams, but I also have no desire to ride for a D1 equestrian team:)

Like I said, not at all my area of expertise, and that site is only looking at teams and not clubs, so maybe it is a lot more common that I realized.

As for the bigger picture - don’t get down about your situation. There are certainly some affordable alternatives out there to Michigan - it might take some time to find ones that are good match for your situation and there might not be tons of them, but they are out there.

Look at some Colleges That Change Lives. You might qualify for a very nice merit aid package from some of them. New College of Florida would probably be less expensive than even Michigan, and has some very good, research-oriented science departments. They focus a great deal on independent study and self-designed curricula. They have built their computer science program up a great deal. They even started up a graduate program (their first in any discipline) for Data Sciences. They don’t have the vast resources that Michigan has, but they have a definite nerdy element (combined with hippie and hipster). Clark, Goucher, and American University might all offer you very nice merit packages (although not necessarily enough to bring them down under $35k).