Need advice because my school can't help [FL resident, FGLI, URM, GPA 3.4uw, SAT 1480]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Stats:

GPA: 3.4 uw (on a scale of 4), 4.2 w ( on a scale of 6)
I would have a perfect GPA if colleges recalculate GPA without considering freshman year. Reason of my failure in freshman year was because of divorce, moving, and covid.

Top 15 percent in terms of weighted GPA

SAT: 1480 (720R, 760M) (Highest out of my graduating class, 628)

Average ECs:
News show: Head editor, 3 years
Film Club: Head editor, 2 years
Quizbowl: cofounder / co president, 1 year
NHS, SGA, school’s volunteering club: Member, 1 year
Part time job: no leadership position, one year
Trader of virtual items, made 40K percent increase in value (equivalent to going from 10 dollars to 5k+) across the span of 2 years (can be considered 4 years if investing for two years counts)and also taught others online how to make profits and invest.
Cooking cheap meals (learnt recipes, calories, and macro nutrients in order to make healthy but cheap meals), 2 years

Hooks:
Hispanic, first gen, low income, was and am considered homeless for nearly half my life, I come from a title one HS( avg sat is 828 and avg gpa is a 2.8 (UW))

Essay:
Talks about my struggle being homeless and loss of one of my parents and then how I overcame said struggles

2 strong LORS (From my math and film teachers, both of which who I have known for 3 years)

Interests: CS, med, law (still haven’t chosen which one)

Dream schools: Columbia, NYU, Fordham, (If you can’t tell now I really want to live in NYC), UF ( I live in Florida). | UCs, Emory, Stanford, Princeton| ( I choose these schools specifically because they don’t take into account freshman grades, correct me if I’m wrong please)

I don’t really know what I’m doing. All my teachers are telling me to apply to ivy leagues schools (They told me if I get in, I get to go for free, is this true?) despite my terrible GPA and avg sat compared to avg applicants. My guidance counselors are always busy and my teachers, while supportive, do not know enough to help me, so I can’t really talk to anyone at my school. I’d appreciate any advice on which colleges I should look into as well as financial aid.

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The UCs and CSUs don’t look at freshman grades or test scores, but they are very expensive for out of state students.

Medicine and law are not majors, they are career paths. CS is one of the most competitive and difficult majors to get into.

Edit to add: Are you a junior or a senior?

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Thank your for your fast response. If it was you who added the tags then thanks again.

I am a senior. As for majors regarding med and law, what would I say my major is if my end goal is to be a doctor or lawyer? I read online that there is no pre law or med law major so I am a bit confused.

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Pre-law does not require any specific undergraduate major or course work.

Pre-med does, although it can be done with any undergraduate major. But fitting the pre-med courses around a CS major could be a tight fit in the college schedule.

Both of the above will require a high college GPA to have a chance of admission to medical school or law school with decent law employment prospects.

CS can be a highly competitive major to get into at many state flagship level colleges.

Go to each college’s financial aid web site and use the net price calculator to estimate likely financial aid if you get admitted to the college. However, note also that the private colleges you mention require financial information from both divorced parents, so be sure to include both of their financials in the use of their net price calculators.

The UCs generally do not give financial aid to non-California residents, so they will be too expensive other than if you get certain super-reach merit scholarships (Regents at UCB or UCLA, maybe also UCD).

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I ask if you are a junior or a senior because it is already October 25. Have you anywhere yet? And do you have a safety school - a school you can afford and would be willing to attend?

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NYU, Fordham, and the UCs are all likely going to be unaffordable. Definitely double check with the net price calculator, but to me these don’t seem like viable options given your financial situation. As a Florida resident, I would definitely give consideration to Florida public colleges, which may end up the most affordable.

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You need 2-3 safeties that you will be happy to attend. Look at USF and schools like that with auto merit.

Also, many large schools have special honours programs for pre law and pre law.

You have really not explored career options so looking at schools that might afford you those opportunities would be high on you list.

Another thing, consider that many urban schools will not guarantee housing after first year. Cost of housing in NYC might make some schools on your list unaffordable.

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I am a senior. I have UCF as my safety, but am looking for another one that is in Florida because of bright futures.

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Congratulations on your achievements.

Are you in a stable home environment now? I ask so we can understand if attending a local community college for the first year or two may be an option for you.

Next, let’s see if we can find any help for you thru some Florida college access orgs. I don’t know any specifically, but these may be promising:

Do a google search for local college access orgs in your zip code/area and see what you can find.

You can use this resource to help you complete your common app: AXS Companion – Open Resource

I do think that the reaches on your list may not happen. I’m not saying don’t try, but eliminate the UCs because they won’t give you any financial aid. I would still apply to Emory. I would probably drop the rest, or leave them until last in terms of completing the apps. NYC is likely going to be too expensive for you.

You might look at Lehigh, Berea, Franklin & Marshall, Reed, U Miami, and Oberlin, all will meet your need, and even though they take first year grades into account, they are less reachy than other meet full need schools (tho I am uncertain you would be able to travel to some of these schools).
When you explain your freshman year grades, just give the facts, don’t blame teachers or parents. Just lay out what happened, that you learned from it, and did well in 10th and 11th. I would also look at Eckerd, I think you can use Bright Futures there, which may make it affordable.

Don’t worry about career choice and major right now. Let’s focus on getting your application together and building the college list.

Thoughts @MYOS1634?

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Pick something you love. Happy students who love what they are studying do better than unhappy ones. You can major in anything. Just make sure you take the required courses for medical school admissions if that ends up being your track (your college will have a health careers advisor who should be able to guide you).

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I understand you want to live in NYC…but it will be there forever. You don’t have to attend college in one of the most expensive cities in the country. NYC will be there for grad school or a job in the future.

You need to think the long plan, not the short one.

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Another thing to consider is the cost of transportation. While, you might be fortunate to receive a full ride, how are you going to pay to get from FL to and from NY or CA?

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They can be busy for you too. Haunt them for the help. Sit outside their door. You deserve it.

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Regarding weighted GPA, it looks Florida public universities use a method described at:

I.e. +1 for AP, IB, AICE, college, and +0.5 for honors (including pre-AP, pre-IB, pre-AICE). Recalculating based on that may help you give a better assessment of your chances at Florida public universities based on their stated weighted GPA ranges.

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If you happen to be a National Recognition Hispanic Scholar, Fordham gives some full-tuition scholarships for that (but not guaranteed.)

Your in-state publics in Florida are excellent, so you have great back ups!

Another option is to do 1-2 years of community college, get great grades, do tons of clubs and leadership positions, and then apply as a transfer to elite private schools. I predict elite privates will be increasing their transfers from community colleges. This way they can increase diversity indirectly.

collegeboard.org/help-center/what-are-national-recognition-programs#:~:text=Students%20who%20take%20eligible%20administrations,rural%20area%20or%

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I think you should apply to an ivy. If your family income is below a certain threshold, you will get good financial aid.

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Good luck to you.

It’s smaller but take a look at FAU Wilkes Honors College.

You might apply to some meets needs schools - you’d have a better chance than Ivy but you do have 20 common app spots. If you apply to Columbia and don’t get in - it’s ok. Neither did most anyone.

But schools like Franklin and Marshall, Lafayette, Lehigh, Denison, Berea, Miami (near you) and more guarantee to meet need. They are need aware so if you need full coverage that might work against you but odds of admittance are likely better than your dreams. Of course they’re not in NYC. Rice and Washington and Lee may be two more.

While you may have geographic preference more important is affordability.

Good luck.

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Thanks for the advice and resources. My living situation is stable now. I feel like ED is the best chance I have of getting into good schools because of the acceptance boost. I was originally thinking of using it on Columbia, but I’m starting to realize that it would probably be a waste to use an opportunity like ED. So now I’m thinking of using it on Emory because it’s probably the best chance I have of getting into a good school.

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Emory could be a reasonable choice for ED, but still a reach of course. Is your application ready to go?

I also want to say that many of the schools mentioned on this thread are ‘good’ schools. Don’t be overly concerned about prestige or rankings. You can achieve your goals from any school.

I encourage you to think about at which schools you would be able to get a high GPA…because that’s what you need for med school or law school. I’m not saying it’s necessarily easier to get a higher GPA at Eckerd or UCF or U Miami than Emory, but it’s something for you to consider as a possible outcome. Please also take a look at the other schools that I and other posters have suggested.

Can/will your family contribute any $ to your college costs?

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My parents have saved around 3k, plus around 3k I’ll have saved up from my part time job by the end of my senior year. I’ll definitely take a look at the other colleges you guys mentioned, again, thanks for the advice and resources.

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