<p>Hi, I am new here and not sure if this is the right place to ask. I am a junior in a small school in Idaho and out state schools are not really stellar. GPA 4.0 W, 3.8 UW, took some AP classes, but did not take any exams yet - will do in May. Last summer ACT 31, will retake next summer and I think I can do it better, maybe 33-34. No EC other than swimming (for 10 years now) and HNS. I do have though some summer research experience (for 2 summers and will do a third one) at a local university. The professor is cool and will write me a good letter. I am not sure yet what I would like to do in college - I like science, especially biology and computer science. I took AP bio, AP physics, Honor Chemistry (our school does not offer AP Chem).
Now, I do not want to get into our state schools. I would like to apply to large schools like Purdue, Northwestern, UMich, etc... (my father lives in Michigan and I looked at schools closer to him, but I do not mind moving elsewhere...) Am I overestimating myself? Should I lower the plank?
Please help - I really need advice on where to apply!
Thanks</p>
<p>Before you start looking for colleges, you need to have a talk with each of your parents about how they expect you to pay for your education. How much is each of them ready, willing, and able to shell out each year? Will they pay for more than four years if you don’t finish in four? How to they feel about you taking on any college debt? If they clearly aren’t on the same page about this, can you help them get there, or will you have to head off to college with financial support from only one of them?</p>
<p>Since you are living with one parent, that parent (and that parent’s spouse if there is one) is the one whose income you will need to use for the FAFSA. If you apply to a school that uses its own financial aid forms or the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA, your other parent (and spouse if there is one) might need to file some paperwork as well. Help your parents (and spouses) get educated about this issue because it can cause significant problems if not everyone is on board. Start here [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org)</p>
<p>Your parents are in two different states. Read the policies about residency for in-state tuition and fees at the public colleges/universities in both states. You may be able to be considered a resident by both. If you aren’t now, and you want to be in MI, you may need to move to live with that parent for a certain period of time.</p>
<p>Thanks for reply! My parents are not divorced, they just live separately. My mom is making about 65k and dad about 40k, so I assume I am not getting any finaid. They are very supportive and agreed to pay as much as they can.</p>
<p>My question was not about money, but getting into college. Maybe I have it the wrong way and I need to start with finances, but I thought I need to come up with a list of colleges I can get into first and then look at my payment options. Am I wrong?</p>
<p>If you can qualify as a resident of Michigan, based on your father, then Michigan schools may be a good option. If you are looking to attend a large school (which, I personally am not a fan of when student’s don’t know what they want to study since smaller schools allow you to get exposed to more subjects in a deeper manner) I would look at attending AAU schools. The AAU is a group of the best research schools in the country.</p>
<p>OOS public schools have varying list prices. Most do not give much financial aid to OOS students (exceptions: Virginia, UNC-CH). For example (per year):</p>
<p>South Dakota State: $16,000
South Dakota Mines, Truman State: $21,000
Minnesota - Morris: $23,000
New Mexico Mines: $28,000
Minnesota - Twin Cities: $30,000
Virginia Tech, NCSU, SUNY schools, California State Universities: $30,000 to $35,000
many other OOS publics: $40,000 to $50,000
Universities of California: $50,000 to $55,000</p>
<p>You can check the net price calculators at each school’s web site and compare the results with what you and your parents can pay.</p>
<p>However, some have large automatic-for-stats merit scholarships, such as that various University of Alabama schools (Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, and Birmingham), LSU, Louisiana Tech, Prairie View A&M, etc… Others have competitive large merit scholarships like NCSU (Park) and Georgia Tech (President’s).</p>
<p>First of all – even with your parent’s income, don’t assume you won’t qualify for financial aid. You should go to one of the financial aid calculators and estimate your family’s EFC.</p>
<p>IF money is a major issue, with your grades, you should be able to find any number of schools that will provide you with significant merit aid (on top of any need-based aid you receive).</p>
<p>Putting money aside – IF you have a 3.8/33 or 34 ACT – there is not a University in the US that I would eliminate for your ‘reach’ schools. Those numbers are good enough to apply to Harvard, Yale, etc., if you recognize that their admissions rates are miniscule and that a statistical match at those schools is less likely to be admitted than a reach at many other schools. I would be surprised if you don’t get into Purdue (I think they also offer merit aid), Good shots at Michigan and NU also.</p>
<p>Safety – There are a lot of approaches to this. The one I like personally, is find a school that appeals to you and has sent you literature (merit money wouldn’t hurt either). They’ve shown an interest in you. Also, may make the “Why I want to go to XXXX” essay easier – (you looked into them after they wrote to you and liked what you saw).</p>
<p>Yes, if you keep those grades up and improve that ACT it will help you score merit aid at some really good schools ( and also get into other really good schools that you may not be able to afford without a lot of debt). Here are two tables showing stats for merit aid (%students receiving it, average amount of award).
Good place to start hunting 
[Best</a> Values in Private Colleges, 2012-13<a href=“table%20for%20universities”>/url</a>
[url=<a href=“Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts]Best</a> Values in Private Colleges, 2012-13](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges/]Best”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts)=ALL&id=none (table for LACs)</p>
<p>Your parents can run an EFC calculator to see if they qualify for FA, they may qualify for a little?</p>
<p>Also, not a ton of Idaho students apply to schools far away, so it may actually give you a little admissions boost at those schools that like to say “we have students from all 50 states and 18 foreign countries in our freshman class!!!”. Seriously!
If you like sciences and computer science consider including some science/engineering schools on your list, some of these are good with merit aid (Case Western, RPI, WPI are examples).</p>
<p>So, as you can see from the replies already here, it is not totally simple to figure out where to apply. Thankfully, you started asking questions as a junior so you have time to figure it all out.</p>
<p>Another thing, borrow or buy (even used is OK if not too old) a good college guidebook. I like the Fiske Guide the best, but others swear by Princeton Review or others. I like the ones that attempt to **describe **the schools and its students rather than just giving you raw data. Your public library should have some older copies available for borrowing.</p>
<p>Each college & university has a Net Price Calculator on its website. Pick a couple, and run them using your parents’ financial information. That will give you an idea about whether or not you will qualify for much aid. You do need to know what your parents can pay, because many places might expect them to pat more than they really are able/willing to. You need to know what your budget is like so you can keep from becoming too attached to any places that might not work out financially. </p>
<p>So yes, you need to start with the money issue. Many students don’t and they can end up without anywhere affordable come April 1.</p>
<p>Being from Idaho is a sort of a hook in that schools are trying to show that they represent a large number of states in their freshman classes so that in itself gives you a better shot at some reach schools.</p>
<p>Northwestern is a reach based on your ACT score, but worth a try. In at Purdue & Michigan. Full tuition scholarship at the Univ. of Alabama Honors College. Alabama has a computer based honor’s program that may be of interest to you.</p>
<p>OP: Your GPA & ACT score will get you substantial scholarships at a variety of schools. If affordable, try to apply to at least a dozen schools.</p>
<p>The further elaborate on Alabama and other scholarships: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>With the OPs stats, I don’t think he or she has to look so low as Alabama. That would be an ultimate safety.</p>