<p>Ok. So here's my situation. I'm from Connecticut, and I want to major in political science. I am in love with the University of Miami. I visited the campus, I've been a fan of their athletics for years, I think it's an amazing school...but I'm unsure if I will get in. Also, I don't think i'll have enough money to be able to go there. My family's EFC is 37,000, and my parents don't want me to go anywhere that would cost over 25,000 a year with tuition and room and board (except maybe in a special case if I get into somewhere special). They're also very overprotective, so they seem to be apprehensive about me going out of state; so I probably can't just go somewhere in Florida (Florida Atlantic University, for instance) where I could almost definitely get in and would not cost a lot unless I can somehow convince my parents that the program is good. I want to go somewhere in Florida badly, especially south Florida so that can be near Miami (I love that area, and I'm also a huge Miami Dolphins fan. I want to get away from the cold weather too and go somewhere where palm trees grow). My parents think I should go to University of Connecticut because of in-state tuition. It wouldn't be that bad...but it's in "cow country" in Storrs, and it I'd still be in the cold and boring state of Connecticut.
I have decent extracurriculars; I had a job, I founded a club, intramural sports, volunteered to coach my sister's softball team, etc.
My GPA is about 3.3 unweighted and 3.45 weighted. I've only taken one AP class and one honors class. I am going to take both AP Economics and AP Statistics next year. I am a year ahead of most people in my school in math though, most people take Algebra II their Junior year at my suburban public high school, but I'm taking Pre-Calculus. My class rank is in the third decile; so I'm somewhere from 20% to 30%.
My SAT stats are 700 on Math, 630 on Critical Reading, and 590 on Writing after one time. (1330/1600 and 1920/2400). I'm taking it again this Saturday, and I'm hoping to get my score up to 1360/1600 with the whole score choice thing.
Someone please help me...what should I do?</p>
<p>there are tons of schools similar to Miami that have warm weather, great sports teams, excellent academics, cheap/affordable. Are you sure that your parents won’t let you out of state? and are you sure you only want to go to Florida?</p>
<p>If your parents want you to stay close to home in the northeast, why not suggest a school like Pittsburgh which is in a great city and has great athletics? If your parents don’t mind you going anywhere, then take a look at schools like Clemson, Texas A&M, NC State, Virginia Tech etc…</p>
<p>I would go somewhere besides Florida, but Florida is by far my favorite state. I want to live there when I grow up; I just feel so at home and…sorry if this sounds corny…alive down there. I could probably convince my parents to let me go somewhere on the east coast if it is a good program; it depends on the school. It would take a lot of convincing, but I think I could pull it off if it is a good program.</p>
<p>I would definitely try to meet some sort of agreement with your parents, because you don’t want a potential rejection from UMiami to mean that you’re stuck in the northeast (if that’s not where you want to be). You probably don’t have a bad shot of getting in, but I would try to find some similar schools that are safer.</p>
<p>Sirensong: It’s not just about getting in. I would have to get a nice aid package. If it’s going to cost above 30,000 with tuition and room and board, it would be completely out of the question. I think I would have a chance at convincing them if I got it down into the 20,000’s for Miami because they know I love it so much. For other schools, it would probably still have to be less than 25,000.</p>
<p>I think that a great compromise is Pittsburgh, it’s a great school academically, better reputation than UConn and a great reputation around the world. The football program is slowly getting better and everyone knows about the basketball program. Also, the city of Pittsburgh is amazing. The students also show a lot of pride towards their school!</p>
<p>It’s also a lot cheaper than Miami :)</p>
<p>With your efc and stats (gpa), I would guess that an attractive aid package might be a stretch at Miami? The website for U of Miami lists the qualifications for automatic scholarships so you should pay it a visit to see where you stand.</p>
<p>I’m from South Florida and I’m familiar with the schools. FAU is not a good school and is more like a commuter school. Flager College may be a very good fit for you. It’s in St. Augustine, Florida and is a private school and only 20k a year with tuition and room and board, etc. It’s very beautiful and the campus is too. It’s about 5 hours from Miami though. Your GPA is about the average. Good Luck!</p>
<p>@Denquist: EFC is around 37,000. GPA is 3.3 unweighted, 3.45 weighted, but I’m taking some two AP classes next year. My SAT is 1330/1600 and 1920/2400 after taking it once so far (plan on taking it at least one more time, maybe two). </p>
<p>@early_college: I liked Flagler when I first looked into it, but it seems a little too strict for me. I’m not a hippy by any means, I’m never really partied much, I don’t do any drugs, and I’ve never been drunk. So it’s not like I’m a party animal. But, there’s no alcohol allowed on campus at all from what I’ve heard, and I’ve also heard that you can’t even invite friends into your dorm…it seems kind of weird to me.</p>
<p>Flagler is more preppy and is mostly girls and use to be a girl school. The rules are kind of strict, but not like some religious schools like Liberty. You can invite friends in the dorms, but I think your not aloud to have the opposite sex in your room. You can always go party of campus and there wouldn’t be much places in Flagler to party anyways. You may also like Rollins College or The New College of Florida.</p>
<p>Rollins: I don’t think I could pay for it.</p>
<p>New College of Florida: It seems too liberal to me. I’m conservative…not religiously, more like economically and foreign policy wise, even though I am pro-life. I’m not against going to a liberal school, but I think I would get ripped apart there because of my political views. </p>
<p>Flagler: How is the campus and how are the academics there?</p>
<p>Also I just found this on the Flagler website: “College policy does not permit inter-dorm visitation.”</p>
<p>That seems a bit too strict.</p>
<p>Are you willing to take some loans and work? If you borrow the average amount US stdents borrow, about $25K total, work 2 jobs summers and a few hours during the school year, you can add at least $10K/yr to your parents’ $25K giving you enough for many schools.</p>
<p>Often showing parents how hard you’re willing to work to contribute gains their support.</p>
<p>the 25,000 a year for college is (sort of) with loans. My dad has about 50,000 saved up for me for college. my dad refuses to cosign on a bunch of loans basically. he says i need to go somewhere where i wouldn’t be in a lot of debt.</p>
<p>i will take out loans though (of course), and I will work.</p>
<p>anyone have any ideas?</p>
<p>jh - Your SATs are OK, and your GPA could be favorably interpreted “depending on …” But your class rank is an albatross with regard to financial aid. Unless you’re at Hopkins or Loomis or Kingswood (in which case your GC should be helping you with this issue), it’s going to be difficult to convince a FA committee to risk big $$$. </p>
<p>If the Miami area is your dream, why not do your first year or two at Dade CC?</p>
<p>i don’t think my parents would let me go down there just to go to a community college. But what if I want somewhere in Connecticut (Southern Connecticut State University, for example) for 1 or 2 years? What would be my chances of transferring into Miami with some aid if I do well there?</p>
<p>It’s up to you, if you think Flagler is too strict that’s your choice. But you may get use to it.</p>
<p>I will agree that you shouldn’t waste your time looking at FAU or FIU, the two SoFla state schools. As a girl from South Florida, I can tell you they both have questionable reputations.</p>
<p>Nova Southeastern, which is in Davie, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, is seen as being up and coming and I hear they offer good merit aid for qualified students (of which you would probably be one), but you’d have to look more into the school to decide if it’s for you. They are regarded as fairly good, though.</p>
<p>I also here Stetson has good merit aid, if you’re willing to go farther North. Once again, you’d have to check it out. They’re seen as being pretty good, though, and they have a GORGEOUS campus.</p>