I’m an Asian female with a ~3.72 W/3.3 UW GPA and a 1460 (770 M/690 R) on the SAT. My ECs include All-State Chorus, managing a sports team, and state placement on the National Spanish Exam.
Could you suggest colleges that would be reaches/safeties/matches? I’d like colleges with strong liberal arts programs located in suburban or urban areas where I could get merit scholarships. I would also like colleges with many opportunities to get involved and which provide good career services.
Cost limits, state of residency, intended or possible majors?
If you are looking for nice merit urban campuses Marquette or DePaul have strong merit but would need more info to give you a better answer ie what are you planning on studying, how much can you afford per year, residency for state schools
I can’t afford private tuition or out of state. Possible majors would be classics, neuroscience, or statistics.
I don’t want to do loans. What are some good reaches that could be targeted?
That limits your choices What state are you in? Do you have a dollar amount per year you are comfortable with Freshman loan 5500 max and goes up little each year.
ie USF in FL OOS tuition 18000, Temple in state 20K
Reach school as a rule you may get in but don’t expect as much aid compared to a target or safety school
I’m in the Southeast.
I actually graduated but would like to know what if and which colleges would be good.
As far as reaches, Ivies like Brown, Columbia Harvard and Princeton now offer outright grants, rather than loans, to bridge the gap of what your family cannot afford, although many ask for a minimum family contribution. Brown calls their program, “The Brown Promise.” When we visited Pomona last year, they also shared that they could offer financial assistance with no loans, using a combination of grants and part-time student employment.
None of the Ivies offer merit it is all need base. look at a minimum paying your family EFC check the net price calculators on each school website .
The 3.3 unweighted will be a challenge at t20 schools
If you are looking for no debt look at state flagship or states that have reciprocal tuition matches.
Safeties:
Illinois directionals (WIU, SIU, etc.)
State colleges in North Dakota have cultural diversity partial tuition waivers plus merit (Minot, NDSU, etc.)
Safety = assured admission and assured affordability
For colleges where you have assured affordability, reach/match/likely/safety can be based on admission.
For colleges where you need a merit scholarship to afford them, reach/match/likely/safety must be based on the chance of getting the necessary merit scholarship. Due to lack of information on how competitive they typically are (unless awarded purely by stats that you have), they should be considered reaches.
FL has many programs, including Bright Futures, that bring down costs for tuition. If you are not in FL, then costs would be more
When did you graduate HS? Posters won’t be able to help much until you share your home state and budget.