Clarification on the financial aid- My parents can only afford about $12k a year. Also, I’m not an international student, I would be applying as a domestic student because of my US Citizenship (despite living outside of the US).
@citymama9 wow, thank you so much!
@tk21769 I ran the NPC for Macalester and it was definitely affordable. I’ve never actually been to Florida, but I’ll check out New College of Florida, thank you for your help!
@“Erin’s Dad” Ok, I’ll move Reed up to reaches… I probably have too many reaches now, right? or is this a good number considering I might have a chance?
Tried the NPC for Lewis and Clark and it cost wayyy too much. I love Portland, but it’ll have to go off the list!
Wow, I looked up Carleton and I really love it! Definitely looks like it has the nerdy vibe I’m looking for. I also love Minnesota! Thanks so much for that suggestion. I’ll think about adding it to my list. Thank you!
@porcupine98 Why wouldn’t Macalester be a safety? My dad found a website that says with my ACT score I have a 77% chance of getting in…but these stats are probably BS-y http://www.collegesimply.com/guides/35-on-the-act/
I visited a bunch of the ivies this summer and I liked Brown, Penn, and Yale the most. However, the more I read about Penn it seems to be more of a pre-professional type school, which I don’t really enjoy… thinking about taking it off the list. I just really loved Philly though! Princeton is on there because it has an incredible Philosophy department, and Harvard is there because it’s Harvard, even though I didn’t get great vibes during my visit. Maybe I should take it off the list as well.
Oberlin and Wesleyan are both great schools. Would they be matches for me? Do they have good financial aid?
Thank you!
@ClassicRockerDad Thank you! It’s hard, because of my financial aid situation even for my safeties I need schools that will be able to give me lots of aid, which tend to be smaller private schools. I could get merit aid at a less selective school, but how would I prevent those we-recognize-that-we’re-your-safety rejections?
Is your suggestion to apply early to a safety (Is Tulane a safety??), ensure good aid, and then add more matches for regular decision and hope for the best?
Bryn Mawr is a great school. I’ll think about adding it to my list. thank you so much for all this info!
@Midwestmomofboys I looked at the CTCL schools, and I liked St. Olaf and Lawrence University. Would these be good safety schools for me? This might be a stupid question, but what do you mean by “show interest”? Apply early? Call the admissions office? I ran the NPC, and I will be able to afford the schools on my list.
Everyone, thank you so much for your advice! I definitely have a lot more colleges to think about now, which will hopefully create a more realistic list.