need to figure out what schools to apply to..help?

<p>OK, so I am not your typical CCer with straight A's, tons of APs, and all that stuff. I'm just kind of...average. I'm currently a senior, it's the end of November, and I'm seriously stressing out because I don't know what kinds of schools would be matches/reaches/safeties for me, which ones I would like, ect. Here's my stats....as I said above, they're not very impressive compared to 99% of the people on this website, but I figured I'd try to see if anyone can help me out anyway. :]</p>

<p>-GPA: School doesn't do the 4.0 scale, but it's 89/100 which i think translates to a 3.3ish. my transcript is pretty much all B's, with some A's here and there, a couple of C's from freshman year, and one C junior year in chemistry. I'm ranked something like 48/120ish, I think.
-SAT: 620 CR, 620 Writing, 420 Math[retaking in a couple of weeks, hoping to bring up my math score -at least a little bit. I suck at math.]
-Not much for ECs except for Civil Rights team and writing for the school newspaper, but that was only during my junior year.
-No honors/ap classes first three years. Currently taking AP English Lit, AP Euro, Honors Psychology, Creative Writing, and Advanced Algebra. Dropped my only science class[environmental studies--wasn't failing, just felt like i was taking on too many classes], but taking forensic science next semester. Took 3 years of Spanish.</p>

<p>I live in Maine. I'd like to remain in the Northeast and not go any further south than Pennsylvania, but that doesn't matter a whole lot. I may end up going further south than that after all. I definitely want to stay in the Eastern part of the country though. I don't want to be in a big city, but I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere--I'd like to be able to be a decent distance from towns where there's actually stuff to do. I'm looking for a fairly small school--ideally couple thousand students, but I'm open-minded for more than that. I'm not sure what I want to do, but lately I've been thinking about majoring in English. Oh, and price isn't a HUGE factor because I can try for financial aid and stuff, but relatively inexpensive would be nice. :]</p>

<p>First, you don’t try for financial aid. You either are eligible or not based on your parent’s income and assets. Do you know you EFC and what your parents can afford? Since you are a Senior you need to get working on that now. Go to the financial aid forum and read some of the threads there. There are online calculators to find out your EFC.</p>

<p>The least expensive schools will generally be your in-state publics. The SUNYs in NY are generally not to expensive for OOS students.</p>

<p>Right, financial aid…sorry, yeah. I know nothing about that process[neither of my parents went to college & I’ve spent too much time trying to figure out where to apply instead of worrying about that]. I have no idea how much my parents make a year, but we’re definitely not loaded so yeah…my main concern at the current moment is trying to figure out where I can get in. So for now, I just need help with that.</p>

<p>There’s also a cooperative agreement among the New England states that you should check out. If public schools in Maine don’t offer what you’re looking for, you might be able to get a good deal at another public school in the region.</p>

<p>[New</a> England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) - Home](<a href=“http://www.nebhe.org/]New”>http://www.nebhe.org/)</p>

<p>You might want to look into Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. </p>

<p>There is the possibility of merit aid at private colleges. The key to that (this is a generalization) is for you to be a strong applicant among that college’s pool of applicants.</p>

<p>My son’s scores were: CR 590, Math 570, Writing 510. His GPA was about a 3.3 or a 3.4 (at a small private school). He took one AP class in high school. He was offered merit aid by 5 out of the 6 schools to which he applied (he was accepted at all 6). He is a freshman at Goucher College, and is very happy there.</p>

<p>Your best chance is University of Maine. Since you are instate for University of Maine, you are likely getting best financial aids. </p>

<p>You certainly need to improve your math score. If you can improve that score to around 1800, you have a lot more options. Due to economic, many private schools are need aware school. Unless you are top 25% of class, you will be shortchanged at financial aids.</p>

<p>Best luck to fellow New Englander.</p>

<p>Have you spoken to your guidance copunselor? Time is short. The advice above is very good. Other PA options include Pitt; Elizabethtown; Albright; Lycoming; in MA Endicott; in CT, Salve Regina</p>

<p>Giving you rinfo to their websites may generate application fee waivers.</p>