I’m a rising senior from Pennsylvania, and am looking to major in Computer Science. I am considering a minor in Economics or Political Science as well.
My GPA is 4.0 unweighted, and I’m currently first in my class; I’ve been taking exclusively Honors and AP classes in the core subjects since my freshman year. I’ve taken seven AP tests, and have gotten 5s on two of them - I’m currently waiting on results from four others. I took the SAT in May and got a 1480 (760 math, 720 reading), and have two SAT subject tests scheduled for August.
As for extracurriculars, I have been the vice president of my school’s TSA chapter for the past two years, though I haven’t done well enough in the state competitions to go to nationals yet. I’ve also been a member of NHS since the end of my sophomore year, and I was a member of Junior Civitan (a volunteer organization that focuses on helping the mentally disabled) in my freshman and sophomore years. Additionally, I have had a paid internship with my school district’s IT department for the past two summers.
Affordability is probably the single biggest factor for me personally, because my parents won’t be able to contribute much despite making too much to qualify for any low-income financial aid.
Look for merit scholarship like Presidential at University of Alabama or Alabama Huntsville Charger
https://scholarships.ua.edu/freshman/out-of-state/
https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/freshmen
You will need to chase merit but the good news is that your stats will make you eligible.
Do you know what your parents will be able to contribute?
Run the NPC for schools like Pitt, CWRC, RIT, Cincinnati. Also consider Iowa, U South Carolina, Arizona in addition to Alabama.
Nail down how much financial aid is even possible at a variety of schools by getting your parents financial info and running it through the FFSA EFC estimators and some NPCs. Get a good hard number that they can commit to paying. That way you know exactly how much money you have.
It’s a waste of time to apply to schools where you do not qualify for financial aid and have zero merit money. You can’t afford them. How much money you will need directly affects where you should apply.