Other colleges to apply to?

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve come to the realization that my dream schools (Northwestern University and University of Notre Dame) most likely won’t happen, and that my backup school (UW Madison) isn’t really somewhere I want to go. What are some other options that I would more likely get into, and would like more than UW Madison?

I’m interested in music education, but I think I’d like to start off as undecided since I’m open to a lot of things. I’d like a mid-sized school most, with a marching band and preferably somewhere near a city. I’ve also been accepted to University of Kentucky and University of Mississippi. Also, I’m a senior, so it would need to be somewhere that still had open admissions.

White female
Home state Wisconsin (I’m fine with out of state)
Possible minor in German
Income is roughly $100,000/year
Estimated EFC $20,000
I would need financial aid (not really sure how much, but $20,000 isn’t realistic for my family)

UW GPA: 3.841
W GPA: 4.032
Class Rank: 17/335
These will probably go down some, there were some personal issues this semester and my grades dropped

Test Scores
ACT composite: 31 (35 English, 28 Math, 29 Reading, 30 Science, 8 Writing)
SAT: not reporting

AP Classes
AP Human Geography (4)
AP US History (3)
AP English Language and Composition (4)
AP European History (3)
5 honors courses (the max at my school)

Senior Schedule
AP Psychology
AP Calculus AB
AP Biology
AP English Literature
Human Anatomy and Physiology
German 5
Wind Ensemble

Extracurriculars
Tennis (9, 10, 11, 12)
Track & Field (10, 11)
Color Guard with Marching Band(9, 10, 11-Co-Captain, 12-Captain)
Pit Orchestra (9, 11, 12)
Jazz Band (9, 10, 11, 12)
Pep Band (9, 10, 11, 12)
German National Honor Society (10, 11-Treasurer, 12-Treasurer))
National Honor Society (11, 12)
Class Board (10, 11, 12-Class President)
Baton Twirling (9, 10, 11, 12-Assistant Captain for my group)
Assistant Baton Teacher Parks & Rec.(9, 10, 11, 12)

Awards/Other
Women in Engineering Camp at UW Madison Summer 2014
Several state awards for German speaking/writing
Attended UW-Madison German Day in 9, 10, 11
State baton team member 2013
Placed in the top 10 in my division for baton twirling at nationals twice
I’ve won a few local titles for baton twirling (should I list these?)
First place rating at state solo & ensemble clarinet solo (you have to qualify for state at a local contest)

2

You don’t say what you don’t like about UW or what you do like in a college, so it is hard to make any suggestions. I also don’t know about marching bands. I note that you have a couple oos schools that aren’t quite as highly regarded as UW and oos doesn’t usually give many awards to oos. Ole Miss does and has an online chart for some automatic awards. Do you like Univ of Minn I think you get instate rates there. Oh, are you applying this year? Well you will have to look for rolling admissions that will still like to take you as you have a good profile, and late date schools. Also toward Apr or May NACAC will publish a list of colleges still taking applications because they didn’t hit their targets. Start googling now for lists of colleges still accepting apps.

If money is an issue, you can get some automatic aid at the limited schools that give it. Give them some due consideration as you might get free tuition at the ones that still accept applications. Here are some links from the top of the financial aid forum.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html#latest

3

I just think it’s too big for me, and another part is that probably 1/3 of the kids in my graduating class will go there. I didn’t really like Minnesota when I toured, as well. I’ve already gotten a couple scholarships from Ole Miss and UK, and I’m still waiting on competitive scholarships from Kentucky.

4

If you’ve already been accepted to Ole Miss and Kentucky, why not choose from those? Are they affordable? Did you like them both? Sounds like you’re looking for a school similar in prestige to Notre Dame and Northwestern that you could get into, but I’m afraid that we may not find a school for you with a deadline still open. How do you feel about Marquette? That’s a great school in your home state of Wisconsin whose deadline is February 15. DePaul University (February 1st)? Miami University (February 1st)? University of Cincinnati (March 1st)? Baldwin Wallace (rolling)?

I have no idea if these recommendations fit you personally, but they’re schools whose deadlines haven’t passed, and that’s really what I was focusing on here.

5

Ohio University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Case Western Reserve U, Texas Christian U. Check their deadlines. OWU has (had?) a good reputation for financial assistance. All have a music department/major.

6

@minohi Ole Miss and Kentucky were schools I applied to because my mom said I should, and while they were nice, I can’t really see myself at either of those. Marquette doesn’t have a marching band, which is something I really want to participate in in college. Also, it’s fairly close to home so if have to live at home (I want to get away from my classmates). Prestige isn’t important to me as long as I can get a quality education.