<p>I live in New Jersey and up until now I've been looking into in state schools, but I want to at least give some out of state schools a chance. As of right now I have a 1670 sat score (520 reading, 570 math, 580 writing). When it comes to school I take honors classes and next year I'll be taking a few AP classes. I get all A's but I'm not exactly sure how to calculate my GPA on a 4.0 scale. (Can anyone help me out on that? Freshman year I got a 92.7143 not weighted, sophomore year a 95.4286 not weighted/97.7143 weighted, and junior year a 96.5714 not weighted/104.5714 weighted). I'm looking for reasonably priced schools since my family doesn't make a lot of money and I don't want to be in bone crushing debt when I leave college.</p>
<p>Can you please tell us more about what you want to study, region, and the type fo campus you are interested in.</p>
<p>I’m interested in political science and history and I’d enjoy either a city or rural setting. I want to get the “college experience” but having a huge campus isn’t that important, I’m not the most social person.</p>
<p>
Really? All As is a 4.0 on a 4.0 scale…
Very wise. How much is reasonable for your family?</p>
<p>I couldn’t offer you any colleges because were in the same boat. I got a 1700 on my SaT. It also depends on if you want scholarships.</p>
<p>You should get into Rutgers and Penn State.</p>
<p>Let me rephrase that, I got all A’s this year, but two B’s freshman year and one sophmore year. I think I can figure out my unweighted gpa, but I don’t know how to convert a weighted grade over 100 into the 4.0 scale.</p>
<p>I’m looking for reasonably priced schools since my family doesn’t make a lot of money and I don’t want to be in bone crushing debt when I leave college.</p>
<p>Well, YOU can only borrow $5,500 for freshman year, so the amount that your parents will pay will likely determine where you can afford to go to college.</p>
<p>IF they can pay $10,000 per year, then with your $5,550, that’s about $15k per year. That won’t pay for OOS schools. </p>
<p>Your test scores aren’t high enough for the schools that give generous need-based aid, and they aren’t high enough for merit-based aid. You have a 1090 M+CR SAT.</p>
<p>Ask your parents how much they’ll pay each year. If they can’t pay much, then likely your instate schools may be all you can afford. You may only be able to afford a school that you can commute to.</p>
<p>[How</a> to Convert Your GPA to a 4.0 Scale](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How to Convert (Calculate) Your GPA to a 4.0 Scale – BigFuture)</p>
<p>Right now, the exact GPA isn’t what really matters. Your GPA will be fine. Your much bigger issues will be paying for college. </p>
<p>you can’t borrow much, and you’ve indicated that your parents can’t pay much. </p>
<p>Your budget will largely determine where you can afford to go to college.</p>
<p>If you’re low income, then likely your instate public will be your most affordable school because you’d qualify for state and fed aid. Be sure to also apply to a public that you can commute to as well.</p>
<p>When you say commute do you mean not stay on campus or a place I can get home to easy? I’d like to at least stay on campus and enjoy the college experience.</p>
<p>“Reasonably priced” means different things to different people. With your parents, try the net price calculators on the various schools to see if they meet your definition of “reasonably priced”.</p>
<p>One strategy might be to try a REALLY out of state school. Think Rocky Mountain region, the South, or something far away, where they don’t have many NJ kids, if any at all. These schools (esp rural far-away schools) tend to have lower tuition, and may be willing to give you money since they don’t have many northeastern kids.</p>
<p>You might laugh at the idea of some schools, but some of them sound pretty good if you take the time to check them out. Some schools might offer you enough money to offset the cost of airfare back and forth. Public schools won’t give as much, but there are some private ones you might want to check out as well. I might recommend:</p>
<p>Private:
Flagler College (Florida) ($16,000/y)</p>
<p>Public:
University of South Dakota ($10,000/y) (and they have a great honors program)
University of Idaho ($19,000/y, but they meet a lot of need)
University of Wyoming: ($14,000/y)</p>
<p>These are just a few. You might want to check out the CUNY’s and SUNY’s, or another state’s “chain” with good, lower rates.</p>