Overwhelmed (and Underwhelmed) by the College Process

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone. I'm a little bit lost. I'm now a third of the way though my senior year and, while all of my friends are talking endlessly about their dream schools, I don't have a clue. I'm a good student and genuinely enjoy school, but I just can't seem to bring myself to care about college.</p>

<p>Don't get me wrong, I want to go to college -- I'm excited to go to college -- but I just don't have any idea where I want to go! My mom ( a single parent) works 12-hour shifts four days a week, so we haven't had any time to visit colleges. Because of this, I just don't... have a clue about what I want and what I'm looking for. Big school, small school, liberal arts... I dunno. I'm not a party animal type of guy, although I get along with almost anyone, and have no interest whatsoever in frats or drinking (my father was an abusive alcoholic.) I also have no idea where I fall in the grand scheme of things -- if I should even BOTHER applying to an ivy. </p>

<p>I want to major in the sciences, although languages are a great passion of mine, and I hope to go into veterinary medicine or teach. As of now, my top choice is University of Maryland (hopefully honors), and I'm also applying to Georgetown, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, and Middlebury. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you a thing about any one of these schools, they're just names that popped up when I had to begin assembling my teacher rec folders.</p>

<p>I'm probably starting to ramble. My question is: what should I do? Does anyone have any advice? My mom wants me to be a commuter student and live at home forever, so she hasn't even considered any school but UMD. On top of that, my college counselor quit halfway through last year. I am clearly lacking in any form of guidance college-search-wise...</p>

<p>A Little Bit About Me:</p>

<p>I go to a fairly competitive private Episcopal school in Potomac, Maryland.
Gender/Ethnicity -- Male/White</p>

<p>GPA as of Junior Year -- 3.9 Unweighted, 4.1 Weighted. Slight dip in my grades freshman year, when my father passed away from cancer.</p>

<p>Ranking -- No rankings at our school, but I'm in the top 5%, or number 1-3/70, I believe.</p>

<p>Junior year grades -- AP English Lit. (A), AP US History (A), Physics (A), Precalculus (A), and Spanish III (A)</p>

<p>Senior year schedule (Interim Grades) -- AP Biology (A+), AP Spanish Language (A), AP Calculus AB (A+), AP English Language (A), and Physics II --our school's version of AP Physics -- (A)</p>

<p>APs taken -- AP US History (5) and AP English Lit (5). Our school only offers 2 APs before Senior year (US and Lit, obviously) and the ones that I'm taking in senior year.</p>

<p>SAT -- 2090: 760 Reading, 650 Math, 680 Writing. Took it cold, and retook it last week (I'm expecting that math and writing will be bumped up to at least a 700).</p>

<p>SAT IIs -- 720 Mathematics Level 2, 690 Spanish, 770 U.S. History. The Spanish test is a bit embarrassing as I'm near fluent -- I stopped at the second-to-last page thinking that I was done, so I left an entire page blank!</p>

<p>ECs:
-- Martial arts all through middle school and high school.
-- Martial arts instructor since Junior year
-- Executive tutor (paid) with P2P Tutors, around 4 hours per week
-- Tutor at the National Center for Children and Families, mostly helping children from abused and broken homes who dropped out of high school to get their GEDs, 1-2 times per week
--Tutor at the National Center for Children and Families' Greentree Shelter (tutoring math, reading, science, etc to high schoolers living at the shelter) 1-2 times per week.
-- Volunteering every Sunday with an ASPCA vet, for a total of well over 100 hours
-- Not sure how good this will look, but I ran track in Freshman year, participated in my school's musical Sophomore year, and played the violin in our Symphonic Rock Orchestra Junior year
--Peer Leader (I work with incoming freshmen and help them adjust to high school life -- a leadership role at our school)</p>

<p>Awards, etc:
--Inducted into the Cum Laude Society in my Junior year (top 5% of my class)
--Black belt in martial arts
--Finalist as well as 3rd place in the US Capitol Classics Chinese Open (Martial arts)
--Tutor of the Month at my tutoring company
--I went on a community service/language immersion/homestay trip to Honduras for one month this summer. I came back with an additional 40+ hours of community service, teaching in a rural kindergarten (an INCREDIBLE experience), and near-fluent in Spanish.
--Wrote a 61-page thesis on the history of the desegregation movement (specifically the desegregation of the University of Georgia) with an analysis of my one-on-one interview with Vernon Jordan for my APUSH class, don't know if that counts for anything?
--Maryland Distinguished Scholar nominee for Junior year
--High Honor Roll member every trimester since the 2nd of Freshman year.</p>

<p>Again, any advice at all would be helpful -- recommending colleges, telling me my chances, giving me an overview of a certain college, etc.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Edit: Just for clarification, I think/hope that it's more a case of "I'd be happy anywhere" than one of apathy!</p>

2

<p>First of all, this is a problem: “My mom wants me to be a commuter student and live at home forever . . .” Heading to college as a commuter is a VERY different experience than throwing yourself headfirst into it. One of our top priorities for our kids has been the ability to live on campus for all or most of four years.</p>

<p>Have you filled out an online EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) estimator to learn what your financial aid eligibility may be? It’ll be important to determine if you can afford more expensive schools by virtue of your need-based aid eligibility.</p>

<p>Ivies and their counterparts will be a reach with a 2090, but not impossible. Right now you have five reach schools and one safety (+ perhaps a match “school” is you consider UMD Honors separately from UMD). Some private target schools for you in the northeast / middle Atlantic region might include Wake Forest, Colgate, BC, Tufts and Bucknell. Among publics, UVA, William & Mary and Schreyer Honors College at Penn State are a diverse group of possibilities.</p>

3

<p>Your HS must have hired a replacement for the college counselor who quit last year. Have you had any meetings yet?</p>

4

<p>

</p>

<p>At this stage of the game senior year, my daughter was looking for a school that offered German, Japanese, Russian, and physics. She has a real interest in languages and was pretty good in science and math. Her list overlapped yours a bit. She applied to
Georgetown and UMCP, but ended up at the University of Pittsburgh on a full tuition scholarship (she was offered full tuition at UMCP too). Apply to a wide range of schools and get your Maryland application in by the November 1 deadline because you want to be considered for its programs. </p>

<p>One problem with science and languages is that scheduling the classes with all of the labs is difficult–but doable.</p>

<p>And my daughter never did get that “This is where I belong” feeling, so don’t worry too much about not knowing exactly what you want.</p>

5

<p>You need to do the FAFSA forecaster on the FAFSA.gov site and find out how much financial aid you are likely to receive. You are obviously an excellent student and will have your share of acceptances, but it’s important to know whether or not you can accept those offers. </p>

<p>I sincerely hope that you will not choose to commute. Your mom will be fine and don’t be held back. </p>

<p>I think you have a good list so far, so keep going. You already have a good grasp of this, you just need to trust that you. Once you have the EFC from the FAFSA forcaster, you should be able to come up with 8-12 schools total. </p>

<p>Also, you live so close to close to Georgetown U. and UMD, so go visit on a Sat. during one of their morning info. sessions and tours. Register online (Georgetown may “track visits”, so make sure they have your name and visit recorded if they do) and metro there: </p>

<p>[Metro</a> - Home page](<a href=“http://www.wmata.com/]Metro”>http://www.wmata.com/)</p>

<p>I think you will find that there is something truly significant about a college visit. It shifts this whole thing into reality, so go this Sat. to one school and then next weekend see the other campus. It’s not important to visit all the schools you will apply obivoulsy, but at the very least, visit these two.</p>

<p>Just read above posters advice --visit UMD this weekend and get the app. ready to go. Is there a separate app. for the honors college? I have no idea, just something to find out. You def. have a shot for honors. You can visit Georgetown next weekend or on Columbus day. They may still be holding tours Mon. given this is crunch time.</p>

6

<p>Check out St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the public LAC (liberal arts college) on the Chesapeake. You may find the ‘small school experience’ to be a good fit: Small schools don’t tend to have frats, the community tends to be very cohesive, and the small classes mean more faculty interaction (no TAs) and mentoring. I know your mom is working really hard, but it could be a nice outing for both of you to check out the beautiful campus, take a tour, go to an info session and talk to the students. </p>

<p>And spend some time talking to your mom about why she wants you to commute from home. Is it the cost of room and board? Is she concerned about the impact of the social environment on you, given your shared experience with alcohol abuse? Is it cultural (in some cultures, people don’t leave home for college)? If you can understand her concerns, you may be able to address them.</p>

7

<p>The first question that you need to resolve with your mother is the Money Question. Until you know how she plans for you to pay for your education, you really can’t move forward. For example if your private HS fees have been paid out of a specific fund that was set up for that, then college could conceivably all be your individual responsibility. Or, your mom could be in a situation where her cost for your college cannot be more than what your HS cost, which would mean that you would need to come up with the rest if you chose a more expensive institution. For ideas on paying for your education, spend some time in the Financial Aid Forum.</p>

<p>One commuting distance institution that should be on your radar is Montgomery College. There are several honors programs and the transfer counselors are skilled at helping students find good places to go to for their last two years. Happykid’s classes there include graduates of every HS in the county - chances are that she knows someone from your HS. If your mom needs you to be close to home for a bit longer, MC could be the solution that she is looking for.</p>

<p>If your mom can pay for private assistance with the college application process, have her ask the other parents at your HS. I expect that some of them can recommend a private counselor for you.</p>

<p>Lastly, there is nothing wrong with taking a year off between HS and college. Doing paid or volunteer work while you think about your long-term goals can really help you sort things out.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>

8

<p>I disagree that you can’t move forward and apply to schools unless you know how much your mother can pay. You should apply and request financial aid (your mom will have to fill out some forms yes) and if accepted, see what you are offered in aid and then make some decisions. Apply to a range of schools including in state of course. You sound like a solid young person (good job at the Classics :)) so don’t get discouraged. Definitely get into the guidance office and nicely but firmly insist on some help.</p>

9

<p>Check out this thread:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Take a look at Ohio University website. You could possibly qualify for a full scholarship. There are other schools as well on above thread.</p>

10

<p>First, you are far from alone in your feeling … college confidential is a atypical place as the majority of students here are looking at lots of schools geographically dispersed and start very early … however most students only apply to 2-3 colleges usually very close to home … so no worries. And there is still plenty of time.</p>

<p>

In this case use local schools to check things out … UM College Park is a big school … GW, Georgetown, or American are in very urban areas … St Johns in Annapolis is a small school in a smaller town. Take day trips on Saturday or Sunday to check out types of schools. A lot if students have a pretty strong positive or negative reaction to the size of school and to the city/suburb/college town location of schools. Try to look at things across the range of options … being in the DC area gives you lots of local options to check things out.</p>

<p>Good luck 3ToGo (a grad of a PGC high school in 1977)</p>

11

<p>Snowdog,</p>

<p>Unless an applicant is independently wealthy, or has done his/her own research and has identified a list of institutions where he/she will be absolutely guaranteed admission based on his/her stats, and where he/she will absolutely be guaranteed merit-based and/or talent-based aid that will cover all of his/her costs, then finding out what the family is willing and able to pay is absolutely critical. It really truly is the first question the applicant needs to have answered. Way too many don’t sort this out at the beginning and end up starting threads here with titles like “I can’t afford any of the schools I got into, what do I do now?” in April.</p>

<p>The OP doesn’t need to know every single detail of his mother’s financial condition. What he needs to know is 1) how much she is willing to chip in, 2) how much she expects him to come up with from his own earnings, and 3) what she considers to be a safe amount of college debt.</p>

12

<p>Thanks for all of the responses, everyone!</p>

<p>I just used the FAFSA Forecast and got that my EFC is $14,000. My mom has told me in the past that we can probably “make it work” no matter where I decide to attend (whether through scholarships, student loans, or whatever else.) My mom has also told me, though, that she strongly discourages me from taking out loans if I can help it – hence why UMD is such a great choice, I can pay relatively little and save up for vet/grad school so that I’m not buried under $200k+ in debt. I do have a trust fund in my name from my father, but he made it so that I’m not able to access it until I turn 28 (yeah…) and that it can be dipped into by my stepmother for her monthly salary thing (he was very well to do) despite the fact that my half-sister is supposed to be overseeing it. Long story short: I would definitely like to avoid debt, as I don’t know how/if/when I’ll be able to pay them off.</p>

<p>I’ve talked with my mom about the whole commuter student thing in the past, and one of the issues is definitely money. As in: why should I spend an additional $10k+ when I don’t have to; why should I spend an additional $30k+ on an Out of State school when I can get just as good of an education here for less? Also, my mom herself was a commuter student, and she is very attached to me (I’m not sure what she’ll do when I eventually move away, actually…) Believe me, I’ve attempted to broach these subjects before, but it doesn’t usually work out too well – my mom, though supportive, just doesn’t want to talk about it.</p>

<p>

That makes me feel much better, actually! I felt like the odd one out at my school and on here in that respect, so thanks for putting it into perspective!</p>

<p>And yes, my school replaced the counselor, but just within the past week. He now has 70 brand new students to speak with and write for, and is (apparently) starting with the kids who will have the most trouble getting into a school period. My name is last on the list for a meeting – I was assigned a date at the beginning of November…</p>

<p>I visited UMD at the end of last year, and liked most of what I heard in the info session. I didn’t have a strong feeling either way about the campus, and didn’t really think about it too much given that I was going to commute. The facilities are nice, there are loads of internship opportunities, and there are lots of classes to choose from so that I can pursue languages as well, which is great.</p>

<p>I visited Georgetown a few days ago, and I liked the school itself. The campus was obviously very, very nice, and the info session speaker really made me interested in the school. Again, the big course selection, study abroad opps., and internship connections are great. </p>

<p>For some reason, I haven’t really payed attention to the campus vibe, location, or size… I’ve mostly been looking at the academic opportunities and stuff like that. I feel like I would be happy in pretty much any setting – something as big as UMD isn’t a turn-off, and neither is the location and size of something like Dartmouth.</p>

13

<p>You may want to take a look at the Trust. There may be a possibility to use some of the funds for educational purposes. Do not see why it would not have been set up that way.</p>

14

<p>Yes, look into terms of the Trust. Some schools that use the Profile may consider that as usuable regardless of the age you can access it (future earnings?).</p>

15

<p>Since this student may be receiving SS because his dad has passed and that will end at 18, how does FA handle that? It’s likely going to appear that the family has more income for college than it really will.</p>

<p>Right now, the FA calculators may produce skewed numbers. </p>

<p>I think you have a lot of high reaches for your stats. It looks like UM-CP is your only safety (and it sounds like you’d have to commute there).</p>

<p>I think you need more matches and 1-2 more financial safeties. With your M+CR SAT, you could get good merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Your mom may be wanting you to commute because she either fears the cost of going away or she thinks she’ll be lonely with you gone. Do you know which?</p>

16

<p>happymomof1, </p>

<p>What I notice is far fewer posts from applicants crying that they got in and can’t pay and a ton from armchair Suze Ormans saying show me the money. The OP has to get some applications in over the next 8 weeks if he wants a good shot at merit aid. That’s what he needs to focus on and as he notes, he has a good basic understanding of his family finances and also that he needs a financial safety school as do many people.</p>

17

<p>Nothing wrong with U Maryland. It’s a very good public university and given your academic interests and career ambitions it’s a good fit.</p>

<p>As for private colleges, a lot is going to depend on how they treat that trust fund for FA purposes. Your FAFSA EFC of $14,000 may be substantially lower than your Profile EFC. But different colleges treat the Profile data differently, so I think you won’t know what FA offers you’ll get until you actually get them. I don’t think UMD is likely to do much better than the $14K EFC FAFSA is giving you. So the question is whether private colleges, which generally use Profile, will match or do better than that.</p>

<p>I think the poster who said you have a safety and a bunch of reaches is right. Your 1410 SAT CR+M probably won’t get you into Ivy League schools or the most selective LACs. But just below that level there are schools like Johns Hopkins (close to home) or Haverford or Wesleyan (very good LACs, excellent in sciences and plenty of language opportunities) where you could be competitive; your grades, class rank, and ECs are very competitive, and your test scores are well within their range.</p>

18

<p>*I do have a trust fund in my name from my father, but he made it so that I’m not able to access it until I turn 28 (yeah…) *</p>

<p>Others can chime in here, but if it’s in your name, I think you have to declare that for FA purposes…even if you can’t get the money now. If you didn’t figure that into your EFC, then your EFC may be higher.</p>

<p>I just used the FAFSA Forecast and got that my EFC is $14,000. My mom has told me in the past that we can probably “make it work” no matter where I decide to attend</p>

<p>Scholarships, student loans and such do not usually reduce your EFC…those will go towards your need. The only way scholarships reduce your EFC is if they are so large that they cover all your need and then cut into your EFC. Also, private scholarships are often from freshman year only.</p>

<p>And since student loans are usually already in your FA package, you can’t use them to reduce EFC.</p>

<p>Also…keep in mind that most schools do not “meet need” so your EFC may not be what you’ll have to pay. Most people have to pay more than their EFC.</p>

<p>You need to find out from your mom approx how much CASH she can provide each year. </p>

<p>However, you have good stats, so if you were to get a large scholarship, then your remaining costs would be below your EFC.</p>

19

<p>OP needs to take a look at the terms of the Trust. I would think most lawyers would recommend Trust to be set up with funds available for educational purposes before fully dispersed at a later age.</p>

20

<p>Thanks again for the replies, everyone!</p>

<p>What exactly is in the score range for the Ivies? As I said, I retook the SAT a few weeks ago, and am expecting math and writing to be bumped up to 700+, would a 2200 be within the range? I’ll be taking the ACT soon, as well, and I got a 35 on the practice test that I took… My father and half-sister are both Cornell alums, if that helps.</p>

<p>I think that I’m misunderstanding what is meant by EFC… That’s the amount that I’m expected to pay, right? But colleges don’t always use it in that way? </p>

<p>Also, the trust isn’t under my social security number, I don’t really know how much is in there, my stepmother is able to withdraw funds to support herself (along with the monthly check-thing she receives), and neither my mom nor myself have been told much about it – there were some complex family issues. Honestly, I’m not even sure if it’s a trust, and I know that I have no access to it until I’m 28, so would it still be considered in the calculation of my need? I did put in a guesstimate of the money in savings when doing the EFC calculator, so the numbers are pretty skewed…</p>