Parents! Please help a desperate senior who needs more college choices!

Parents Forum
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<p>Omg i need more college choices by the end of this month! Please help!!! </p>

<hr>

<p>Okay so I am a senior. I applied to the following (in order of choice): Wharton @ UPenn, MIT, Swarthmore, and Rice. </p>

<p>However, none of them are "safeties." I am freaking out because I don't want April to come (worst case scenario) with no acceptance letters and then I am stuck going nowhere. </p>

<p>I need help finding private (they HAVE to be private because I can't get federal aid from public schools) schools that would be safeties for me. I want to study finance and participate in medical research in college. </p>

<p>My stats are:</p>

<p>


</p>

<p>What private schools out there are matches/safeties for me? I need to apply to them by the end of this month!!! </p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

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<p>look at the University of Rochester, Lehigh, Villanova, Fordham, Washington University in St Louis</p>

<p>U of R, for example, is outstanding in the areas that interest you. And they have generous financial assistance.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

3

<p>Smith & Wellesley both have very good FA packages, and your stats/background ought to be very good for them.</p>

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<p>Will you travel?? A school such as Whitman in Wa> or Carlton in Minnesota would be super chices for you--LAC's but your profiele would be a good match.</p>

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<p>Our friends' son got very nice merit packages from Occidental and Whitman. He wasn't even top tier quality.</p>

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<p>USC [ University of Southern CAlif] would probably be a match/safety for you. They love top level, hard working students, are the most ethnically diverse private university in the US, and are VERY generous with FA. They have the Marshall school of Business and the Keck Medical school. Take a look-
About</a> USC - USC at a Glance</p>

<p>Freshman Class (Fall 2008)
Applicants: 35,900
Admits: 7,875 (22 percent)
Matriculants: 2,766 (35 percent)
Average GPA: 3.71 (unweighted), 4.06 (weighted)
Middle 50-percent SAT range: 1910-2200
National Merit and Achievement Scholars: 258
First-generation college students: 11 percent</p>

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<p>Sloan at NYU. Also very competitive, but hey -- you never know.</p>

<p>Congratulations on your dramatic turnaround, and congratulations on an outstanding high school career.</p>

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<p>Bryn Mawr and Mt Holyoke are reaches but less so than your current schools, and I think your Questbridge status would give you a very significant boost at both places. I'd add Conn College, Wellesley and Smith (per the above suggestion), Vanderbilt and Emery (match), GW (solid match/safety). For a true safety, did you look at places like Northeastern, Bates, Colby,????</p>

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<p>Wow, Bates and Colby are NOT safeties -- especially since she didn't tour or interview there.
In fact, i think you have a great shot at your schools because of your stats, but you are also a minority. How about adding Brandeis?</p>

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<p>Sloan is at MIT, not NYU haha.</p>

<p>Stern is at NYU.</p>

<p>And how about Boston University? Or University of Miami?</p>

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<p>IMO, you should also apply to a state U. Merit Aid at any school is so spotty and small that it might actually be CHEAPER for you to pay full price at state U than at a small, pricey LAC that gives you a nice scholarship. It will at least give you options. You might be stuck with acceptances to schools that give you good scholarships, but it will still cost you $30K to go there. Good luck to you!</p>

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<p>Occidental College in Southern California. I think about 17% of their student population is first generation college students. Excellent financial aid.</p>

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<p>May I suggest Skidmore? Great college, great campus, very active student body. My favorite two colleges: Skidmore and Swarthmore.</p>

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<p>I think a few state schools merit further consideration also.... I can only suggest one based on the experience of a gal I know who went there..... she was happy with her education......that is Miami of Ohio which has very reasonable tuition....and they have wonderful facilities as Proctor & Gamble has contributed there.....</p>

<p>I love the suggestion by MenloPark Mom......USC sounds like a great match.....</p>

<p>what about University of Chicago? You would get a tremendous education and a real change in your environment from Florida..... I am confident you would be accepted... </p>

<p>another thought might be to consider Tulane? If you want to get a few apps out to schools that you stand a better acceptance chance....</p>

<p>good luck.....</p>

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<p>re:"what about University of Chicago? You would get a tremendous education and a real change in your environment from Florida..... I am confident you would be accepted..."
As am I, however, Chicago has a long standing, well deserved reputation for miserly FA [ I know- son was accepted there and though he was offered lots of FA from other colleges[ Dartmouth, Brown, etc,] he was offered $1K for FA from Chicago. That is why I didn't suggest it, seeing that the OP was a Questbridge applicant.</p>

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<p>Menlopark Mom....
I don't know enough about which schools are good at FA....but I will admit I was reacting more to this gal's interest in making sure she had an acceptance somewhere... and if income is truly < 20K then, almost every private school would offer something I would like to think....but I defer to the Schools that offer good merit aid thread and other experts ...</p>

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<p>Numbers and background = full ride at most second tier schools. Visit and find the best "fit" to solidify top focus schools.</p>

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<p>The problem is that most of the schools that are being recommended to the Op are schools that are not need blind to international students. Student will be classified as international because she is not an U.S. Permanent resident (waiting in the line does not count). This means that she will not be eligible for most federal and state aid. </p>

<p>Op needs to first operate from a bottoms up approach am make sure that she has a finanially feasible option in the pocket. Op should see if she is eligible for merit aid/in-state tuition at her home state U.</p>

<p>University of Rochester, Lehigh, Villanova, Fordham, NYU, Boston University</p>

<p>USC is off the list because:

[quote]
The university does not provide application fee waivers to international students nor are they eligible for federal or university need-based financial aid from the USC Financial Aid Office. There are some resources that may provide assistance to international students.</p>

<p>USC</a> Undergraduate Admission - FAQs

[/quote]
</p>

<p>As a questbridge finalist, have you been matched with any school? (this may be your best bet applying to a questbridge partner school).</p>

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<p>Oops! I didn't know that about USC! Thanks sybbie! I learn something new everyday!
I agree that you should pursue your Questbridge options.</p>

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<p>American, George Washington, James Madison..............also BU..........good luck!</p>