<p>I am a junior attending a "Gold Medal" public high school in California. Everyone I meet, upon hearing I go to this school, immediately assume that I have a stellar GPA and am applying to all the Ivy's. The truth is, I have a 3.6, and am on track to receive a 4.2 this semester.Honestly, I have almost no extracurriculars, no leadership positions, no nothing. So Liberal Arts Schools are pretty much out of reach for me. I really don't care about location or size for my college/university, but money is a key factor. I currently have a 2150 on the SAT, and I'm taking 2 AP's this year, and 5 next year. My choice of major isn't certain, but I would like to study pre-medicine, chemistry, or pretty much any science. I am fairly certain I want to dual major, or even triple major if it is possible. I would love to go to UCSD or UCLA, but those two are definitely out of reach for me. I can go out of state, but I would prefer a substantial scholarship, as I don't think I will receive financial aid.
I have been looking at UCI, UCSB and out of state universities such as UMass-Amherst, Ohio State, and Boston University.
If anyone has ANY recommendations, please tell me.
I am at my wits trying to find a college.</p>
<p>There are a number of threads in the Financial Aid Forum that list colleges and universities with good scholarships, you should spend some time there to see what you can find out that is useful for you. Here is one to start with: <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</a></p>
<p>Most public universities charge out of state rates for students who don’t have residence in that state. UM-Amherst and Ohio State probably will be much more expensive for you than anything in the California public system. BU is private, and is even more expensive.</p>
<p>Do you know how much your parents can afford to pay? If you don’t, ask them. Do you know how much the colleges and universities will expect your family to pay? If you don’t, run the EFC calculators at <a href=“http://www.collegeboard.org%5B/url%5D”>www.collegeboard.org</a> and at <a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D”>www.finaid.org</a> to get an estimate of your FAFSA EFC and a guesstimate for a Profile EFC. Remember that most places will want you to pay more than your EFC.</p>
<p>UCSD is not out of reach for you. It’s all based on the “point-system,” and I was shocked by some of the admits from my school this year. Your SAT score and GPA will certainly put you in qualifying range, and if you can focus on ‘overcoming challenges’ in a well written essay, and you embellish your community service a little bit, you can look forward to calling yourself a Triton. </p>
<p>UCLA MIGHT be a reach, but I would go for it anyways. UCSB and UCI are not bad safety schools, and Cal Poly SLO would be a good place to apply as well. It sounds like you’ll be fine, quit stressing!</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you for your responses!
I will definitely check those links out.
I should note though, my overall GPA is 3.3, the 3.6 is for my 10-12, which is what Uc’s look at if I understand correctly. Also, I fully expect to get around a 2300 on my next SAT attempt, if that will change anything.</p>
<p>I agree that you shouldn’t count out getting in at UCLA, UCSD etc. With an upward trend in your grades and high test scores you could be a competitive candidate. BTW, UCs don’t really treat ECs that seriously: it’s so much more about the scores/grades. </p>
<p>If you DO look out-of-state, forget the public universities: they won’t give you $$. Look at private schools, especially those that are rising in rankings and are willing to give aid to high achieving students. (BTW, BU is famous for NOT giving money.) Look into Northeastern University in Boston, for example, which can be generous to kids with good stats from outside the northeastern US. Why do you think LACs are out of reach for you? Your stats would make you competitive at many of them. Are you a guy? If so, many LACs are short of men and that could give you an additional edge as well.</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks for your reply. I will definitely apply to UCSD and UCLA. For LACs, are there any you would recommend? I know Amherst and Bowoin and the like are out of reach for me. And yes, I am a male.</p>
<p>Check out Colleges that Change Lives. There are probably LACs there that would give scholarships for your stats.</p>