Please help a rising junior!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Loyola University - Maryland
1

<p>Hi everyone, I am a rising Junior in high school and my dad is putting a ton of pressure on me to figure college stuff out, "Now! Right now!" ...So here I am. Here are my stats. (I know I have plenty of time but my dad is a pain in the a s s)</p>

<p>9th Grade (school doesnt weight 9th grade classes)
+ Honors SS (A)
+ Honors Eng (A)
+ Geometry (Accelerated Math) (A)
+ Gym (A)
+ Chorus (A)
+ Communications (A)
+ Orchestra (A)
+ Honors Science (A)
+ Honors Spanish (A) </p>

<p>10th Grade
+ APUSH (A) (5) (APUSH is the only AP they allow sophomores to take)
+ Honors English (A)
+ Honors Biology (A-)
+ Honors Chem (A-)
+ Middle Childhood (Human Development Course) (A)
+ Digital Imaging (A)
+ Gym/ Health REQUIRED (A)
+ Honors Spanish (A)
Cumulative GPA= 4.0867</p>

<p>I slipped in 10th grade with the A-'s and plan on acing my Junior Year schedule, which is as follows:</p>

<ul>
<li>AP Euro</li>
<li>AP Calc AB</li>
<li>AP Enviornmental</li>
<li>AP Lang</li>
<li>Honors Spanish 4 </li>
<li>Early Childhood Development</li>
<li>Psychology</li>
<li>Gym REQUIRED</li>
</ul>

<p>12th Grade
+ AP Macro
+ AP Stat
+ AP Bio
+ AP Physics (I'm unsure which one)
+ AP Spanish
+ AP Lit
+ Gym REQUIRED
+ Debate
+ Sociology</p>

<p>EC's</p>

<p>9th:
- Select Choir
- Select Orchestra Ensemble
- National Junior Honor Society
- MANY community service projects/ fundraisers with school
- MUCH church involvement/ community service projects/ volunteer work (Vacation Bible School, etc.)
- Varsity Cheerleading</p>

<p>10th:
- Student Council (Orchestrating various fundraisers, community service events, etc)
- Key Club (more fundraisers, community service)
- Varsity Cheerleading
- Church involvement (above)</p>

<p>11th:
- OEG (soldier support club, sends packages/ fundraises for US soldiers in Iraq)
- Key Club
- Student Council
- ^ A lot of involvement and community service comes from these clubs
- Church involvement</p>

<p>12th:
- ^ same as 11th, may run for student council officer position</p>

<p>** I know my EC's suck, but I'm trying to get them up Junior/Senior year</p>

<p>** School doesn't rank, but I have one of the higher GPA's, top 10%, maybe top 5% (school isn't very competitive, nice school district but not many kids go to Ivies)</p>

<p>** I have not taken any SAT's yet but I did get a 191 on the PSATs, which I know is very low but I did not study for the test at all, and also had never taken any sort of test like it. Since, I have been studying rigorously for the SAT's which I will take next year. MY score will definitely improve from the PSAT- SAT predicted score of 1910.</p>

<p>** I'm not sure what I'd like to major in, both History and Nursing interest me. I'm between like high school history teacher and nurse, random I know haha.</p>

<p>** I am Hispanic, not sure if this helps my chances?</p>

<p>** Female, from Pennsylvania </p>

<p>So, assuming all goes well (Straight A's, 5's on all AP Exams, successful EC involvement, raised SAT Score) what are my chances at Loyola?</p>

<p>Other schools i'm considering:</p>

<p>Villanova
Duke
UNC
Loyola Maryland
Georgetown
Yale (for my dad but I'd like to go :/)
Princeton (Ditto.)
Pepperdine
UCLA
Pomona
UPenn
Penn State (scholarship? My dad makes a lot of money ef's it all away, currently paying for college entirely by myself, dad makes $200k+, not a candidate for financial aid, right?)</p>

<p>Could you chance me please and also recommend schools that would be a good fit? And perhaps schools that would give me any kind of scholarship?</p>

<p>Thank you!!</p>

2

<p>You are an excellent candidate for Loyola Maryland as well as many of the schools you have listed. You do have schools on your list that will offer merit aid. Others on your list (Ivies/Georgetown) will base aid solely on need. It is a shame you have to foot the entire college bill yourself when your father makes a good income. You do have a wide range of selectivity with your list. This is good for someone is looking for scholarship money as schools where you are among the strongest candidates often will offer good merit aid.<br>
At Loyola you are a very strong candidate for either a Claver Scholarship (for underrepresented minorities) and/or the Presidential Scholarship. You likely will earn a large scholarship from Loyola. Loyola looks for M/V score in the 1350 range and 3.75+ GPA for Presidential Scholarships. A higher SAT/ACT score in addition to GPA usually correlates to a larger scholarship. Loyola now is SAT test optional, so if you do not score well you need not include standardized test scores. You still would be eligible for both scholarships.
You will not need to fill out either a FAFSA or College Profile to be eligible for merit aid at Loyola. Most if not all the other privates on your list will need both forms, while the state schools require a FAFSA.<br>
My son received a nice Presidential Scholarship and will be attending Loyola as part of the Honors program this fall. We never filed a FAFSA or College Profile. Many moons ago I attended one of the Ivies you listed and know what it is like having to foot the entire bill with loans, scholarships, and work. My advice is to apply to wide range of schools like those you are considering. You also may want to consider a financial safety (i.e., a state or commuter school where the sticker price is affordable). You do not want to burden yourself with huge undergraduate debt.
Finally, Loyola does have a very solid history department and the nursing program is a 5 year program with Johns Hopkins. (You will earn 2 degrees- a BA from Loyola, a BSN from Hopkins.)<br>
You have an outstanding academic record. Good luck with your search.</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much! That helped a lot!</p>