please help! looking for possible safety schools

<p>i am currently a senior, i was feeling somewhat confidant in the schools i applied to but the other day my counsler commented that because of my gpa i might want to apply to a safety school. my safety was going to be depaul but i dont think i wanna go there. i have been looking at syracuse, because judging by my scores and their standards i should get in.</p>

<p>sat scores: reading-660, math-650, writing-580, composite-1890.
act scores: writing-28, reading-32, science-30, math-28, composite-30.
gpa: i havent taken any ap or honours courses because my school doesnt offer them because they say all of our classes are intended to be as challenging, which has hurt my gpa. my gpa is a 3.0, and although they arent weighted if it was it would be about a 3.6-3.7.
extracurricular:
-4 years of doing 3 sports year round. was JV captain in one and will be varsity captain for two this year.
-also competive water skiing in the summer, state champ one year and placed other years
-1 year of student gov't
-NJHS freshmen year
-4 years of drama</p>

<p>these are my colleges i have applied to:
-Fordham- really like what i have read, think i can get in
-Loyola Chicago- this is a target school, would love to go here
-University of Michigan (in-state) -a top choice, think i have a decent chance
-Marquette University-not a top choice but wouldnt mind going
-Boston College- this is a big reach but figured why not
-DePauw University
-Hillsdale College (is kinda a fallback right now but dont want to go really)
-College of the Holy Cross - another reach </p>

<p>i am looking for schools with a well rounded program, i will probably major in bio or chem for pre-med maybe, or political science</p>

<p>How about one of the directional Michigan Us (Central, East, West)? That would be much less expensive than an OOS school. If you can afford privates, maybe Hope college?</p>

<p>Michigan State is a safety and has pre-med and polisci. A super safety would be Univ of Il circle campus…which is more premed than poli sci. You dont need a financial safety?</p>

<p>Definitely Loyola U of Md.</p>

<p>i really dont want to go to central, eastern, or western. i see ur not from michigan so maybe ur not familiar with these school’s reputation but they people here just look at them as party schools. i have heard their academics are kinda a joke too, especially eastern. these schools are more for the lower half of college appilicants, which i am not (not to sound pompous).
the problem with MSU is that even though my scores are very good for them, my college counsler told me that they dont really take into consideration how difficult my school is.
i’m not sure about financial safety because my mom says she has enough money saved up for almost 20k a year, but i should get decent financial aid. that is quite a bit of money for college but my mom cant give me any more so i need help at the private schools (my families situation is kinda wierd so there is basically no income, but we are more middle- lower upper middle class
some safeties or just schools i think i should get into that i am considering are:
-syracuse
-depaul
-drexel
-wooster
-University of San Diego</p>

<p>i forgot to ask DougBetsy, do u know what the academic reputation for loyola maryland is?
thanks!</p>

<p>Georgia State would fit your criteria</p>

<p>I’m having trouble understanding:

</p>

<p>You need to go to the financial aid forum and look at some posts on how EFC is calculated. Your Expected Family Contribution takes into account savings so you will probably show little need for aid. I don’t know how you can have no income and be lower-upper middle class.</p>

<p>* my safety was going to be depaul but i dont think i wanna go there. i have been looking at syracuse, because judging by my scores and their standards i should get in.</p>

<p>sat scores: reading-660, math-650, writing-580, composite-1890.
act scores: writing-28, reading-32, science-30, math-28, composite-30.
gpa: i havent taken any ap or honours courses because my school doesnt offer them because they say all of our classes are intended to be as challenging, which has hurt my gpa. my gpa is a 3.0, and although they arent weighted if it was it would be about a 3.6-3.7. </p>

<p>-Fordham- really like what i have read, think i can get in
-Loyola Chicago- this is a target school, would love to go here
-University of Michigan (in-state) -a top choice, think i have a decent chance
-Marquette University-not a top choice but wouldnt mind going
-Boston College- this is a big reach but figured why not
-DePauw University
-Hillsdale College (is kinda a fallback right now but dont want to go really)
-College of the Holy Cross - another reach *</p>

<p>I think you should really consider some Catholic schools. ;)</p>

<p>Your ACT is higher than your SAT, but that’s fine :slight_smile: colleges will use that. :)</p>

<p>Does your school not “weigh” GPA? If not, that can hurt you if your unweighted is 3.0.</p>

<p>Is your school a private school? IF so, I know what they mean that all classes are challenging, but they should weigh for that. My kids’ Catholic high school considers all of its classes as honors or AP, so all are weighted.</p>

<p>You say that DePauw is your safety, that’s a pricey school, is money an issue? Or are you certain that you’ll get great merit? OR is money no object?</p>

<p>Since you really don’t want to go to DePauw, what about
SLU
DePaul
Loyola New Orleans
Springhill
Seton Hall
Gonzaga
UPortland
USeattle
USan Francisco
USan Diego
Canisius</p>

<p>I’d apply to Fairfield since you applied to Fordham; the two go hand in hand at my school. Almost everyone who applies to Fordham applies to Fairfield. I can also probably answer most questions about Fairfield, I live right near it and have attended overnight programs on the campus many times.</p>

<p>i’m not sure about financial safety because my mom says she has enough money saved up for almost 20k a year, but i should get decent financial aid. that is quite a bit of money for college but my mom cant give me any more so i need help at the private schools (my families situation is kinda wierd so there is basically no income, but we are more middle- lower upper middle class</p>

<p>oops I missed this…</p>

<p>Many of the schools on your list are going to cost about $40-50k per year, yet your mom can only pay about $20k.</p>

<p>Assuming that your family’s EFC will be no more than $20k, you still might have a problem, because many of those schools can’t provide the other $20-30k that you’ll need to attend. And, the FA that they will give you may include a lot of student loans…it won’t likely be “free money”</p>

<p>Because you have good stats (that ACT 30) you need to look for schools that will give you merit even with your 3.0 GPA. You might even need to get your school to write a comparably weighted GPA on your transcript so you don’t miss out on scholarships. :)</p>

<p>Since many of your schools are CSS Profile, your dad’s income will be considered if he’s alive.</p>

<p>kcmdonahue…what kind of kids go to Fairfield?..what’s it’s reputation in the Northeast? What schools would you compare to besides Fordham?</p>

<p>i’ve looked at fairlfield but i dont know much about so i do have some questions.
-how strong is their science department? i probably want to go pre med. but i am also considering political science
-not to sound like i just wanna party in school, but i do want to have fun while i get a good education so how fun is fairfield? do students party/drink much
-what is the town like?</p>

<p>well heres my situation:
my father is deceased, so it is just my mom and i am an only child. she has been getting chemo treatments on and off for about 8 years now and because of this cant really get a job. so basically we have zero income but my father did well so we can still, will continue to, live comfortabley of what he left us. so on our tax reports say there is very little income. hillsdale and michigan i will be able to pay for, and i know i will get into one of them.</p>

<p>Depauw isnt my safety, depaul in chicago is or might be. i like depauw.
my school is kinda wierd, they dont officially weigh our gpa but they do send a letter to colleges telling them how difficult the academics are, so the college does know it should be weighed. ha, i do like catholic schools. I like some of those schools but i live in michigan so the west coast is kinda far, and mom doesnt want me to go that far really (but she would let me). i am not to worried about the cost of the schools because i know i can pay for a couple of them and i really dont want to go to any in state school but u of m, so i am willing to take some loans.</p>

<p>kcmdonahue…what kind of kids go to Fairfield?..what’s it’s reputation in the Northeast? What schools would you compare to besides Fordham?</p>

<p>Fairfield is a Jesuit university and in a rich Fairfield County town, so naturally you get your higher-than-usual percentage of rich white Christian kids. However, I think Fairfield’s reputation as an extremely white school is a bit overblown as I have seen lots of diversity there despite whites having a substantial majority. That being said, it defintiely has a preppy vibe that is encouraged by its location. It has a good reputation in the Northeast and is probably the best school in Fairfield County (not saying much though, it doesn’t have much competition). It’s in a great location right near downtown Fairfield and the beach so that’s what draws a lot of kids. As for schools that are like Fairfield, I’ve seen that most kids that apply to Fairfield also apply to Loyola Maryland, Villanova, Holy Cross, and BC. Fairfield has lately been rising in reputation and I personally love the campus!</p>

<p>do u know what the reputation is at all nationally? also how good the science department/pre-med program (if there is one) is?</p>

<p>St josephs of Philly</p>

<p>First, I’m sorry to hear that you’ve lost your father, and prayers for your mom’s recovery. </p>

<p>Since Financial Aid isn’t just based on income, the assets that your family has will also be considered. I don’t know how much your dad has left you with, but it sounds like quite a lot. You’ve indicated that you can pay for UMich and Hillsdale, so it sounds like your family has a lot in non-retirement savings. That could impact what schools determine your EFC to be.</p>

<p>You say that your school doesn’t weigh. Is it a CAtholic school? If so, will the GC write the weighted GPA on the transcript and sign it? Some schools will accept that. Otherwise, your 3.0 GPA could hurt you.</p>

<p>Do any of you know if the schools that you’re recommending will give merit money with a 3.0 GPA?</p>

<p>I’m concerned that many of these schools won’t really give much FA to this student because of the family’s assets. She might get some, but then be left either with a big gap or big loans.</p>

<p>i do not go to a catholic school, its a small private school that is run by a college. the problem my college counsler has already sent my transcript to the schools i know i am applying to but i will have to talk to her about the gpa thing.</p>