<p>Here are the schools I currently plan on applying to:</p>
<ul>
<li>University of Oklahoma (honors college)</li>
<li>Oklahoma State University</li>
<li>University of Chicago</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Harvard</li>
</ul>
<p>[thread=1056178]My Stats[/thread]</p>
<p>I do realize there is a big gap in my list between safeties and reaches. In another thread I cam to realize that I would kinda be upset if I only had my two safeties to pick from. Could someone please help me find matches and safeties?</p>
<p>I really don't care about rural or urban. I want to go to a college that is kinda nerdy. I don't want to go to a big school. I would either major in computer science or business administration. I will definitely will need financial aid. If you need any other information please just tell me; if not please could you give me suggestions on matches and safeties.</p>
<p>I would go to a university, i say this because in a competitive job market, the big university grad will have the upper hand in recieving a job.</p>
<p>Whatever you do; don’t go to any techinical institutes or for profit colleges, because I went to itt-tech for a year and the whole time i was there i was worried about not getting a job bc Itt-tech was not accredited</p>
<p>so after getting myself into $20,000 after one year, i just started UALR in Little Rock and i couldn’t be more happier!</p>
<p>^Good chance that’s true, but rejections from the three reach schools OP mentions are certainly possible. I think he is wise to look for matches and safeties.</p>
<p>What top 20-30 schools meet full need outside of the HYP type uber-reaches?</p>
<p>I’m bumping this in order to help the OP. Yes, a 2400 SAT AA male has good admissions prospects anywhere. But when you factor in the lowish GPA, a few more sub-Harvard and sub-MIT schools are called for.</p>
<p>Then there’s the money factor. At $90k family income, I’m sure there are a lot of “meets full need” schools that will calculate a very low EFC. We all know that HYP would be affordable for the OP, but how about a few others, perhaps in the slightly less selective range.</p>
<p>I’d really like to help this applicant, but I’m in over my head. Please help!</p>
<p>Vandy is full need and would likely accept him.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad makes a good point…</p>
<p>with an $90k income, he won’t be getting any free rides. At the top/top elites HYPS, his family may only be expected to pay about $10k per year.</p>
<p>However, at the other elites (other ivies and other full need schools), his family contribution could be $20k+.</p>
<p>Vandy meets need and doesn’t put loans in FA packages, so a student could help a bit by taking out a $5500 student loan to help with family contribution.</p>
<p>OP…how much will your parents pay each year?</p>
I’ve asked them this many times and they keep saying, “as much as we need to within reason,” “whats a reasonable price” “You should be able to tell the difference.” Yeah sorry not that much help…but hey I forgot to mention I have about 10k in outside scholarships (some of the amounts vary based on what state I go to college in)…</p>
<p>The OP’s gpa may not look so bad if you take into account his rank and if he goes to a challenging school. 21/143 makes him narrowly top 15% in his high school class. He’s also from a state typically underrepresented at top universities. </p>
<p>I think OP should apply broadly and aim high in choosing where to apply. My suggestion would be to look into Rice, Stanford, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Brown.</p>
<p>Actually, that rank with those scores may not help the OP (barely top 15% with a 2400). An AA from an underrepresented state should certainly help. Grinnell would probably offer some good merit aid and is certainly nerdy, has comp sci but no business.</p>
<p>Are you a senior applying right now? If you are, you only have a few days to do anything. You’re competitive at any school in the country. My advice is to do some quick research and make criteria. Right now, you have financial aid as important. So I’d start a list with the richest schools. Then I’d probably narrow it down to schools with the easiest supplements because you don’t really have time to make a great application otherwise. Then narrow it down by what you personally want (city or town, type of school, academic interests). The richest LACs are Pomona, Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, Grinnell, and Middlebury. Grinnell would be a safety for you. The richest universities are basically in USN order.</p>
<p>Well for kinda-nerdy, smaller schools, I would look at Worcester Polytechnical Institute and Villanova. They’re not super prestigious such as Harvard or Stanford, but they’re definitely well-respected and you have a very good chance of acceptance with a 2400 SAT.</p>
<p>I think you should definitely consider Rice though. It’s not as selective as your top reaches (but still a top school) and would meet the smaller and nerdy school criteria. Rice also meets full need I believe.</p>