Please help! Need suggestions for this 3.95UW/4.19W + avgSAT student

College Search & Selection
1

<p>You all seem so knowlegable here! I can really use some help ... I'm looking for some suggestions for schools for my junior child. Here are some stats:</p>

<p>3.95UW/4.19W GPA at the end of sophomore year</p>

<p>1770/2400 PSAT with no prep 590v/550m/630w. Just took 1st SAT and are waiting for scores to be released. </p>

<p>curent rank in top 11% (class size = approx 525 students)</p>

<p>will have 2 AP and 9 honor classes,4 years of lab science, math and language </p>

<p>NHS, several clubs (treasurer of 1), volunteer community youth athletic coach</p>

<p>Seems to want a larger school (8,000+) with a good sports program atmosphere
Not sure what major ... tossing around psychology???
At this point, I am looking for schools along the eastern seaboard. We are in NJ and I am using Rutgers New Brunswick as a basis for comparison for cost (about $25,000 in state) and quality of education since I'm pretty certain she will be accepted . Of course, she is not thrilled about going there as she thinks it's too close to home and is wiling/wanting to go away.</p>

<p>I'm intrigued by some of the discussions I've read about OOS tuition waivers for some of the state universities. Any suggestions as to where she might qualify for this program? Also, many people have suggested to me that we look at the private schools as they generally have more merit money to give, but many of them seem smaller than what she seems to want.</p>

<p>I'd really appreciate any suggestions you may have!</p>

2

<p>I think seeing the SAT scores are critical for anyone to give you informed opinions.</p>

<p>Based on the little you’ve posted, I would say matches would be in the USNWR 25-45 range.</p>

<p>“eastern seaboard”./</p>

<p>Oh, if finances are an issue, perhaps one of the SUNYs (Stony Brook, Binghamton, Geneseo, etc.) which are about $24k all in and all in the USNWR top 100 – though only Stony Brook has great weather of those three.</p>

<p>If finances are not an issue, NYU, Fordham, Colgate (if upstate NY weather is not an issue) BC, BU, maybe Wake Forest if she wants the southern experience.</p>

3

<p>Thanks … I wil look into the SUNYs as the OOS tuition is in line with our in state cost at Rutgers. </p>

<p>SAT scores will be out in 2 weeks so we will have some better numbers then. She is currently working with a tutor and is planning to take them again in May/June, as well as the ACT in March and June. </p>

<p>Money is not a make it or break it issue, but I’d like to get the best education/experience for her at the lowest cost I can … but don’t we all !!! I am hoping I can find some options where she would qualify for some merit aid/scholarships or OOS tuition waivers.</p>

4

<p>SUNYs are probably not going to give her the spirited big sports atmosphere that she wants.</p>

<p>Re: merit scholarships/OOS tuition waivers…</p>

<p>Yes, depending on your D’s SAT/ACT scores (and a good GPA), some state schools will either give waivers or scholarships towards all of tuition or the “non-resident” portion. (Have your D take both ACT and SAT - because some kids do better on one or the other, and colleges will accept and award $$ on whichever is highest.</p>

<p>The issue is this…There are a limited number of big state schools with spirited sports programs that do this. </p>

<p>Also, many people have suggested to me that we look at the private schools as they generally have more merit money to give</p>

<p>This can be true, but it can sometimes be misleading. (I’m assuming that you’d have a high EFC, so you wouldn’t qualify for any aid.)…A small private that has a COA of $55k that gives you $15k in merit, will still cost you $40k per year. However, an OOS public that has a COA of $35k that gives you $10 in merit, will only cost $25k per year.</p>

<p>COA = cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room, board, books, travel, misc)
OOS = out of state (non resident)
EFC = Expected Family Contribution</p>

<p>What is her likely major?</p>

<p>What is her likely career?</p>

<p>Here is the link to the thread about automatic scholarships that might help you. <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&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Take a look at Elon University in NC. It has about 5000 students, decent Div. I athletics and strong academics. The total cost is around $34,000, but if her SAT scores go up, she would probably qualify for merit aid.</p>

<p>I also think she would enjoy Wake Forest (as recommended by DunninLA), but unless her scores go up tremendously, I doubt she would qualify for merit aid.</p>

6

<p>How about Villanova on the main line outside Philadelphia?</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the quick replies!</p>

<p>mom2collegekids: We are planning to have her take both the SAT and ACT this spring and again in June. She just started working with a tutor so hopefully we will see an improvement in her scores over the months. As far as her likely major … she really doesn’t know yet. She’s saying maybe psychology and is interested in biological sciences as well.
And you are correct, our EFC is high, so no aid. </p>

<p>Will look into Elon, Wake and Villanova also.</p>

<p>Anyone have any thoughts on Clemson or University of South Carolina? Looks like they offer some OOS merit scholarships that look like a possibility. Virginia Tech also looks reasonable for OOS students but not sure about merit??</p>

8

<p>Sorry, don’t know anything about Clemson or USC, but she could also take a look at University of Pittsburgh. Excellent school, about $33,000 cost of attendance and it does offer some merit aid–once again, if she could get her board scores up, it would help. The school is in a good town for college kids and the football team is very good (finished 15th in the country).</p>

9

<p>Just to give you an idea of the COA for OOS students at various Flagship public campuses…</p>

<p>COA per year for OOS students , State Universities </p>

<p>$25,787, U MINNESOTA
$31,500, U ALABAMA
$33,750, AUBURN U
$31,872, VIRGINIA TECH
$34,812, U IOWA
$35,029, U WISCONSIN
$36,210, OHIO STATE
$35,311, U N CAROLINA
$40,086, U GEORGIA
$36,977, RUTGERS
$34,696, TEXAS A&M
$34,922, U DELAWARE
$36,094, U FLORIDA
$32,752, U PITTSBURGH
$37,416, U MARYLAND
$37,548, CLEMSON
$36,848, PURDUE
$39,146, U CONNECTICUT
$38,120, GEORGIA TECH
$40,130, U ILLINOIS
$39,510, PENN STATE
$37,644, INDIANA U
$38,566, MICHIGAN ST
$38,974, WILLIAM & MARY
$43,742, U TEXAS
$42,570, U VIRGINIA
$47,188, U MICHIGAN</p>

<p>*Anyone have any thoughts on Clemson or University of South Carolina? Looks like they offer some OOS merit scholarships that look like a possibility. *</p>

<p>We visited both. Son really liked Clemson, but the merit money was just ok (Son is a National Merit Scholar with high stats). When he visited Alabama, he saw that it was a lot like Clemson, and the merit was so much better. Bama has much better dorms, too. So, he’s happily at Bama (and, now his younger bro is, too.)</p>

10

<p>OK … I’m back again! Looking for more input …</p>

<p>1st SAT result was almost exactly the same as PSAT: 570m/570v/630w. This was prior to prepping with a tutor. She has since started meeting with the tutor once a week, has taken a few practice tests and is showing some improvement. Last practice scores were:620m/620v/630w. Will retake in May and ACT in June.</p>

<p>We are planning to visit the following schools during our spring break:
James Madison, Virginia Tech, Elon, Clemson, Univ of South Carolina, Univ of Maryland and Loyola in Maryland.</p>

<p>Anyone have any comments? Do you think this is a realistic list of possible matches for her stats? I deviated a bit from the larger schools with Elon and Loyola for another look at smaller schools. I think it may be too early to really rule those out.</p>

<p>Any other ideas? I also considered a visit to Wake Forest but I think its really a reach for her … any thoughts?</p>

<p>I appreciate all your input … you are all so helpful!</p>

11

<p>Just want to chime in that if you plan to visit Elon - Wake Forest is only 30 minutes away - just keep heading west on 40. Also, Wake is test optional - (they have added an interview and their supplement has a lot of interesting short answer questions) - so don’t rule Wake out over test scores. Good luck.</p>

12

<p>Oh … good to know. I didn’t realize they were test optional. I think we will take a look since it’s so close. Thanks!</p>

13

<p>U of Maryland is harddd outta state at least for fall, I know a ton of people in-state who didn’t get in with much higher test scores (eh, my scores wern’t higher 1800 SAT, 28 ACT etc…) and i was denied fall admission, just throwing that out there</p>

14

<p>

</p>

<p>Someone beat me to it! Wake’s a great option for those who aren’t test savvy.</p>

15

<p>*
1770/2400 PSAT with no prep 590v/550m/630w. Just took 1st SAT and are waiting for scores to be released. *</p>

<p>I think it may have been premature to say that a child would have average SAT scores based on the PSAT taken beginning of junior year. Many kids have similar PSATs and end up with 2000+ SAT or equivalent ACT scores by the time of the fall of their senior years. That said, I think looking for SAT optional schools may end up being unnecessary. </p>

<p>BTW…a number of the SAT optional schools require SAT/ACT for merit consideration. </p>

<p>What were the child’s first SAT scores? Is the child going to take the ACT? Even if the student didn’t do as well on the first SAT, there’s still plenty of time for improvement. My younger son improved his ACT by 4 points between January and spring of junior year (which was approx 300 SAT point improvement.).</p>

16

<p>mom-</p>

<p>I’d be very happy for my daughter if she could improve that much! That was a nice jump. Her 1st SAT score was exactly the same overall score as the PSAT…but she is working hard to bring them up. She is scheduled to retake the SAT in May and will also take the ACT in June.</p>

17

<p>If you’re going to Clemson, check out Furman University in Greenville, about a half hour away. Wonderful LAC, good merit money. D is a freshman there and loves it.</p>

18

<p>For some reason I cant make a thread/ask a question. Hope you dont mind if I ask my question here…</p>

<p>I’m a junior in High School and I have no idea about what I’m going to/can do. Please Help
GPA cumulative so far: 4.11 Unweighted:3.91 Rank: Top 6%, class of 450
SAT 2 Math: 780
SAT (Estimate): Around 2000, I really need to work on this
EC’s: Model UN, A Volunteering Club-I am a committee Chair in this club, National Honors Society, Varsity Tennis, I am a mentor/leader for freshman at my school,</p>

<p>In the summer of 9th and 10th, I volunteered a total of 225 hours for an organization. The rest of the summer, took classes or traveled. This summer I am going to work for a business professor (Any other suggestions that I could do for the summer?)</p>

<p>I’m interested in business and economics, maybe law. I know this is bad, but I really want a career that pays extremely well. Does anyone have suggestions for potential careers and colleges that I could get into? Would I be able to get into NYU btw?</p>

<p>I’m considering,
UCLA
UC Berekely
UCSD
USC
UT Austin
Washington University in St Louis
NYU
UW…
what are my chances??? How can I improve so that I can get into the good colleges, UCB, NYU, UCLA, etc.</p>

<p>Please Help… Am I in good shape? I’m worried that Im not</p>

19

<p>The New Thread block at the top of the thread list doesn’t work? You have a mix of public and private schools. What is your home state? Do you need financial aid or can your parents pay 40-50K/year?</p>