Hi, I’m a rising senior and I’m having trouble narrowing down a list of colleges to apply to. I’d like to go to a liberal arts college. Here are my stats:
GPA: 4.0 UW (4.4 W)
SAT: 2100 (Just took again in June-but with the whole test error who knows how that is going to turn out. I know this is kinda low…)
ACT: Taking on June 13… Expecting it to be in the 30’s
SAT II: 740 in US History, going to take Math I and Biology hopefully those scores will be in the 700s as well
Top 3% of my class
I’ve taken all AP Classes available to me and I go to a rigorous Texas high school. 10 AP’s total, 5’s on all so far
State: TX
Gender: F
Hooks: Hispanic, so URM? Fluent in Spanish
Hoping to major in biology
My Senior Course Load is all AP’s
Interned at a library
Volunteered about 100 hours at a local Humane Society
Volunteered 50 hours at a Nursing Home
72 volunteer hours for school (lifeguard, at elementary schools, beach clean ups, etc)
Started my own tutoring program
Member of the Spirit Club
Founder of a Book Club
(Treasurer) of French Club
Member of NHS for 3 years now
Yearbook (Business Manager, Junior Editor, and Editor in Chief)
Science Club Member
Student Council (Secretary)
Varsity Cheerleader (CoCaptain)
I’ve won several academic awards and I’ve had several essays published in various literary magazines.
I know my essays will be good (probably 9-10/10)
I’ve done some other extracurriculars but for the purpose of staying anonymous I’ll leave those out. Thanks in advance for your help…I just really need some advice! I’m pretty much OK with any region, although I’d like to go out of state.
Are you looking for and qualify for need based financial aid? If so approximately how much? If you do not qualify for need based aid, are you expecting merit aid? And if so approximately how much?
That’s the problem, I’m pretty sure I won’t get any need based financial aid, but my family still can’t afford $60,000 per year. I’m hoping to get around 18,000 to 20,000 in merit aid.
Most LAC’s are generous in their financial aid so I don’t think it should be that large of a problem. I only learned of this recently, but families with over $100,000 annual income still receive decent amounts of financial aid. If you think that your family can’t afford $60,000 per year, I think that colleges will too.
When you say narrow down, do you mean you already have a list in mind? It would be great if you could share that with us.
tip: everyone in the forum is looking for help. If you make a more specific headline you will get more attention to your topic. Just think what it would look like if all the threads said ‘please help.’ Like that you are looking for LAC that give merit.
Make sure you have run a couple of net price calculators to be sure you won’t get need aid Iif your parents make 200+ then no for sure.) If not, then you can eliminate the LAC that only give need aid. You have to look for colleges where you will be in the top stats-wise to attract that much merit top 25 pct or top 10 even. You know they aren’t going to give it to the typical student they get. So go way down the list. You can also try a diversity play and look at colleges with a really high percentile of Caucasuan students–they will especially likely be looking for talented diverse students.
Thanks for the advice… I’ve been looking at liberal arts colleges such as Villanova, Davidson, Colgate, Lewis and Clark, Auburn, etc. I think my SAT is kinda low just compared to other posters on CC. It seems like everyone has absolutely amazing SAT scores!
In the south, you might look at Hendrix, Rhodes, Sewanee, Furman, Wofford, Centre, etc. Sewanee has a great series of videos on Youtube called “My Sewanee Story,” and some of the students featured are bio majors. There is an informative thread on cc called “Southern LACs.” With your scores & grades, good merit aid is a possibility for you at many places.
There are great schools in the Midwest, too–Kenyon, Denison, DePauw, Earlham, Wooster to name a few. The Colleges That Change Lives list a number of these.
The advice given has been good so far, but it remains unclear whether you will qualify for need-based aid. The schools which are appropriate for you will depend upon this assessment. You have already done very well on your SAT, and you should not feel that your score will be a limiting factor for you. In fact, your score will serve to enhance most of your applications.
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That’s the problem, I’m pretty sure I won’t get any need based financial aid, but my family still can’t afford $60,000 per year. I’m hoping to get around 18,000 to 20,000 in merit aid.
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So, have your parents said that they will pay $40-45k per year?? If you’re not sure, ask them.
what are your plans with a bio degree? med school?
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Most LAC’s are generous in their financial aid so I don’t think it should be that large of a problem.
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That is a strange thing to write when we don’t know how affluent her family is. I know a whole bunch of people, myself included, who wouldn’t see a dime of FA at any univ.
My family would be OK with paying the cost of a 4 year degree if I received at least some (hopefully substantial) merit aid. It just wouldn’t be the ideal situation. Income bracket is >200,000
With an income of more than $200k and likely assets that that income would likely generate, it’s unlikely that any school would give you need based aid.
So, if you’re looking for about $20k of merit per year, that would be about a Half Tuition merit scholarship at many privates.
Nova can be bad with merit, but maybe they offer a URM award? That is possible since I do think they want more ethnic diversity. Look at their website.
Look at Rhodes College.
Looks like you’re an auto admit to UT and TAMU, correct?
What do you plan to do with a bio degree? Med school?