Hey everyone! I would really appreciate if someone could chance me for a few schools with complete honesty. Thanks!
Academics
- GPA: 3.9 uw
- SAT: n/a
- ACT: 30 (will take again a couple more times)
- SAT II: n/a but will take in October or November
- AP tests: English Language and Composition (4)
- Senior Year Course Load: physics, AP French 4, Stats 1st sem/Trig 2nd Sem, AP English and Literature, band, AP Calculus BC, government, and music theory as a flex credit (most rigorous schedule available at my tiny school)
Extracurriculars
- Marching Band 10-12, Section Leader, Member of Leadership Council
- Symphonic Band 9-12, First Chair for 3 years
- Jazz Band 9-12
- Science Olympiad 11-12
- Solo and Ensemble 10-12 (II sophomore year and I junior year)
- Various honor bands
- Part time job at a gym over the summer, will work more hours at a coffee shop after marching band is over
- Volunteer work at local homeless shelter (25ish hours, but will work more)
Additional Info
- Ethnicity: white
- Gender: female
- State: Ohio
- Income: $65k-$75k
- Hooks: Live in extremely Appalachian area very close to West Virginia, not sure if that qualifies as a hook lol.
- Essays: I have a couple potentially interesting essay topics (synesthesia, my father’s stroke etc.) that hopefully will turn out well.
- Major: Possibly chemical engineering or astronomy, I’m struggling with deciding on a major but I know it will be some kind of science
Schools:
Ohio State
University of Cincinnati
University of Southern California
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Boston University
NYU
Syracuse
Villanova
Perdue
UMich
Ohio State - Match
University of Cincinnat - ?
University of Southern California - Reach
UC Berkeley - Reach
UCLA - Reach
Boston University - Low Reach
NYU - Reach
Syracuse - Match
Villanova - Match/ Low match
Perdue - ? like the chicken?
UMich - ?
Please Chance back!
UCLA/UCB both Reach schools and you will not get any financial aid as an out of state student. Expect to pay $55K/year to attend.
Your list of schools is an issue if you need financial aid.
You may want to take the State schools off of your list including:
the UC’s, U of Cincinnati, UM, Ohio State, because they will cost what your parents make in income as an OOS.
A lot of those schools will run you $40 to $60K. BU is $68K, USC is $72K. NYU is known to have horrible financial aid, and are one of the most expensive schools in the country.
Re-examine your goals and find some schools in-state that will give you financial aid for your stats. The schools on your list will be extremely expensive and your stats just aren’t the tippy top that will qualify for merit scholarship.
Check the net price calculators for each school to estimate what your actual costs will be. Then apply to schools that will provide some funding.
Ohio State - match (I live 15 min away from OSU, so many people at my school go there and I think they have lower ACT)
University of Cincinnati - safe/match - I know that UC is easier than OSU, so that’s what I’m basing it on
University of Southern California - reach
UC Berkeley - reach
UCLA - reach
Boston University - low reach/high match
NYU - probably reach? I think of it as higher than OSU… also NYU is known for business and theater (lots of celebs from there). I am interested in STEM and thought it looked good until I learned that it wasn’t much of a thing there.
Syracuse - match
Villanova - match
Perdue - I know someone who got in there and got offered lots of money to go (he actually went to OSU instead). Pretty sure it was only bc he did a Robotics thing since he really didn’t care about grades that much. So maybe a match or low reach.
UMich - match?? I know it’s a good school in a terrible state (sorry Im an OSU fan)
Please match back! thanks
UMich would be a high reach. Expensive as an out of state choice, too.
What about Miami University in Oxford for a Safety/Match? You’re in-state and would qualify for a nice merit scholarship. Check their website for their scholarship chart.
Take care not to burden yourself with outrageous debt. Debt is oppressive.
You have a lot to be proud of! Best of luck to you.
I realize the tuition for a lot of these schools is out of my reach, but the income I included was from my mother’s household. My parents are divorced and both are remarried, so once I look at my entire “income”, the amount would be higher. It’s confusing so I didn’t try to work it out on my own. I didn’t really want cost of tuition to be a major factor when picking my colleges to apply to anyway.
Unless your wealthy, costs should be the most important consideration. No point in applying to schools that are unaffordable.