Probably blindly going to apply to colleges...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi! So in this college search I have become far too overwhelmed, and in fact, have avoided what the colleges are really about! </p>

<p>So far...I have a list of 50 colleges...not kidding...and need to eliminate them! Is it irrational to apply to 20? or am I crazy...</p>

<p>Anyways, I fear that when I end up applying I'm going to apply to them based on name and not really what I'm looking for.</p>

<p>Could anyone guide me? It would be much appreciated. My criteria is:</p>

<p>-Size: Small to medium--1500-5000
-Location: in the suburbs, but close enough to a cool city/town! (I like to explore) & distance from home (Boston) isn't issue
-Atmosphere: preferably liberal leaning, clove-smoking, weird and wacky people :) yet competitive!
-Faculty: a good student/teacher ratio, small classes prefered, good communication
-Major/Strengths: considering Environmental Sci or Biology, but going in undecided at first (where that would be welcomed)
-Greek life: certainly NOT where it dominates the campus--minimal influence
-Career: high results for internships/post grad jobs/research opportunities
-Cost: my family will get a BIT of financial aid but not much--meet a large chunk of "need" (80-90%)
-Study abroad: one with many opportunities here.</p>

<p>-Outdoorsy area! I love to hike.
-Extra: one with exceptional food! :)</p>

<p>STATS:
-ACT: 32
-GPA uw: 3.6
-most rigorous courses at school offered-7 APS, all honors
SAT II: 750, 730</p>

<p>THANKS so much!</p>

2

<p>Reed college</p>

3

<p>I second Reed.</p>

4

<p>My stats good enough though? Doubtful…</p>

5

<p>Lewis and Clark?</p>

6

<p>true, Lewis and Clark and Reed are awesome!! Does anyone know much about their financial aid areas?</p>

7

<p>hendrix college</p>

8

<p>The way you phrased your question, people are just going to suggest MORE schools for your list. Post your list and people will help cross them OFF :wink:
How did you come up with this list in the first place?</p>

9

<p>Reed has very good FA, almost no merit aid. L&C has very good merit aid (you would probably qualify for some) and does a pretty good job of meeting need. <a href=“http://www.lclark.edu/live/files/10628-cdsh-2012[/url]”>http://www.lclark.edu/live/files/10628-cdsh-2012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I do think Reed is a reach, though they put a lot of stock into the non-numbers part of the app (essay, ECs, etc)</p>

10

<p>“-Cost: my family will get a BIT of financial aid but not much–meet a large chunk of “need” (80-90%)”</p>

<p>What is the top figure that your family can pay each year? $60,000, $30,000, $20,000, even less? That is what you need to know now. You also need to know how your parents feel about you working during the school year and during summer vacations, and whether or not they believe it is acceptable to take on student loans. That is the baseline you will have to start with when looking for your safety institution(s).</p>

<p>The institution’s statement that an average of 80% of student need is met, is only a rough indication of theirgenerosity. How does it define student need in the first place? Does it only require the FAFSA, or does it use the CSS Profile or its own financial aid forms? How does it meet that need? Is it all grants and scholarships, or does it also include federal work study and federal loans? It is easy to reach an average of 80% of need by handing out federal loans to meet %100 of the need of a whole bunch of students whose need (as determined by the college/university) is only $5,500 per year (the maximum federal loan is $5,500 freshman year), and offering nothing other than those federal loans to several other students whose need is greater than $5,500.</p>

<p>If money is going to be an issue at all for your family (as in your family can’t cough up $60,00 each year for all four years), spend some time in the Financial Aid Forum and at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) so that you can learn more about the topic.</p>

11

<p>happymomo-thank you so much. Since I’m kind of in this process alone its really great to hear some guidance on this! my family has no money put away from me, so maybe 10K-20K depending on how much I can put away on loans. </p>

<p>Beantown girl-Thats a good idea. I will post my list now–everyone please dont get too overwhelmed like I am! Please help me cross them off :)</p>

12

<p>Please ignore the annoying numbers–its just a list from naviance. OBVIOUSLY I’m not applying to all of these- but could anyone help determine good safeties/tell me I’m an idiot? I got this list from my criteria about financial aid, science programs, etc, listed above. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! :)</p>

<p>Allegheny Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 2/15<br>
Bard Coll student N/A - 11/1 - 1/1<br>
Bates Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/1<br>
Beloit Coll student N/A - 11/1 - 1/15<br>
Boston Coll student N/A - 11/1 - 1/1<br>
Bowdoin Coll<br>
Bryn Mawr Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
UC Berkeley student N/A - - - 11/30<br>
UC San Diego student N/A - - - 11/30<br>
UC Santa Cruz student N/A - - - 11/30<br>
Carleton Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
Chapman Univ student N/A - 11/15 - 1/15<br>
Claremont McKenna Coll student N/A 11/1 - - 1/2<br>
Clark Univ student N/A - 11/1 - 1/15<br>
Clemson Univ student N/A - - 12/1 5/1<br>
Colby Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/1<br>
Colgate Univ student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
U of CO Boulder student N/A - 12/1 - 1/15<br>
Colorado Coll student N/A 11/15 11/15 - 1/15<br>
Connecticut College student N/A 11/15 - - 1/1<br>
Denison Univ student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
Dickinson Coll student N/A 11/15 12/1 - 2/1<br>
Earlham Coll student N/A 11/1 12/1 - 3/1<br>
Fordham Univ student N/A - 11/1 - 1/15<br>
Furman Univ student N/A 11/1 11/15 - 1/15<br>
George Mason Univ student N/A - 11/1 - 1/15<br>
George Wash Univ student N/A 11/10 - - 1/10<br>
Gettysburg Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 2/1<br>
Goucher Coll student N/A 11/15 12/1 - 2/1<br>
Hamilton Coll - NY student N/A 11/15 - - 1/1<br>
Hendrix Coll student N/A - 11/15 - 6/1<br>
Indiana U Bloomington student N/A - - 11/1 -<br>
Kalamazoo Coll student N/A 11/10 11/20 - 2/1<br>
Lafayette Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
Lehigh Univ student N/A 11/15 - - 1/1<br>
Lewis & Clark Coll student N/A - 11/1 - 1/15<br>
Loyola Chicago student N/A - - 12/1 -<br>
Macalester Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
UMD College Park student N/A - - 11/1 1/20<br>
U of MA Amherst student N/A - 11/1 - 1/15<br>
Miami Univ, Oxford student N/A 11/15 12/1 - 2/1<br>
Muhlenberg Coll student N/A 2/15 - - 2/15<br>
New York Univ student N/A 11/1 - - 1/1<br>
Northwestern Univ student N/A 11/1 - - 1/1<br>
Oberlin Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
Occidental Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/10<br>
Ohio Wesleyan Univ student N/A - 11/30 - 3/1<br>
Pennsylvania State Univ student N/A - - - 11/30<br>
Pitzer Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/1<br>
Pomona Coll student N/A 11/1 - - 1/2<br>
U of Puget Sound student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
Purdue Univ student N/A - 10/15 3/1 -<br>
Reed Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
U of Richmond student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
U of Rochester student N/A 11/1 - - 1/1<br>
Sarah Lawrence Coll student N/A 11/1 - - 1/1<br>
Skidmore Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
Sonoma State Univ student N/A - - 11/30 11/30<br>
U of Southern California student N/A - - - 1/10<br>
St Lawrence Univ student N/A 11/1 - - 2/1<br>
St. Mary’s College of Maryland student N/A 11/1 11/1 - 1/1<br>
St Olaf Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/15<br>
Tufts Univ student N/A 11/1 - - 1/3<br>
Ursinus Coll student N/A 1/15 12/1 - 2/15<br>
U of Utah student N/A - - - 4/1<br>
Vanderbilt Univ student N/A 11/1 - - 1/3<br>
Vassar Coll student N/A 11/15 - - 1/1<br>
U of Vermont student N/A - 11/1 - 1/15<br>
Villanova Univ student N/A - 11/1 - 1/7<br>
U of Virginia student N/A - 11/1 - 1/1<br>
U of Washington<br>
Wellesley Coll<br>
Wesleyan Univ<br>
Westminster Coll<br>
Westmont Coll<br>
Whitman Coll<br>
Willamette Univ<br>
U of Wyoming</p>

13

<p>mulrni13 -</p>

<p>Assuming that you are eligible to file the FAFSA, the only money that you are flat-out guaranteed to have access to is Federal student loans. If you are poor enough, you could qualify for some Pell Grant money. But if your parents really can chip in $10,000 each year, you aren’t likely to be in Pell range. </p>

<p>The maximums for the Federal loans are: $5,500 Freshman year, $6,500 Sophomore year, $7,500 Junior year, and $7,500 Senior year. Loans above and beyond that will have to be Parent PLUS loans that your parents take out or Private loans that will require a co-signer. </p>

<p>If your parents can chip in $10,000 each year, and you borrow the maximum Federal loans, and you get a decent summer/school year job, you may be able to scrape together $20,000 each year between all of you. That figure is not going to cover the cost of most of the places on your list. In addition, you have a boatload of out-of-state institutions on your list. Most of them will charge a significantly higher rate for people who aren’t residents of that state.</p>

<p>This means that you need to sit down with your parents, and run the Net Price Calculators at the websites of several of these institutions. The results will give you a notion of what the minimum amount that your family would be likely to be expected to pay is. Chances are that come April, your family will be expected to pay more than that - the NPCs tend to give very “hopeful” results.</p>

<p>If you find out that you need serious aid, go to the Financial Aid Forum and read through the threads on Guaranteed Merit-based Scholarships. You are in the range for some of them.</p>

<p>Don’t neglect to identify at least one dead-on rock-solid safety that you can afford without any aid other than federal aid (and/or state aid from your state and/or guaranteed merit-based aid from the institution itself), that you know will admit you because the requirements for that are posted right on the website, and where you will be happy to attend if all else goes wrong.</p>

14

<p>I love Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. Right by the beach. Great honors college. They have an Enviro major and were voted as a Green University! I would love to meet you there next year! :)</p>

15

<p>Whitman hits all of your criteria except location. Walla Walla is a small but vibrant town far from any big cities. My daughter just started as a freshman this year and she has not has a single negative thing to say. She got all of the classes she wanted, loves her professors already, and just secured an on campus work study. Food is good and easily accessible, and the community is extremely friendly and welcoming. I can’t imagine anywhere better for her.</p>

16

<p>Are you in-state for CA? If not the UCs will all cost ~$50K/year. NYU will be more - their FA is horrible. Look at the Common Data Set for each school to see how you compare. For instance Carleton will be a real reach. DD2 was waitlisted there #1/450, 4.0UW GPA, 34 ACT.</p>

17

<p>My son (and I helped) ran Net Price Calculator for over 65 schools to weed down his list.</p>

<p>Was very easy to divide list after that.</p>

<p>He further narrowed it be really looking at what he wanted socially, academically and living conditions (dorms for 4 years vs off campus).</p>

<p>Based on what you have revealed you like, I’d suggest a closer look at
Pitzer
Oberlin
Lewis & Clark
Colorado
St Marys of Maryland (they have limited merit for OOS - son knocked it off due to finances, so please run the NPC on this)
Connecticut</p>

<p>Do you want greek life? Some of the schools on your list have heavy Greek Life.</p>

<p>Villanova jumped out at me because it is very preppy and doesn’t seem to have any of the criteria you listed.</p>

18

<p>Thank you so much!!! You’re all so helpful. Since I’m kind of in this process alone, the financial aid element of it is very difficult. </p>

<p>@Longhaul-which schools have heavy greek life?</p>