I posted this in another thread, but I think it actually goes here. My apologies 
Hello! This is just another High school junior in need of some guidance ^.^
Female; African/American
3.96 uw gpa 4.0 w
32/680 rank
SAT:1440 PSAT: 1420
First gen
AP Human; 5
AP Euro/Lang: 4
AP World: 3
5 more AP tests will be taken this year
Beta Club President, Model UN, HOSA, language clubs
AP Scholar w/ Honor, GHP nominee
I live in Georgia, and I hope to pursue medicine or nursing. I’m also interested in foreign language. Financial Aid is needed (5k per year is how much my parents can afford, although I haven’t actually run Fafsa). Based on my stats, could you give me some help as to which of the following colleges are matches or reaches and offer any possible others.
UNC Chapel Hill
Vanderbilt
UPenn
University of Miami
UGA
Emory
Mercer
University of Alabama
Davidson
Rollins
Furman
Rice
Wake Forest
Duke
High Point
John Hopkins
Swarthmore
Thanks!
Safeties: High Point, Mercer, UGA (because you are in-state).
Match with possible merit money: Rollins, Furman, Miami, Alabama.
a) Rollins has a full-ride scholarship program that you would be competitive for–especially if you could raise your SAT a bit.
b) Alabama is one of the few state flagships that offers merit money for out-of-state students; this aid, moreover, is guaranteed based on specific GPA and SAT parameters. See the UA website for current criteria.
c) Miami has several merit programs, including at least one for underrepresented minority students. Be sure to investigate!
d) Furman has a limited number of big-money merit scholarships, but the deadline is quite early in the application cycle, so bear that in mind.
Match: Wake Forest, UNC. (UNC is becoming increasingly competitive for out-of-state students to win admission to.)
Reach: Vandy, Penn, Emory, Davidson, Rice, Duke, JHU, Swat.
Note, however, that most of these reach schools will have a strong commitment to fostering ethnic and geographic diversity within their student bodies. This could work to your advantage, especially at a school like Swarthmore (which–given its size, location, and low profile with the general public–probably doesn’t receive a ton of applications from well qualified African American female students from Georgia). These reach schools also tend to have more generous financial aid, so don’t be afraid to roll the dice! Good luck!
Your SAT score is a little low for the likes of Vandy and Penn, but you have a lot of demographical hooks going for you. Best of luck!
@MrSamford2014 and @languagebeast thanks for the replies! I will look into the merit aid requirements and such I also plan to take the sat again.
@languagebeast if i could raise my sat score to like a 1480, do you think that would be high enough for vandy and penn?
@FourWalls727 Yes! If you can even raise it 10 points to 1450, which I would consider the bare minimum for Ivies, you would be in a better spot. 1480 would make it even better.
@languagebeast thanks for the help!
I wouldn’t consider UGA a safety so fast, they don’t favor Instate students over out of state. It’s very competitive to get into, especially if you’re in a competitive area of Georgia, and I’d encourage you to apply early action. You’ll get a pretty generous scholarship at alabama and it is definitely a safety. UNC will be hard to get into for anyone if they’re out of state since 82% of their accepted students have to be instate. Good luck, I think you’ll get into a lot of these schools!
Whoa, Penn is out of your reach. Sorry, but your stats don’t compare to the elite when you have a weighted gpa so low
@jennacwa thanks for the info!
@FedMaster my school doesn’t go above a 4.0, even for weighted.
If i were to weight my gpa “properly,” for lack of better word lol, how would I go about that?
You can look up or contact school’s go ask how they calculate their own gpa (if they do so). Some schools may not calculate ap or honors differently, but they will look at your rigor, which is very important. It seems like you have a rigorous transcript if you’re taking 5 APs junior year alone.
3 AP’s isn’t Penn or Vandy standards. Chapel Hill, you have great chances
@FedMaster she’s taken 3 AP tests so far. By the end of her junior year she will have taken 8.