Recommend me a college?

<p>I've known I wanted to apply to MIT and Caltech, but as they have low acceptance rates I figured I should find at least a couple more colleges to apply to. I'm mostly certain I am going for an electrical engineering degree, but I have interest in math and physics also. The relation between all of those is that I have a strong interest in the application of logic, so any degree related to that would be good. My parents are pretty low income (below $50k) and I have no income myself so I need somewhere with a ton of financial aid. I don't really care about location, though I would prefer it be somewhere that is doing well economically.</p>

<p>I'm going to be a bit of a gamble for the admissions people as I'm homeschooled and have no official GPA though my unofficial GPA is 4.0. I got a 33 ACT: 32 English, 28 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science, which is good but the math score is going to hurt me. I forgot all the geometric theorems. I am taking 2 courses at a local university now and as far as I know I'm doing well. None of my English papers have been graded yet, but I have a 96% average on my Calc so far.</p>

<p>EC wise all I really have is Boy Scouts which I am currently finishing my Eagle project for, martial arts which I have a 1st degree black belt in, and church which I just attend 3 times a week and don't do much. They are low in number but I'm hoping to press that instead of seasonal activities I have done these year round every year without breaks. </p>

<p>I can probably get some good character recommendations from pretty much anybody, but for academic recommendations I'm going to have to rely on the two college teachers I have and my parents, and I'm not sure how much my college teachers like me yet though my Calc teacher has said good things about me.</p>

<p>I know that's a lot to read, but any help would be greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>Have you taken any APs or SAT IIs?</p>

<p>No APs since I missed the deadline last year. Most of my classes have been AP level, but I can’t really prove it. I took SAT IIs in Math 2, Physics, and Biology, and got mediocre scores: 620 in Math, 580 in Physics, 630 in Bio. I’m retaking them October 1st and should get better scores. I forgot to bring an eraser and kept filling in the wrong oval.</p>

<p>[ul][<em>]Remind yourself of the geometric theorums, retake the ACT, and take the SAT I
[</em>]Take lots of SAT IIs for outside verification. Outside verification is very important for homeschoolers.
[<em>]Check out the homeschooling thread on this site for college admissions information.
[</em>]Caltech for sure, and probably MIT, want to see evidence of math / science in your spare time. Church, Boy Scouts, and martial arts are your only FORMAL ECs, but have you automated your room with Lego robots? Do you read science magazines all the time?<br>
[<em>]Nobody should count on Caltech and MIT. Specifically, you are not likely to get into either one of those schools with your SAT II scores as they are now.
[</em>]Go to College Board or similar sites and do the college-finder pages. Look for schools with EE degrees and research those schools for financial aid. YOu can aim at merit and need-based (usually not at the same schools). Pick a few good schools to apply to, and also see if you get lucky with Caltech and MIT.
[<em>]TYPICALLY, Need-based money is best at the very top schools, and only the top maybe 20 or 50 meet full need. TYPICALLY, Merit scholarships are given by the second-level and below schools, and go to people at the top of the entering class.<br>
[</em>]If you’re planning to apply after this year, congratulations for starting early! If you’re applying to colleges this year and don’t do well, you might want to reclassify yourself as a junior in your mind and try again after you have some serious outside verification in the form of SAT IIs and college courses. Make sure you do the college courses on your high school transcript, before graduating from high school, so you will be classified as an entering freshman instead of a transfer student.
[li]Browse CC for threads on reach (MIT and Caltech), match, and safety schools.[/ul][/li]Good luck!</p>

<p>^everything above is true, true, true. You need to get registered for as many SAT II’s as possible before all apps are due. Start gathering proof of all your accomplishments thus far. Transcripts for any college level work and usually homeschooled students need some writing examples/graded work of some kind to submit. here’s the homeschoolers link–read through everything pasted at top of threads:</p>

<p>[Home</a> Schooling and College - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/]Home”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/)</p>

<p>I don’t have time to take the SAT I since I’m applying this year and using the October date to retake my SAT IIs. I might retake the ACT depending on my time available. I haven’t done the traditional robot building and such that many young engineering types do because my parents were poor and I preferred to spend my own money on guitars and video games. I have built a computer and repaired a few electronics I dragged out of the trash but that’s about it. Between Boy Scouts, martial arts, and church, I only have 2 free nights a week most of the time, and have to leave those open for Boy Scout outings so I haven’t had much extra time for things. I’m going mainly for need based aid as while I can’t necessarily rely on being at the top of my class I can rely on being poor.</p>

<p>I’m having a hard time searching for “match” schools as every search tool I use just lists the usual Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. because of my ACT score. That’s why I’m asking here as I figure some others may have gone looking for similar things with similar stats. My safety is just to start my own business or something.</p>

<p>What state are you in? Private schools will be expensive unless you can qualify for merit-aid and grants. Perhaps you may want to look into public universities if you have to pay, such as Cal States or Cal Poly SLO. UC’s are getting expensive if you can’t get a lot of scholarship money. If you are interested in math and physics as an option, try Chapman University, a private school in Orange, California. They have an excellent science and technology program with world-class faculties. Great merit-aid and grants program if you qualify. Over 80% of students there are receiving institutional aid. Their merit scholarship is need-blind regardless of financial need. Since you are low income, you might even qualify for their grants. Check it out to see if it’s the right fit for you.</p>

<p>I live in Indiana. Public colleges generally don’t give as much need based aid as private colleges that I’ve seen. (Not counting the for-profit colleges.) I’m trying to completely avoid loans as much as possible since I’ve seen what it does to people.</p>

<p>Your EC’s (black belt and Eagle Scout) are very impressive.</p>

<p>But your math ACT is surprisingly low.</p>

<p>Take it again.</p>

<p>My son raised his ACT from a 31 to a 34 with zero studying</p>

<p>and his math sat from a 660 to a 700 with zero studying.</p>

<p>I would think, frankly, that MIT or Caltech would dismiss you because of your math scores.</p>

<p>There are plenty of good engineering programs short of MIT and Caltech. MIT and Caltech are for super human types.</p>

<p>Purdue is good for engineering. List price for in-state is about $21,000 per year. It has a financial aid estimator here: [Purdue</a> Financial Aid Estimator](<a href=“http://www.purdue.edu/apps/onepurdue/finaid/]Purdue”>http://www.purdue.edu/apps/onepurdue/finaid/)</p>

<p>You should look into the University of Alabama with the presidential scholarship. (full tuition)</p>

<p>[Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)</p>

<p>You’d also get another 2,500$ a year if you do engineering.</p>

<p>[Scholarships</a> - Undergraduate Students - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/]Scholarships”>Scholarships – College of Engineering | The University of Alabama)</p>

<p>After running through the financial aid estimator Purdue would still cost me $13k a year unless I got merit scholarships. I’m hoping that I score better on my SAT IIs this time and maybe a good score on the Math level 2 will make up for my math ACT. I’m thinking I don’t really have time to retake it. Alabama actually looks like a good option, thanks I’ll definitely consider it. It isn’t entirely about the prestige of the school, a lot of it is about the money. (Though both MIT and Caltech happen to have had Richard Feynman who I’m a big fan of.) My parents can’t afford much and I refuse to accept a burden of debt that will hang with me for half my life.</p>