running out of time no idea where to go

College Search & Selection
1

yo im a senior and i have no clue where to apply to. i was wondering if all you wonderful folks here could help me out :slight_smile:

needless to say i haven’t really been thinking about college throughout highschool but i’ve maintained a pretty high academic standard due to asian parenting. as such i have like a 33 composite on the act, a 3.8 gpa (top 10% ay), and somewhere between 8 and 10 ap classes done but basically no extracurriculars, outside of some summer leadership stuff, like 100hr of community service, some work, and two years of quiz bowl (there might be some more trivial stuff that i’m forgetting idk). apparently lifting, playing vidya games, studying, and hanging out with friends isn’t a valuable use of my time after school. whatever.

so now im in a bind. as a washington resident i know that it would make a huge amount of sense for me attend UW, despite that I know that if i spend another 4 years in washington i’ll go nuts. 7-9 months a year of soft rain and gray skies is a bit much. a change in location and a large physical distance from my parents would be very, very, very beneficial to my mental health.

I know that my folks could probably afford a private school, but it’s unlikely that i’d be able to afford a state school with out of state tuition. additionally going out of state would be inefficient if the school i went to was significantly worse than university of washington academically (which is subjective i know but i value my education higher than my sanity) .

ideally i would study something along the lines of quantitative economics or philosophy or computer science or something else that is equally interesting and intellectually stimulating. I dig everything from tiny little granola liberal arts colleges in the boondocks to massive, plastic urban schools, as long as the schools in question dont have overt religious or political affiliation, have a relatively balanced gender ratio, and aren’t rainy and overcast 24/7.

so here’s the rundown, the tldr. I have pretty decent scores and awful extracurriculars, i live in washington but i want to go to a school that is not in washington. I want to be academically pushed to my limit and surrounded by peers and professors who i respect and admire. i just dont know where to apply to. I dont know what colleges would think of someone who is academically solid but extracurricularly weak and im stressing out about college admissions haha. please help me out in deciding on a college. thank you very much.

2

Are you aware of WUE? The website appears to be down at the moment, but that could be a way for you to attend an OOS public university. Although many limit their WUE scholarships in one way or another. Here’s the WUE link: http://wue.wiche.edu/

3

yes indeed i have heard of wue! i’ll give it a second look thank you.

4

@rawchild

WUE is an option. Honestly, any WUE school is a step down from UW academically (UW CSE is in the top 5 and is super competitive, and its econ and philosophy are also ok/good). Among the WUE schools, University of Utah and University of Arizona are the best in my opinion. Both have comparably strong computer science departments. Utah historically was one of the top computer science departments and Utah affiliated faculty and students have earned two Turing Awards (two more than UW!). But Utah is no longer among the very best. Economics at University of Utah is second-rate and at University of Arizona is comparable to UW.

Other options that are good (I think all of these schools should push you to the limit academically):

MIT (reach) - Very hard core engineering school with very strong quantitative economics (probably the best in the world) and philosophy. Also in the northeast. As you know, very competitive to get into and should be a reach. The area is vibrant and lively, with many area college students nearby. In terms of your parameters, this might be the best school for you (if you can get in).

Tufts University (slight reach) - Academically as well reputed as the UW and much more competitive to get into (but majors are not competitive). They probably require less in terms of ECs than the Ivies. The northeast has four seasons and is not constantly overcast like the northwest. Tufts has very strong quantitative economics and philosophy programs at the undergrad level. Their computer science is not ranked as high as UW (or the other school), but it is still very good. Measuring by CRA (top research award for undergrads) awards per undergrad, they are almost on par with UW. Tufts, like UW, has programs to involve undergrads in research.

The Ivy League (reasonable reach/reach depending on school) - These schools should be a reasonable reach for you and others can describe them better than me. Almost all of them are in the northeast and you will have four seasons.

Rice (reach) - Like the Ivies but in Texas. Very strong in STEM.

NYU (slight reach) - Very expensive and give very little aid. Yet it’s a very strong academically (perhaps stronger regarded than UW). Very strong for economics, philosophy, and computer science. Very close to the best for economics and philosophy and located in the city of New York.

Amherst/Williams (reach) - Very difficult to get into. If you like computer science, I’d suggest Amherst due to its affiliation with the five college consortium where you can take classes at other schools, including UMASS Amherst. UMASS is a top 20 computer science department and its undergrad program is comparable to UW. Lots of personal attention and students are involved. The undergrad classes should be much more rigorous than those at UW. Williams also has a unique tutorial program similar to Oxbridge.

Other selective LACs (reach/target) - Similar to Amherst and Williams but easier to get into. I’d suggest Haverford and Swarthmore as they’re in a consortium with U Penn and are comparably strong academically. They’re also reaches.

University of Minnesota (target) - Very strong economics and philosophy. Very similar to UW academically. Stronger in economics and math but weaker in computer science. Very cold winters and lots of snow during the winters, as compared to almost no snow in WA. Plenty of scholarships for out of state students (https://admissions.tc.umn.edu/costsaid/residency_natl.html)

University of Toronto (Canada) - Weather similar to northeast US. Top ranked CS and philosophy and decent economics. It’s a hardcore academic school with harder grading than US schools and you will be treated like a number. But it’s well reputed to graduate schools. Lots of Asians (if you prefer that). Toronto is very multicultural, perhaps an epitome of that.

Also:

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison - similar to Minnesota, but better CS (top 10, almost as good as UW-Seattle) and lower chances of scholarships
  • Davidson (NC), St. Olaf (MN), Carleton (MN) - similar to other top LACs, might be easier to get into
  • WUSTL - don't know much about it, but it's elite
5

The top six or so from this analysis would be exceptionally strong for the study of economics (and generally would be excellent for the study of philosophy and CS):

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html

Your chances would be most realistic at colleges with acceptance rates of at least 25%. Good luck.

6

University of Pittsburgh is great for philosophy and a top research university.

7

You need to talk to your parents about this.

First off, you need a clear idea of your budget. I cannot stress how important this is. If your budget is small, you should also run the fafsa4caster and the college board EFC estimator together to get a rough idea of how much need you demonstrate for need-based aid. Second, your parents may be assuming you’re going to UW, and talking with them about where else you might apply is generally a good idea.

You’ve gotten quite a few colleges to check out already. Your guidance counselor may have suggestions about where kids from your high school got in as well.

8

It is time to sit down with your parents today and talk about your plans. You should run the Net Price Calculators together for all of the colleges that interest you.
Have you written your Common App essay yet?

9

Every college has a net price calculator on their website. You need to run them with your parents. Also, get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and review it. Your GC or library may have it; a copy that is a few years old is fine for the descriptive part.

10

I think the selective LAC’s and ivies suggested will take someone with equally good stats AND interesting ECs. They have so many applicants to choose from. I’m guessing large state schools aren’t as interested in EC’s. In your research, find schools that strictly focus on stats.

11

Agreeing with other posters, talk to your parents first about budget.

Also agree that there are few, if any, WUE schools that offer better quality than UW. WUE site is still down - but look at UA and ASU (WUE money may be restricted by campus and/or major) and the Colorado system.

If you want a bit of distance and drier, sunnier weather, but need to be in state for financial reasons, Washington State in Pullman might be a reasonable choice. It’s smaller than UW and has an honors program that might interest you. Western Washington might be worth a look but CS is impacted there and it doesn’t get you away from the gray.

If there’s room in the budget, take a look at Case Western - you can switch among its academic programs without having to apply or reapply to specific majors. Your stats might put you in contention for a merit scholarship.

12

@citymama9
how would i identify/find schools that focus strictly or place more emphasis on stats?

13

regarding financial aid I know that probably most private schools would offer sufficient financial aid, as i have filled out my fafsa.

14

Yes, the schools calculate their own EFC. The FAFSA EFC is just for awarding federal aid, and schools are under no obligation to provide aid to bring the cost down to that level. The schools that give the best aid ask a lot more questions and take more information into account when calculating what you would pay, and there is some variability in how they calculate “need”. You need to go to the website of each college you are considering and run the net price calculator with help from your parents.

15

I second Tufts. That’s a good school. I know you don’t want OOS schools, but University of Michigan has a great PPE major (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics)

16

UMichigan has made some strides in OOS aid recently, but I don’t think they meet full need still.