Hi all,
I need to choose my safety schools before my parents and guidance counselor completely lose their minds.
Here are my stats:
95.4 GPA weighted
800 SAT math
710 SAT ERW
800 Math2
740 SAT Bio E
710 SAT US History
4 APs taken, currently enrolled in 5 more
Stats - 5, Calculus AB - 5, APUSH - 4, AP Bio - 4
Soccer, Tennis (captain), Academic Quiz Bowl (captain), Mathletes (captain), Science Olympiad (captain), Student Council (President 12, Representative 11, Treasurer 10)
I’m looking for somewhere with strong STEM programs especially electrical engineering or physics, in or around NYC area that I’m likely to get in with strong merit money
Thanks
You should have started with choosing them, not doing it as an afterthought. Your parents and GC are 100% correct. Your geographic restriction is pretty limiting – Northeastern & Case Western come to mind as at least matches in the right quadrant of the country. Maybe RPI?
What is your home state? Financial situation? What schools are already on your list?
Fordham, NYU, City College, Hofstra
I live in NY, on long island, Financially middle class and as far as safety schools on my list it’s pretty short; I already submitted an EA application to UMinn Twin Cities and Case Western (as you suggested) and was thinking to add onto that Manhattan College and Le Moyne to my RD track but want even more
Manhattan is a good safety a lot of merit aid and good for stem. Fordham is a safety but its very business and arts oriented. NYU is not a safety more of a match and considering that you’re middle class you probably can’t afford it because their aid is so bad.
CUNY City College of New York, CUNY Grove School of Engineering
For a school to be a safety, you have to know it’s affordable. How much will your parents pay each year?
You want strong merit money, but what net cost do you want/need? Your parents are middle class. That doesn’t tell us much about how much they’ll pay each year. We see middle class parents who don’t have much leftover each month, and we see middle class parents who have college savings plans.
Safeties rarely give much/any need-based aid, so we need to know what your parents budget for college is.
Please ask your parents how much they will pay each year.
How many safety schools do you want?
Some people recommend two or three (just so you’re sure to have a choice) but you really only need one, if it’s a true admission and financial safety that you’d be reasonably happy to attend. Is Minnesota-TC such a school in your case?
Hundreds of colleges would be admission safeties for your stats. Net cost may be your bigger challenge. Have you run the online net price calculators for any schools that interest you (including UM-TC)? Have you discussed the results with your parents?