<p>I'm looking for suggestions on schools to check out. Here are my criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li>Large to gigantic city</li>
<li>Reputable (would like to attend a very good grad school afterwards)</li>
<li>Relatively affordable (<25,000; PA resident)</li>
<li>Not a huge fan of the Midwest but I'd definitely be willing to look into schools there (prefer East or West coast)</li>
<li>Psychology program</li>
</ul>
<p>My qualifications:</p>
<p>1830 SAT
3.7 GPA
2 AP classes
2 honors classes
National Honor Society
Girl Scout for 12 years (various service projects; silver & bronze awards earned)
Athlete: National champ; 2 national records; jr. world team; competed abroad at world champs 2x (ps it's not a collegiate sport so I can't be recruited)
I write a strong essay.</p>
<p>So what are some schools that are probably within my qualifications to get into (reach & match), and generally fit my criteria?</p>
<p>Was that your first time taking the SAT? Had you prepared? If that raises, some other schools might become options for you. </p>
<p>As is, if Pittsburgh’s a big enough city for you, the University of Pittsburgh would seem like a good in-state option. Your stats are right about in the middle of their accepted range. Their full cost is $30,000 in-state, but you might get $5,000 or more from your need-based aid. I think they also have a number of merit scholarships, which your extracurriculars might well deserve. Have you calculated your need in FAFSA yet? <$25,000 list price is a very different kettle of fish than being able to pay <$25,000/year to a school awarding you need- and/or merit-based aid. </p>
<p>If you’d accept the idea of single-sex education, I’d suggest you look into some of the women’s colleges with SATs and GPAs on a par with your own. Many women’s colleges seem to offer a mismatch of really excellent educations without being insanely difficult to get into, which is why I recommend you take a look at them. (e.g. Bryn Mawr’s barely half a step behind Swarthmore in educational quality, but admits 41% of applicants while Swarthmore admits 14%.) I can’t tell about your number of AP/Honors classes. If that’s the number of AP/Honors classes you’ll take before graduation, that number is pretty low for this advice. However, if you’re taking more next year, 2 APs seems about standard for junior year and carry on. Either way! Your extracurricular achievement is high enough that, especially +100 or more on the SAT or at test-optional schools, you might be competitive for some good women’s colleges. Wellesley/Barnard are quite high reaches with your current scores, although not so much that it would be a mistake to apply if you got your SAT 100 points higher, but Bryn Mawr or Mt Holyoke (the latter test-optional) might make sense. These colleges tend to be at the edge of big cities, not right in the heart of them, but it’s worth looking into. Likewise, they’re expensive and shouldn’t be used as safeties, but you might get enough aid to work it.</p>
<p>While I am a fan of women’s colleges and often recommend them, this really isn’t an accurate statement. Average 50% range for SAT scores (two years old, but not much change since then):</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr:
CR: 600-700
M: 580-680</p>
<p>Swarthmore:
CR: 680-780
M: 680-760</p>
<p>That is a pretty big difference.</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke is not near a city at all (a couple of hours from Boston). Has a lovely campus, though. But with the best merit scholarship they offer (D2 was awarded it last year), the cost is still almost $40K/year. Can’t tell if the OP is eligible for need based aid or not, though.</p>
<p>OP, can you clarify whether you think you would be eligible for need based aid? Your best bet is to go run the net price calculator for schools in large cities you are interested in. But be aware that divorced parents, small business ownership, and/or trusts can make those calculators somewhat unreliable.</p>
<p>Also, outstate tuition at U of Minnesota is on the rise.</p>
<p>@exultationsy thanks for the advice, i hadn’t thought of or considered women’s colleges. i looked them up and the first thing i thought of bryn mawr and barnard was that they are beautiful campuses. I fell in love with Georgetown’s campus and they seem similar as far as the architecture and relation to a major city goes, which is good. I do like Pitt and it’s on my short list. I’m from Pittsburgh though and I’d like to be away from home if possible. </p>
<p>I haven’t calculated my need yet but i don’t think i will get much need-based aid. I was thinking less than 25,000 BEFORE aid is awarded. I am looking at cheaper schools because regardless I don’t think my family will contribute much and I don’t want $50,000 to pay off in student loans when I get out.</p>
<p>Oh and about the SAT and AP’s - I have only taken the SAT once, without any preparation, but I have been and will be studying all summer so I hope to bring my score up. I think I can break 2000 but not by much. I unfortunately have not taken ANY ap’s so far, but will be taking AP bio and chem my senior year. I regret not taking them earlier in my HS career but i am in cyber school, and the AP classes are like sub-leased out to another cyber school, and therefore mine discourages taking them! i just realized going into senior year and starting my college search that i really should have been taking them, ugh. i guess everything’s clearer in retrospect.</p>
<p>@intparent thanks for the reply. Yeah I’m not interested in holyoke because it’s not that close to a major city. I don’t think I’ll be eligible for much, if any, need-based aid.</p>
<p>They report cost after need-based aid but there are some on the list which will give merit based aid as well. They are usually private and it does not matter whether your are in or out of state. To reduce overall costs, you might look into a local Community College for the first year or two and then transfer. Some of the same schools give merit based aid to transfers as well.</p>
<p>Best bet may be your in-state options of Pitt or Temple. You might qualify for merit aid at Goucher in Baltimore. There are a lot of very good Jesuit colleges in major cities across the country and I was thinking that Fordham in NYC, St. Joes in Phila, or Loyola MD in Baltimore could be good options, but you need to see if you have to get your SATs up to qualify for merit aid.
[Jesuit</a> Institutions |](<a href=“http://www.ajcunet.edu/institutions]Jesuit”>Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities--Jesuit Colleges and Universities)</p>
<p>If you are interested in women’s colleges, Agnes Scott College is located in Atlanta, and you might qualify for merit aid there if you can bring your scores up a bit. It has very small class sizes, all professors have terminal degrees, and the campus is quite beautiful.</p>
<p>Yes, that’s a pretty big difference in average SAT scores. Does it indicate a big difference in educational quality? The student:faculty ratio is exactly the same. Percent of classes with under 20 students is exactly the same. BMC has slightly more classes with 50 or more students (3% v. 2%). In per capita production of social science PhDs, Swarthmore ranks 1st, Bryn Mawr 4th. In per capita production of humanities PhDs, Swarthmore ranks 4th, BMC 8th. For research expenditures, Bryn Mawr ranks 15th among LACs, Swarthmore 34th (according to Washington Monthly, 2011, which ranks BMC 3rd overall among LACs and Swarthmore 5th … albeit according to criteria not completely focused on academic quality).</p>