<p>jo7, Take a deep breath and slow down. You certainly don't sound clueless -- just unfocused, which is normal at this point in the college search and application process.</p>
<p>Your background will make you a person of interest to just about every school in the US. You have a viable safety, a sure thing. So. . . you’re all set – what you need to do now is to identify what YOU want in a college and come up with a list that is reasonably balanced between matches and reaches and that is a good fit for YOU. </p>
<p>First, let’s talk about the money. There are two kinds of aid – need and merit. Need means what the colleges think you need. It’s fairly easy to determine what this is by asking your family to fill out one of those on-line calculators. Princeton has a good one. </p>
<p>If you qualify for need based aid, then you can proceed to focus on colleges that guarantee to cover your “need.” If you don’t qualify or if your family has the money but for whatever reason doesn’t want to spend it on your education, then you’ll have a very different list. This is where merit aid comes in.</p>
<p>Merit aid is granted for exceptional cases. These can be academic or talent-related or even demographic, e.g. diversity driven. Basically, the college will give you money to entice you to attend whether you need it or not. The complication is that most of the big name or top rated schools don’t give merit aid. Those that do are certainly not less respectable however, so assuming that you qualify for need-based aid, let’s just consider merit aid the cherry on the sundae. </p>
<p>I’d also take a look at the Questbridge website. This is an organization that helps match kids from low income homes with top schools.
<a href="http://www.questbridge.org/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.questbridge.org/index.html</a></p>
<p>Second, you need to take a systematic approach to making your list. There are hundreds of colleges in America and as I said, there’s nothing in your profile that would keep you out of any of them. Assuming that you will not need merit aid (again, you MUST clarify this point before you go any further) you are a reasonable candidate for most schools. So the question shouldn’t be "Where can I get in?" but rather "What would be a good fit for me?"</p>
<p>You don’t really need to buy a lot of books to perform a sensible search. The internet is your friend. All of the colleges have websites, there are several general college advice boards, and this site is in itself a goldmine of information. </p>
<p>The important point is to do your own research and not to ask general questions. If you ask open-ended questions, you will get non-specific answers with college names thrown out like popcorn to pigeons. Do your homework first, then come back and ask what you want to know about the colleges that you have selected.</p>
<p>Start with comparing attributes like urban/rural/suburban, large/small/medium, artsy/sporty/political, big Greek presence/none, all women/coed, geographic location etc., etc. If you’ve never visited a college campus try to see some near your home. Visits, whether you’re interested in the specific college or not, will help you visualize what type of college is best for you.</p>
<p>I’d suggest that you make a list of about 15-20 schools that interest you and research those in depth. Along the way some will drop out, some will solidify as your favorites and new suggestions will pop up. By around early October you should have a shortlist of about 8-12 that you intend to apply to. </p>
<p>In the interim you can prepare your application, take your tests, gather your recomendations, write your essays. Some colleges have specific needs, but most are very similar in their requirements.</p>
<p>Take heart, it IS confusing and overwhelming at first. But repetition and diligence pays off and in no time you’ll understand the initials, the code words, the points of differentiation.</p>
<p>Third, I’d like to say a word about diversity. All colleges value diversity and all colleges are interested in recruiting high achieving Hispanic students. The big urban universities and most of the big name schools have plenty of URMs. This is especially true of those on either coast. However those schools that are located in more remote locations or the Midwest have a harder time recruiting minorities and after they are admitted, convincing them to attend. So, it makes sense to go against the grain. Find schools with a low percentage of Hispanics where your ethnicity would be a plus.</p>
<p>Fourth, are you recruitable for swimming, in any division? If you’re interested in swimming competitively contact the coaches now. This can a big boost in admissions. Even if you’re not able or interested in swimming on the varsity team, involvement in sports even on a club or personal level is a plus at some schools. Learn which ones these are.</p>
<p>Fifth, Take a looks at small liberal arts colleges. Williams and Amherst are excellent colleges that seem to fit your interests, especially if you are already attracted to Princeton and Dartmouth. They are also very selective, but they need Hispanics and are especially interested in kids with athletic involvement as well as high academic standing. They have a strong track record for getting their students into law school and other graduate programs and offer a lot of personalized attention.</p>
<p>There are many other LACs that you should take a look at. Go through the top 25 list in U.S. News and World report. Many of these offer merit aid as well as need based aid and most would be delighted to recruit someone like you. Don’t eliminate small colleges because you haven’t heard of them. If you don’t want to use UT as your safety or if you want to explore merit aid these are excellent choices. A few that come to mind are Macalester, Carlton, Grinnell, Kenyon, Bowdoin, Smith. . . there are dozens of others.</p>
<p>Last, don’t worry about your SATs. I’d let the SATI stand (your 800’s may just drop if you take it again) and select a few SATIIs that you will excel at. You might consider taking the ACT as well.</p>
<p>Your GPA, rank, ethnicity and extracurriculars are very strong and you won’t need another 50 points in Math to get admitted. Concentrate instead on putting together a knock out application, writing compelling essays, identifying reliable recommenders and most importantly, selecting colleges that are right for YOU.</p>
<p>Good luck and let us know how you do.</p>