Struggling Senior.. please help!

Hey guys so I’m currently looking for some possible colleges to attend. I’m planning on majoring in either business or computer science. My stats are:

3.467 UW GPA through junior year (4 APs, 2 honors). This converts to a 3.72 weighted gpa.

1490 SAT (770 math, 720 reading/writing)

750 math 2 subject test

Decent extracurriculars: president of a couple clubs, not many volunteer hours

My GPA shows no sign of an upward trend :(. I was pretty lazy throughout HS…

Can somebody please recommend some possible match schools for me? My state of residency is Montana. All input is valued!!! Reminder: looking to major in either comp sci or business

Thanks

Bump. Plz help!

You might try posting this in parents forum. A lot of the parents with great knowledge Do Not read the Chance threads.

What is your college budget and how much can your parents pay/year?

You can get into tons of schools. What state do you live in? How much can you or your parents contribute per year?

I live in Montana. Lets just say they can contribute a good amount. I was thinking of applying to the following schools…

Cal Poly
Northeastern
USC
UT Austin
Alabama
NYU
University of Virginia
Purdue

Thoughts?

Unless you have had a money talk with your parents and know for certain what they mean by “pay a good amount,” you need a low-cost, in-state public option on your list. You might also look at schools where Montana residents get WUE discounts on tuition listed in this site http://wiche.edu/wue

Be aware that popular majors like computer science may not be eligible for WUE discounts, read the websites carefully.

You have a lot of out-of-state public universities that may show preference for in-state applicants in both admissions and financial aid. Make sure that they are do-able for admissions and be affordable if you are accepted. (I’m not familiar with all of these, but 3.47 GPA for UT Austin is a reach for sure.)

UT is a waste of time for an OOS kid with your stats. You need a $$ figure because there are some potential admits at full pay on your list (because you might not get merit at any reaches) will be 60K plus a year.

Cal poly SLO’s average weighted GPA is 4.16 and average SAT is 1467 for Engineering. You are on target with your SAT but GPA is low. With an acceptance rate of 10% or less for CS, SLO is a Reach school. You will be full pay at $36-40K/year. Little to no OOS FA.

Again your GPA will be a major factor for USC with an average UW GPA of 3.8. Another Reach school.

Start by finding 1-2 safety schools first. Then add 3-4 Match schools to the list, then add the Reach schools.

Thread title says senior, @Sybylla.
OP, there are too many reaches on your list. You got good advice to find a couple of decent, affordable in-state options.
And you have to get specific with your parents on what they can pay.
Your SAT score is quite good; try to find some schools assess weighted GPA for a better impression.

I think that you only have reach schools on your list which are likely to be very expensive if you get in, and that is a big “if”.

There are thousands of universities in the US and hundreds of very good ones. You need to aim at ones where your GPA is at least in the middle half of admitted students, and you need some where your GPA is in the upper half of admitted students.

Being from Montana, I think that your state flagship should be on your list of schools to apply to.

Also, you need to understand that university is going to be more difficult than high school, and the effort that you have put in so far is not going to be sufficient next year. I would suggest that you start trying for all A’s this year as part of the path to getting you ready to do well in university.

Thanks for the the feedback guys. I will definitely apply to some affordable in-state options… Any recommendations for match schools?

Really, the $$ figure is the first number you need to have to guide you. You are a senior and this is already a late start IMHO to be searching for schools. Your instate school should IMO be completed already. Ask your parents for an actual figure ASAP, as in, now. If you have 60K a yr plus to play with you have more options. WUE schools might be worth looking at, but only if they are better than your instate options.

There is something called a Net Price Calculator on every college website. It gives you an estimate of what your costs will be based on your stats and your family income.

It is more accurate if your biological parents are still married to each other, and if they hold traditional employment. Self-employment, family businesses, or a parent recently laid off will not generate as accurate an estimate. If your parents are divorced and remarried, it gets really tricky.

Run the numbers on each college, then sit down with your parents for a money talk. You need to ask them if they can afford the yearly costs. Plus there will be transportation costs to travel to college and back throughout your college years.

Just because you might have knowledge of their income, or they have told you growing up that they will pay for college, do not assume there are no limits.

You might have younger siblings, aging grandparents, uncertainty with a parent’s job security, or other factors like wanting to save money to pay for your grad school or med school that will cause your parents to limit their willingness to pay an unlimited amount for your college education.

Then there is reason that comes into play. Will parents really pay $70,000 a year for NYU when you can attend another school for much less cost?

What you do not want is to arrive at Decision Time next April and find out you do not want to attend your Safety School and your parents balk at the last minute and refuse to pay $70,000/year.

Even worse than that is for your parents to be embarrassed about their lack of college funds, borrow tens of thousands of dollars for your freshman year, and then not be eligible to borrow funds for future years. That could leave you unable to finish your degree, but your parents still get stuck with huge loans.

So please listen to the parents here. We are not just digging to get you to tell us personal information. We have read many threads of heartbroken students who thought they were okay to pursue certain colleges, but at last minute parents confess they can not pay.

What we are asking you to tell us is something like this. “I ran the Net Price Calculator with my parents telling me the accurate income information. We looked at several colleges, and the yearly price they are comfortable paying is $X per year.”

Also ask if they have any other limitations or restrictions on which college you attend. We have heard of geographic limitations, no urban campuses for safety concerns, must be a religious school, or must live at home and commute.

We have been through this process with our kiddos, and are glad to share. We want to help guide you to the best fit college that is affordable for your family.

An advantage you do have is geography. Colleges want a geographically diverse student body. You can use it to your advantage by applying to schools who have few students from where you live.

You need to find out your budget.

Cal Poly is a California public university. It will run your parents about $40K per year.
USC is a private school. It will run you about $72K per year.

You need to have the budget talk now!

Your current GPA is too low for CPSLO and USC since they are extremely competitive universities.