Suggestions and Advice needed please!!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I need some suggestions on what colleges to apply to or colleges that you think would fit me.
About me: I'm an African American female, rising senior living in South Carolina. I'm the 6th child out of seven in my family. My mom is a single parent, my dad is not a citizen of the US anymore; he lives in his native Jamaica. </p>

<p>ECs</p>

<p>+Band- since fifth grade. First Trumpet (5th through 8th grade) now Euphonium/Baritone (9th-12th grade). I'm in Marching band, Wind Ensemble, and jazz band. I'm the captain of the brass section.</p>

<p>+Student Council- Since 10th grade. I was Junior class president. This year I'm running for Student Body Prez. </p>

<p>+Yearbook- since 10th grade. My school's yearbook is featured in Josten's Lookbook which is a collection of outstanding yearbooks and yearbook designs. Editor for my junior and senior year. </p>

<p>+Academic Bowl- since 9th grade. Going to be captain of the varsity team this year. 9-12</p>

<p>+Interact- (Community Service) My first year doing this, not many hours. 11-12</p>

<p>I have had a job since my sophomore year (Atlanta Bread Company) I work about about 21 hours a week during school and 30 during the summer.
I also write for my city paper here in Charleston, The Post and Courier. I'm also paid for this.</p>

<p>As for grades...
For my 9-11th grade year my GPA is a 3.67
I took the SAT this Winter...didn't go well
560 CR
450 M
520 Writing</p>

<p>Took it again in June
..still not good.
580 CR
440 M
540 W
I'm going to take it one last time my senior year.</p>

<p>I took the SAT II US History and my score was 640.
-->AP classes
10th grade: AP Human Geography- 4
11th grade: AP US H- 4 and AP Lang and Comp- 3</p>

<p>+I'm signed up to take the following my senior year
AP Lit and Comp
AP Gov
AP Econ (Macro)
AP Environmental Science
AP European History
AP Music Theory
Honors Band IV
Yearbook</p>

<p>My dream school would be:
-Diverse
-Small to medium size population
-In an urban or suburban location, not rural.
-I would not mind going out of state, but only in the eastern US.
-Women colleges are included too.
-Offering a lot of financial aid also.
-I'm not exactly sure what I want to major in, but I know I want to study philosophy, french, creative writing/communications, and film history.
- I also want to do a semester abroad preferably in France.
++I'm going to need financial aid because my mom cannot contribute much with her salary.++
- I would love to continue performing music whether it be through a concert band, marching band, or a small ensemble.
Can anyone suggest some schools for me or any advice?
Thanks,</p>

<p>Ifetayo!</p>

2

<p>anyone ???</p>

3

<p>It’s going to be really hard because you are being so specific with what you want, and because your SATs seem like they greatly undermine your ability. For that reason, I would suggest test-optional schools, such as Smith and Wake Forest. If your family income isn’t very high, you shouldn’t have trouble getting a good financial aid package, but I guess you just have to wait and see how that goes.</p>

4

<p>The best advice I can offer is to try the ACT. Get the prep book and prepare as if your college career depends on it.</p>

<p>As for schools, I can suggest Muhlenberg.</p>

5

<p>What’s your class rank?</p>

<p>As others have posted, colleges will not like you SAT scores very much at all. Either 1) prepare vigorously for the SAT this year and improve your scores accross the board 2) give the ACT a try 3) consider test-optional schools.</p>

6

<p>With that said, do not be discouraged. Your socioeconomic condition, URM status, and family situation, combined with very strong extracurriculars is a very good start. Study hard your first semester senior year and try to pull up those test scores.</p>

7

<p>i also second the advice on trying out the ACT. seriously put your mind to it and don’t give up don’t give up.</p>

<p>the only problem i see is that there are many schools that are matches, but the ones in mind that give the FA you need are slightly out of your reach at the moment (Duke, NYU).</p>

8

<p>I was going to suggest Muhlenberg as well, but it definitely doesn’t have the ethnic diversity you seem to be looking for.</p>

9

<p>You might want to look into Temple U in Phila. It may be larger than what you hope for, but it will have a very diverse population, the urban environment you are seeking and alot of the other characteristics you mentioned. They are very strong in Communications area too.</p>

10

<p>based on what your interests are, and what you look for in a school, I highly suggest you take a look at my own school, Johns Hopkins University. It has a very strong top 20ish Philosophy department. In French, it is one of only 2 or 3 American schools, I believe, to actually receive academic recognition in French by the French University Systems. In creative writing, it is usually always top 2 in the country and top 10 for English. For Film, it has a fledgling but growing program, and history is top 10/15 likewise in the country.
It is an urban school located in a rather park-like campus with beautiful architecture and landscaping. Around the school are safer neighborhoods and downtown baltimore is a free-shuttle ride away. DC is also highly accessible, being a $7/45-minute train ride away.
For music, Hopkins has a lot of cool on-campus groups, but a little known fact is that Hopkins also owns the nearby Peabody Conservatory, the oldest music conservatory in the country, and students can take classes there and be a part of the groups there if they choose.
Hopkins, while maybe not as generous as Harvard or Princeton, gives a lot of financial aid. More than 45 million dollars in GRANT money (meaning not, loan, but money you can take to use on tuition) this year, with many scholarships available. I think financial aid covers around 99-100% of all financial need based on FAFSA and with the new president, it is bound to get even better.
The school size is medium to small for a research university. On the main campus, where you would be staying as an undergrad, there are only 4600-4700 undergrads and 1000+ grad students. The school is somewhere inbetween the size of a liberal arts school and an all-out research university (like, say, Cornell or Columbia <which has=“” a=“” small=“” undergrad=“” pop=“” too,=“” but=“” huge=“” grad=“” presence=“” on=“” campus=“”>).
Studying abroad at Hopkins is really easy too, especially for your intended majors. They also run programs during intersession/winter break where you can study for three weeks in places like Florence, Italy, NYC, Egypt, Africa, etc. Hopkins also has campuses in DC, Singapore, Nanjing China, Bologna, Italy, and participates with schools in other abroad programs so that you can study in literally any country you can think of.
Also, clearly, Baltimore is East Coast. The food there is great. You like seafood/southern cooking?–come to Baltimore!</which></p>

11

<p>Temple sounds like a great choice, but you won’t get much aid.</p>

12

<p>Thanks for all the responses, I’m going to try the SAT again in the fall and take the ACT.</p>

<p>wittywonka, I’m in the top 10-12% of my class, but that will probably go up after my first semester.</p>

13

<p>Smith and Mount Holyoke are both excellent women’s colleges that are test-optional.</p>

<p>Also, check out this website for a larger list of test-optional schools:
[Optional</a> List | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]Optional”>ACT/SAT Optional List for Fall 2025 - Fairtest)</p>

14

<p>Denison U in Ohio</p>

15

<p>Perhaps:
Wellesley
Smith</p>

16

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<p>Try to aim for schools that have a good Marching Band. Being in a college band is an awesome experience, and you will never regret it.</p>

17

<p>Thanks, I’m checking out some of the women’s colleges also!</p>