Suggestions for safeties and matches?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm a low-income junior in Michigan from a rural school district, which means they offer very few ECs or opportunities for advanced students. My family's low income (~22,000, single parent w/ one child) means I'll need almost my entire tuition covered by scholarships, grants, and work-study. I'm planning on studying music in some capacity, so a good music program/music school is a must, and I'd like it to be 5,000+ students somewhere near a city. I've been looking into schools, but all I've been able to find are mostly reaches, so I'm hoping I can get some good advice here on safety and match schools.</p>

<p>Colleges (basically all reaches):
Washington University in St. Louis
Pomona
Oberlin (mainly for their amazing conservatory)
Northwestern
University of Chicago
Boston University
Carnegie Mellon</p>

<p>GPA: 3.94 UW, though it's on track to rise to a 4.0 this year
Class Rank: 13 out of 190, though again, it's going to be higher
Honors and APs: Honors English 10 and 11, AP Bio, AP World History, AP Calculus, AP Composition. No test scores yet as I'm either currently taking them or will be taking them next year. I'm taking five of the six APs offered by my school, btw.
College Courses: 1 year of German/French (next year)</p>

<p>Tests
PSAT: 207 sophomore year, prob. around a 225 for this year; no idea at an actual SAT projection as I haven't taken a practice yet.
SAT IIs: I haven't taken any yet, though I'll probably take World History this year, possibly Biology depending on how I do in the class.
Prac. ACT: 30 overall, with 33 English, 32 reading, 31 science, 24 math (horrible, I know). I'm aiming for about a 32 when I actually take the test.</p>

<p>ECs/Volunteering/Whatever</p>

<p>Music:
4 years in marching band ranked top ten in the state, 1 year as section leader, 7 years in my school's music program
3 years at Oakland Hills Music Camp, 3 years at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, 1 year at Interlochen
2 years of jazz band; 4 years in a community band; membership in several honors bands/orchestras, both state and local
Gave music lessons for several years
I play piano, trombone, and tuba</p>

<p>Volunteering:
All kinds of tutoring, in and out of school
72 hours in two years of various volunteering through NHS
Nursery/babysitting at my church
I'm planning on finding some other volunteer opportunities around my town within the next year, as I know my hours are way too low.</p>

<p>School Activities:
NHS for two years
Quiz Bowl varsity for four years
Student council/steering committee
Task Group 5, a kind of volunteering group that works at improving life in the school and around the town</p>

2

<p>I would post this in the music forum. You’ll get good advice on music schools there.</p>

3

<p>You should look into Lawrence. It’s like Oberlin in that it has both a college and a conservatory and you can get a dual degree, but it’s a bit more urban and less selective.</p>

4

<p>You aren’t interested in Michigan?</p>

5

<p>Recommend more math classes. Not possible for a 3.94 UW GPA to rise to 4.0.</p>

6

<p>rjkofnovi: I was considering that as an in-state safety, but I’m really not into going to school with 40,000 students.</p>

<p>lynxinsider: I’m taking the maximum amount of math classes offered. I guess my school must do it differently, then, because I know someone that’s got a 4.19 without taking any APs or honors.</p>

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<p>teenage_cliche: Thanks for the suggestion, I hadn’t noticed Lawrence before. :)</p>

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<p>So is your 3.94 UW out of 5, then? If it is out of 4 and you currently have a 3.94, it will never reach 4. The highest it could ever go is 3.99999…</p>

<p>UW = unweighted. Without weighting, how could one get more than 4.0/4???</p>

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<p>I was confused about it, too, but when I asked my counselors they said nothing was weighted, even though those in AP classes get an automatic three percent added onto their marking period grades. Maybe it’s out of 4.5? I’ll have to ask around and figure it out, I guess.</p>

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<p>Hmmm… wouldn’t “adding three percent” be weighting??? I guess it would be a bad idea to start an argument on the point with your recommendation-writing counselors, though.</p>

<p>Sorry for going off the point of the thread… I should probably try to make a useful suggestion while I am here… how about University of The Pacific as a safety? It made Fiske’s list as a “Best Buy” and is known for its music program [Pacific</a> Named a “Best Buy” by Fiske Books - University of the Pacific](<a href=“http://web.pacific.edu/x30381.xml]Pacific”>http://web.pacific.edu/x30381.xml) . If your test scores turn out as well as it looks like they will, USC would be a match. They meet 100% of USC-determined need (using FAFSA + CSS/Profile). [USC</a> Thornton School of Music](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/) Oh - and the marching band is sooooo good!</p>

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<p>If you make NMF, you’ll have some more options.</p>

<p>Do you want to do marching band in college?</p>

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<p>I would like to, but it’s not required. I love marching, but it wouldn’t make or break a college for me.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it. :)</p>

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<p>USC would definitely be a match U for you. And if your PSAT scores put you in NMSF range, you would receive an automatic 1/2 tuition scholarship if you are accepted at USC [ just be SURE you have your application in by Dec 1 next year]</p>

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<p>And don’t let USC’s price tag scare you away. They provide excellent financial aid. Apply!</p>

15

<p>^^^USC would also be too large for the OP.</p>

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<p>OP specifies “5,000+” and says that 40,000 is too big. USC has 16,000 undergraduates, which seems to fit nicely between those two figures.</p>

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<p>^^^^^Michigan doesn’t have 40,000 undergraduates.</p>

18

<p>Look at U of Michigan again. If you were my kid I wouldn’t let you skip applying (and I’m not at all sure you would get in). It doesn’t feel like you are in school with 40000 students if you’re at the School of Music. Or even if you are an undergrad in LSA.</p>

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<p>rjkofnovi: My apologies, they had roughly 40,000 students total, about 25,000 undergrads. I messed up my numbers. </p>

<p>memake: I have been looking again at U of M, and you’re right, it doesn’t make sense to skip over it due to it’s size. Thankfully, I have a while to look over everything and make my decisions.</p>

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<p>I recalculated my GPA, and it roughly works out to a 3.63. Turns out my school uses a 4.333 scale rather than a 4.0 one.</p>