<p>I am a senior about to graduate. I have no idea where I'm going to go next year. </p>
<p>My current GPA is 3.69 weighted. I have not taken either the ACT nor the SAT. I'm interested in a liberal arts programs.</p>
<p>If anyone has suggestions, that would be great. I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks.</p>
<p>You should take the SAT or the ACT (and prepare for them) as soon as you can - the December date is still possible, with registration before November 8. This will open many more options, especially if you hope to get financial aid.</p>
<p>This is a list of test-optional colleges:
[SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest)
Some colleges are also test-flexible, meaning you can take any 3 AP or SAT2 tests of your choice instead of the ACT or SAT.
However, a test optional school may require you to take the tests if you want financial aid…</p>
<p>A 3.69 (even weighted) opens up a lot of possibilities, especially in terms of Liberal Arts Colleges.
You can start looking at the Colleges that Chage Lives website. Your In-State flagship and other state universities are obvious places to look at (there may be a liberal arts public college like UNC Asheville or MCLA or Minnesota-Morris.)</p>
<p>Would you be willing to go to the Midwest or the South? How much can your parents afford (will you need financial aid? can your parents afford their EFC or will you need merit aid? Are you parents able to pay full freight?) What state do you live in?
Once we have this information, we’ll gladly give you lots of suggestions.</p>
<p>MYOS1634, </p>
<p>thank you for responding,</p>
<p>My current situation is that my family is in bad economic state, so not much money will be expected from them. My GPA will allow a few thousand from HOPE, but that is all I am certain of.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to go to a liberal arts college or a public school with a great humanities program (philosophy would be great). Staying in Georgia will be favored, but I am open to possibilities outside of it.</p>
<p>If you financial aid then please take the SAT or the ACT (and prepare for it, with any guidebook you can find in your library or the “blue book”/the “red book” of official tests.)
Take it twice: do a late registration in November and try to score as high as you can so that you can compete for the scholarships with Dec 1 deadlines, and again in December for the schools with a Jan 1-Feb 15 deadline.
The obvious choice would be Georgia College, the public liberal arts college in GA. With that GPA, you’d need a 25-27 ACT or a 1700-1800 SAT.
If you’re willing to go far away and don’t mind the cold in exchange for a good education at a low cost, look at University of Minnesota-Morris: all admitted students pay in-state rates (which are rather cheap).
If you’re a girl, Agnes Scott has a HOPE scholarship guarantee so it’d be a really good deal for you (superb education in the liberal arts, motivated students, and, Atlanta :).)
If your family makes less than $50,000/year, apply to Berea college: it’s tuition-free for all admitted students, and you have a guaranteed on-campus job to help you meet the cost of room&board.
Go to these colleges’ websites and ask for information (“request info” or “join the mailing list”) so that colleges know you’re interested in them. In some cases it matters.
I’ll try to think of more and I’m sure other posters will have good ideas too.</p>
<p>I worked with a forestry major, philosophy minor from UGA and he raved about the program. If you can get your SATs high enough for UGA, seriously consider it. Depending on your income, Oxford College may be a possibility. Full need school (although sometimes the school thinks people can afford far more than they actually can) and it’s affiliated with the broader Emory University. For two years, you get a small LAC, and then move onto a mid sized research university.</p>
<p>Thanks whenhen and MYOS1634 for the replies,</p>
<p>I am not so certain about college, but I would like to clarify somethings. </p>
<p>1)In college, how much room is there generally to try new things, such as business that are outside of your intended major? </p>
<p>2)How does the college transfer system work? Am I allowed to transfer to another liberal arts school after 2 years?</p>
<p>1) There’s usually a good amount. Typically, out of 120 required credits you’ll need 30-40 in your major and about 30-40 of general education requirements. That leaves about 40-60 credits of electives, which you can take in any department.</p>
<p>2) Yes, you can transfer somewhere else after 2 years. Transferring really depends on the school to which you want to transfer. Some schools (like Princeton) don’t take any transfer students. Others (like the other Ivies) only take a few transfer students a year, and thus it is very hard to transfer there. And some schools are very transfer friendly. Most Georgia public universities are transfer-friendly, and they have articulation agreements with community colleges (meaning that you are guaranteed admission if you attend a CC for 2-years, get a certain GPA, and take the appropriate classes). But you typically get the best financial aid as a freshman applicant.</p>
<p>There are tons of great schools in Georgia! And our public universities are pretty cheap, too.</p>
<p>-University of Georgia is an obvious choice, with tons of majors and great social atmosphere. But it can be competitive given that it’s our flagship. So you need good SAT scores.</p>
<p>-Georgia State is a good alternative, too. It’s in Atlanta, though, so if you wanted to be in a more suburban area or a college with a traditional campus, but a good choice.</p>
<p>-Georgia Southern is another popular and affordable choice for seniors. Big sports, great social atmosphere, and lots of majors there as well.</p>
<p>-Georgia College & State University is our public liberal arts college. Only 5500 undergraduates. SAT scores in in the midrange (1050ish to 1200ish).</p>
<p>-The University of North Georgia in Dahlonega is another good place - similar SAT midrange, similar size to GCSU, and it’s also a liberal arts college. They also have a military Corps of Cadets that provides an option for paying for school, if you are interested in the military.</p>
<p>-Valdosta State is another good regional university. About 10,000 students, and good liberal arts offerings.</p>
<p>UGA and Georgia State are more money than Southern, GCSU, UNG and Valdosta.</p>
<p>You may also be interested in Kennesaw State, Clayton State, and West Georgia. They aren’t as well-reputed as the ones I listed above, but they’re still good regional schools with a wide range of liberal arts majors.</p>
<p>And if you get a high enough SAT score, consider applying to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa isn’t that far over the border and Bama offers some generous scholarships to high achievers!</p>
<p>In college, if you’re a liberal arts major, you have roughly 10-12 classes in your major, 10-14 classes in general education (with some overlap with your major, i.e introduction to philosophy, logic and ethics may count as 3 classes among the 10_12 for your major and also as 3 separate gen ed classes), and the rest is entirely up to you.
Your first semester, you typically take either a math or science class unless you have AP credit and don’t plan on continuing with that subject + a first year seminar + the next level of foreign language unless you have AP credit + 2 other classes, typically along the lines of history/philosophy/art/music and economics/sociology/psychology/international studies/women’s studies/African American studies. In fact, during your first year, you will be specifically encouraged to take classes outside of your chosen area of study, to see if some spark an interest. You may start thinking you’ll major in philosophy, and end up with a philosophy major and an Asian studies minor, for example, just because during your first year you discovered Japanese which you’d decided to take for a kick.
You would typically have 5 3-credit classes or 4 4-credit classes each semeste, or 3 classes each term for 3 terms (for colleges on the quarter or trimester system).
The further advanced in your studies you are, the more freedom you have in choosing what aspects of your discipline you want to study and what “personal interest” classes you feel like taking. If your primary interest is philosophy, you would likely take one philosophy class or two during your first year to decide whether it’s the field for you, along with other classes. You would be able to have one major (specialization) and one minor (fewer classes than a major), or even two majors - although having two majors really is difficult. If you’re in a liberal arts school, not only will you not find it hard to take classes outside your major, but you’ll have to!</p>
<p>The college transfer system varies from state to state. Some community colleges in Georgia have specific agreements with specific colleges and majors within these colleges that guarantee that if you have a 3.0 and met all requirements, you can transfer into the 4-year college. This can be a solution, but with your GPA you would definitely get into a 4-year school that’s affordable.
This next part is especially important for you since you need financial aid: <strong><em>the best financial aid packages and the best scholarships are reserved for freshmen applicants.</em></strong> Transfers often get the short end of the stick in terms of financial aid.
Not only are you allowed to transfer from one 4-year school to another, but it’s actually the most frequent type of transfers. Still, the financial aid matters remains.
In any case: apply to a variety of schools. Once admission decisions and financial aid letters have arrived, make your decision. If none of the schools that admitted you really interest you, apply to community college then. Typical community colleges accept applications until Jumy 1 or even August 1.</p>
<p>Are you first-gen? (= neither adult who raised you has a degree from a 4 year college)
Some colleges have special programs and special aid for such applicants, because they don’t have enough first-gen students.</p>
<p>If you can, go visit a public college and a private college not far from where you live. Beside Agnes Scott and Oxford College of Emory, you have Ogglethorpe, Morehouse/Spelman, Georgia Tech, … right in Atlanta for example.</p>
<p>Look outside Georgia, too. If you apply to colleges 500+ miles from home, you’re likely to get preferential packaging (ie, better financial aid offers). In addition, some colleges in the North have a “no loans” offer for students whose parents don’t make much money. You could graduate from college debt-free if you were admitted to these colleges. And the fact you’re from far away means you’d provide geographical diversity so it’d give you a boost.</p>
<p>Have you requested your fee waivers or asked if you qualify? Your guidance counselor should be able to tell you. If you qualify, it means you can apply to some colleges for free and take the ACT and SAT for free, too. In addition, many private colleges are actually free to apply to if you apply online or through CommonApp.</p>
<p>But first, go online to the schools’ websites as suggested above, and request information. You would receive free brochures in the mail very soon and it’d help you figure things out. Also, as soon as you can, ask about that fee waiver for the SAT or the ACT so that you can take it without burdening your parents (if this were to be a burden for you.)</p>