<p>Sites that show various statistics and acceptance data like average GPA and SATs vary quiet a lot and I cannot be sure which source to go with.</p>
<p>With a 3.2 and 4.0 weighted (pretty much everything GT/AP), 1880 SAT (680 math), lots of community service groups iv been with for a long time (boy scouts/astro society), and school programing club prez. Im tech oriented ~ school choices make that pretty clear :-)</p>
<p>Give me a reading on what chances I have. My goal is applying to 7 places (no, not because its a magic number). 4 good chances schools, 2 stretches and a safety.</p>
<p>---Stretch---
1) Rochester Institute</p>
<p>---Good Chances---
1) Drexel University
2) Penn State
3) UMBC</p>
<p>---Possible safeties?---
1) Boston University
2) Embry Riddle Aerospace</p>
<p>Again, I am sorry if I am way out of the ball park on my estimates. Feel free to re-arrange them into different categories for me if they are indeed a bit 'off'. Also would be pleased with school suggestions, size, location and cost makes no difference.</p>
<p>Boston University is by no means a safety - in fact, I’d say it’s significantly more selective than Penn State and UMBC and is at around the same level as Drexel, if not a bit harder. It’s also getting more and more competitive every year. I’m not saying you have no chance there, as I’m sure you at least have a shot at every school you listed, but BU is more competitive than you seem to give it credit for.</p>
You can pay for it without any aid other than federally determined (FAFSA) aid and/or guaranteed state aid (such as Bright Futures, TAP, Blue&Gold, Hope) and/or any guaranteed merit-based aid that you know for dead certain you will have because of your grades and/or exam scores.
You know for certain that you will be admitted because the institution posts right on its website the GPA and exam scores that will guarantee admission, OR your high school has years of records that indicate that every applicant who has had a profile like yours has been admitted.
Your major is offered.
You will be happy to attend if you don’t get in anywhere else that you can afford.</p>
<p>If the “Possible safeties” on your list don’t meet those four criteria, you need to move them to a different category, and go back to tracking down a real, true safety or two.</p>
<p>Zamiel, what county are you in? Take a look at your county’s community college website, and see what transfer agreements that place has with UMBC and UMCP. If you like your community college (or one in an adjacent county that you can commute to easily) well enough that could serve as your safety. Unless that place offers any scholarships with early application dates that you wanted to apply for, you wouldn’t even need to apply until you had heard back from all of the other places on your list. For a lot of good links to information about colleges and universities in Maryland, see [Maryland</a> Higher Education Commission Home Page](<a href=“http://www.mhec.state.md.us/]Maryland”>http://www.mhec.state.md.us/)</p>
<p>That’s OK, but do pin down one or two real safety schools for yourself so that you have options in case you don’t get into any of the places on your current list.</p>
<p>Frostburg and Salisbury are good safeties, close to home, cheap IST and pretty much guaranteed acceptance to either but I would be extremely depressed if it ever did come down to those with regards to acceptance letters. :D</p>
<p>Which is more depressing? Getting accepted to a directional U or to no place? Have you asked your family what they are willing to pay? There are probably some other good schools that would be a match if we knew your financial limits.</p>