Too poor yet too rich... Selecting a college without hope of financial aid

Parents Forum
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<p>I've previously posted on the college search and selection board and was told it might be beneficial to post here as well.</p>

<p>I'm a junior who is pretty lost in the college search process. I go to a small, non-outstanding school which sends most of its students to community colleges and local Christian colleges. I have no counseling help there whatsoever and have to search for colleges on my own.</p>

<p>I believe I have the basic qualifications to give me a shot at admission to any college, but in order to attend I will have to receive a scholarship that covers my entire tuition at the very least. My parents' fair amount of wealth precludes any hope for financial aid, and they have already stated that they will not pay for my college education.</p>

<p>Here are a few criteria I desire in a college:</p>

<p>Strong in engineering and applied science</p>

<p>Absolutely must offer applied math as a major</p>

<p>Small to medium (not more than 5,000 students) - The smaller the better</p>

<p>Absolutely cannot be located in the South (Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Florida,
Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky). North Carolina is not too southern and therefore ok.</p>

<p>Preferably no politically-charged atmosphere, but that's ok if other criteria fit</p>

<p>No big frat/sorority scene</p>

<p>Open-minded atmosphere</p>

<p>Lots of dorky people (though that goes with the applied science and engineering bit)</p>

<p>Preferably lots of variety - a good music school would be a major plus, but not necessary</p>

<p>Definitely no official religious affiliation</p>

<p>I've used some college search engines, but they're not extraordinarily helpful considering I cannot weight my criteria.</p>

<p>Stats:
SAT I: 1580
SAT II: Math IIC - 800; Writing - 800; Yet to take Physics and possibly German Language with Listening as well
PSAT: 226 - Good enough to qualify in my state
GPA: 4.0 (unweighted - my high school doesn't offer AP's)
Rank: 1/22
Course information: I took standard, totally pointless, so-boring-that-it-induces-suicidal-thoughts crap in my freshman and sophomore years. I switched schools prior to junior year so I could take all my classes online with Stanford's EPGY and at my local university.
This year I've taken: AP Physics: Mechanics with EPGY, first semester of general chemistry, first semester of composition, calculus I, first semester of second-year college German
Currently taking:
At local university: Calculus II, second-year college German, second semester of composition
With EPGY: AP Physics: EM, Introduction to C Programming
At high school (which really doesn't count): Economics, Wellness</p>

<p>EC's
Classical pianist - some regional and local competitions with awards - nothing big
Peer tutor for four hours a week
Mentor for a middle-schooler during my freshman and sophomore years
Varsity soccer player junior and planning on senior years
Interlochen alumnus (it's a fairly selective arts camp)
Planning on attending a Governor's School in addition to a math camp this summer
BTW - My school doesn't have math/chemistry/whatever teams, so that's out. I'm a member of some of those sketchy societies like Beta Club, National Honor Society, etc. but I don't think that says anything.</p>

<p>Work
Peer tutor for 4 hours a week (in addition to the tutoring I do for free)
Accompanist (variable hours)</p>

<p>URM Status
I'm caucasian, but I also am a female planning on math and engineering, so that might offer opportunities.</p>

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<p>How can you be a URM if you're caucasian?</p>

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<p>You have great stats and a very good record!
You should consider places that will give you good merit aid.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is one that comes to mind. Consider also applying to the Honors Program at U Michigan (it's rolling admissions, so the earlier you apply the better). Washington University-St Louis is also known for great merit aid. You may also get some good merit aid at Chicago. Duke has a good math program and gives merit aid. Consider also Vanderbilt (look up posts by Evil Robot who decided to go there for financial reasons over Yale to which he had been admitted also. He is very happy there majoring in math and computer science).
I'm sure that other posters will have more suggestions.</p>

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<p>I'm planning on majoring in math and civil engineering. Trust me, women are definitely an under-represented minority in all fields of engineering.</p>

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<p>You need a merit scholarship. Unfortunately, (Carolyn correct me if I'm wrong), it is the larger private universities that offer the best merit packages. Your best bet might be to redefine your size requirements--knowing that if you get into an engineering school, you will be part of that smaller community. No need to worry about surrounding yourself with geeks if you want to go to engineering school, LOL. (That's an architect joke).</p>

<p>WashU (WUSTL) sounds like the best fit. Great merit aid. Lots of geeks and invisible greeks :). Engineering school is tucked away in the corner of the campus. </p>

<p>Tulane. Good merit aid. New Orleans is not the South. Again, you can find your small community within the engineering school. Talk about good music. <em>Drool, drool</em></p>

<p>USC. Good merit aid. Good engineering school. Very diverse population.</p>

<p>ps: URM is a technical term for minority races only.</p>

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<p>Carnegie Mellon, possibly Union College (strong engineering. I don't know if it offers math as a major). Also possibly CalTech and Case Western Reserve. All offer merit aid.</p>

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<p>Case Western gives fabulous financial aid</p>

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<p>I'm going to sound like a sour Southerner, but you don't want to go badly enough if you entirely close out the South! For a number of reasons - politics, and making best use of small endowments, being 2 big ones, the South has some of the best merit scholarships. Vandy might give big money - Rice would be a perfect fit (it is not terribly "Southerner" either), I'm not sure about merit money, some other Rice parent will chip in, but it is more affordable than many other schools. There are several LACs around the South that have 3-2 engineering programs and that would give you an almost full ride, or at least close enough that the amount you would have to borrow would be manageable.</p>

<p>I strongly urge you to reconsider just shutting out the South, because your money will go the longest and you will get the best deal there - try us, we do wear shoes and have all our teeth, and Golleee, I actually went to a Yo-Yo Ma concert Friday night just before he went to the Academy Awards to perform - how about that, and I'm not even in Houston!</p>

<p>I apologize for the sarcasm, but I think you are cutting off your nose to spite your face if you don't consider these options, this early in your search, especially with money being a consideration</p>

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<p>You've got great qualifications - your only problem is your parents' money, combined with the fact that they won't help you with college. So you've got to find schools that offer lots of merit aid - and you generally have to apply to places where you will be at the top of the class. Here's a couple of ideas: Case Western, Rose Hulman, Harvey Mudd, RPI, Rice, Carnegie Mellon. Good luck!</p>

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<p>She didn't mean "URM status" as though she meant that she had URM status, but just as the headline under which to write whether or not she had URM status, and she pointed out that she did not but she is female which might also help. Just like under "Stats" she wrote her SAT scores etc.</p>

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<p>Exactly, Xanatos. I could not have said it better myself.</p>

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<p>Smith has a new engineering program that's supposed to be quite good.</p>

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<p>Yup, cangel, I see what you mean. I have reconsidered the southern thing after hearing Evil Robot's success story. Vanderbilt looks like a fine school. I do know you Southerners wear shoes! I'm a Southerner myself! It's just that I've been here so long. I appreciate your input.</p>

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<p>I think she's considering herself an URM because she is a female interested in engineering.</p>

<p>I'd suggest you start by looking at: Harvey Mudd, Case Western Reserve, Olin, U of Rochester, RPI and Rose Hulman for starters.</p>

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<p>It's important to make sure that you apply to colleges offering engineering, math AND merit aid. Northwestern, Cornell and Tufts do not offer merit aid.</p>

<p>When colleges, though, having engineering programs and merit aid, they favor females of all races as well as underrepresented minorities because qualified students in either category are very hard to find in the hard sciences.</p>

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<p>Ouch! But, hey, we're parents--not idiots. We knew what was intended.</p>

<p>Misusing a technical term to highlight gender (and accent superiority) is not a good look for engineers--but not a crime, LOL.</p>

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<p>How about Cooper Union?
It is free.</p>

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<p>You can also take out loans yourself to supplement whatever merit money you can get. That might help, in that you'd have more choices. Please don't say you don't want any debt. No one wants debt, but few are so lucky as to receive an excellent education without some debt. Even we parents who are paying full freight (which enables others to have scholarships) are taking out loans.
Personally, I'd prefer loans to working during the school-year. My husband and I both worked and took out loans for college and grad school. I think it took us about 8 years to completely pay off our loans, at about $100 a month. It was a small price to pay for the education.</p>

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<p>I don't know about applied math but wouldn't Olin (as Carolyn said) just be the ticket for footfit? D ,who sounds something like footfit, has been receiving info that is very appealing and the place would probably snap her up in a blink with stats like that.</p>

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<p>Haha, cangel, I was at that same concert. It was absolutely fantastic.</p>

<p>/diversion</p>