UDUB, UConn, Western Washinton, UOregon, more? (Senior)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Ok so since I can’t really ask my parents about this, I wanna ask you guys. So what are my chances of getting into these colleges? And are there any ones that I should take a look at? Thanks.
U of CO Boulder
CO State Univ
UConn

Lewis & Clark Coll
Michigan State Univ
Oregon State Univ
U of Oregon
Pennsylvania State Univ
SUNY Plattsburgh
SUNY ESF
The Ohio State University
U of Vermont

U of Washington
Western Washington Univ

My school is also considered a pretty good school, so classes may be tougher

-GPA (do i put total or 10-12?) Total: 3.56 (UW)/ 4.16 (W) (there is a downward trend in grades, explained further down)

-EC: -Docent at Aquarium for 2 years (summer)
-Historian for school Kiwins Club (international service club) for 2 years; Treasurer for 1; trying to revive club
-Played basketball for 3 years (2 F/S, 1 JV ) Captain of JV
-Coastal Park naturalist at aquarium (do population surveys, educate public on dangers of eating fish they catch, teach public about tide pools, maintain salt marshes)- 3 years
-Have a Photography blog on Flickr

-SAT: 2050 best, 2060 Superscore

-AP: Bio: 3
-Lang&Comp: 4
Will take: -EnviSci, -Lit, maybe -Calc AB

-No class ranking
-Not reporting SAT Subject tests, did poorly, but 670 in Bio E and 630 in Math 2

-Awards: -CSF (california scholarship federation) - last 3 years, will do this year
-Science honors society - 2 years, not eligible this year

Personal statement main idea: Finding out I had ADD summer before senior year, explains downward trend on transcript

Additional Info: -had depression last semester of junior year
- ADD contributed to stress and social anxiety
- i am a mellow person, wants to be friends with almost everyone
- i love to read
- want to learn piano again

Majoring: Undecided, but related to Environmental or Wildlife Science, Ecology, etc.
Size: Small to medium
-Preferably Public
-Mostly out of california
-Cold weather, snow or rain is fine
-Near nature/ lots of trees (See western washington as example)
-Live in dorm
-preferably semester schedule
-down to earth

I’m a bit introverted, but I don’t know how I feel about Greek life or party schools because I want to meet new people. i want the ability to connect with others and form close friendships.

2

It’s dangerous to eat the fish you catch?

Why can’t you ask your parents about this?

3

I think with what you’ve told us you have pretty solid chances at most of those universities. Your writing submissions would have to be perfect for a guaranteed spot though.

Well done on your tough journey through depression, ADD, and social anxiety.

Good luck!

4

@JustOneDad
Yes, many species of fish off the coast of SoCal contain high levels of mercury, polluted from the water they swim in. Many fisherman who fish off the pier don’t know this, and will me consuming this mercury if they eat the fish they catch.
And my parents are from Asia and only went to graduate school here, so they don’t really know anything about the process t get into college here.

@batool
Thank you for your insight!

5

bump

6

The University of Washington would be a bit of a reach for you, but if you wanted a big city, you should try for it.

WWU would be a strong match and it is a very nice school in a nice setting.

7

bump

8

You are based in California, correct? OOS tuition is very costly at some of these universities and some, like U DUB, don’t offer merit aid for OOS students. Verify what your parents can contribute before you go further with your research.

Check out the schools that are in the Western Undergraduate Exchange: www.wiche.edu/wue
For Western Washington, for example, which seems well within your grasp, you would pay 1.5 x the tuition that a WA resident would pay (assuming you don’t live in WA). Nice campus and location.

9

bump

10

Are you a WA resident or a CA resident?
What’s your parents budget?
(No need to chance you on universities your parents can’t afford :slight_smile: )

11

@MYOS1634
I have tlked to them, and they haven’t exactly specified, but I do know that they think 45k is a lot, especially since in I have two younger sisters, one of whom will be attending college when I am a junior in college

12

Okay, so 45K is unaffordable.
Ask for a specific number: does it mean 35K is within budget for them?
(Most in-state universities will be 25K at the very least)
Are you a resident of Oregon, Washington, or California?

13

I am a resident in California, but looking to go out of state. I am looking at a school in Pennsylvania that is technically 51k, but offers financial aid to the point where my family would be responsible for paying about 26k.

@MYOS1634

14

@mamaedefamilia Washington gives merit aid to about half of its OOS (U.S.) students:

https://admit.washington.edu/Paying/PurpleGold

“All U.S. students admitted as freshmen are automatically considered for this four-year scholarship. For autumn 2015, scholarship amounts range from $3,000 to $7,500 per year ($12,000 to $30,000 over four years) and were awarded to about one half of U.S. freshmen who are not residents of Washington State.”

Not a huge amount, but every dollar helps.

15

Typically, OOS public universities do not offer financial aid to nonresident applicants. They may offer merit aid, but the amounts vary greatly. For instance, the above scholarships is meaningless to all but uppermiddle class families, since it leaves a 42K pricetag. Therefore, students need to investigate whether the university even offers full tuition scholarships to OOS applicants, whether they’re competitive or automatic, and what the criteria are.
Then, you have private universities: these, (unless they’re worldwide brand names who are deluged anyway) like to attract students from 400+ miles. Email Admissions, fill out the “request info questionnaire”, click on everything they send you to demonstrate interest.
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/schools-that-meet-100-of-financial-need-2/
If your net price at a college is 26k, then it’s HIGHLY unlikely your parents’ budget is higher than this. So, let’s say your parents’ budget is 25K. That should roughly be what you find when running NPCs (net price calculators). You have to do it for each college because they all calculate differently.

Retake the SAT: if you can hit 2100/1400 CR+M, you’ll open the door to lots of full tuition scholarships :)… And 2050 to 2100 really isn’t that big of a jump.

Since you’re from CA, start by planning applications to CSu’s and UCs. Cal Poly SLO, UCD, as reaches; Cal Maritime, Humboldt, UCSC, UCR for matches.

U of CO Boulder => too expensive
CO State Univ => check out merit scholarships
UConn => too expensive
Lewis & Clark Coll => run the NPC but academically within range
Michigan State Univ => check out the merit scholarships
Oregon State Univ => unlikely to offer enough merit
U of Oregon => same thing
Pennsylvania State Univ => too expensive, no merit scholarships
SUNY Plattsburgh => likely merit would bring it within budget
SUNY ESF => SUPERB school for the major you’re interested in and within budget
The Ohio State University => merit likely insufficient to make it within budget
U of Vermont => same thing
U of Washington => unlikely to offer enough merit
Western Washington Univ => perhaps

So, that leaves you with SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY ESF, plus perhaps L&C and WWU.

Look into:
Warren Wilson, College of the Atlantic, Beloit, UNC-Wilmington, Eckerd for likely admission with scholarships
St Olaf, Lawrence, Dickinson, Grinnell, for need-based aid
=> RUN NPCs

16

@UWfromCA - thanks I missed that information. Good to know!

17

" Finding out I had ADD summer before senior year, explains downward trend on transcript" does not make much sense. Some students “get” ADHD right before the time they have to take SATs even when they had no problems prior to that. However, students with academic difficulties who really do have the disorder (I’m not talking about wealthy kids without the disorder whose parents decide to game the system to get a leg up but students with the actual disorder) usually have lower performance before the diagnosis. Once diagnosed, treatment usually helps. How would it result in a downward trend?

18

@lostaccount
Not everybody who get diagnosed has to have bad grades. With that said, I wasn’t saying that getting diagnosed caused the downward trend, but explained the downward trend of my grades in the past. According to the psychiatrist, brighter kids with ADD are capable of compensating for their symptoms for a longer period of time, until they get overwhelmed by stress when they get older. I did not “get” ADD before the SATs. The SATs were actually a lot easier than I thought they would be. The ACT, was a lot harder for me, because of the longer sections.