<p>SAT 2000~ (retaking, probably 2100 at least), gpa about 3.73, a bunch of great ECs (self-hosted tutoring for elementary kids, free in-school tutoring for kid in school, highly contributed to school newspaper,etc)
Btw, MUST offer good financial aid for EFC 0, don't wanna pay much...
I live in PA.</p>
<p>So far:
Brandeis?
Clark
Syracuse?
Rochester?
Northeastern?
GWU
American
Stony Brook
Wake Forest?
Villanova
Boston University
Arcadia
La Salle</p>
<p>And how many safeties would I need?
I want to apply to Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn and Boston College. (Even possibly one HYPS?)</p>
<p>Well my family is really poor lol.
So can someone slim down the list for me? </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>One if it is a 100% certain chance of admission and affordability (e.g. like the full rides listed at <a href=“http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/”>http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/</a> that you qualify for).</p>
<p>Probably three if they are almost-safeties with 90+% chance of admission and affordability, but not 100% certain due to subject criteria being used in admissions.</p>
<p>Have you run the net price calculator on the web site of each school that you are considering? That can give you an idea of how good financial aid is at each school. You can remove the poor financial aid schools (based on net price calculator results) from your list, unless there are full ride merit scholarships that you can get at them.</p>
<p>FAFSA EFC = $0 does not necessarily mean that each school will calculate an institutional EFC = $0 for its financial aid purposes. If your parents are divorced, and the one you do not live with has significant income and/or assets, that can raise the institutional EFC at schools which require that parent’s information (most schools with good financial aid do). Run net price calculators including both parents’ income and assets unless the school uses only FAFSA (not CSS Profile or other financial aid forms).</p>
<p>Unfortunately, being a Pennsylvania resident means that in-state public schools are likely to be unaffordable.</p>
<p>Yea, I ran NPCs on most of them, they all seem to cost 8k to 15k a year but maybe that isn’t a great indicator. My father lives in China but he has no income (unemployed). Can you cut down to 4-5 colleges that I would prefer? I prefer a really urban campus like Penn. </p>
<p>I’ll be blunt: The ivies are pretty much out of reach for you.</p>
<p>Brandeis? high match
Clark match
Syracuse? match
Rochester? low reach
Northeastern? high match
GWU match
American match
Stony Brook match
Wake Forest? high match
Villanova match
Boston University match
Arcadia
La Salle admission safety, not a financial safety</p>
<p>Temple would be a safety and you would likely get good merit aid there. </p>
<p>I know they are out of reach, but I am applying ED to Penn and I have taken summer classes there and will take classes in the fall. The classes along with living in Philly can help me get into Penn. And who knows, I want to apply to a couple Ivys. </p>
<p>Thanks btw, I will try to narrow down to 4-5 so I won’t need a safety. </p>
<p>This is the second thread that you started on this issue, You are not taking the advice that many posters have offered. If you are looking for someone to say you are a shoe in at these elite schools, you may find another 17 year old to say it but no one who has been around for awhile will. </p>
<p>Given your less than exceptional stats and your financial situation, you need to be realistic. </p>
<p>Yeah, well I am searching these schools to see the ones that I really like.
I’ll do Early Action for BC, Northeastern and Clark. </p>
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</p>
<p>$8,000 to $10,000 is probably the limit of what you can realistically self-fund if your family actually contributes nothing, using both a direct loan ($5,500) and a reasonable amount of work earnings.</p>
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<p>With no safety, what will you do if you get shut out? As a Pennsylvania resident, your default safety option (community college, then transfer to a state university) is less attractive and less affordable than such an option for residents of many other states.</p>
<p>The super-selective schools (Ivy League and the like) are probably not realistic; your GPA and test scores are a little below the levels generally considered necessary to get into the game, and your extracurriculars do not appear to show a high (state or national) level of achievement, award, or recognition.</p>
<p>I’m going to do EA for a few schools, Clark, Northeastern, maybe UVA and UChicago </p>
<p>I would say Clark is pretty much my safety…</p>
<p>Clark’s net price calculator seems to give a net price of around $13,000 for a student from a very low income family. That may be quite a stretch for a student to self-fund without any parent contribution, so it may not be that good a “safety” from a financial standpoint.</p>
<p>Temple is an excellent suggestion. It should be both an academic and financial safety. </p>
<p>When considering expenses, don’t forget to factor in travel, supplies, outfitting your dorm room. And there is something to be said for having a little cushion so you aren’t constantly stressed about money.</p>
<p>I thought net price calculators weren’t accurate?
Yea I see that Temple gives scholarships for academic excellence, I’ll definitely get in because my school is known to have most of the class go to Temple every year, even when they have all Cs lol.
I don’t feel happy to go to Temple though, that’s why I didn’t pick it.
How many colleges should I apply to? If I apply to Temple, can I be a bit more risky then? </p>
<p>NPCs are accurate for people with relatively simple taxes - income and interest. Once you throw in self owned businesses they lose accuracy. Students from your school get in with all Cs? That’s amazing since only 1.4% of the students admitted are in that GPA range. Your school must populate the football team at Temple. 
</p>
<p>As far as risk, if you would be happy to attend Temple then you can be as risky as you want. You must be happy to attend your safety, otherwise why apply at all.</p>
<p>Well my school’s class each year is about 65 people, and I would say at least 5 of them have all Cs and they go to Temple. Anyways, I am happy to go to Temple but people would laugh at me, especially my relatives because they are mean and don’t want me to go anywhere exceptional. </p>
<p>So are you saying, for example, University of Rochester has 100% need met but through their NPC, I have to pay like 10k, should I still apply? </p>
<p>I think I’ll count Temple as my safety then, no other school matches quite as well. Would it be realistic to apply to UChicago, UVA, UMich, Northeastern and Temple, all early action? </p>
<p>How about Goucher?</p>