<p>Hi, I'm a junior in high school and really need some help deciding where I want to apply and aim for, come senior year. </p>
<p>I am a hispanic female from a lower middle class family. I live in California.<br>
GPA: 4.47
SAT: 1975 (only taken once, taking an SAT class now and retaking it a few times)
Current Classes: APUSH, AP Language and Comp, AP Music Theory, AP Psych, Honors Chemistry, Honors French III, Honors Alg II
Senior classes: AP Gov and Politics, AP Calc AB, AP Lang and Lit, AP Biology, AP French, American Sign Language
Leadership: Class Vice President, President of feminist "girl power" club, President of diversity club, Editor of school newspaper, 350 service hours between 2 consistant nonprofits
ECs: Sung in 3 choirs in addition to every school choir available, also received the director's award two years in a row, Mock Trial (3 years). Composed several choral pieces that were performed by my choirs. </p>
<p>I want to double major in Psychology and Political Science with a minor in Music Composition. I want to go to a college in a big, diverse city like NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc. Would prefer not to stay in Cali. But I also don't really want an Ivy that is only about grades - I want to enjoy my college experience and make lifelong friends. </p>
<p>What colleges do you think would fit me, that I would have a chance at being accepted into?</p>
<p>Looks like you cannot afford list price at most schools.</p>
<p>Check the net price calculators at each school to see if they are financially realistic. The most generous with need-based aid are likely to be highly selective private universities, or in-state public universities (UCs and CSUs). Some private and public universities do offer large merit scholarships, though.</p>
<p>How about Ohio State? Top Psychology (tied with Northwestern, Cornell & Columbia) & Political Science (ranked ahead of Northwestern and Cornell) Depts, and Columbus is a very diverse city, larger than Boston in terms of population! Above all, it offers generous scholarships to top OOS students such as OP. Check out National Buckeye Scholarship:</p>
<p>Geographic diversity (Columbus campus, autumn 2011)
Ohio State enrolls students from every state and territory. States with the highest enrollment:</p>
<p>500+: Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, California, Michigan
300 – 499: Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia
100 – 299: Florida, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Utah, Minnesota, Missouri, Arizona, Tennessee, Connecticut
50 – 99: West Virginia, Washington, Colorado, South Carolina, Kansas</p>
<p>The Ohio State University: A Grand Institution</p>
<p>OSU is a good suggestion. I also recommend that you look at Pitt and U of MN-Twin Cities.</p>
<p>I think it is worth a shot for you to apply to big, diverse, but expensive private schools like GW, BU, and NYU, and just see what grant aid they give you. Just don’t fall in love with them until you know what they cost, because it would be a big mistake to borrow a fortune for one of those schools.</p>
<p>Do you have any idea what your class rank is? Also, did your parents attend college? If you class rank is excellent and your scores come up a bit, I think it would be reasonable to reach for Penn…which is definitely NOT a college experience that’s all about grades. It has everything you say you want plus extremely generous, guaranteed need-based aid.</p>
<p>Tufts (though it is mid-sized not large) - depending on what your GPA and future test scores are. BU as already mentioned, perhaps Northeastern. Not sure if BC is diverse enough or large enough? How do you define large?
Looking at the Common Data Set for each school will give you the breakdown on the student body, and you can also see it in college search tools such as College Navigator
[College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)</p>
<p>the “diversity” thing aside, never means the same thing to two people and most people are not really looking for it just like to say it. Rice University is probably number one (minus some issues with housing and the current leadership over growing the undregrad school size)</p>
<p>I would look at a school like Muhlenberg College or ST Olaf…which at first may seem a little of course but , would probably be a really happy fit.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: Boston is smaller in population because Boston proper is a smaller city. However, I’m sure that the Boston metro area is larger than Columbus.</p>
<p>You might also look at Temple U. in Phila. They have reasonable out of state tuition, and they would probably give you merit aid. Philadelphia is a great city that is much more affordable than NYC, Boston, DC or California. There also is a large Latino population in Philadelphia (although it is mainly Puerto Rican). Philadelphia is a great base to see all of the east coast, particularly because of Amtrak, Megabus, etc. To save money, you can also get to NYC by a SEPTA train followed by a NJ Transit train.</p>