<p>Here is my situation. I have a 3.5 unweighted, 4.1 GPA, i got a 1780 on my sat (retaking tomorrow) and my only extracurricular is basketball, I am approaching the end of my junior year, i also go to a top 2 percent public school, i am taking AP Calc AB, AP Chem, and AP Bio. Next year i plan to take AP Stat, AP Compsci and AP Lang. I don't want to go to community college, but i will as last resort. Due to my situation paying for college will be very difficult. My mother makes 6 digits but we have 6 kids, so we really are borderline broke, but because of this statistic colleges probably aren't going to cough up much need based aid. I need at least a partial scholarship or a very cheap school in order for me to go to college. I do not need to go to some incredibly prestigious school the bottom line is i just need to go to college at the end of the day. I am going to major in computer science. I am seeking advice/answers to any of the following</p>
<p>1) How can i make sure that i go to college?( get a partial scholarship or find a cheap but reasonable school )
2) What can i do in the summer to pad my applications? I will have plenty of free time this summer but i do have a part time job.
3)Will there be severe consequences if i do not attend a top tier university, on my career in life?
Thank you to anyone in advance if you can give any assistance at all.
Also this is my first post :)</p>
<p>Being admitted to a college won’t be a problem. “Which college” is where you need to focus. Look at the websites of specific colleges for the stats on GPA and SAT/ACT scores. You need to find a school that your stats fit into the 50% of their admitted students. You will find a fit. Just relax and continue to do well during the last years of HS. How your college choice affects your life depends on you. Always make the best of your situation and you will be fine.</p>
<p>Now to focus on your first two questions. Merit scholarships will most always be bast on the combination if GPA and SAT/ACT scores. Study and take practice tests for SAT and ACT, sometimes students do better at one test over the other test. I guess that answers questions 1 and 2. Good luck and keep us informed of your status.</p>
<p>My home state is Maryland. UMD didn’t sound like a bad choice but my mom told me that it is too expensive due to the total annual cost of around 20 thousand a year. Will an SAT in October be too late for early action? I took one today and i believe i might have done a little better than last time but if i had all summer to prepare i believe i could easily get 2000-2300. My mom is persistent in telling me that an October sat is too late for early action but everyone i have talked to has said that it is not.</p>
<p>The October test date is early enough to be delivered before the Nov. 1 EA deadline. You can even get away with Nov. test date EA at a lot of schools, as long as they get everything else on time, they will treat it like an update to your application, and it will be considered.</p>
<p>Umbc is under consideration, I forgot about Salisbury but I will think about that. Towson is a no go, I do not like it and sooo many people from my school go there. Thank you all for your responses.</p>
<p>SUNYs are very cheap even for out of state students I have a very similar situation (sub-average parental income), (3.5 and a 1770-retaking in October) and I’m looking at all the SUNYs, UMass Amherst, and Baruch college of the CUNY. All their tuitions are under 12,000 but room and board puts them around 20,000 keep in mind though that grants, scholarships, and self help are available especially if we get our SATs up. There are also loans as a last resort, you’ll have to pay them back obviously but you’ll be in a much better situation once you have a degree from a respected university. Pick the right major, get good grades and you should be good there are plenty of jobs out there.</p>
<p>What are SUNYS also @missouriboy I’m sure we are both aware that the money is playing a bit more of a role then it should but that is life. Is there a reason my mom is so convinced October SATs are too late?</p>
<p>With a major in computer science I feel like I can afford to take out loans because its upcoming and I should be able to find a job, is that accurate?</p>
<p>I’m not too familiar with computer science, but that sounds accurate as long as you get good grades. It’s impossible to know for sure, but I’d say as long as you get a 3.5 (which is no walk in the park) you should be able to get yourself an internship right away and a job within a year.</p>
<p>Well at least my college chances/choices are looking a little better than I thought at this point… Hopefully I did well on the June sat I just took!</p>