What are reasonable safety/match/reach schools for me?

College Search & Selection
1

currently a junior
female
half Filipino, half white
live in northern Virginia
unweighted GPA 4.0
weighted GPA as of this school year is about 4.4
APs:
10th: AP World History
11th: AP Chem, AP Physics 1, AP BC Calc, AP Lang
12th (planning on taking): AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Bio, AP Spanish, AP Econ, Multivariable Calculus/Linear algebra (not technically an AP)
Every other core class I’ve taken is honors and I will have four fine arts credits by senior year.
SAT: 1500 (first try, I just took it again today and hopefully did better)
plan on taking ACT in September and SAT Math II and SAT Chem in June
most likely will be a National Merit Semifinalist (1500 on PSAT)
Extracurriculars:
school and club volleyball 9th and 10th
school basketball 9th
NHS
Math Honor Society
History Honor Society
tutor weekly for chem and math through two separate clubs at my school
starting this year, I volunteer 6 hours a month at Jill’s House, a center for children with mental disabilities
miscellaneous other volunteer work
work a summer job at my local pool

Not sure about what I want to major in, but I am considering math, economics, and some types of engineering such as chem, bio, biomed, etc.

What schools are good safeties and matches for me? I’m looking to stay on the East Coast and considering UVA, Georgia Tech, Tufts, Emory, Brown (dream school), Virginia Tech (possibly a safety), UNC, Northeastern
I realize that these schools are very selective and am looking for more reasonable schools to apply to.

Thanks!

2

Can your parents afford to send you to any college that may cost them $70000/year?
Have you had the MONEY talk with them? Do you know how much they can or, even more important, are willing to spend? That is the first thing you should do.
$70000 per year is what it costs for the private colleges on your list.
NO college that is UN-affordable should be on your list, no matter what your “dreams” are.
so go to the college websites and run the Net Price Calculators[ NPC’s] to see what it WILL cost your family.

With your stats and potential NMF status, there are great U’s and colleges that are financial safeties for you. NO college is a “safety” unless you have a good chance of acceptance AND it is affordable. so check out these lists. U of Alabama at Huntsville is a great STEM U.
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

3

My family’s income is above 200k/year and I do have an older brother currently attending USC and two younger siblings as well. I believe that there are some loopholes regarding listing family’s income because my mother is not a US citizen and she works for the World Bank, an international organization. Although even without this income would still be over 100k. Regardless, while it is obviously not ideal for me to attend a college with tuition of 70k, it is an option although I would most likely have some debts.

4

^see my previous comment

5

as a student you can only take out loans of $5000-6000/ year. So where will the rest of the $$ be coming from?
Have you talked $$ with your parents? Have they run the NPC’s , which DO take into acct any siblings that are also in college ?
Your mom’s citizenship is not pertinent, if she is a US tax payer and you are a a citizen.
so like I said- dont assume there are loopholes- find out what it WILL cost for you to attend a private college, such as USC.

As as aside, USC DOES off 1/2 tuition scholarships to ACCEPTED NMF’s. But it turns down most applications from NMF’s, so an acceptance there cant be assumed.

6

My mom does not pay any taxes to the US at all. And we do have the money and savings to make that kind of education possible, I’m just saying that it would obviously be preferable if I went to a slightly cheaper school.

7

@nin12698 A few thoughts:

Your stats are very good - which in a way makes your situation more complicated, only so far as you have a lot of possible acceptances, but with the more competitive schools, it’s impossible to predict.

Some top-line things:
Engineering vs. STEM LibArts: These are two very different tracks. At many (most) schools you have to apply to the engineering school OR the LibArt school, acceptance rates tend to be lower (in most cases) in Engineering and it is difficult (or, at least, it can take some extra credits) if you transfer from one school/program to the other after more than a year of classes. (Also, some engineering programs require you to apply to the major from inside the program. So you can be admitted to “engineering” but not to your “major of choice” and then have to apply for the major as a Soph or Jr.) So you should really investigate these two tracks, but they really are different programs and while it is not impossible to change up once you start, it is much more involved than switching from History to Poli Sci or English to Nordic Literature.

What kind of school?: It looks like, for the most part, you list has fairly large to very large research institutions. Do you have a list of criteria you are using to pick schools? Why Tufts and GA Tech? What is it about Northeastern than interest you? Co-op? Location?

You have some big state schools (UVa, GATech, UNC), some middle-sized privates (Tufts, Brown, Emory), some urban (N’eastern, Brown, etc) some suburban/urban (Tufts, etc) And, of course, you span the eastern seaboard.

If you are looking for an east coast mid to large urban research school, you’ve got a very large potential list.

And, as noted above, there is the money factor. As it sounds like you can’t count on too much need-based aid (Your folks with have a decent idea since you have a sibling in college) you might want to think about cost. UVA and VirTech obviously great deals if you like them. Wm&Mary not interesting?

Then it’s going to be a question of zeroing in on what you want in a school and spending time on-line on the school’s website, FB pages etc. getting a sense of the culture, academic offering etc.

Hope this helps. Approach it methodically. You are going to spend 4+ years of your life and a lot of your or your parents money. Shop your school like you will someday shop a house or a business or a partner. Do your due diligence. It will pay off.

8

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believe that there are some loopholes regarding listing family’s income because my mother is not a US citizen and she works for the World Bank,


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I don’t think there are any loopholes for schools that you’ve listed since THEY use CSS Profile, and NOT just FAFSA. They will use your mom’s income…they don’t care if she’s a citizen or not, or if she works elsewhere or whatever.

9

Congrats on your hard work and success! Some other matches might be Case Western and Wake Forest. Case is in University Circle area of Cleveland, very nice with lots of major cultural institutions adjacent. Med school/hospital are essentially on campus. Weather is cold, dorms need updating. Many students receive $15-25k in merit aid. Wake just opened a new Wake Downtown complex for bioengineering, biosciences, drug innovation in conjunction with the med school. Everything is brand new and buildings/site are amazing–repurposed tobacco factories with windows to the ceilings. We love Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in MA. More highly ranked than many realize. Student starting salaries are among the highest (mostly STEM grads after all). Great New England campus in a nice neighborhood. School and city are in the midst of a real renaissance. Very hands-on approach (more than anywhere) and close ties to business. Coops and internships similar to Northeastern. It gives merit aid. Holy Cross, also in Worcester, offers academics as strong as the schools on your list. Good luck!

10

Look at the University of Richmond for a match/safety (they give great scholarships but the acceptance rate is only about 30% so it’s not a safety), also Brandeis and Bryn Mawr College (all-girls, they offer up to 30k merit scholarships per year to top students, my stats are similar to yours and I got the highest amount).
And since you’re from VA, consider UVA and William and Mary as good matches.
Oh and by the way, if you really want to get into Brown try to strengthen your ECs a bit and get some leadership positions, then you’ll have a good shot I think. Academically you are definitely on target for a top school like Brown.