<p>Sat breakdown: 800CR, 630M, 680W
GPA 4.0 </p>
<p>Activities/leadership/volunteer pretty generic, president of a couple clubs
Essays and recs are pretty solid. </p>
<p>As much as I'd like to go to an Ivy or another "top" school, I know my chances are unrealistic with my uninteresting ECs and low SAT. Any suggestions? I want to major in psych. Location doesn't matter. I just want somewhere that is academically rigorous. </p>
<p>UCB/UCLA, added bonus is they are pretty cheap if you are instate. If you’re instate, you will get into both pretty easily, and have a decent shot for oos.</p>
<p>What are your dream colleges? What, other than “brand name” attracts you to them? If you like Princeton or Stanford, maybe you should look at Lehigh or Tulane. If Harvard, Columbia, and Penn are your top picks, consider McGill, Pitt, NYU, BU, and GWU. Hankering for Duke? Wake Forest, Clemson, Rhodes, Elon, and William & Mary might serve as back-up choices. Dartmouth? Look at Colby, Hamilton, Whitman, Bates, and Middlebury. Williams or Amherst? Try any other small, New England colleges. Your stats are good enough for any college, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get in everywhere. Do you want big or small? Rural, suburban, or urban? D-1 athletics? There are lots of great options apart from the handful that your terrific stats might not get you into.</p>
<p>Ok…You’re from NH and you’re poor.</p>
<p>That will limit your schools. I assume that you’re applying to UNH? If so, you may get decent aid and merit there. </p>
<p>NYU won’t likely be affordable. Most OOS publics won’t be affordable simply because even with some merit, you’d likely have too much uncovered costs…even with with a full Pell Grant.</p>
<p>the UCs won’t be affordable.</p>
<p>What is your major and career goal?</p>
<p>What is your best M+CR from ONE sitting?</p>
<p>OP is from NJ and “poor” is terrible word choice. </p>
<p>I’m just spitballing schools here, but: Emory, Wake Forest, NYU, UVA, UNC, William and Mary, Northeastern, Tulane, UM College Park, Penn State</p>
<p>I just used what the OP wrote herself…NEW HAMPSHIRE and poor.</p>
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<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): new hampshire
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: 1 year at competitive prep school, 33% ivy league admission rate, my other years were spent at a bad public school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: female
Income Bracket: poor
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>
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<p>For someone from NJ with 2100 SAT, UNC and UVA are out of reach and UMD College Park or Penn State will be unaffordable.
OP: you need to look into “100% need colleges”.
In-state, you’d qualify for TCNJ too (and probably Honors Program) but I assume that’s not what you meant.
<a href=“http://honors.pages.tcnj.edu/”>TCNJ | The College of New Jersey;
What’s your EFC? How much can your parents contribute to your education “out of pocket” (without loans)? Are you currently working or taking care of siblings (two important ECs as they show responsibility - they have lines in the CommonApp.)
If you’re from a rural area (or a low-performing school), or if you’re first gen (neither parent has a college degree) that can be a “hook”, especially at top LACs. Does any of those apply to you?</p>
<p>A lot of LACs give excellent need-based aid. Would you be interested in a liberal arts college ?</p>
<p>I think part of the confusion here is the OP listed “New Jersey” on one thread and “New Hampshire” on a different one. The OP could have moved, in which case you would have to check residency requirements, or the account could have been used by two different people. Either way, establishing which state of residency you qualify for instate tuition is important for safeties.</p>
<p>You said your family’s income is around 20,000 a year. In that case, I’d definitely look to instate schools or ones that meet full need. Hamilton College could be an option if you are interested in LACs and the behavioral sciences. However, you will need some safeties that you are more competitive for.</p>
<p>@ariistocrat Are you from NJ or NH In one thread you wrote New Hampshire…in another you indicate NJ</p>
<p>For those stats and income level, you may have a decent shot at some selective private schools with lower net costs (after need-based aid) than in-state public schools in either NH or NJ. Consider some of the less-selective schools on this list:
<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need</a>
Run online net price calculators for Bates, Boston College, Franklin & Marshall, Holy Cross, Richmond, Trinity, etc.</p>
<p>Using College Abacus, I get the following net price estimates:
$5,500 Bates (“full need” private)
$7,812 Holy Cross (“full need” private)
$11,770 UNH-Durham (in state public university)</p>
<p>Assumptions:<br>
$20K income earned by one parent
parents married
$5K total financial assets, no home equity
1 child</p>
<p>YMMV.
The above net prices are after institutional grants/scholarships & Pell grants but without loans or work study.</p>
<p>^I agree that full-need privates are likely to be a better deal than NH in-state for someone whose parents make $20,000 or so. And for a lower-income student, these stats are fabulous.
I second the suggestion of Hamilton, because they meet 100% need and being first-gen is a hook there. Look at all the LACs ranked in the top 25 and top universities that meet full need.
Berea would be a nice safety - its admission rate is low but your profile would be quite above the 75% mark so it’d be a quasi-sure thing, and all students get a full ride their first year and full tuition the following years, keeping in mind all have a part-time job for which they’re paid and which they can use to pay for room&board + books.</p>
<p>However, most of the “full need” schools are highly selective; the OP needs to find an affordable safety somewhere. Perhaps from <a href=“http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/”>http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/</a> if the in-state publics are not suitable or affordable enough?</p>
<p>It seems that she is a NJ resident who is doing a postgrad year at a boarding school in NH.</p>
<p>Here are average entering stats for Holy Cross:
<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg01_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=125”>http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg01_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=125</a></p>
<p>The OP’s stats appear to make HC a realistic “match”. Well-prepared applications to several “full need” schools of similar selectivity (like Franklin & Marshall) are fairly likely to result in at least one offer (or so it would appear from the OP’s qualifications).</p>
<p>Your state flagship still can be your safety, unless the estimated net cost makes it unaffordable even after deducting a manageable combination of federal student loans and work-study. In that case, consider a directional state university within commuting distance if none of the other suggestions above seem to work.</p>
<p>But is the family income really only $20K?
It’s unusual for someone with income that low to be doing a postgrad year at a boarding school.
If a more affluent non-custodial parent is in the picture, then the financial aid assumptions need to take that into account.</p>
<p>One unusual thing I’ve learned after years on CC after looking at all sorts of “not top 20” colleges people mention: lots of LACs, even small, relatively unknown schools, can be “academically rigorous” for the kid who is sincerely prepared to dive in. Ie, savvy enough to not just look for “name” or some supposed prestige. And really, the same goes for flagships. </p>
<p>So, that leaves OP with the challenge of finding schools that will offer good finaid. </p>
<p>And she needs to look at course listings, the backgrounds and research interests of profs and how active they are to get a feel for any particular school and what it really offers. </p>
<p>Wow, thanks for all the responses guys. I’m going to try to address as many of these comments as I can. To clear up some of the confusions…</p>
<p>Yes, I’m a New Jersey resident currently doing an academic PG year at a highly selective boarding school on 100% need-based scholarship. I am not an only child – I have 2 younger brothers, and my parents’ expected estimated contribution is 0, lol. No assets, family business in the toilet. My mom went to TCNJ so I’m not first-gen. </p>
<p>@woogzmama Thanks, that was really helpful and gave me a lot of ideas for colleges to check out!</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids Major is psychology w/ Japanese minor. Career goal is lawyer or psychologist – I haven’t decided. Best M+CR in one sitting is 1430. </p>
<p>@MYOS1634 I really hate TCNJ to be honest. I’ve been there a bunch of times because I have a cousin there currently and my mom went there. I honestly hate the campus, the social scene sucks IMO, and I guess I just don’t like the overall vibe. I heard certain departments are great though. </p>
<p>@ctesiphon Yes I’m primarily interested in LACs. </p>
<p>I think at this point BC might be a great option / fit for me. Let’s hope I get in because I was rejected last year with an SAT that was 130 pts lower. I also like Middlebury and am looking into Bates and a few other schools that you all have suggested. Thanks! </p>
<p>Sorry if you had mentioned this before - but are you only interested in schools in the Northeast?</p>
<p>There are a lot of full-need midwestern LACs you may be interested in: Oberlin, Grinnell, Carleton come to mind.</p>
<p>Are you an athlete? I ask because many PGs are. A sport may also help for a D3 LAC. What about the social scene at TCNJ don’t you like? Any decent boarding school should be great at creating a college list with success in acceptance. Where the boarding school counselors fall short is understanding affordable targets for lower income students. Have you met with a college counselor yet? </p>
<p>@CTesiphon I’m pretty much only interested in East coast/west coast schools, don’t really like being TOO far away from the beach! </p>
<p>@longhaul No I’m an academic PG. I can’t articulate the TCNJ thing. Yes I’ve met with a college counselor. </p>