<p>Okay. I just spoke with my mother about her income (she’s a single mother, my father isn’t around and doesn’t pay child support) and she said that by the end of this year, she will have made between $22,000 and $27,000. </p>
<p>However, I haven’t spoken with my grandparents. Any out-of-pocket money for my education will come from them. I know they don’t make too much money, but they have reassured me several times that they will be able to contribute to my education to a certain extent.</p>
<p>dawncoming - I can only assume you are from a well off family. $70 a few times over is a lot to a family making about $25,000 a year. However, the OP may be able to get an application fee waiver.</p>
<p>Not to sound cynical, but it is so very unlikely that the OP would get into a top 10, or even more than 1 top 30 at best, that it is just not practical to couch things in possibilities when the odds are infinitessimal. HYPS acceptance rates are 6-11% last time I looked, they turn down thousands of students with nearly perfect records. I just don’t believe in getting someones hopes up and distracting them from the more practical tasks they need to perform. Dreaming is great, I really mean that, but only if a few toes are still grounded in reality.</p>
<p>It is true that most of the HYPS, as well as some others, now have programs to make sure people in her financial situation don’t graduate with much debt, some promise no debt (I think Princeton at least). However, once again, she has zero chance of getting into these schools with her current stats (Sorry liveandlearn, but I just don’t want you believing the virtually impossible).</p>
<p>fallenchemist- Totally fine. I’ve always known I have no shot at the Ivies.</p>
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<p>Good for you. Hahaha you could give lessons in maturity (and definitely level-headedness) to a few of the posters with much better statistical qualifications wanting Ivy chances. (But let’s be charitable–maybe they’re all just really nervous. And I know my Internet persona is sometimes less possessing of good qualities than my real self, so they’re probably all nice people too. Anyway.) You can definitely go to one of the best 100 universities (or equivalent LACs) in the United States if you want to, and you apply to the right ones. There are a lot of colleges out there for which you are competitive–more than I know have knowledge of. The best thing you could do for ideas would be to go through more than one college-search tool (if you took the PSAT, CollegeBoard runs one. CC also runs one.). You might have to look down into universities 100-200 (or equivalent LACs) if you want significant merit money, but you’re eligible for a lot of financial aid. Applying to schools not in expensive cities would help…cost of living is really high in, say, New York. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Hey, I don’t want to be thread stealing or anything… But I was reading some of these comments and other threads saying how UT has an automatic acceptance rate for top 10% students, that is for Texans only right?</p>
<p>Lirazel- Thanks! I appreciate it.</p>
<p>r0kAng3l- UT used to automatically accept any student in the top 10% of their graduating class from Texas. This rule has now been changed to the top 8%, therefore allowing them to accept more out-of-state students that are highly ranked with good GPAs.</p>
<p>Okay because I’m top 2% and I’m out of state, I was wondering. If that’s the case I might apply there as a safety. Used to live in Austin Texas and I loved it…</p>
<p>Okay… I used CC’s college match thing. When I checked the box saying that I wanted a school where I would be above average, therefore increasing my chance of getting aid, a few of the schools I’m looking at came up.</p>
<p>However, when I unchecked the box, a lot of top public schools came up- UT Austin, U of I- Urbana-Champaign, etc…</p>
<p>I’m not sure what to do. Should I apply to the top schools where I won’t get as much aid or the lower-ranked schools where I could possibly get aid?</p>
<p>I would say go for all the aid possible.</p>
<p>Do you have any ideas as to what areas you might want to major in, and if you plan for grad/professional school afterwards? I realize you are in high school and might change your mind a couple of times or more over the next few years, which is perfectly normal. But knowng where your interests lie might help some. Also, any preferences on climate, location (urban vs. suburban vs. rural), size of school, interest in sports, Greek life or other specifics? These things help a lot in narrowing the search.</p>
<p>Right now, I’m debating between Journalism, Communications, and Marketing for a major. I would like to go to grad school, but probably won’t be able to do so until I have enough money from whatever job I end up at. I would LOVE to go to school in an urban area, but that’s not a necessity. I don’t really have a preference on the size of the school as long as it isn’t teeny tiny. Although I don’t participate in any sports, I love watching them. So, I definitely want to attend a school with at least a football team. Also, I think I might want to join a sorority, so I definitely want a campus with Greek organizations.</p>
<p>OK, I think you should apply to both Syracuse and Missouri (Columbia, main campus). Both well known for jounalism, and both large enough to have lots of other choices if you change your mind or want to double major. I’ll do some thinking about others, especially where you have an even better chance for a good package.</p>
<p>ditto Syracuse but I don’t think Newhouse as a freshman is going to be realistic; try the CRS major in VPA…</p>
<p>Not sure about Missouri though…(great program as well!!)</p>
<p>Thank you so much! You have been such a big help. I appreciate it.</p>
<p>If you would consider a smaller school, I would suggest that you read the book “Colleges that Change Lives” by Loren Pope. It profiles 40 mid-tier liberal arts colleges that admit people with medium test scores and grades. I think there is an opportunity to get considerable need-based aid at some of them.</p>
<p>Please don’t think that I am at all talking down to you; I graduated from one of the colleges profiled in the book, am sending my S to one of them, and a neice is starting at another in the fall.</p>
<p>But what you want to focus on is need based aid. Your family’s income is such that you will qualify for significant aid, if you are admitted to what is called a “full need” school (the school agrees to cover all of the documented need for the student.)</p>
<p>You also need to spend some time over on the financial aid forum and figure out what FAFSA means, and how the calculation changes when the parents are divorced.</p>
<p>There are lots of very knowledgeable people on CC and they will try to help you to the best of their ability. But know that there is a college path out there that is right for you.</p>
<p>“I don’t really have a preference on the size of the school as long as it isn’t teeny tiny. Although I don’t participate in any sports, I love watching them. So, I definitely want to attend a school with at least a football team. Also, I think I might want to join a sorority, so I definitely want a campus with Greek organizations.”</p>
<p>if these were not criteria stated, I would agree with CTCL…</p>
<p>UT84321: are there any on that list that fit these?</p>
<p>Quite frankly, I wasn’t considering her list of “wanna haves” when I made my recommendation. She is a far more serious situation than merely choosing school size, or sororities. It doesn’t sound like she has much parental support in terms of crafting a college strategy. Certainly the family income will be a hurdle–we are throwing around names like Wake Forest that costs 2x the family income. And her grades are in that middle ground that will get her admitted to places with no way to pay.</p>
<p>Part of CC is devoted to hyper-performing Ivy hopefuls that are sweating “should I retake my 2250?” I really prefer to offer any counsel I have to students like this OP for whom the chance to attend college truly hangs in the balance, but for whom it could make a huge difference in her life path.</p>
<p>But most of the CTCL schools are between 1500 and 2500 students. Most all have sports teams, but you are more likely to see your friends on them, rather than future pro players.</p>
<p>My recommendation for the OP would be to consider the CTCL schools in the south or midwest (Austin College (Sherman, TX), Rhodes, Southwestern (Georgetown, TX), Knox, Centre, Hendrix), and cross tab that list with schools that are full need. My hunch is that she would get into 50% or more of the CTCL she applied to; the kicker would be the aid they offered. I would recommend she research and perhaps apply to some second level Texas public universities. As her financial safety, she would consider a local community college where she could commute and then plan on transfering to a state 4-year.</p>
<p>And one more thing for the OP–you may be at an income level where you can request fee waivers for many college application fees (they are typically $40-50, so it would add up quickly.)</p>
<p>But the key is that this whole process really needs to happen within the next 6 months or so.</p>
<p>I looked at a few CTCL schools and I kind of like Reed & Rhodes. I don’t think my chances of getting into either are that great, though.</p>
<p>I’ll look at the others, though.</p>
<p>I think Rhodes could definitely be on your list. Reed is not so easy a call because it is a pretty intense and self-selecting school–it depends on the personality match, and I know nothing of yours. And Reed’s scores for admitted students are a little above yours right now.</p>
<p>But your SAT scores are solidly in the middle 50% range for Rhodes, so I think it is good match. They admit about 50% of all applicants. So email Rhodes and request information.</p>
<p>If you study hard and effectively for the SAT, and get your scores up closer to 2000, I think the likelihood of merit aid goes up, wherever you end up applying.</p>
<p>Okay… here’s what I’m thinking right now. Let me know if you have any suggestions.</p>
<p>I think I might not apply ED to Vandy considering it IS such a reach. I probably shouldn’t even apply, but I feel like I need to. I’ve wanted to go to Vandy for a long time, but I guess I just didn’t try hard enough.</p>
<p>So, right now I’m thinking:
Vanderbilt- Regular Decision
Rhodes College
University of Arkansas (I qualify for some scholarships there)
Texas Christian University
Texas A&M University
University of Texas- Austin
Southern Methodist University
University of Missouri
Syracuse University
MAYBE Baylor University & UIUC? I’m still not sure on those.</p>
<p>Any suggestions/advice/comments?</p>