<p>Hello, I am currently a Junior, but I am starting to consider colleges. Here are my credentials</p>
<h1>1 of 77</h1>
<p>GPA is a 4.0 (no AP classes at my highschool)
Valedictorian (so far as long as I keep my grades up, there are 7 others that would probably be co valedictorian :X)
Junior Class President (Hopefully Sr. Class too)
Church Youth Group 5 years (treasurer 2 years, president 1 year)
Student Council (4 years)
National Honor Society
Math Club (Secretary 2 years)
Yearbook Staff (going on third year)
Spanish Club (2 years)
National Ocean Science Bowl
Academic Bowl
Prom Planning Committee
Hugh O'Brien Leadership Seminar Attendant
Buckeye Boys State Attendant
Youth Leadership MV attendant
American Legion Oratorical Contest District Winner
Bowling team (going on 4th year)</p>
<p>I just got my most recent ACT score:
Composite 30
English 33
Math 29
Reading 32
Science 24 (lower than the first time I took it hoping to bring it up)</p>
<p>What colleges are in the realm of possibility? Financial aid is a factor.
I need an idea of what colleges I am in the league for, is this Ivy League material? Or should I shoot lower? Ideas would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Ivy league schools are a crap shoot for anyone and you don’t have much to help you stand out (though it is a very solid record). You say FA is a factor. Does that mean your family is not even middle class, or middle class but can’t afford extra bills for school (which means you should look at merit aid)?</p>
<p>Probably not ivy with 10% of the class being val and without a signifcant score increase and exceptional ECs, but you could go to a lot of strong schools.</p>
<p>Your resume list seems a little all-over-the-place. Your academic record is pretty good (could be great with a better science score – try the SAT, maybe?), and you have some leadership positions. Now, just try to really make one of your extracurriculars stand out in some way from other applicants with similar extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Honestly, I would put the Ivy League a step or two out of your reach. You definitely have good stats, though, and especially good enough to warrant you good financial aid if you tailor your college search accordingly.</p>
<p>Edit - my “suggestion” is a little vague, but if you’ll give us an idea of what types of colleges you’re interested in I’m sure we could offer some advice:</p>
<p>What size school are you interested in attending?
What are you interested in studying?
What part of the country do you want to live in?</p>
<p>Etc.</p>
<p>*I need an idea of what colleges I am in the league for, is this Ivy League material? *</p>
<p>Probably not at this point. You’d need to get your scores higher. </p>
<p>For instance, at Harvard, your ACT 30 would be in the bottom percentile at the school - which is usually reserved for special admits, athletes, URMs, etc.</p>
<p>this is the middle 50% of Harvard admits</p>
<p>ACT Composite: 31 - 34 </p>
<p>So, the bottom 25% have an ACT of 30 or below, and the top 25% have an ACT of 35+.</p>
<p>Since you need financial aid, do you know if you’d qualify for much? Your “need” will be based on your parents income and assets (It’s not based on what they’re willing to pay or think they can pay).</p>
<p>You also need to include 2-3 FINANCIAL safety schools. These are school that will either give you ASSURED big merit to attend, or are so inexpensive that your family can just pay for you to go (with maybe a small loan).</p>
<p>Since your science is the much weaker section and the SAT doesn’t have a science section, doesn’t it make sense to do the SAT?</p>
<p>I didn’t really plan on shooting for an Ivy league, I was just throwing that out there to see what other people said. </p>
<p>One financial safety school for me would be Youngstown State University, I am eligible for the full ride honors scholarship they have. I know of someone that got it this year and got a 29 on the ACT and had less activities than me. </p>
<p>What about other state schools, like Ohio State, would you recommend those?</p>
<p>My family is middle class but it will be difficult to pay for college, so I am looking into as much merit based money as I can get.</p>
<p>A middle size school would be nice, or a large school, I live in Ohio, but distance is not the largest factor. </p>
<p>I know science was my lowest on this test, but I really enjoy science (the first ACT I took I got a 28 on science, it seemed like a difficult test this time but if I take it again hopefully it will go back up). I am considering aeronautical/astronautical engineering, environmental science, physics/astronomy, and then I am also considering things like political science or education.</p>
<p>I really appreciate your input!</p>
<p>well, in case you don’t get the science score up, take the SAT, too. You might do better on that and there isn’t a science section.</p>
<p>Find out how much your parents will contribute towards you education each year. Until we know that, we could be suggesting schools that even with some merit money would still be unaffordable. </p>
<p>Let us know what they say. :)</p>
<p>You should be in the running for some merit aid from OSU. I would also look at Wright State (great engineering and very affordable in-state) and U Dayton.</p>
<p>Its safe to assume that I would not be getting much from my family, so for now I will consider that as a bonus and try to find other ways to fund college.</p>