<p>I wonder why kids with either 2400 SAT or 36 ACT bother to take the other test.</p>
<p>Whoaaa, did you say you got B/C grades in APchem and A-/B+ in calculus this year ? And you intend to major in science/math?
(And then you say that you expect to get an A in an online college level Organic Chem class as well as your high school course load during your senior year -but that’s another topic )
And that your anticipated class rank is only in the top 25%?
And that you are willing to go to any school that will award you merit money as long as its a “USNews top 100” ?</p>
<p>Time for a major rethink.</p>
<p>To answer DrGoogle: A classmate of S’s had perfect ACT & SAT scores - also National Merit Finalist. Had to take the SAT (after receiving perfect ACT score) due to National Merit requirements.</p>
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<p>Plenty of schools cost less than that even with no financial aid or scholarships. For example:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html</a></p>
<p>But to answer your question, if you have a 3.0 GPA and the test scores that you claim, University of Alabama Huntsville is a full ride. If you have a 3.5 GPA and the test scores that you claim, University of Alabama Tuscaloosa gives you full tuition.</p>
<p>Alright. I’ve forgotten to answer about the National Merit. On the PSAT, I got a score that will probably only get me commended scholar in my state, but I went through a few practice books and found some Barron’s books online and aced the SAT/ACT and few subject tests respectively. The reason my grades in AP Calculus and AP Chem are so low is that I never did the homework and got near a 100 on the tests. As you can see, AP Chem had a lot more homework. I didn’t take the AP tests b/c I thought they were unnecessary considering my performance in the subject tests. I’m willing to pay 35K b/c I think I can make 20K in one school year and one summer put together (considering I work a whole lot). I can take a loan from my parents for 15K/year that I can pay right after grad school. Also, if you can put it together, I’ll probably get 0 financial aid. Do any of the top colleges like Wash U, Vanderbilt, Rice, Hopkins, Chicago have any cheap room/board programs in addition to like 15K scholarships that would cut down costs to 35K/year for everything (considering I can even get in)?</p>
<p>I’ve learned that Wash U and Vandy are the only schools that might offer half-tuition scholarships that will cut my costs of everything down to 30-35K. First, do I have any chance of getting into either school, and second, is there any way if I do as well on the late winter/early spring math/science contests next year in addition to my other stats which can be seen in my first post, that I’ll get a half tuition scholarship to either of these schools or any other top 40 (US News) schools?</p>
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<p>A couple of things to remember…any “scholarships” you receive for room/board will be considered taxable income for the following year.</p>
<p>Some of the schools you list do offer merit aid to TOP applicants but I don’t think ANY Of them offer merit aid based on ACT or SAT or SAT subject test scores alone. Chicago in particular looks very holistically at applications. Your GPA is not going to work in your favor there (or anywhere else).</p>
<p>You have top SAT/ACT scores but to be quite honest, your day to day performance does NOT match those scores. The adcoms at those competitive schools are going to wonder how a student with those perfect scores would not be in the top 5% of his graduating class with a GPA at or near 4.0.</p>
<p>What state are you from? Tennessee? Perhaps you should look at some of the instate public universities there…that would certainly be affordable if you (or your parents) can pay $35K per year.</p>
<p>What are you more interested in finding…a top 100 school OR a school where you can get some significant merit aid?</p>
<p>UAB would give you 15K per year towards total cost of attendance of 20-25K…so you would be left with 5-10 k per year. UAB is very strong for stem, a tier one research university, only one in alabama ranked high research by carnegie. cohesive strong sci/tech honors program, urban campus, 11K undergrads. Sounds like you dont think you got national merit, but if you did its a full ride at uab. </p>
<p>[UAB</a> - The University of Alabama at Birmingham](<a href=“http://www.uab.edu%5DUAB”>http://www.uab.edu)</p>
<p>1) Sit down with your parents and figure out what your EFC is going to be both the institutional method and the federal method. Go to a couple of the colleges you are interested in and run the net price calculators. This will give you an idea of what your family will be expected to pay. Net price calculators that ask for GPA and test scores sometimes factor in the grants/tuition discounts/merit.<br>
2) Find a couple schools that you can afford that have automatic scholarships posted on their website. You have the link to the thread that identifies those.
3) Find a couple match schools where your GPA and test scores put you in the top of the class AND give merit aid. You have the thread for that.
4) Identify some reach schools that give merit aid and apply to those.
5) Room and board plans and requirements for freshman are generally posted on the websites of the individual colleges. Many colleges specify what is required of freshman.</p>
<p>At the end of the day you should yield some schools you can afford and would be willing to attend. All the information you need and many of the questions you are asking are in the finaid forum.</p>
<p>frankly, your grades will knock you out of consideration at most of the “elite” schools. And I must not have been reading carefully, but did you actually score those SAT/ACT scores, or are you just anticipating them, based on practice tests?</p>
<p>" think I can make 20K in one school year and one summer put together "
while you are in college??? this too is totally unrealistic, unless you already have a website business currently bringing in $$. College is a lot harder than HS.</p>
<p>In order to get into a “top” college AND win a merit scholarship you will NEED great recommendations from your Teachers and College counselor. How realistic do you think that is that when you blew off doing homework?? </p>
<p>Time to step back and do a rethink. you may be smart, but top colleges dont hand out MERIT $$ to lazy, smart students who dont show any indication of a desire to work HARD. There are many other smart, hardworking students competing at those same colleges for very limited pool of a $$.</p>
<p>I have already gotten all the test scores. Forgo the financial aid for a second. Do I have any chance of getting into Duke, Hopkins, Chicago, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Rice, Emory, Nortre Dame, UNC Chapel Hill, USC, UCLA, or U Michigan with my potential senior grades and potential senior national/math science contest results in the late winter, in addition to my other stats? I know my grades show my lack of drive to work hard thus far but could writing an essay about learning how to work hard, getting A+ grades for my first semester next year, getting stellar recs that mention my hard work next year, and doing well in the 5 national math/science contests show that though I was lazy in my first three years, I’ve permanently become a hard-worker? What Top 30 US News school gives merit aid to people at all and which one do I have some chance of getting some aid to? (BTW, don’t rant about how this can’t make up for my grades; I know that. Just tell if it shows some hard work to colleges.) I think my parents could pay 20K a year and I could work for the rest of the 20K for a total cost of UP TO 40K a year. Please keep this in mind when you answer.</p>
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<p>Those are your best chances for large merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Your self-acknowledged laziness has kept me from giving any particularly helpful info. on this thread. Most of what you’re asking for is easily found on college websites, and various threads on this website. </p>
<p>Your assumption of semi-finalist status in Intel-STS is also disturbing. However, when you attain that distinction, you’ll hear from a bunch of places that will gladly admit you and give you $$.</p>
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<p>How many times to you think we hear this every year? Plenty. </p>
<p>I agree w/2boysima that your assumptions are over the top: now you’re going to get all A+s, teachers that have known you a couple of months are going to write you stellar LORs, you are going to win contests. </p>
<p>Sorry, but with the caliber of schools you listed, they have so many highly qualified applicants that have done well throughout HS, on tests and with their ECs, that they don’t have to take a chance on someone who works for 1 semester and professes to have changed.</p>
<p>It seems like you have not been doing your homework in school, and now you are trying to forego “doing your homework” on college identification.</p>
<p>I suggest you read the books “The Gatekeepers” by Jacques Steinberg and “A is for Admission” by Michele Hernandez to get an understanding of how the college admissions process for highly selective schools works.</p>
<p>Timing is not in your favor. Your resolve to get great grades your senior year and teacher recommendations attesting to your newly-found work ethic is a little late. </p>
<p>My S applied to some schools that offered merit, and the application deadline was Nov. 1 or Nov. 15 (depending on the school). His fall grades weren’t available until January (not enough time between when grades are submitted and the winter break). So the transcript the schools received with his application only covered freshman through junior years.</p>
<p>He asked his teachers if they would write letters of recommendation at the beginning of the school year, and their comments were based on their knowledge of his work his first three years of high school. In fact, one of his teacher recommendations was from a teacher who retired at the end of S’s junior year, so it had nothing to do with his senior year performance.</p>
<p>I would get a full ride to the University of Idaho with my scores, which aren’t nearly as quixotically perfect as yours (but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that you scored perfectly on standardized tests 8 times). </p>
<p>But in all honesty, if you’re just working hard your senior year to prove that you have a work ethic or to show your aspirations, the colleges will most definitely see right through it. I have had many friends with similar perfect test scores but did not get into the “top schools”. </p>
<p>Also, why are you confining your college search to rankings and, in particular, the rankings from U.S. News and World Report? Are you simply looking for a prestigious college or are you actually interested pursuing a major that’s interesting to you. Maybe try looking at some other rankings, like Princeton Review or Washington Post. They’ll give you a different perspective and maybe not make you look at a school as “Oh, only ranked so and so”.</p>
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<p>Among many other reasons, registered to take both at approximately the same time could be one, and the ACT 36 was really a 35.5 being another.</p>
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<p>Both schools give full tuition scholarships and Duke gives full ride. But your scores alone won’t get you there unfortunately. I assume you are a male.</p>
<p>At D’s school, they were required to limit LOR requests to teachers they had in junior year. As many kids applied either early decision, early action, or early to schools with rolling admissions, their senior teachers would not have been able to write about them with any authority. </p>
<p>I think you are kidding yourself that you are going to be able to impress your senior teachers in a month or two with a work ethic contrary to your past efforts, at least one which seems to be genuine</p>
<p>You know what, though? Never say never. Apply to all these great schools if you wish. Just be absolutely CERTAIN to apply to some safeties, regardless of their rank. You CAN be a bloom where you are planted kid if you truly do “change.”</p>