<p>CASE WESTERN is a good bet for BIG scholarship aid…friend’s daughter just finished her first year engineering freshman year on one of the school’s 100% tuition packages. She was ranked in the top 5% of her high school class with 34-ACT and 2190-SAT, national merit finalist-213…</p>
<p>If the GPA is less than 3.5, none of the schools listed care to admit a student based on merit, ignoring the merit scholarship requirement on top of that. They get plenty of Asian male applicants in the high scores but perfect GPAs which are more indicative of working hard in high school (no one needs perfect scorers since they don’t go around boasting how many of them they landed and advertise only the 75 percentile number).</p>
<p>You apply to colleges with basically your junior year stats…GPA, class rank, etc. Some selective schools will ask for mid senior year grades but that’s a little late to be impressing them…I think that’s mostly to be sure highly qualified students have stayed on the harder academic track.</p>
<p>What major(s) are you interested in? That might be a better approach than this buckshot approach. Your list of colleges is rather random regarding location and size. Knowing what you are interested in might be a better approach. Michigan is on the list but not Indiana or Wisconsin, etc? Notre Dame is on the list but no other catholic universities? It looks like you prefer a university to a college since I think all the ones you mentioned are universities?</p>
<p>Anyway, for UofM, you need to unweight and calculate your GPA. If you’re in the 3.7-3.8 range you’ve reached a decent threshold to apply. Mich used to not count freshman year so calculate with and without to get your unweighted GPA. Michigan does not meet need for OSS and does not distribute alot of merit, but it could go on you reach list. But like others have said if you want to do a huge public, there are others in the country where you would stand a better chance of getting merit money. Michigan State would be even a better bet for merit than UofM if you like big and public.</p>
<p>Some LAC’s that seriously want boys and/or diversity might pony up and take you on. But I agree with the parents here who suggest you consult other threads and do your own research. It always works out best.</p>
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<p>Highly selective schools don’t want to be told that you’re a hard worker. That can actually be the kiss of death in recommendations, because it can imply that that’s the thing that teachers most notice about you, rather than your sparkling wit or great insight or thoughtful writing. These schools expect that you show you’re a hard worker by your academic record; your essays and recs are the place to tell how you stand out from all the other hard workers. </p>
<p>UCLA and other UCs might like your test scores, but it’s $50k for OOS and thus out of your budget.</p>
<p>"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? "</p>
<p>There are too many “potentials” that you are predicting/ hoping will happen, but will have little influence on your chances of acceptance at top colleges. The reality is your GPA and record of under achievement over the past 3 years. Those will count very heavily against your overall chances at the colleges you have listed. Most top colleges consider GPA to be VERY important. And thinking that teachers that do not even know you will write stellar LOR after being in the their class for a short time is ignoring that fact that the college counselor at your HS ALSO has to write the schools LOR, and he will have your entire record to review. So you need to lower your sights to colleges who WILL pay $$ for hi stat applicants or admit students with uneven records of achievement. Then after 1-2 years you many be able to transfer to colleges like Cornell or USC, [which are among the few top colleges that do take a lot of transfer students] after you have proven you actually can and will work hard .</p>
<p>Getting straight As senior year when you haven’t been working up to potential until then is too little, too late. I believe the GPA is calculated using only full years, and you will most likely be submitting your applications before the 1st semester of your senior year is over. Your senior year mid semester grades will be sent, but I don’t believe they will be used in the calculation of the GPA or class rank or percentile. If you still have exams to take this year, you need to do as best possible. I think because of your grades, the schools you listed should all be considered reaches. All those Cs on your transcript are unfortunate. Those top colleges really don’t like to see them</p>
<p>Hold on. I assume the majority of respondees on this thread are parents. Thus, you have the bias that one must have stellar grades to get in to a decent college. I think I’d be more suited to asking in a student thread.</p>
<p>No not really, a 3.5 - 3.7 unweighted will get you into alot of good colleges with your test scores. You were asking about merit and where you could get in for $30,000. Did you recalculate your GPA as of the end of junior year? There are hundreds of decent colleges that would like you but you’re not very specific about what you want or what majors… here’s another couple threads for you… and there are others if you search on your GPA.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/767486-where-did-your-3-3-3-6-gpa-child-get.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/767486-where-did-your-3-3-3-6-gpa-child-get.html</a></p>
<p>and this one</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/767118-under-3-6-gpa-applying-top-20-parents-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/767118-under-3-6-gpa-applying-top-20-parents-thread.html</a></p>
<p>DoctorMagic has started numerous similar threads on college specific subforums here on CC. On some he states that he got worse grades than listed here, on others better. He has identified himself rather uniquely (based on nationality, gender, and how many and what types of high schools he has gone to), has admitted to laziness, and has all these dreams of doing better senior year. I would say that he will definitely get in to a decent school, but given all these postings that could uniquely identify him to colleges, they do show sort-of poor judgement and at best, paint him as a little unrealistic. The schools he lists are all the more so reaches, in light of these numerous postings.</p>
<p>"I think I’d be more suited to asking in a student thread. "</p>
<p>They know more because they have all gotten into these colleges already with your grades?</p>
<p>The only ones who do make it are Division I athletes or some people who have overcome all kinds of odds.</p>
<p>A boy with two highly educated parents probably in the top 5% of the income bracket in US stands 0.0001 chance of beating the GPA odds.</p>
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<p>Well, you asked specifically:</p>
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<p>And yes, for those schools you need to have excellent grades or have other mitigating factors in your record. The “under 3.6” GPA threads that momofthreeboys mentions (and also <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1026754-under-3-6-applying-top-schools-2010-11-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1026754-under-3-6-applying-top-schools-2010-11-a.html</a>) are good places for you to go and look at how students with GPAs similar to yours have crafted their applications. </p>
<p>I’d suggest researching “decent” colleges that don’t require stellar high school grades. To start you off, take a look at the University of Pittsburgh. Great honors program, attracts highly-academic students who turn down super-selective schools for Pitt full tuition scholarships, cross-registration with Carnegie Mellon just down the street, rolling admissions (so you can have an acceptance in hand in September), and should fit in your budget.</p>
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<p>I highly doubt that you can earn $20k per year for 4 years straight. You’d be lucky to earn $4-5k during the summer between high school and college. </p>
<p>And, keep in mind, you’ll have to pay taxes on that $20k, so not all of it will go towards college. Plus, you’ll have your own personal expenses. </p>
<p>Why are you eliminating all publics in Tenn and Alabama? That’s where many of your best merit opportunities are. You’d take a merit scholarship from, say, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, but you won’t take one from Tenn or Alabama? That’s nutty. </p>
<p>Your grades are going to keep you out of the best schools. They’re also going to keep you from some merit scholarships…especially the competitive ones.</p>
<p>USC (University of Southern California) offer a number of full tuition and half-tuition scholarships that are based heavily on merit. Look into USC.</p>
<p>cortona, my son won one of those full tuition scholarships at USC. They are harder to win than an acceptance to Harvard- 25000 applied this year and 140 full tuition scholarships were awarded. They are given to exceptional students with the grades/ qualifications to get into Ivys / other top colleges . Anyone with C’s wont be in the running for merit $ from USC.</p>
<p>“Candidates are selected by USC faculty and staff from an extremely competitive international pool. Applicants pursue the most demanding curriculum and achieve at the highest level.”</p>
<p>Haven’t read all the posts, but just seeing the OP’s, I would strongly suggest you apply to Tulane. They have a scholarship called the Dean’s Honor Scholarship, which involves a project, and does not appear to be financially based at all. I think you’d be a great fit at Tulane, and they’d love to have you.</p>
<p>"Thus, you have the bias that one must have stellar grades to get in to a decent college. "
you didnt ask about a “decent” college, you asked about your chances at some very competitive colleges. Readers who have been on CC for a long time can give you a really good, realsitic idea of how hard it is to get accepted at the most selective colleges these days. But if you want to only listen to or trust other 17 year olds, go right ahead.</p>
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<p>Students who are NMS finalists are given a half tuition award at USC if they are accepted (note…they have to be accepted). This student does not have NMS finalist status.</p>
<p>I agree with others…apply to the highly competitive schools…that also give merit awards. BUT remember that many of these merit awards require an application completed by December 1 or earlier. Any grades you earn as a senior won’t even show up on you application for admission…making many of these schools a reach.</p>
<p>I think the suggestions of Tulane and Case Western are good ones…especially since you don’t NEED full funding, only a partial tuition award (since you say your parents CAN pay for college).</p>
<p>DoctorMagic – if you want to hear from students, you could research the threads called “official decision thread 2016” for a particular college where people post the decision and their statistics. There are plenty of students with stats like yours who are waitlisted or rejected at the competitive colleges. Sometimes there are people with seemingly perfect scores rejected and sometimes people with less than perfect scores and grades are accepted. It is humbling.</p>