<p>I am a 16 yr. old female.. going to be a senior at a competitive high school in southern California...</p>
<p>SATs:
1st try: CR 650, W 720, M 560
2nd try: CR 720, W 630, M 600</p>
<p>SAT IIs:
Biology E- 630
US History- 750
Literature- 660</p>
<p>ACT:
1st try: 29</p>
<p>APs:
English Language: 4</p>
<p>GPA:
Freshman Year: UW 3.8, W 3.8
Sophomore Yr: UW 4.0, W 4.2 (2 honors classes)
Junior Year: UW 4.0, W 4.42 (3 honors, 1 AP class)
Senior Year core courses:
AP Gov
AP Spanish IV
AP English
Honors Physics
Math Analysis</p>
<p>Extra Curriculars:
Club Soccer (since 6th grade)- 2 year Captain
HS Soccer (3 year Varsity)- Senior year Captain
California Scholarship Federation
Red Cross Club
High School Volleyball (2 years -Captain)</p>
<p>Awards:
Scholastic Acheivement Award (10th grade)- issued by teachers
CIF Academic All-League (2 years)
Most Improved Player (HS Soccer-11th grade)
Best Defensive Player (HS Volleyball-9th grade)</p>
<p>---------> I LOVE the east coast and basically anywhere where it is cold/rainy.. SICK OF CALIFORNIA WEATHER lol <------------</p>
<p>also, i would LOVE suggestions for schools with generous merit aid :) i talked to an adcom about need-based fin aid and he said because we own a home in southern california, that would be a slim-to-none chance... my parents can probably pay 13-16k/yr.</p>
<p>What do you want to study? Northeastern University in Boston would be a safety for you, but it's a very specific type school with a 5 year BA/BS program organized around "co-ops" -- paid, full time internships. It's a good place for students with very specific career interests -- engineering, pre-med, business, computer science etc. They're actively looking for good students and geographic diversity and do give decent aid/merit.</p>
<p>You've only given your stats; there's no indication of what kinds of schools you are looking for. You will get a much better response if you also tell us what your intended major is and whether you want a school that is a big research university/small LAC, urban/rural setting, public/private, with or without D1 sports, religious affiliation or not, etc. That will help us narrow it down from the 3000+ colleges in the U.S.</p>
<p>I want to major in business/marketing/international relations</p>
<p>I like big cities, but i still want a campus-y feel, not just a row of buildings on some street :)</p>
<p>I am very active in soccer, but i do not want to make the Varsity commitment throughout college.. so a school with great club sports and a very active student body would be perfect...</p>
<p>Public/Private doesn't matter as long as there is access to some sort of merit scholarships (which are probably more prevalent in private schools)</p>
<p>Your biggest problem -- of course -- will be needing merit aid. You need to really sit down with your parents to discuss what they can pay and if they are willing to take out loans. You also need to accept the fact that you yourself may be required to take on loans. My suggestion is first to explore schools that are known for good merit aid, then start narrowing down based on location, type of school, etc. CC has lots of threads on this subject... do a quick search and you'll find lots of possible schools to look into. Here's one thread:</p>
<p>"i talked to an adcom about need-based fin aid and he said because we own a home in southern california, that would be a slim-to-none chance... "</p>
<p>"Harvard will no longer consider home equity in calculating a familys ability to pay for college; in practice, for affected families, this will reduce the expected contribution toward the cost of attending Harvard by $4,000 per year."</p>
<p>While not merit aid granters, I think Amherst, Bowdoin, Haverford Swarthmore and Williams have made major changes to their policy regarding this issue last year. So, you might want to contact each of them.</p>
<p>Since you like "anywhere cold and rainy," maybe the Northwest would interest you. University of Puget Sound might be a good fit (i.e., close to Tacoma/Seattle but a campus-y feel, active sports scene, strong in business and international studies, etc.)</p>
<p>Other NW schools that might meet your criteria, University of Portland, Seattle U, Lewis & Clark, Willamette.</p>