Without regard to finances, check out Colorado College. And I think the advice of trying to get your SAT up is a good one. CC allows you to mix and match test scores as long as you have one mathy, one languagy and one something else.
@katcollege, that is a generic NPC. It is best to check the NPC on each college’s website. Sometimes they will use the College Board’s NPC but many times, the college will use some version with their own specifications. You’ll find that your EFC will be different for each college. When I ran the NPC on various college websites for my daughter last year, our EFC ranged from about $27,000 all the way to $68,000 (Reed College)
UNC-Asheville may or may not work out moneywise. Cost may be a tad over $30,000 but keep it on the list. Good school, great city, in the mountains.
Also check out Willamette in Salem, Oregon.
@Sue22 I beg to differ. The most recent class had more Californians than any other state represented.
Things change, of course, but as of the fall of 2013, for Middlebury’s student-body as a whole:
New York: 340
Massachusetts: 290
California: 240
It would be interesting to see the new figures.
(Source: Middlebury College; Fall 2013 Student Profile.)
Regardless, in a typical year, approximately 75% of Middlebury first years come from outside New England.
Sorry, it was my imprecise language that led to the confusion. I was referring to the most recent class, not overall. But Arcadia’s statement remains true.
They are setting you up for a huge let-down in April when you get admitted to some colleges, only to find that many of them are unaffordable, or that the 1/3 parental contribution, 2/3 scholarships, financial aid, work, and loans formula does not really work. Also, if they are willing to pay 1/3 of a $60,000 per year college = $20,000 per year, then will they be willing to pay almost all of a $21,000 per year college?
You and they need to run the net price calculators on several colleges of interest to get a realistic idea of what costs you are looking at. It is best if you parents can tell you a dollar amount that they will contribute (e.g. “we will pay up to $20,000 per year” or some such – they need to account for any contribution to your siblings in their budget). Be sure to run the net price calculators for 1, 2, and 3 kids in college, to get an idea of how they may change as you and your siblings enter and leave college.
It is best to start your list with safeties that you know that you will get into and know that you can afford. If you are looking at smaller schools, some inexpensive liberal arts colleges include Truman State and University of Minnesota - Morris. UNC - Asheville (mentioned previously), New College of Florida, and SUNY - Geneseo may also be reasonably priced.
International relations may be specialty area within a political science department; check departmental web sites, course catalogs, and schedules to see if that is the case at schools without a specific international relations major.
@shawnspencer @PhxRising Just to update everyone, I’ve received my up to date GPA (3.76 UW, 4.5 W) and my most recent SAT and ACT scores. On the ACT, I scored a 32, and on the SAT I received a 2160 (CR-800, Math-590, Writing-770)! You guys basically said that there were some colleges that were more selective, but my stats weren’t up to it, so are there any more suggestions you guys (and anyone else) have for me, taking into consideration my improved scores? Thanks!
Sewanee.
Nice improvement on the scores. Your ACT matches your SAT, too, which helps in knowing where you stand. A few issues…
What else have you learned about your typical EFC range? You said you can afford $20-30K per year, so will this cover your typical EFC? Or will you need merit aid?
I don’t see much information on your ECs. Can you give us a brief rundown?
Have you been able to identify one or two schools that you can say, yup, that’s my type of school, that’s what I’m looking for? Initially, you gave us a personality assessment, which is helpful, but it’s easier to make a list when you can put your finger on a school or two that really floats your boat.
What schools are on your list, currently?
I strongly second the recommendation of Sewanee. You share many attributes and interests with my D (including the lopsided SAT scores - hers were nearly identical) who attends Sewanee and loves it. You would likely receive merit aid at Sewanee as well.
You May benefit from sending both act and sat if your math and science sub scores are about 28+.
Make sure to take the hardest Humanities and Language classes you can through. dual enrollment .
If you frame yourself well and plan to primarily major in s critical language, all top colleges can be added as reaches. Look into Oc2idental, beside all the obvious suspects
Since you are responsible for a third of the cost, apply to at least a dozen LACs in order to have a good range of aid offers to compare and choose from. A third of $200k is $67,000 and you (with your parents) don’t want that much in loans. Consider schools that give great merit aid within the range of your stats, such as Denison, Wooster, Earlham and Centre. Any merit aid you can get that is over 1/3 the total cost of school will reduce the amount of loans you’ll have to carry. Even with great merit, though, your parents will probably have to be willing to cosign because you will need more than the $5500 you can get on your own, in order to reach your 1/3. Be sure to apply to some in-state U’s as backups in case the LAC stars don’t quite align. Or consider deferring your admission for a year to work and save.
I’ll give a rundown of my ECs since @Dunboyne asked:
-[city name] Youth Leadership Council (10,11,12) ~ VP of Development and founding member, basically help solve problems in our community and make our city a better place for youth through events, volunteering, and awareness
-Student Government (9,10,11,12)~ VP of class (9,10), Treasurer (11,12) plan student events, volunteer, as treasurer, in charge of class account
-Mock Trial (10,11,12)~ VP and founding member
-Debate Team (11,12)~ Co-captain
-[city name] Chapter of the 84 Movement (MA state-wide tobacco prevention organization) (11,12) ~ founding member, promote awareness about tobacco use and effects on youth, talk to local and state legislators, etc, voted April 2015 Chapter of the Month
-NHS (10,11,12)~ gpa requirements, required to have 30 hrs of volunteering per yr
-Upward Bound (UB) TRIO Program and Educational Talent Search (9,10,11,12)~ weekly meetings, summer program, national organization
-Field Hockey Team (JV-9, Varsity-10,11,12)
-Track & Field Team (Varsity- 9,10,11,12) ~gold academic athlete award
There are a couple other clubs that I’ve been involved in, such as the Freedom Writer’s Club, where we basically talk about social issues and rights issues like the Holocaust, and with this club I went on a trip to Europe (Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, London) this past year, but our meetings are not as frequent as my other clubs and I don’t have a leadership position, so I didn’t know if I should put it considering I’m already at 9 activities?
Also, to add, I probably have ~300 hrs of community service for my high school years, but this is throughout my clubs- not with just one organization or just with one club, more like many many one-time volunteering opportunities, so I don’t know how to/where to put that? Also I’m attempting to get the Presidential Service award but I still have some hrs to do
In addition, it’s not a club or anything, but I currently have an internship at the Public Policy Center at my local state college, and am doing a research project on Section 8 housing in our area over this summer with my fellow interns.
Ok that covers all of my activities!
Good stuff. Next question.
@Dunboyne ok so for the EFC and financial stuff I’ve been trying to give estimates, bc my parents haven’t really figured all of it out yet. They did talk to a college financial advisor for a little bit, but they haven’t combed through all their finances yet. So before I said probably $30,000 but when we went to the financial advisor, she said at private universities we would probably end up paying a lot more than that. My parents both were hard workers their whole lives, and neither of them graduated college (both went for one year and then dropped out). Despite this, they both ended up in well-paying managerial positions in the government (post office). Since they were 18, they’ve been saving money and so now they have quite a bit saved. Some of the money is in life insurance, a good chunk is in IRAs and stocks/bonds. Basically, they thought that this money wouldn’t be touched for college admissions/fin aid, and the financial advisor said it wouldn’t be for public schools, but that private schools are looking at it more and more. Some of the money they can’t access until they retire or until they die, but it still is counted for private universities. So, we are going to have to pay more than we expected at first, and we probably won’t be getting a lot of financial aid. However, my parents know that most of my schools I want to go to are privates, so they aren’t saying I have to go to a public school or anything. The financial advisor said that there are ways to move around our money to make it so colleges won’t see it, and to at least relieve the burden a little. So, my parents have to go to a follow-up appt to figure out how to get the best possible fin aid. So basically I’ve tried to stay away from this topic bc I don’t really know at all how it will end up- we still have to move around everything and figure it out. Basically, my parents want to have to pay the least amount of money (but we probably won’t get a lot of fin aid) but they also don’t want to sacrifice the quality of my education and want me to go to a good school and a school I love.
Geez, full marks for thoroughness! Keep us updated because it’s hard to suggest schools without knowing how much merit aid you need. You might need a full-tuition scholarship by the time the dust settles.
Note that parents are often willing to break the bank to oblige their children’s college dreams, but you/they need to discover if they’re setting themselves up for future hardship. UMA-Amherst is quite acceptable for poli sci, if necessary. Your 32 ACT gives you full tuition at Alabama, too. Not exactly liberal arts colleges! but they’re not bad options, in a financial pinch.
@Dunboyne yeah, I think what will probably end up happening (once we get all the finance stuff figured out) is that my parents and I will probably pick the school that is the “best bang for our buck”, meaning it’s a good school and a good fit but isn’t horribly expensive and is something that is decently affordable. I’m probably going to have to look over the lists on here of schools with good merit or financial aid (you’re welcome to add any you think of that are probably good for me and have good fin aid). 
I’ve visited UMass Amherst before, but it’s a little too big and rowdy for me, although in a financial bind it’s always a fine option.
Start at post #49: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-p4.html
If you end up needing a full-tuition award, the more selective schools on that list will usually require top-shelf scores to be competitive (ACT 34+, excellent GPA). Your scores will get you full tuition somewhere, but it’s a question of whether the quality/fit of that school will beat UMA-Amherst or Alabama. Anyway, it really depends how much merit aid you need.
The financial aid adviser didn’t exactly speak the truth: private colleges DO NOT use retirement savings and private colleges will use different formulas. Saving is always preferable to not saving and is used much less than income is. Some colleges use home equity but some have a cap, others don’t, and some colleges don’t use equity at all.
Run the NPC on several LACs of interest, a couple reaches, a couple matches, a couple safeties. Bring the numbers to your parents. See what they say.