What Colleges Should I Add to my List?

Hi all, rising senior here. In an effort to distract myself from my homework for a little while, I’m looking at colleges and specifically which ones to apply to this coming December. So far all I’ve got is UArizona, UCLA, UC Davis, and UMichigan. Here are my stats:

Demographics:

  • California Resident
  • Asian Female
  • Probably going to major within the social sciences (Communications/Sociology/Economics)

Grades/Scores:
UW GPA: 3.67
Class Rank: Top 20%
SAT: 1170
ACT: 28

Courses:
APs: AP Psychology - 5

  • Taking AP Spanish next year, probably get a 5
    College Credit: 5 Courses with 3 As, and 2 B+
  • Taking another 4 courses next year

ECs:

  • 4 years Varsity Cheerleader: 2 years of Co-Captain; 70% chance of getting Captain next year
  • 3 Years Yearbook Staff: 1 year of Staff Writer; 2 years of Student Life Section Editor
  • 1 Year Student Government: Junior Class Rep
  • 15 years of dance
  • 200+ volunteer hours reading to children from PK-5

Wants:

  • Relatively big school (anywhere from 5000+)
  • Active Greek life (don’t want it dominating the entire social scene if possible)
  • Prefer the west coast, but I’m not particularly attached
  • Prefer the city
  • Emphasis on sports and fan participation (not that important, but it would be nice)

San Diego State, San Jose State

I’d rather move away from California if possible

Assuming you can afford these places (run the NPC to check cost estimates):

These are all in or close to decent-sized cities (I think…), have D1 sports, and are larger than 5,000 students:

Non-California West:
Washington
Oregon
Boise State
Utah
UNLV
UN-Reno
CU-Boulder
Arizona State

Plains/Midwest:
Minnesota
Nebraska
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Marquette
DePaul

South:
SMU
TCU
Baylor
Kentucky
LSU
Tennessee
South Carolina
Florida
Florida State
South Florida
Central Florida
NC State
Georgia Tech (check majors though)

Mid-Atlantic/New England:
Syracuse
Temple
GWU
Pitt
SUNY at Buffalo
Boston U
UMass
Rutgers

A handful of these would be reaches for you but I think most would be match-range schools. There’s quite a bit of variety here, at least in terms of environment/setting.

Rutgers, Penn State, BostonU,

Great idea to ask this type of question, @jaksakpak. You have some great accomplishments! Re UCLA & UC Davis, I would check the UC system to find out which UC’s you might qualify for. If you can get your ACT or SAT score up a bit, that would really help. They have a specific way of calculating GPA, so you may want to talk to your guidance counselor about this: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/gpa-requirement/index.html

As you probably know, schools like UCLA and U Michigan are very difficult to get into (GPAs usually above 3.8 and ACT scores 30 and up. Ck out stats for the Class of 2020 at various UCs http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/profiles/index.html

Based on the schools you listed, it looks like you prefer a university with fairly rigorous academics. Is that correct? Enrollment of 5,000+ includes a LOT of schools. Do you want moderately sized private schools, or really big public schools?

Have your parents s/w you about a financial budget $$? Most OOS larger schools cost quite a bit more than UCs and Cal States. While public schools generally do not offer much $ help. You would probably have a good chance at merit aid at some private schools.

@prezbucky made you quite a good list. Univ of Washington would best fit your criteria, and would be what is called a high match, but within reach for you. We visited last summer, with S17, and thought it was beautiful campus, as well. Other large schools that are in cities: U of Minnesota Twin Cities (quite good OOS tuition) and University of Florida might be an option to look at too. UC Boulder is not is a large city, but a beautiful one. These are all top notch public schools that should be in reach for you.

Most good schools located in large cities are private schools. LMU and Pepperdine are close by, if you are in S Calif, to easily ck out a medium-size schools in the LA area. We have friends at some other great schools of this size: Villanova (Philadelphia), Marquette (Milwaukee), DePaul (Chicago) BU and BC (Boston), GWU (DC), Fordham (NYC) and a fav is Texas is TCU (Texas Christian University - don’t be scared off by the name).

Definitely consider taking the ACT again, as you appear to have done best on that test. Lots of schools will take your top scores from various test sittings, to make a Super Score, so it’s worth giving it another go. Maybe get a tutor to help you with your weaker sections, as you clearly are aiming fairly high. A 28 is a very good score, but If you think you can study and get closer to a 30+, that would be a real bonus to your applications. As a former Californian, whose been happily transplanted to the Midwest, for 20 years, I applaud your effort to find schools outside our lovely home state! :slight_smile:

Yes, yes, yes - As @prezbucky said. Use the NPCs - financial aid calculators- on any school you are looking at.

Just Google “School you are interested in, Net Price Calculator.” You’ll need your parents to help, as most of the questions are about their income and savings. If there are questions about your GPA and test scores, that is really good, because the calculator will let you know if you might be awarded merit aid (free money!) The quality of the NPCs vary from school to school, but once you get the information from your parents written down, they only take a few minutes to complete.

Look into ASU Barrett.

Seconding your retaking the ACT. Just one more point would make you more competitive.

If you get a 30, Tulane. Loyola New Orleans is a match.

What about Agnes Scott? Simmons? Both would be safety or may garner merit aid.
St Edward’s would be another safety in a big city. Same thing for Lasalle and UTampa.
Saint Louis University, U Dayton, Butler, Drake would be matches.
UMN Twin Cities if you want really large and are aiming for College of Liberal Arts,
Agriculture, or Human Health.
Pitt, Penn State is budget is of no concern.
If budget is a concern (and it almost always is), look into WWU, NAU, Montana State.

If you can be creative, what about Simon Fraser? Big university in Vancouver, Canada.

You need to calculate your UC GPA? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

Test scores are very low for UCLA and borderline for UCD.