Hi, I’m currently a high school junior and I’ve been feeling really lost as to where continue my journey for seeking higher education. Although I have done some research on my own, I think that I’ve been missing some solid guidance. Could anyone help me?
I live in Pennsylvania, which is thankfully the home of many great educational institutions, so I believe that I’d like to stay in state. I have attended a public high school for all of my high school career.
Freshman year my GPA was a 4.65 and I took all honors courses (there is no AP option until junior year)
My ECs that year were:
-National Honors Society (freshman are required 40 hours worth of service)
-Upward Bound (federally funded educational program within the United States)\
-varsity track
Sophomore year my GPA jumped to 4.79 and I continued to take all honors courses.
ECs:
-National Honor Society (sophomores are required 45 hours)
-Upward Bound
-varsity track
-Speech and Debate
-Toastmasters International
This year I currently have a 4.8 GPA and I now take AP English (which is next semester) and AP US History (I currently have a 97 in it!).
ECs:
-National Honor Society (I need to complete 50 hours of service this year)
-Upward Bound
-track (in the spring)
-Speech and Debate
-Toastmasters International
-TSA (Technology Student Association)
-eTeam (a club at my school that teachers the elderly members of the community how to use technology)
-student govt.
I know that my ECs aren’t the most rigorous, but I’d love suggestions on how I can make my list more appealing and what schools (PA and OOS) that I should look into! Thanks so much!
In addition to ones posted by Badger, also instate are Bucknell, Muhlenberg (you would likely get merit aid at Muhlenberg), Pitt, and Penn State. But instead of creating a limitation of being in PA, perhaps consider going outside of PA but still within a few hours of your home – this could open up more options depending on where you live.
For private colleges the cost of going to a school that is in or out of state makes no difference at all. For public colleges it is typically a good bit cheaper to stay in-state. I think you need to talk to your guidance counselor and get some basic research done before you look at specific schools.
Thanks for the reply, and as of right now I am waiting for SAT scores from this November’s SAT.
And as for what can I afford… all I know is that if my family were forced to pay 100% out of pocket, I can’t go to college/university. My hope is that my grades and test scores (I’m going to take the ACT December) ect. are good enough for me to get merit scholarships that I’ll combine with financial aid packages.
On the face of it this sentence doesn’t provide any real information. Does that mean you can’t afford Slippery Rock in state? Penn State or Pitt? Or just privates and OOS schools are not affordable? Have the talk with your parents.
I’ve spoken to my mom, and she made it very clear that with out federal aid, scholarships, grants, or loans, I don’t have any option. (So no Slippery Rock, Pitt, nor Penn) I made this thread (my first one btw) to simply get college suggestions. In the future, I will make a thread asking for advice with aid, FAFSA, loans, and such. I will, however, continue to communicate all of the information I am learning to my mom. Thanks for your helpful suggestions.
Did you run the net price calculator for Penn or any of the other universities you are interested in? You might be surprised at the results.
The reason posters are asking what you can afford/ whether certain universities are affordable for you (ie are the net price calculator results agreeable to your parents) is that there’s no point in suggesting universities that your parents can’t pay for. To give my D16 as an example - for some private universities, she will get no aid, for others she will get $35000/year. That’s at Penn. Aid varies wildly. Some universities are generous, like Penn, others are not.
Those schools that are very generous (good Financial Aid) are also hardest to get into. And if your parents make >$100K and can’t afford college due to bills then a college with good FA may not help. SAT and ACT scores are usually an important part of receiving good merit aid or getting into a highly competitive college.
-Chatham University
-Drexel University
-Duquesne University
-Elizabethtown College
-Juniata College
-Kings College - Pennsylvania
-La Salle University
-Lehigh University
-Saint Francis University
-Saint Joseph’s University
-Saint Vincent College
-Seton Hill University
-Temple University (You’ll get automatic full tuition + $8,000)
-University of Scranton