What colleges should I be looking at? (Junior in the US)

College Search & Selection
1

I am not exactly sure where my credentials put me on the grand scale of colleges, and would love some opinions on what colleges I should be looking at (I am a junior). Please just list a few schools you think may be good for me to research for my safety and reaches. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do in the future, but I am currently thinking about medicine and/or something to do with engineering (I really wanted to combine them some how, but I did an internship over the summer and found that I don’t like biotech as much as I hoped I would). For most of high school, I have just really enjoyed learning but never put in the effort I should have into hardcore studying and doing HW (so much regret right now :P)

UW GPA: 3.6/4 (T_T)
W GPA : 4.31/5
Class rank: 22/378
ACT: 35, 7 on essay (probably going to retake b/c of essay score)
SAT: 1510 (no essay)
APs so far: AP Bio, AP Calc BC, APUSH, AP Physics 1 & 2, everything else was honors level
for senior year my course requests are currently: AP Chem, AP Lit, AP Econ, AP Comp Sci A, AP US gov

Extracurriculars:

Leadership in a charity organization that I started in my community, but it never got very large at all.
lots of volunteer hours over multiple summers (idk exact numbers right now)
Research internship in regenerative medicine
JV Tennis for 3 years (sadly, I didn’t make varsity this year)
Indoor Track for 3 years
Squash for 1 year (before I moved)
Robotics team for 3 years … no leadership position yet, but I think I am a pretty involved and key member of the team
Science Club (Science Olympiad and Science Bowl)
State Science Fair for 3 years … finalist every year but never made it to nationals :frowning:

… and that’s about all that comes to mind

Please let me know about some colleges that you think I would be competitive for. I’m happy to include more info about myself. Thanks!

Also, english isn’t my first language, so sorry about any typos! >.<

2

where do you currently live and is there a specific region or type of location (urban, rural, etc.) you’re looking for?

3

I live in New England. Schools around the east coast are great, but I am also looking at some in California (since I would be out-of-state, I would want to only go there if the school is great enough). I prefer urban schools with warmer climates, but then again, there are a lot of great schools in NE that I would be interested in.

4

College budget/year?

5

Are you a potential National Merit finalist?

When you say warm climates are preferred, are you willing to consider the South or Southwest in addition to California?

Are you interested in merit scholarships?

6

It depends on how happy I would be in the college (I am willing to take more loans/debt if the experience and the prestige is that much greater). I am fortunate enough to have my parents are willing to contribute to that extent. However, in general, I would say around $30,000 - $50,000 more or less. I would graduate in 2022 (4 years), if that is what you mean by year?

Also, I am not that knowledgeable about college tuition and related items, as I am the first in my family to go, so any advice is much appreciated :slight_smile:

7

I hope I qualify, but I doubt it. The cut-off in my state has been 220 for the past few years, and I barely missed it with 219.

The south and southwest also apply. I am not too picky with location right now, I just want to get a general idea about where my credentials put me.

Yes, I am interested in merit scholarships but they are not something that would break a deal with a college for me.

8

@kiwi10, the money question is important to answer before going further. If you’re the first person in your family to go to college (congrats, that’s an excellent achievement!), then you and your parents might not know too much about college costs and how to pay for them.

For instance, you say your parents can afford $30-50k. That’s a pretty wide range. Sit down with your parents and ask them to really work out a budget. Your stats, resume, and first-generation college status could make you competitive for some elite schools (e.g. Ivy League) but they cost $60-$75k per year and do not give merit scholarships. They do give need-based financial aid but there is very often a difference (sometimes a shocking difference) between the college’s calculation of a family’s need vs the family’s actual ability to pay. Schools may say they are “need-blind” and/or “meet full need”, but do not be fooled into thinking that their estimation of your need will match your estimation of your need. College websites have Net Price Calculators (NPC); using data you and your parents provide regarding income and assets, you can get an idea of what, if any, financial aid you might qualify for at different schools.

Edit to add: when I say “competitive” for Ivy League, I don’t want to give the impression that you should think of any as match schools. They are reaches for everyone, but with your first generation status they might be slightly less reachy for you.