<p>Hi! I am a high school senior that is hopelessly unsure about what colleges to apply to. My parents are foreign (from England and South Africa) and I am the first child in my family to apply to college. </p>
<p>A little bit about me: I am interested in going into the medical field and I want to major in biology with a possible minor in psychology or neuroscience. The only school that has really clicked with me so far is Colorado College, so I am looking to schools similar to it. I can't tell you exactly what clicked for me with Colorado, but I have loved everything I read about it. I am looking for colleges on the West Coast but preferably not in Oregon because I am from there:) I currently have no preferences as far as size, city or rural, or public or private.<br>
I have an unweighted GPA of 3.97 and have an ACT score of 30 (without studying). I have not taken the SAT, so I am taking the SAT and retaking the ACT next month. I took 4 IB classes last year, my schedule was: IB physics, IB Biology, IB English, IB History, Health Careers, Pre-Calculus and Spanish 4. My schedule this year is IB TOK, IB English, IB Biology, IB Calculus, IB Psychology and Advanced Health Careers (2 credit class- we meet every day). The only B I have ever gotten was an 89.1 in IB History first semester. I am secretary of the IB advisory and of Key Club. I am a girl scout and have a been a counselor at girl scout camp every summer since 7th grade. i also play competitive soccer and am a member of both the national honor society and the spanish national honor society. I do not qualify for need-based scholarships but I would really like merit-based scholarships.</p>
<p>“I do not qualify for need-based scholarships but I would really like merit-based scholarships.”</p>
<p>Do you know how much your parents are ready, willing, and able to pay? Ask them about that. Since they weren’t educated here, and you are the first in your family to apply to college, they may find that what the colleges expect them to pay is significantly more than they can come up with. Each college and university has a Net Price Calculator right on its website. Use the website’s search function to find it, and work your way through each institution’s NPC with your parents. That way there will be fewer surprises about costs.</p>
<p>There are several threads on merit-based aid in the Financial Aid Forum. You may want to go read through them for ideas.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: I have looked at Cornell because of the block plan but it is quite far away from the west coast. I am looking more at states like Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Washington, etc. I will look at it again though to see how well it fits. Thank you!</p>
<p>Is it mainly the block plan that attracts you to Colorado College or do other qualities it possesses appeal to you? You might take a look at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. A lot of students that find CC attractive also like Whitman. It does give merit aid and is looking for diversity in it’s student body, this includes socioeconomic diversity and first generation college attendees.</p>
<p>Take look at Grinnell, Macalester and Oberlin - not west coast, but a similar enough vibe that there are a fair number of cross-applicants between these schools and CC. </p>
<p>Grinnell, Macalester and Oberlin, like CC, share the understated, low key, non-preppy vibe common to the midwestern LACs, so if one is a ‘fit’ then the others are probably close enough.</p>
<p>I agree that Whitman and Evergreen are the closest to Colorado College in spirit and educational approach in the western area of the country. </p>
<p>It’s true that H’s Mom’s recommendations have the atmosphere she describes (non-preppy, understated, low key), but they are rigorous and traditional in approach compared to Colorado College–same for Connecticut College, BC, and Trinity. They are fine schools but I don’t see an overlap for Colorado College and these schools, personally.</p>
<p>CollCouns is right that these midwestern LACs are not on block schedule - however, so few schools are that in order to have a reasonable list of ‘reach/match/safety’ you are probably going to have to include schools that aren’t on a block schedule, hence my suggestions. </p>
<p>One ‘non-traditional’ aspect of Grinnell is the lack of a core curriculum (like Brown in that respect). The only required class is a writing-intensive freshman seminar in any one of 20+ topics.</p>
<p>There aren’t that many liberal arts colleges in the West. Washington has Whitman, Colorado has CC (just applied there today, btw; love that school), California has Occidental and the Claremont Colleges, of which Pitzer and Scripps are the two that you might be able to get into. Nevada, Idaho (College of Idaho?), Montana, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico don’t really have much (except St. John’s in Santa Fe). </p>
<p>I agree with Longhaul. You say you don’t want to stay in Oregon, but Reed, Lewis & Clark, and Willamette are all really great schools.</p>
<p>I would suggest branching out more. There are plenty of great LACs in the Midwest (M’s Mom suggested my top three), so be open to other regions of the country. Cornell College could also be a great safety.</p>