I am a sophomore (white female) in High School (New Jersey) with a GPA of 3.7 and I think I can get my GPA up to around 1400-1500. I know my GPA is on the low side. No AP classes are offered at my high school until Junior Year.
Took all advanced classes Freshman year
This year am taking:
-Honors US History
-Honors English II
-Honors Biology
-Advanced Algebra II
Next year am taking:
-AP US History
-AP English III
-Advanced Chemistry
-Honors Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry
-AP Computer Science
EC:
-DECA, made it to states this year
-Currently doing a shadowing experience at the local hospital
-Plan to volunteer at the local hospital over the summer
Considering Playing Volleyball next season
Miscellaneous:
-Middle-Class family, both parents college educated
-Mother is an immigrant
-Bilingual (Polish)
-Delt anxiety and depression in middle school
-AFJROTC flight sergeant
-Attended AFJROTC Cadet Leadership course Freshman year, plan to attend again
-Have been working during the summer, and plan to continue
If anyone could let me know what kind of schools I can get into?
Any advice on what to do to strengthen my applications would also be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
Rutgers seems like a good fit if you want to go into engineering
I really don’t like New Brunswick or Newark and do not feel safe even when touring the campus. But thank you for replying.
Have you thought about CUNY or NYU, or do you want to stay in-state?
I have no problem going out of state as long as I can afford it
I will have to look into CUNY and NYU
Thank You
It’s early to be chancing you as a sophomore. There will be plenty of schools where you will be academically qualified.
The first thing to do is to talk with your family about the budget. NYU is a great school but they aren’t known as being generous with aid.
What do you want to major in? What schools are known to be strong in those areas?
Then start thinking and visiting different types of schools - public, private, large, small, city, rural, LAC, etc… to get a sense of what kind of campus feel you like best.
When you actually have standardize test scores, then you can start building a list of safeties, match, and reach schools.
If you did not feel safe touring Rutgers New Brunswick you likely won’t feel safe at CUNY and NYU.
I don’t really know yet what I want to major in but I am considering economics, engineering, and information technology
What is your budget?
I also thought of Rutgers reading your post, with TCNJ being another obvious choice.
Going out of state is likely to put up the price a bit. How large a school would you like? Would you prefer a big city, or a small town, or a rural school? How far afield from NJ would you want to consider?
“There will be plenty of schools where you will be academically qualified.”
I am thinking the same thing. Without more information regarding what you are looking for, I am concerned that we could pretty easily list a few hundred schools that are somewhere between a reasonable safety and a reasonable match or slight reach.
My family could maybe contribute no more than $10,000 a year, and I will probably be able to work in the summer and contribute $4,000 or so, anything more than that will have to be covered by scholarships, or be put on student loans.
I don’t mind going away, but would prefer to go no farther than Texas unless I got a really great scholarship or something
I would prefer if it were a larger school, but I am pretty lenient on the topic.
Not a big city person, but again if I got into UPenn or some really great school like that then I would take it in a heartbeat.
“Not a big city person, but again if I got into UPenn or some really great school like that then I would take it in a heartbeat.”
I encourage you not to think about colleges because of their name. Think about what you want to major in, as well as the costs of these schools and the commitment to them. So far, you’ve built up a formidable list for a sophomore.
Do you want to play volleyball? Do you prefer a big city or rural area? Do you think you can manage the academic rigor of colleges?
Foreign Language is missing from your list of courses and selective colleges will want level 3 or even 4.
Can you get your level in Polish certified through an exam or through dual enrollment at a nearby college?
Practice before you take the SAT, see if you do better on the ACT.
Ask your parents to run the NPC with you on Rowan, Penn State, Smith, WPI, Olin? (Each of those has a different formula for financial aid).
I took Spanish I my Freshman year
This year am taking Latin I
and next year will be taking Latin II
Continue with Latin through your senior year.
How could I get certified for being fluent in Polish?
Call the Polish consulate and ask. They would probably know where and who offers the test.
Work harder at determining what you would like to study. You don’t really have to be sure of your life’s work, but the search will get you down the road. There are a lot of possibilities to learn about. It will help you to select colleges/universities that will fit your range of choices.
@justconfused5 Given your budget, you are going to want to pay attention to the cost of university, and try to minimize debt as much as you reasonably can. Fortunately you do have very good in-state options in New Jersey.
Call the polish consulate and ask whether they have exams or certificates to demonstrate your language skills.
Latin 2 is not sufficient for a selective university. You need to reach level 3 at a bare minimum.
As a student, you can only borrow about $5500 per year under your name. Loans for larger amounts are usually cosigned by parents or parents take out loans like Parent Plus.
When determining financial aid, there is a portion called EFC, expected family contribution. Its calculated by a federal formula, and can come as a shock to many families.
You said *maybe * your family can contribute 10k per year. Did they ensure this or are you guessing?
Since you’re interested in afjrotc, have you considered the service academies or universities that offer rotc scholarships?
Here on CC, parents, including myself, usually give conservative financial advice, which means no large loans.
To get a good sense of merit scholarships you may be eligible for, you would need to wait until at least until mid junior year to see how your GPA turns out and what your test scores are. Also heed the advice about taking 4 years of foreign language.
There are literally thousands of colleges you can get into, the real question is what kind of college do you want to attend? You didn’t write anything about what you want in college.
Start by reading a book about college admissions such as “Admission Matters” that will discuss fit. Next year visit some colleges of various types in your area to get more of a sense what they are like (a large public, a college in an urban area, in a small town, etc). Based on your preferences and working with your GC you can then make a list of reaches, matches, and of course a safety.