<p>Any chance you can take Physics C if you intend to apply for engineering? If not Engineering, you should take some solid Humanities/Social Science APs. Indeed, outside of Calc BC, most of your APs are seen as the “easy AP’s” (ie Human Geography, Psychology, MacroEcon, ES are the “lightest” APs of those existing). You’d need AP US History and/or AP Euro and/Or AP World and/or AP Foreign Language and/or AP English Language. Is there any way you can exchange one of the 4 above for one of those listed?
Don’t look at OOS public universities unless they provide merit for your stats, either through automatic merit (cf. UAlabama’s Honors Program - if you get a 32 you’d qualify for the automatic scholarships) or because they place you in the top 10% applicants. Not all universities have merit scholarships for OOS applicants - UCs don’t, Penn State doesn’t… and cost of attendance will be in the 45-60k range for these schools.
The majority of financial aid is institutional, meaning it comes from the college itself. If the college doesn’t provide such aid, don’t bother applying. (The next source of financial aid is federal aid, in the form of federal loans for $5,500 for a freshman and a total of 27K for ALL 4 years of college.)
Run the Net Price Calculators on each website since each college calculates differently, then bring the results to your parents to see how much they’d be willing/able to pay per year.</p>
<p>Well I really don’t plan on taking AP Spanish or AP English, although I am taking a dual credit english course next year that I get college credit for. And I can take AP Physics C but Physics isn’t my best subject and I want to do premed/bio with maybe a music minor, no engineering at all.
I do think I have a rigorous schedule though. I’m in this MST program and our math and science courses are really rigorous.
Can you give me suggestions on how to improve my extra curriculars? What would you say is really good about my extra curricular stuff? @MYOS1634 </p>
<p>Oh and you might have missed it, but I did take AP World History 
@MYOS1634 </p>
<p>Yes I missed it thank you. If you don’t intend on going for a STEM major then Physics B is fine as is having a college-level English course, provided it’s at least freshman-composition level.
Your EC’s are competitive for national universities and LACs ranked 30-60 and all regional universities. You’d need to continue with them and increase your leadership or awards in them.</p>
<p>Okay, cool thanks! Do you think being a piano teacher is somewhat of a stand-out? It’s something nobody else really does at this age, right? It’s a paid job.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 </p>
<p>It’s actually not that uncommon for good music students to give lessons. It’d be par for the course at St Olaf, Lawrence, Mount Holyoke and the 7 sisters, etc (pretty much expected).
The list Intparent gave you on April 23 is a good one - start there and run the net price calculator on EACH website - you’ll quickly see that each college calculates differently.</p>
<p>Oh, ok I wasn’t aware. And yeah I’ll do that! Can you (or anyone else reading this) give me a match/safety/reach on the following schools I’m considering? We can just assume that I’ll have a 31 ACT. </p>
<p>University of Louisville
University of Kentucky
Ohio State Columbus
Case Western
Purdue
Boston University
Berkeley
Carnegie Mellon
The guaranteed medical school program at UCincinnati (BU/MD or something?)
@MYOS1634 </p>
<p>Most of those will be Out of State public universities. In other terms, unaffordable.
Public universities have been created to serve their state’s residents. OOS applicants either win big scholarship moneybut you’d need a 32 … or are admitted so that they bring in lots of cash through their extra fees and no financial aid. UC Berkeley and Purdue are unlikely to be affordable. Ohio State has big scholarships but you’d need to check conditions. Combined BS/MD program is out of reach. Case Western Reserve is a match. Carnegie Mellon is a high reach (some programs are as selective as Harvard). BU is a low reach.
None of these meet need so run the net price calculator on each website. Most are likely to be unaffordable.
Add University of Cincinnati? UDayton? UScranton? Franklin&Marshall? Lafayette? Dickinson? Allegheny? Miami Ohio? Centre (especially good for premed)?
If you’re interested in engineering or CS, with an ACT30 you automatically qualify for College of Engineering, Honors College, Honors Dorm, Full Tuition Scholarship, and $2,500 stipend at UAlabama.
Run the Net Price calculators for all of these.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 Why wouldn’t BU be a match? Their ACT average is 27-31</p>
<p>To be a match you would need to have a 30-31, which as of now you don’t have. Furthermore in order for it to be affordable, you’d need to be in the top 10% for preferential packaging … and when 34% have a score higher than 30, that makes it a low reach, not a match.</p>
<p>College of William and Mary
Villanova
Emory
Brandeis
Case western
Boston college
Bucknell
Boston U
UCLA
Lehigh
Texas
Tufts
Colgate
Michigan</p>
<p>Hit me up with a chance??</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1643813-duke-ed-chances.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1643813-duke-ed-chances.html#latest</a></p>
<p>@NotreDame75 You really think I’d have a chance at Emory or Tufts? What do you think about my “application” in general? Sometimes I’m just really not sure where it stands. Oh, and I replied to your post. </p>
<p>I think it’s reasonable to apply to emory and tufts! Especially emory. Your application in General is very good. Solid GPA and if you get a point or two higher on act it makes you have a nice shot at emory. Even with the 30 I think emory is reasonable to apply to as is tufts. The one thing I would focus on if I were you is ECs. Make sure you get everything down on the app. Athletics are good to include even if you just played for a rec team. Same with music and theatre (I think you mentioned piano, include that). Also focus on good essays. A good essay can heal the sick but not raise the dead. So if your scores are a little low for emory of tufts you might be sick, but the essay can heal that!</p>
<p>Do you guys think that to explain my low grades freshman year (3.1-3.4 GPA) I can say on applications that I had recently moved across the country and had a hard time adjusting? That is what happened, I just don’t know if colleges would appreciate that excuse haha </p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>The move and the difference between districts (etc) should also be on the bullet point list you provide your counselor so that s/he remembers to mention you came from State Z district 000 and that was a big adjustement. You’re aimig for sth like “the difference between 8th and 9th grade results is due to a cross country move, with different districts, curricula, academic expectations. 10th grade onward reflects actual ability and work” It’d be better if it were stated by your counselor not by yourself. If your counselor doesn’t indicate this, then it’d be appropriate to state it matter of factly in the “additional information” of the commonapp.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks! And what do you think about my chances at Emory assuming I get my ACT up a couple of points, as the other poster suggested? @MYOS1634 </p>
<p>My neighbor who was NMF unweighted 4.0 SAT in the high 2300s and great kid did not get into Tufts and got minimal $$$ at Emory. UCLA seems like a reach for admissions and certainly to pay for and Villanova, I thought, was know for being expensive.</p>