Hi I’m not sure if this is the correct section but since my counselor and school aren’t offering me much in terms of college searching help I figured I’d post here.
I’m wondering what colleges I should look at with my stats.
I’m a junior in highschool. My highschools average ACT score is an 18. I live in a poor state if that matters. My parents also make less than 50k a year. I’m Hispanic if that matters. I’ll be the first in my family to go to college.
3.54 GPA (I know it’s low, my school isn’t very good and teachers for the most part aren’t motivated to teach. Excuses excuses I know.)
I will have taken 8/9 AP classes my school offers by the time I graduate. I took all pre AP classes if that matters. (My school doesn’t have honors).
32 act , but I know I can get it up to a 34 if I retest in June.
My EC are volunteering at the hospital over the summer 3-5 days a week for 6 weeks. Also volunteer at a local clinic as an interpreter for non English speaking patients. I have a 15 hour a week job year round.
Hmm . . . URM, high scores, poor background, serviceable EC’s, and intense course load, but a very rough GPA.
I’d say apply to two or three (or four) of the higher-up schools that meet 100% of need (I’d recommend 15% acceptance rate or above), pull in a bunch of 100% need-meeting LAC’s to fill up your low-reach/match selection (25% - 40% acceptance rates), and apply to two safeties. You don’t have the golden ticket to freedom, but the URM status combined with such a deviation from your environment definitely gives you a shot.
Also, please include your intended course of study.
@MON824 I plan on majoring in some sort of science.
@MON824 also thank you for your response. I will take any advice I can get.
These colleges have the financial resources to support your attendance:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-09-19/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need
Bates, for example, might be open to you, though, as stated above, your GPA may be borderline for schools of this type.
@merc81 Thank you. I really hope my sub par GPA doesn’t take me out of the running from moderately selective schools.
Well, there are a ton of schools to look at. Run the NPC’s on any of these, and be sure to narrow your science down: Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Harvey Mudd, Colgate, Davidson, Grinnell, Haverford, Skidmore, Rochester, Reed, and Macalester all come to mind. There are plenty other great ones. Also, I’m not saying you can get into all of these, but this is a nice list to pick from and compare/contrast.
@MON824 I will definitely look into these. My expectations aren’t high, I know my gpa is sub par for these types of schools. I have my state school’s honors program as a safety.
Since you seem so open to help, I was going to post this (a bit longer version of this) on LAC’s that claim to have great aid in its own little thread to help people like you. I’ll post the full list later (around August), but I’ll let you see most of it since it relates to the discussion. Also, the GPA does not kick you from the running, but it does hurt a bit.
i*
10% - 20% (High Reaches)
- Northwestern University — 10% / 31 - 34 / 1420 - 1580 / Econ
- Vanderbilt University — 10% / 32 - 35 / 1430 - 1580 / Econ
- Swarthmore College — 10% / 30 - 34 / 1380-1560 / Econ or Bio
- Dartmouth College — 11% / 30 - 34 / 1360 - 1550 / Econ
- Claremont McKenna — 11% / 30 - 33 / 1350 - 1520 / Econ
- Cornell University — 12% / 30 - 34 / 1330 - 1510 / Bio
- Johns Hopkins University — 12% / 31 - 34 / 1360 - 1510 / Nursing
- Harvey Mudd College — 13% / 33 - 35 / 1418 - 1570 / CS
- Pitzer College — 13% / 28 - 31 / 1280 - 1420 / Env Sci or Psy
- Amherst College — 14% / 30 - 34 / 1350 - 1548 / Econ
- Rice University — 14% / 31 - 34 / 1390 - 1550 / Econ
- Bowdoin College — 14% / 31 - 33 / 1360 - 1510 / PS
- Georgetown University — 15% / 30 - 33 / 1320 - 1520 / PS/Gov or IR
- Tufts University — 15% / 30 - 34 / 1380 - 1540 / Econ or IR or Bio
- University of Southern Cal — 16% / 30 - 33 / 1330 - 1540 / Biz
- Middlebury College — 16% / 30 - 33 / 1300 - 1500 / Econ
- U of Wash in St. Louis — 16% / 32 - 34 / 1420 - 1570 / Anthro & Archae or Finance
- Williams College — 17% / 31 - 34 / 1350 - 1560 / Econ
- Wesleyan University — 18% / 30 - 33 / 1340 - 1520 / Econ or Psy
- Colorado College* — 18% / 28 - 32 / 1220 - 1430 / Econ
- University of Notre Dame - 19% / 32-34 / 1340-1520 / Finance or Pre-Med
20% - 30% (Reaches)
- Grinnell College — 20% / 30 - 33 / 1330 - 1520 / Econ & Biochem
- Haverford College — 21% / 31 - 34 / 1330 - 1490 / Chem or Bio or Econ
- Davidson College — 22% / 28 - 32 / 1230 - 1440 / PS + Econ
- Carleton College — 23% / 30 - 33 / 1320 - 1510 / Bio and CS
- Washington & Lee University — 24% / 30 - 33 / 1320 - 1460 / Biz or Acc
- Barnard College (Girls Only) — 24% / 28 - 32 / 1250 - 1440 / Psy
- Kenyon College — 24% / 28 - 32 / 1260 - 1420 / English
- Emory University — 25% / 29 - 32 / 1280 - 1460 / Biz
- Bates College — 25% / 31 avg / 1365 avg / Econ
- Vassar College — 26% / 30 - 33 / 1320 - 1490 / Econ
- Colgate University — 26% / 29 - 32 / 1280 - 1470 / Econ
- Hamilton College — 26% / 30 - 33 / 1310 - 1470 / Econ
- Lehigh University — 26% / 28-32 / 1230-1410 / Finance & MechE
- Colby College — 28% / 28 - 32 / 1230 - 1430 / Econ
- UNC Chapel Hill — 28% / 28 - 32 / 1220 - 1440 / Communications or Bio
- Wellesley College (Girls Only) — 28% / 30 - 33 / 1290 - 1480 / Econ
- Lafayette College — 28% / 27 - 31 / 1200 - 1400 / Econ
- Scripps College (Girls Only) — 28% / 28 - 33 / 1260 - 1460 / Psy or Bio
- Oberlin College — 29% / 28 - 32 / 1260 - 1450 / Music
- Wake Forest University — 29% / 28 - 31 / 1240 - 1400 / Econ or PS
30% - 40% (High Fits)
- University of Richmond — 31% / 31 - 33 / 1380 - 1500 / Biz
- Reed College — 31% / 29 - 33 / 1290 - 1480 / Bio, English, etc.
- Franklin & Marshall — 32% / 28 - 33 / 1220 - 1420 / Biz
- Boston College — 33% / 30 - 33 / 1270 - 1460 / Econ
- University of Rochester — 34% / 29 - 33 / 1280 - 1460 / Nursing or Bio
- Union College — 36% / 28 - 32 / 1220 - 1400 / Econ or PS-Gov
- College of the Holy Cross (Cath) — 38% / 28 - 31 / 1240 - 1400 / Econ
- Smith College (Girls Only) — 38% / 28 - 32 / 1280 - 1440 /
- Macalester College — 39% / 30 - 33 / 1380 - 1520 / Bio or Econ or PS
@MON824 This is extremely helpful thank you.
If I am remembering correctly you didn’t speak English until the middle school years? If your counselor can mention that on her recommendation that may help admissions people understand the context of slightly lower GPA.
Realistically is there a region of the country you would like to stay in? Lots of students stay with in 4 hours of home because it makes it easier to get home for breaks or family events.
I think you would have a good shot at St Olaf which does a good job of math and sciences. It is slightly less selective but there are a lot of smart kids drawn there by merit scholarships.
Have you ever been on the campuses of a large university or a smaller liberal arts college? They have a very different feel and you might prefer one type over another.
Great job with maintaining your academic focus. I admire your drive.
Late last night I posted on a different thread a list of many the colleges that will pay for your visit to campus. Definitely take advantage of these opportunities.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1989796-what-tier-of-college-can-i-get-into.html#latest
It is on the first page.
@SnowballCity I have been to both and I don’t prefer one over the other. But I’d lean towards smaller more personal experience. Regarding the distance , I really think I would figure it out if I went somewhere far so that shouldn’t be an obstacle.
Would it be worth it to apply ED to a more selective school such as Cornell or John Hopkins?
@Hellofagal Good catch on that! He would be an ideal Questbridge candidate.
You can also look at the Posse program - similar to questbridge
https://www.possefoundation.org/
Free tuition at UA with your 32 ACT.
Great job, @MannyG1 Very impressive. If you can get your ACT up to a 34, I wouldn’t be surprised if you got into some of the colleges @MON824 put as high reaches (10-20%).
You need to keep in mind that colleges will look at your GPA compared to the rest of your school. If everyone in your school has a 2.0, your GPA at 3.54 will look nearly perfect.
You have also taken the highest rigor possible (8/9 APs). They will absolutely take that into account. In fact, rigor is one of the most, if not the most, important thing in an application. You took the hardest possible classes and ended up with As and Bs.
Even the selective colleges will PAY for you to visit.
https://www.amherst.edu/admission/diversity/divoh
I’m applying to this program, being hispanic as well.