What schools should I be looking at?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi, I’m a high school junior and naturally I’ve been thinking about where I want to go after high school, but I am unsure of where I should be applying to anymore. There are just so many factors, I will include a high school “resume” and my list of of colleges that I am not so sure about anymore. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Current GPA: 95.7 (my school doesn’t use a 4.0 scale)
Rank: Top 15%
School: I go a public high school that is in the top 1% nationwide and top ten in Massachusetts
Under represented minority (Mexican)
APs: By the end of senior year I will have taken 5: AP U.S. History, AP Spanish, AP Chem, AP Lang, and AP Bio
SATs: Haven’t taken them yet but I am projected to get anywhere between 2000-2150
Extra Curriculars: Competitive (All Star) Cheerleading, President of Biology Club. Vice President and co-founder of Badminton Club, Women’s History Month Committee (will be an officer senior year), Chemistry Club, Student Activites Council (should I include if I only participated one year?), I play the keyboard, and Prom Committee
Extras/Awards: School Leadership Award, National Champion for a solo cheerleading routine, delegate for MassStar Leadership Conference
Volunteer work: Soup kitchen first tuesday of every month, volunteer to teach elementary school kids Spanish

My college list: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Duke (my #1), Columbia, NYU, Northeastern, UCLA, University of Washington, and University of Arizona

I am worried because I got two b’s freshman year and I am most likely going to get a B in Pre Calc and Calculus, which would amount to 4 b’s total. 3 out of 4 b’s would be from math classes (1 honors, 2 normal) but the math department at my school is ridiculously hard and I worry that colleges won’t know that. Do I have any business applying to the colleges I am thinking about or do I need to lower my standards? Suggestions for colleges in each category (reach, target, safety) would be so helpful, thanks!!

2

What are you hoping to study? How much can your parents afford? Do you want to continue cheerleading in college? What state are you a resident of? (If it’s Arizona, then I assume that’s your safety, right?)

Two Bs in freshman year are not a big deal, but Bs in precalc and calculus are going to hurt a lot if you are a STEM major. It knocks MIT off the table and hurts at the other highly selective schools on your list, although you should still apply. Your URM status and national championship for solo cheerleading provide an off-setting boost.

Keep in mind that it is much more important to keep your grades up than to be president - or even a member - of multiple school clubs. ECs do not make up for lower grades. Lightening the EC load and getting a math tutor to improve your math grades would be an excellent strategy here.

3

I am going to try to use the quote feature but I’m new so hopefully it works!

Hi, I was hoping to study Biology which is why I am so concerned over math. My parents have an income of 200,000+ but they will only help me with room and board. I am actually a resident of Massachusetts, but I am originally from Arizona so everyone in my family has gone to the University of Arizona. I’m not looking to cheer in college. Thank you for the advice!

4

“My parents have an income of 200,000+ but they will only help me with room and board.” (2)

If this is firm, then you will need to find a school that offers merit, as opposed to need based, scholarships.

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@merc81 Thank you for the advice! I realize it is not going to be an easy road financial aid wise for me but ultimately I am hoping to not let the fear of student debt deter me from great schools.

6

UCLA, Columbia, NYU, Northeastern, U of A, and UW u should be fine. Duke might be a little stretch. MIT is off the table. Harvard is a maybe. What HS are u at now?

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@Football247 thanks for your input! And like I stated, I’m at a pretty competitive public school in Massachusetts. It wouldn’t be very smart of me to post exactly where I go.

8

Don’t forget UMASS.

9

You can’t borrow much. The federal student loan limit is ~$5500/year. Check the Net Price Calculators for all your schools to see how much aid you might get. Some don’t give much aid to high income families. And I’m not sure if any of the Ivies give merit at all, but check their websites to be sure.

10

<<
am hoping to not let the fear of student debt deter me from great schools.


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Well, because 16-18 year olds often have such naive thoughs, thankfully the system won’t allow you to borrow much. @kraftmacncheese

YOU can only borrow $5500 for your freshman year. That’s not going to cover much.

Since you won’t qualify for aid, and your parents will only pay for R&B, you’ll need a totally new list.

You’ll need to apply to schools where your stats will get very large merit…such as almost free tuition, so that your parents contrbution and a small loan can cover the rest.

11

Agree with mom2collegekids. Most of these schools are off the table if your folks earn $200k p.a. but don’t want to pay for anything but room and board. And no, you can’t borrow money to make up for that difference. So you are now looking at your instate options, schools with substantial merit or scholarships that target high achieving Hispanic students.

University of Alabama is often cited if your grades and test scores are high enough. I would look at some of the LACs where your URM status would be attractive - Smith, if you would consider a women’s college, Grinnell and Macalester. They all provide merit aid and have strong bio programs.

A quick google search for scholarships for high achieving Hispanic students: http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-scholarship-coach/2013/01/24/explore-scholarships-for-hispanic-students

and:

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/stem-education/2011/12/15/12-scholarships-for-hispanic-students-interested-in-stem

There are also school-specific scholarships for hispanic students at Wash U: http://admissions.wustl.edu/scholarships-financial-aid/Freshman-Academic-Scholarship-Fellowship-Programs/Pages/Annika-Rodriguez-Scholars-Program.aspx

12

Why wouldn’t you fear student debt? The student debt you would have graduating from any of the universities listed would be absurd. You say you want to study biology. What would you do with a biology degree? To earn any kind of money with a bio degree, you need a masters, teaching certification (and teaching is not particularly lucrative), or go to med/dental school. Those things become incredibly difficult and even impossible with debt. You need to forget about the University of Washington, the Ivies, and any other top 20 private schools unless your parents change their minds. First and foremost you need to find schools where you will be eligible for merit aid, and a lot of it.

Umass Amherst has a great bio program and would be affordable for you. Umass Lowell offers some full rides. My friend received one (2370 SAT/3.8UW GPA). She loves being in the honors college there.

13

UMass Amherst would be a safety for you. If I were you, I’d look into UNC Chapel Hill and/or UNC Wilmington.

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^ The OP’s parents will not pay tuition, only room and board. They make 200K so she will not be eligible for need-based aid. Therefore she needs safeties both from an admissions standpoint and a financial point of view. Given that MA is her home state, U-Mass-Amherst is an excellent option and she might be eligible for merit aid and the honors program. Her chances of meaningful merit-based aid out of state are far lower.

To the OP, the only schools on your list that offers meaningful merit-based aid are Northeastern (and I think Duke has a few big merit packages. Don’t know about Arizona for OOS awards. UW has small awards for OOS). If your PSAT is high enough for NMS consideration, the awards at Northeastern can be substantial.

I second the recommendations for Wash U and Alabama. If your SAT tops 2200, you might also be in line for good merit at Temple U.

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Don’t forget that UMass Amherst is in a consortium with Amherst, Smith, Mt Holyoke, and Hampshire.

16

She’d get into UNCW’s Honors College without much worry (meaning she’d get a great scholarship). UNCW would be a better choice for her.

17

@N’sMom Thank you that is very helpful!

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@Qwerty568 I will look more into UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell thank you! My parents will cosign a loan but it is up to me to actually pay it if that makes any sense. I do plan to go to med school and become an Anesthesiologist, so that will hopefully help my debt situation, thanks for the feedback!

19

@LBad96 thank you! The only thing that had deterred me from looking into UNC Chapel Hill is that Duke is my dream school so it would be hard to be so close and not actually be enrolled there

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@mamaedefamilia thank you so much, I will look into those schools!