Hi, I’m a junior from Atlanta, GA currently knee-deep in the college process. Until recently, had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go. My top choices are Tulane, U of Miami, UGA, and USC (Southern Cal). But I’ve been doubting my ability to get into these schools after my GPA dropped this semester. Can someone give me some feedback as to where I should consider apply with my stats?
GPA: 3.6 UW
SAT: 1920 (Taking it again in March trying to get it over 2000)
ACT: Taking it in February
Courseload: 2 AP’s (AP US History and AP English) so far. My school doesn’t offer any freshman year, only one to sophmores, and you can take up to 3 junior year, and as many as you can handle senior year. I plan on taking 4 next year)
African-American Female
Extracurriculars: Member of the Youth Advisory Board of a non-profit organization called 21st Century Leaders, in charge of being an ambassador and recruiting new members (sort of like a PR internship except its permanent),Social Media Coordinator and Event Planner for 21st Century Leaders (promote through mediums like Twitter and Instagram) Varsity Girls’ Golf member (2 years), Student Council (3 years)
Fluent in Spanish and learning German
Need at least half of financial aid/grants/scholarship money to pay for college
I prefer to stay away from Southern state schools (SEC) besides UGA, because it offers free in-state tuition for GA residents. Distance isn’t an issue, but I prefer to be in or near a big city. I’m willing to go West (California or Arizona), Northeast (New York and CT), or South (GA or FL). Diversity is also very important to me.
Have you looked at James Madison or Virginia Tech? JMU gives decent diversity scholarships although both schools are still pretty southern.
I forgot to mention that I plan on majoring in International Business and/or Communications
Do your PSAT scores put you in the range for NMSF or the National Achievement program?
Are you low income? Would Questbridge be an option for you? If not, at least look at their partner schools on their website - that might give you some ideas. All of their partner schools meet 100% of demonstrated need.
@albert69 Unfortunately, they do not. @greenohio No I am not, but my parents certainly cannot pay 40,000+ per year for private school tuition. Thanks for the input.
Kentucky and WV are relatively cheap for OOS students and it seems like the thresholds for merit aid are lower than some other state schools. They also have minority scholarships that you might qualify for. I realize those would probably seem like SEC schools (well, Kentucky actually is an SEC school), but they might be the most cost effective for you. WVU, for example, is about 32,000/yr and offers a 14,000 yr. merit scholarship for someone with your stats. Morgantown isn’t NYC, to be sure.
Also, there are many private schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need, which might lower the cost to an amount that would be affordable for your family. Your best bet is to run the Net Price Calculators on a few of them. I have found that the NPC has been pretty consistent for the 100% schools, so it’s not like you’d have to run them all.
http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/colleges-that-meet-100-of-student-financial-need/
Run them all, just to be sure. Each school uses their own calculation, and some of the questions may vary. Plus, the proposed blend of loans to grants may vary.
How much CAN your family pay each year? USC is over $60k. You said that you need half. Will your parents pay the other $30k+ per year? If not, how much?
Agnes Scott in Atlanta is very generous with merit aid. They have a business management major. http://www.agnesscott.edu/economics/majors-minors/business-management.html