<p>I am a Junior in the number 20 ranked school in New Jersey. I have a 3.3 gpa with no honors or AP and i got a 1610 on my first try at the SAT. I am being recruited for football but if i decide not to play football, what are some good state schools to go to on the east coast with my grades? ( I will most likely have a 3.4 by the end of this year and also around 1700-1800 for the SAT). Also will my school being a top school help me get into better schools?</p>
<p>Your school being a top school will not help you with those SATs…</p>
<p>Take a look at the state schools on the east coast where your stats are at least average or slightly higher, and find out whether or not you can afford them. You might have to look at directional state schools rather than flagships. Get your parents to sit down with you and their most recent tax return (no sense in waiting til 4/15) and plug that data into the “net price calculator” that several of these schools have on their websites. The NPCs will calculate your family’s Expected Family Contribution. This is an estimate of how much each school expects your family to contribute to your education each year. If your family cannot or will not contribute that much, chances are you will not be able to go to that school, even if you can get in. State schools are notoriously stingy with OOS applicants, except to some degree in the South. If you can look south and south midwest you can find more generosity and lower costs at state schools, perhaps, and also maybe lower stats averages.</p>
<p>That’s where the second barrier to your plans lies, your stats. Bringing the GPA upto a 3.4 will help but you must take some more rigorous courses if they are available, esp in math and science. AP or IB courses would be good. But the single most important thing you can do is improve your SAT between now and December by several hundred points. It can be done but you’re going to have to make a lot of sacrifices to accomplish it. Were you to do that, Rutgers New Brunswick would be back in play.</p>
<p>Barring these accomplishments, there are small privates who would take you with your scores, but these are going to be as expensive as the OOS schools. There are also your less expensive choice, a directional state school in New Jersey: CNJ, Kean, Montclair, Stockton, Paterson, etc. If money is more a factor or your stats sink, then start at a community college, where most Americans start their college ed.</p>
<p>Your school’s rank means nothing when your stats are rather average. </p>
<p>You need to ask your parents how much they’ll pay for college so you know what you’re dealing with. That answer will largely determine where you’ll be able to afford to go to school.</p>
<p>Are the football schools that are recruiting you ones that offer athletic scholarships or are they Div III?</p>
<p>The football schools offer scholarships but my parents can pay for my college if i need them to, my plan was to
NROTC at a state school though.</p>
<p>NROTC is quite difficult to get into currently. Why do you wish to go to a state school? NJ and PA schools are expensive. We also have a multitude of private colleges. The private colleges after merit scholarships can be the same price range as a state school. Many Division III schools in the region give “merit” aid to athletes. Div III can’t be tied to athletics, but in essence an athlete brings “well rounded” to the table and receive scholarships.</p>
<p>I agree that your high schools academic ranking will mean nothing in college admissions</p>
<p>mhsnj51,
I have a different perspective than some others. </p>
<p>First, take the SAT at least two more times and study for it. There is a learning curve. Take the ACT also, at least twice but maybe even a third time. SAT and ACT measure somewhat different aptitudes, and you might score really well on the ACT. THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!</p>
<p>Second, yes, your challenging school will be of help to you, but only by putting your GPA into context. As someone above said, it will not offset your SAT or ACT score. You can choose to apply to “test optional” colleges which do not require that you submit SAT or ACT results. If you want scholarships from those schools they would want the scores. Nevertheless, you can gain admission to many (very good) colleges without submitting SAT or ACT scores. See this list:</p>
<p><a href=“ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest”>http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional</a></p>
<p>I am not clear on whether you want to get a NROTC scholarship or simply enroll in NROTC. Only the scholarship will pay your tuition, but you can enroll in NROTC and your SAT scores will not matter. At this point your chances for a NROTC scholarship are a little on the low side because of that SAT (unless you want to go Marine Option NROTC, which is more interested in athletics than academics). So, see my first point. </p>
<p>The NROTC scholarship is good at many private colleges. If you get a NROTC scholarship, you might as well get your money’s worth by going to the best college that will take you. Check out which colleges have NROTC at the following website:</p>
<p><a href=“Naval Education and Training Command - NETC”>Naval Education and Training Command - NETC;
<p>Remember, too, that out of state tuition at a state university is often almost as expensive as a private college.</p>
<p>Finally, consider the Army ROTC scholarship. Their academic standards are a little lower, and they would love the fact that you play football. The Navy is more interested in academics than is the Army. Frankly, there is also no reason to not apply to West Point, and for the same reasons.</p>
<p>Im really open to any ROTC scholarship or just the program, my goal is to become an officer in the Army or Navy or even the Marines, as for the State schools that is due to the fact that most of the schools I have found dont have an ROTC program offered and every state school I have found does have the ROTC option. Really im open to any school with good academics for my grades with an ROTC program on the east coast or close to NJ.</p>
<p>Almost every private college has access to Army ROTC. I say access because sometimes it is at a different school a few miles away. Army ROTC is in every state in the country, and at both elite colleges as well as ordinary ones; public and private. Navy ROTC is much more limited and you are correct that it is more likely at state universities – but only the better ones – and at more technically oriented private schools such as MIT and Cornell.</p>
<p>My recommendation is to apply for both the Navy ROTC scholarship and the Army ROTC scholarship. The Navy will require that you at least apply to Rutgers because it is the only NROTC program in NJ. You also should apply to Penn State because it is the closest state university to NJ and has NROTC.</p>
<p>I recommend applying to Boston University, even though it is not a state school. BU has all branches of ROTC and you might get in with your SAT (but it is not guaranteed).</p>
<p>Not East Coast, actually, but you might consider Auburn University, a state school in Alabama. They have a surprising number of students from up north. Auburn has all branches of ROTC.</p>
<p>Unless you plan to major in engineering, you probably should make Army ROTC your priority for scholarships. Navy ROTC awards over 80% of its scholarships to engineering and technical majors. The Army mostly does not care what you major in.</p>
<p>Go to this website to see colleges with Army ROTC:
<a href=“ROTC Schools Search | goarmy.com”>http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/find-schools.html</a></p>
<p>Consider George Mason University near Washington DC if your SAT scores remain in the same range. It is a state school in the Virginian suburbs of DC. Has Army ROTC, but not Navy.</p>