Which schools should I look into if my ideal plan doesn't work out?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So I'm applying ED to Reed, which is my dream school, but a bit of a reach for me and I just want to be prepared to go to another school I'll enjoy if my ideal scenario does not pan out. Fingers crossed, and I don't want to be a pessimist, but I just want to make sure I don't find myself with a deferral or rejection and not have a plan in time for RD deadlines. And I'm disappointed with how few viable options I have on my list now, so, that being said...</p>

<p>Senior, female, I go to a relatively high-ranked public school
Overall GPA - 3.21 (weighted, school doesn't report unweighted but my UW is definitely not below a 3.0).
Current GPA - 3.55 UW, 4.02 W.
ACT - 31 Comp (36 Eng, 25 Math, 28 Sci, 33 Read)
SAT - 1340/2010 (730 CR, 610 M, 670 W)
Proj. Major - Music (NON-PERFORMANCE, more of a concentration in history or musicology, preferably with no audition to get into the major but I'm willing to be flexible)
AP - Lang (4), Euro (3), French, Music Theory, Psych
Hooks - URM (half black), National Achievement Scholarship Outstanding Participant
Recs - AP Euro teacher (probably glowing, opening line is about how the best word to describe me is creative); French teacher (should be very good, we have a great relationship and I've had her for 3/4 years, now in AP); Music teacher (should also be really good, I've been in choir since freshman year and he is my private lesson instructor too); Guidance counselor (should be great and talk about how much I've overcome since I was a freshman)
ECs - Key Club secretary (might become VP or president by the end of this semester), Link Crew, school's top women's choir, theatre in school, youth community theatre, private voice and theory lessons
Other possibly important info -
* My essay is about how I moved across the country halfway through freshman year and learned how to move on after being stuck on the past
* Both of my parents are highly educated (dad with an MA from Wesleyan and a PhD from JHU, mother with a MA from Middlebury) so I might qualify for legacy
* Both of my parents are unemployed, so I need a school that meets most or all of demonstrated need
* My GPA is so low because of copious familial issues and the resulting depression and anxiety I had, plus ADD that went undiagnosed until last semester. There is an upward trend, but it's not that impressive. My GPA now is the highest it's ever been.</p>

<p>I used to be really picky about the schools I wanted to apply to, but I realized that Reed is the only perfect match with the things I was looking for, so I'm trying to broaden my horizons and all that - the school can be anywhere in the country (I'd prefer to avoid really conservative places like the deep South, though), I'd vastly prefer one near enough to a major city that I can go out on weekends or even week days to do something fun like go to a concert and not get back at 4 in the morning, and I prefer schools with small class sizes that encourage student involvement and discussion. And I want to go to grad school after I get my BA, so schools with good reputations for sending students to grad school are definitely a plus.</p>

<p>The school rank doesn't matter nearly as much as how good the quality of student life is, how good the education I can get is, and how well I'll fit in. I do prefer schools with liberal intellectual vibes, though, and I need a school that has a rigorous but thought-provoking attitude in the classroom. I don't mind applying to reachy schools if I think I'd be a good fit.</p>

<p>Some schools I'm thinking about looking into: Whitman, Wesleyan, Hampshire, Occidental, Middlebury...you get the drift.</p>

<p>P.S.: Not Bard or Vassar, I grew up with them as my backyard!</p>

2

<p>“Both of my parents are unemployed, so I need a school that meets most or all of demonstrated need”</p>

<p>Unless your parents have significant savings that they are living on, and that they can use to help you pay for your education, it looks like you need a nearly full ride. The private institutions that are likely to offer that kind of money are in the super-reach category. For your safety list, go read through the threads pinned at the top of the financial aid forum. Your GPA and ACT score guarantee you admission and merit money at some of the places on those lists.</p>

3

<p>^^This is good advice.</p>

<p>Also, consider that when your parents have no income and your GPA is not very high, your choices are more limited. Before you find schools that are very like Reed, I suggest that you consider applying to a couple of SUNYs that fit many of your expectations.</p>

4

<p>@happymomof1 Yeah, that’s always a concern, but it seems like the only “guaranteed full ride” places are schools that I’m positive I would be absolutely miserable at. Debt is inevitable, especially with the kind of schools I want to go to, and it’s not that I’m trying to get a guaranteed full ride, but I just want a school that I’ll enjoy that I can “afford”. (And I put afford in quotations because I won’t be able to afford any school - neither of my parents have significant savings and I am estranged from my mother.)</p>

<p>@jkeil911 I explained my GPA - I would think that having a valid reason for it not being very high is a fairly important factor in what colleges I can get into. SUNY could work, but I do have to not that I am no longer a New York resident so I can’t get in-state tuition (I live in Colorado now.) I don’t know a lot about the different campuses, though - do you have any suggestions for ones that might be in line with what I’m looking for?</p>

5

<p>This looks like a tough situation to me , not because there aren’t a lot of good schools that can fit your needs fine if you don’t get tunnel vision, but because of the selectivity of the schools and your gpa. Having a ‘valid reason’ may be given a bit of consideration but is not going to have them treat you like a solid 3.5 student I don’t think. I don’t know how much of a tip you might get from legacy or URM but otherwise I think Wes and Mid are out of reach for you. Maybe Scripps? You have a good profile for them, but again the gpa. So while you have a bunch of reaches, you need to focus on a couple of safeties first, I think. What is your rock solid plan B?</p>

6

<p>SUNY won’t work unless you recover your NYS residency. That means that you need to start looking seriously at the in-state options where you now reside.</p>

<p>Without a cosigner, you can only borrow the maximum federal loans. That comes to a whopping $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, and $7,500 in both junior an senior years. If the parent you live with qualifies you for a 0 EFC on the FAFSA, you will also get a Pell Grant each year of about $5,000. So, for your freshman year, you have (assuming that 0 EFC) $10,500 to work with. plus whatever else you can make. Which in-state options do you have that won’t cost more than that? Can you commute to anything?</p>

<p>Yes, we understand that your dream environment would be Reed, or Reed-like. But for your safety options, you have to get absolutely real. How badly do you want an education, and how much are you willing to suffer in order to get it?</p>

7

<p>Willamette, in Salem, OR, can be pretty generous with financial aid. I’ve heard the same about Puget Sound University. New College of FL will not provide the same weather, but its intellectual climate is similar. Pitzer can be stingy about financial aid (they didn’t meet our EFC), but they might be more generous with a student who can provide diversity. A lot of small LACs are desperate for diversity, and might loosen the purse-strings for you. Try Wheaton (MA, not IL), Goucher, Earlham, College of Wooster, and some other schools from among the “Colleges That Change Lives.”</p>

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<p>@BrownParent If all else fails, I’m thinking I’ll go to somewhere like CU Boulder and try to transfer halfway through, or maybe even some place like Evergreen State. </p>

<p>@happymomof1 Under 24k means you have an EFC of 0, right? Or am I making that up?
If so, then yes, my custodial parent’s income is around 16-17k.</p>

<p>@woogzmama Good - I applied there and I’m pretty sure I’m getting in. Puget Sound is also one I’ve been considering, but I don’t want to have to audition in person for my major.
Thanks for your advice! I went to a CTCL fair and it seemed very promising.</p>

9

<p>@codexsplanade‌: To begin, you write VERY well; that’s a clear indication of intelligence and a major “plus” for admission, for undergraduate performance, and for life. As several others have suggested, however, your low GPA and financial situation create significant difficulties. I’d suggest CU – your in-state flagship – as a likely match (obviously, other institutions should be reaches and safeties). With this said, I want to offer an observation; your comment in post #3 ("I would think having a valid reason . . . ") indicates a belief in likely GPA mitigation due to “personal factors.” While some colleges may consider it (especially if it’s thoroughly documented in your GC’s recommendation), others have a far more quantitative disqualification metric, and a WEIGHTED 3.2 GPA may mean near-automatic denial. This could be perceived by some individuals as myopic and/or unfair, but it is factual. </p>

10

<p>@TopTier Thanks for your input and advice, and that’s very nice of you to say about my writing. I’m hoping my GPA, at least, won’t disqualify me. And for the record, my GPA would be around a 3.3 or 3.4 if it weren’t for the first semester of my freshman year, and I’m really sure that the difference between my weighted and unweighted GPAs is minute and insignificant. I didn’t take any AP classes until I was a junior, though I did do an AP course load in sophomore US History (which lead to me taking AP Euro).
Unfortunately, I don’t think my counselor put much about my situation in her rec because she didn’t know about it - it’s very hard for me to talk about. With Reed, at least, they’ll know because of the information provided with my Noncustodial Profile waiver. I expanded a bit in my Additional Info on the CA, so there’s at least that - and my counselor can vouch for me, even if she didn’t put my information in her rec.
If I do get referred or rejected by Reed, other schools will get my first semester grades, right? So I’ll hopefully end this semester with at least a 4.0. And that will work in my favor, at the very least.</p>

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<p>@codexsplanade‌: Yes, the other schools will receive your first semester’s grades . . . but let’s hope for Reed (it’s a fine LAC and would appear to be a good fit, plus my granddaughter may be there is two years?). </p>

<p>I also want to add a concluding point. You’ve had a difficult time during high school, but you are smart, determined, polite, and aware. PLEASE look to your future – it’s bright, even if you aren’t initially admitted to Reed, even if you transfer, and even if some of your problems continue, although to ever-decreasing degrees. You can’t change the past (obviously), however your future will be LONG and your successes and happiness are largely dependent on your values and attitudes. Keep them both elevated. </p>

12

<p>OP, I know a bit about Colorado, so let me suggest in addition to Boulder that you take a look at CSU in Fort Collins. A pretty nice little town setting dominated by the university. Colorful off-campus housing. Good night-life with art galleries, microbreweries, pedestrian mall, etc., and it is significantly less expensive than Boulder. I don’t know that I would describe either school as a place you would suffer just because it wasn’t Reed. </p>

<p>Applicants get all kinds of ideas in their heads about what-must-be, but once they get to a second choice school they find that they really like it despite the fact that it’s not their first choice. Go about this college search sensibly, like 75% of college applicants, and you will be a lot more comfortable with the results. YOU are what matters here, not the college. You have survived some trauma. You will survive if Reed turns you down.</p>

13

<p>OK, those are very good Plan B. I know an arts major that loved Puget Sound too. Yes sounds likely your will have EFC of 0, but most of your schools will use their own calculation based on the CSS Profile form. EFC 0 does not get you covered at schools that don’t meet need. So run those net price calculators.</p>

14

<p>I know you didn’t mean for this to be funny, OP, but I had to laugh at these two lines in your note;</p>

<ul>
<li>Both of my parents are highly educated (dad with an MA from Wesleyan and a PhD from JHU, mother with a MA from Middlebury) so I might qualify for legacy</li>
<li>Both of my parents are unemployed, so I need a school that meets most or all of demonstrated need</li>
</ul>

<p>Just goes to show…all of these degrees that we imagine will boost our kids to the moon…well, you never know :slight_smile: </p>

15

<p>Would either of the CO publics meet full need?</p>

<p>You may have to go to a CC and then transfer if no LAC can come up with enough money for you.</p>

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<p>That I don’t know anymore, @PurpleTitan. Assuming that the applicant could raise 10500 in loans and Pell grant, he or she would need another 14 to attend CSU. Five thousand in work savings is not impossible to raise. I don’t know anymore if CSU would pony up the remaining 9K. OP will have to run the net price calculator.</p>

<p>That LAC or any other kind of 4yr college with enough money for a student with this GPA and income–well, I don’t know where to find it. I hope some of these schools suggested by others can work out for the OP, but OP should at least investigate the CO publics.</p>

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<p>@TopTier Thank you so, so much!</p>

<p>@jkeil911 Yeah, I’ve toured there before, and it’s where my brother goes, but he hates it there and I wasn’t too crazy about it when I visited campus either. It wouldn’t be the worst place in the world, but I don’t like it too much. CU is the only state school that I’ve visited that I actually liked, plus some of my good friends go there now – if I had to go to a state school, CU would be my top choice.
You’re right about trauma - I’ll find some way to get an enjoyable education even if Reed rejects me, but I’m really hoping that they won’t, because pretty much every single, insignificant, minute thing I look for in a school is something they have there.</p>

<p>@BrownParent Thanks for the advice.</p>

<p>@SouthernHope No, I completely agree. It’s a twisted and sad sort of irony, and what’s even worse is that my dad is extremely well known in his field and most of the tenured faculty at schools he’s taught courses at recently have referenced his published work multiple times, yet he’s still below them on the totem pole due to his unfortunate circumstances.
It just goes to show that no matter how much you’ve contributed to your field and no matter how respected you are, you aren’t immune to unemployment. I don’t blame you for laughing.</p>

18

<p>@Codexsplanade I’m not very experienced in giving advice to applicants (I’m just an applicant myself), but I recognized you from the Reed ED thread and I’m really rooting for you to get in.</p>

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<p>Just from pure ignorance, why is nobody suggesting Metropolitan State University of Denver, Fort Lewis College, Colorado Mesa University, or Western State Colorado University? Are none of them sufficiently rigorous?</p>

20

<p>@Cosmological Thank you, that’s very nice! Good luck with your college endeavors as well.</p>

<p>@ItsJustSchool They’re kind of considered a step above community college.</p>