<p>White, female, live in Ohio
ACT: 33
PSAT: 227 (will be National Merit Semifinalist)
GPA: 3.984 UW
Class rank: 4/147 or top 3%
Intended major: Math</p>
<p>If first-generation is defined to mean neither parent has a bachelor’s degree, then I’m first-generation. My parents are legally separated and I live with my mother who is retired on disability. (I won’t get good financial aid because my dad makes a lot of money.)</p>
<p>I have a few mediocre extracurriculars I can list if you want.</p>
<p>Yes, I think you stand an excellent chance of getting into the honors program, which I highly recommend. There are some nice honors dorms, plus the early scheduling makes it easier to get into the classes you want.</p>
<p>I’ll probably take several dual-enrollment classes at Cleveland State during senior year. How can I find out what classes would transfer to OSU?</p>
<p>I’ve never been through that process, but I imagine talking to an adviser in your department would be a good place to start. You can generally find their contact information on the website of your intended department. You said math, so perhaps try this page: [Contact</a> Us | Department of Mathematics](<a href=“http://www.math.osu.edu/ugadvising/contact]Contact”>http://www.math.osu.edu/ugadvising/contact)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say anything in life is ever 100% guaranteed, but your stats are extremely impressive, and OSU would probably be happy to have you.</p>
<p>But please, don’t let a lack of financial aid stop you from applying to the really high-end reach schools. Many private schools give financial significant aid to outstanding students regardless of whether or not a parent is wealthy.</p>
<p>At the reach schools I’d just be an average/somewhat below average applicant and I don’t imagine I’d get significant merit aid.
I don’t have good enough extracurriculars/awards to get into the very top colleges, and I don’t see the point in paying $40,000 a year for something ranked lower than that because it’s probably not going to confer any significant advantage when I’m finding a job, especially if I go to graduate school and spend several years after college not making much.</p>
<p>You should at least apply to reach schools. You never know what kind of aid you’ll get unless you give it a shot. And sometimes money magically “comes available” late in the season.</p>
<p>My friend was in the same boat that you are–outstanding test scores but not a lot of extracurricular stuff, parents were divorced, father had a lot of money but wasn’t exactly generous with it, etc. He applied to some top-tier SLACs and ended up getting almost a full-ride at one of them. He barely paid anything in tuition, and after becoming an RA didn’t pay anything in room/board either. He feels his education was highly advantageous on the job market, and he ended up getting accepted into one of the top grad schools in his field. The kicker: he would have paid much, much more at a public institution.</p>
<p>I think you have a very, very good shot. But that’s not a 100% guarantee. Check for in state auto admit requirements (assuming there is such a thing).</p>
<p>I strongly recommend applying to OSU and honors. I have a friend who received great scholarships as an honors student and other peers who received grants, which although weren’t a ton, helped a lot. I know I personally received a lot in scholarships at OSU (10k), and I am not doing honors or scholars. OSU is looking to recruit top students and is offering serious merit aid - do not hesitate to apply. </p>
<p>Also, look into CWRU as a match school. It was my match too and I was offered a nice merit scholarship.</p>
<p>You’re definitely accepted and would gain a pre-enrollment spot in the Honors or Scholars programs. The only thing that is open to question would be the amount of your merit aid package.</p>