:) Would Anyone Like to Help?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm currently a senior, and while I have a preliminary list of schools I'm slightly interested in, I figure there are more out there that the college matchmakers and searches didn't bring up. Maybe you guys have some ideas of what may fit for me?</p>

<p>SAT: 2120 (690 Cr, 710 M, 720 W) --> Plan on retaking a third time
SAT II: 630 Math II (will need to redo), 790 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97, 4.11 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 36/677
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History 5, Calculus 5, U.S. History 4
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Statistics, Economics/Am. Govt, Spanish 4, AP English Language (school caps at 3 APs/year)
Major Awards: School Language Proficiency (9th), Red Cross Club - Most Active Volunteer (11th)</p>

<p>College classes: Philosophy 10 (Intro to Phil) A, Astronomy 10 (Intro to Astro) B</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years swimming (Varsity 3 years), 3 years CSF, 4 years Red Cross (activities director 12th), 3 years A(ware) Cappella secretary (probably not going to put on; I’m only doing this because my friend asked me to), 2 years Palo Rancho swim team (actually did it since 7th grade) - MVP (10)
Volunteer/Community service: only with clubs
Summer Activities: swim team (look at ecs above)
Teacher recs: I have a faint idea of who to ask; I didn’t leave any lasting impressions. My junior year English 3 teacher (who adores me in a freaky way), my AP World teacher (whose classroom my friends and I occupy every lunch), my AP U.S. History teacher</p>

<p>State: California
School Type: Public, we typically send a few to prestigious schools (last year, we had several Ivy, three Stanford, and at least two MIT acceptances, and we send a fair amount to the top UCs, though this is CA...)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >70k (this is going to be horrific)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): lame, though my mother only attended high school and my dad didn't get his Bachelor's (went to OSU)</p>

<p>Schools:
UCSD
UCSB
UCI
University of Rochester</p>

<p>I'm hoping to find private schools that are similar to Rochester in that they're liberal arts and research institutions with a student body of roughly 4k to no more than 15k. </p>

<p>The East Coast (no lower than North Carolina and no higher than Massachusetts), Oregon, California, and the Old Northwest would be preferable, as well as an urban or suburban setting.</p>

<p>Prestige does matter to me, though I'm not looking for some Ivy or top 20 school. The institution has to be recognizable by name (to some, namely employers).</p>

<p>I'm thinking of majoring in humanities or social sciences, though part of the reason why I'm not interested in LACs is that many don't offer degrees in the business or medical field (pharmacy, maybe). I feel like I should leave that option open, if I should realize that I need something more practical to follow. </p>

<p>If the school has many interdisciplinary and study abroad programs, that would be a major plus. Also, a flexible core curriculum/distribution requirements would be nice. </p>

<p>I'm looking for a place that has a more liberal, laid back (or at least, not hardcore or overly competitive) atmosphere. </p>

<p>If possible, I'd also like the school to have a swim team. Division, club, intramural - it doesn't really matter.</p>

<p>I hope that's not too much criteria. :x</p>

<p>Thanks to anyone who reads all of this and replies! :D</p>

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<p>NYU (may be a bit big, but being in the heart of lower Manhattan is really the most “humanity” and “social science” you may ever need.)</p>

<p>Columbia (ditto NYU, but somewhat smaller, though more prestigious)</p>

<p>Obviously both those schools have great medical programs.</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins maybe?</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon?</p>

<p>Stanford?</p>

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<p>Your list includes the University of Rochester, but your requirements say “nothing higher than Massachusetts.” Looking at the map quickly, Rochester appears to be more north than Massachusetts. Are you OK with snowy weather?</p>

4

<p>Oh! I meant to include New York as well. Thank you for pointing that out! </p>

<p>I’ve only been around mild snow, but I’m looking forward to experiencing more (and to experiencing all four seasons).</p>

<p>Thanks for the suggestions tobaccoNchocolat. I’ve researched some of those, but I believe most (Stanford, JHU, and Columbia, namely) are out of my reach. I’ve also heard that JHU is an extremely cutthroat and competitive school. Of course, if I just write good essays…but anyway, I’ll take a look all of them in greater detail, especially NYU and CMU. :)</p>

<p>Anyone else care to share?</p>

5

<p>You need schools that meet need or offer big merit. Cutting out LACs makes that tougher. NYU is an academic match but not a financial one. CMU is also not generous and you don’t have the scores for big merit.</p>

<p>Take a look at the merit aid thread on the FA board and use the search function for a list of schools that meet need.</p>

6

<p>boston college maybe?</p>

7

<p>RedRoses - Are LACs typically known for generous aid? </p>

<p>That’s something I really need to consider. I’ve so far neglected to take a serious look at financial aid, so I’ll definitely check that thread out. Thanks for mentioning that.</p>

<p>Soccer703 - I’m hoping to attend a nondenominational school (sorry, forgot to include that), but thank you for the suggestion!</p>

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<p>Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >70k (this is going to be horrific)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): lame, though my mother only attended high school and my dad didn’t get his Bachelor’s (went to OSU)</p>

<p>Sorry but an Asian is not a URM. Asians are over-represented minorities. ORM</p>

<p>Your parents income is average…do they have a lot of savings/assets/investments?</p>

<p>How much will your parents contribute each year?</p>

<p>You really only have two choices…applying to top schools that meet need and applying to schools that give huge merit for stats as safeties.</p>

<p>I’ve so far neglected to take a serious look at financial aid,</p>

<p>You need to seriously look at your financial situation. You’re in that odd spot of coming from an average income family (which may have savings), so financial consideration from the various schools will make a big difference.</p>

<p>*
SAT: 2120 (690 Cr, 710 M, 720 W) –> Plan on retaking a third time*</p>

<p>Is the above a super score? If so, what are your scores from your best sitting?</p>

<p>I wouldn’t bother with NYU…they’re awful with aid and will expect your parents to take out HUGE loans.</p>

9

<p>At many LACs you would be a URM. They are smaller, but can otherwise serve your needs.</p>

<p>I am sending you a PM.</p>

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<p>The top LACs and even ones quite a bit beneath have generous need based aid.</p>

<p>Indeed you would be a URM at some of the LACs in the South and MW.</p>

<p>Money must lead the search if you are not full pay.</p>

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<p>Mom2collegekids - I can’t go into any specifics, but my parents say they have a lot of money saved up… Does that put me in a bad/worse position?</p>

<p>The SAT score is not super scored. The individual scores I listed are all from my second sitting.</p>

<p>Thank you for letting me know about the financial situation with NYU. </p>

<p>And I understand that Asians are not URMs (at top colleges anyway).</p>

<p>What I didn’t know was that Asians are URMs at LACs. That certainly makes those institutions seem more desirable and within reach, though I’m not entirely sold on the idea of attending one…</p>

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<p>I can’t go into any specifics, but my parents say they have a lot of money saved up… Does that put me in a bad/worse position?</p>

<p>It may mean that you won’t qualify for any aid. It will depend on how much they have saved. </p>

<p>You need to use an EFC calculator…</p>

<p>FA Calc<br>
[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid) </p>

<p>So, did your parents say how much they’ll spend each year for your education?
You need a number from them.</p>

<p>You need to be prepared in case schools will expect your family to pay more than your family will pay.</p>

<p>You need to include some schools that will give you merit for your stats.</p>

<p>*What I didn’t know was that Asians are URMs at LACs. That certainly makes those institutions seem more desirable and within reach, though I’m not entirely sold on the idea of attending one… *</p>

<p>You’ll need to look at the Asian numbers at the schools you’re considering to see if there Asian numbers are low. If they’re not, then you wouldn’t be a URM at that school.</p>

13

<p>Holy Cross and Tufts.</p>

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<p>Brandeis and agree with par on Tufts</p>

15

<p>Mom2collegekids - That’s a scary thought. I’ll use that site to figure my EFC and look for colleges in which I am a top candidate or that offer excellent aid.</p>

<p>My parents said they would be willing to pay however much is necessary, and while that’s good news, I’m really trying to get them to set some sort of limit. I don’t want them to take out excessive amounts of loans or dig into their retirement funds just to support my education. [I do understand that my college education is important, but if I don’t receive any/much aid for the top schools I apply to and love, there are always cheaper options that are still beneficial (UCs).]</p>

<p>par72 and schrizto- I’ve considered these three schools, and Holy Cross, being a religiously affiliated school, doesn’t sit well with me. [I’ve never been a religious person.] I visited Brandeis over the summer and didn’t particularly enjoy the tour or the feel I received from the university.</p>

<p>I’ll look more into Tufts, though I’ve heard it’s also a competitive school, and it seems out of my range.</p>