My college search started about 8 years ago, when my high school took us on a tour of Purdue. I also went to Ball State’s campus every year in high school for a German competition. By the time my junior year rolled around, my college search was in full swing. I checked out college admissions and college review books from the library, my parents took me on a tour of Indiana University between my sophomore and junior years, and we planned a college tour during the spring break of my senior year.
Eventually, I ended up with a list of 6 schools: Brown (BS/BA degree program), Dartmouth, Indiana, Miami, Wellesley (Early Evaluation), and Yale (Early Action). As you can probably tell, I didn’t have any major criteria besides being on the smaller side (IU was the exception since it was my favorite in-state school, and it has fabulous foreign language programs), so I ended up with schools with a variety of atmospheres, sizes, and strengths. I also emailed and sent recruiting information to the gymnastics coaches at Brown and Yale—I didn’t have the skills to be anything but maybe a floor specialist, but I felt it was worth looking into.
What was missing in that list? More match schools that gave merit scholarships. My guidance counselor had told me that I shouldn’t have trouble getting accepted at top schools; he told me that I was a shoo-in everywhere. (If your counselor tells you that, DON’T believe him/her!)
Fact: the acceptance rates for literally half of my schools were hovering between 10-20%. As an out-of-state student, I also would have only attended Miami if I had received the Harrison scholarship or another significant scholarship. (Additional fact: the acceptance rate for Harrison has been below 5% for at least the past 4 years— that’s lower than Harvard’s acceptance rate!) Therefore, I had 4 reach schools (Brown, Dartmouth, Yale, and Miami/Harrison), 1 match school with no merit-based aid (Wellesley), and 1 safety (Indiana). In retrospect, I’m even a little uncomfortable with considering Wellesley a match school; its acceptance rate is somewhere around 35-40%. This was not a well-balanced list by any means!
Financial aid caveat: the EFC from FAFSA is generally not the amount that families have in mind. Need-blind schools that guarantee to meet 100% of demonstrated need may also “meet your need” with all loans. Sit down with your parents early and have an honest conversation with how much they are willing to pay—and then adjust your list accordingly. I applied before many of the top schools had revamped their financial aid scales; students who apply for need-based aid may have better luck than I did. The financial aid at the most elite schools has improved drastically since I was a senior in high school. Once you have your financial aid packages, compare them and really evaluate the differences in cost. As I mentioned earlier, some schools meet demonstrated need by loans, while others are more generous with grants (this discrepancy is often called “gapping”). I was “gapped” by one college and immediately eliminated it from my list, even though it was definitely one of my top choices.
By the end of my college search, I had visited about 10 schools, but only half of those schools felt “right.” As soon as I got out of the car at these schools, I immediately felt at home. It sounds like such a cliché—and it probably is—but certain schools just felt more comfortable than others.
Once I had my acceptances and financial aid packages in hand, I decided that extra prestige was not worth student loans, so the only schools that I could realistically afford were Indiana and Miami—and they were also the only two colleges on my list that offered merit scholarships. (Of course, financial aid has improved drastically at the most prestigious schools in the past few years, so your mileage may vary).
What can you learn from my admissions experience? My college list was too top-heavy with very questionable financial aid, and I had a reasonable chance of not getting into any school except for IU (and Miami without Harrison). Also, you should be willing to attend EVERY school to which you apply. Even though I didn’t get into every university, I did have a choice between several schools, and I’m very fortunate to attend a school that I love.
To summarize:
- Choose your schools wisely and apply broadly.
- Pay attention to the estimated cost of attendance and the average financial aid package.
- Sit down with your parents to discuss how much they are willing to pay.
- Compare financial aid packages once they come in.
- If you don’t love your safety, then it isn’t a safety.
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