New to the board so I hope that this isn't a faux pas type of post.
I am trying to help my D narrow down the list of schools that she should apply to. She is in the 11th grade and we've begun to look and of course it's all a little overwhelming.
First her profile:
GPA: 3.88/4 - A special admit public high school in downtown Philadelphia. Doesn't offer AP/IB and she's taken hardest classes possible.
SAT: 2200 - took it in October and plans to take it this Saturday and hopes to raise it a bit as she didn't prepare that much before.
Plans to take Math 2, Literature and Spanish with Listening Subject tests - She's fully bi-literate English/Spanish.
PSAT: 1480/1520 - NMSI 223/228 - so based on historic data should make NMSF for PA. She is also Hispanic so she should be NHRP. Since she's always had good grades and no non-academic issues is she likely to be NMF since 15K out 16K make it?
ECs: Not overwhelming as she is diagnosed Selective Mutism/Social Anxiety which hurts in wanting to join/participate in much. She's a homebody that reads everything, but she has:
Piano for 8 years/ Guitar 3 yrs. Arabic Club including Arabic outside of school on weekends and Arabic Immersion Camp one summer at Oberlin through Middlebury Language Institute. Journalism Club - contributor and editor. Election Ambassador for Philadelphia Committee of Seventy and her team won the Election Innovation Challenge and are working with the Committee to implement their plan to engage ex-convicts to vote. Some volunteering in the Hispanic Community but not long or consistent.
Major interests: Journalism, Literature or anything not math, science or engineering apparently.
Parents profile regarding ability to pay:
Combined income: $175Kish household of 4 - not sure what EFC would be here but guessing 35 - 40K
One works at Drexel University so children get full tuition. Drexel University is part of Tuition Exchange program and there are 645 schools that are members so the possibility of getting 35K or full tuition is possible at a number of schools.
She doesn't want to go to Drexel and has stars in her eyes and her top choices are Yale, UofChicago, and Brown. I am trying to make sure she understands the reality of getting admitting to these places and then the ability to attend based on cost. She wants to go "away" for college and I'm not opposed as I think it will help her with her SM/SA issues to not have the family crutch. I think she would do best in a smaller school setting (her HS is only 500 students) and I think a urban environment would be best as she's always lived in the city without driving everywhere.
So some other schools on her list:
UNC-CH (she's be a legacy and has family in NC - maybe chance for merit scholarship)
UPenn (probably best shot at getting admitted into an Ivy as they have an admit slot for Philly Public High school students and all the kids in her high school with her stats have been admitted in the last 6 years according to Naviance)
Haverford
Bryn Mawr
Northwestern (Journalism)
Some schools on the tuition exchange list that I am trying to get her to look at:
Sarah Lawrence
Fordham
George Washington
Bucknell
Pitt
Other smaller schools I'd like her to look at:
Davidson
Washington and Lee
It also seems the NMF possibility and NHRP should lend to looking at some schools. Looking at schools with merit aid or scholarship possibilities or ones trying to attract under-represented ethnicities.
Any advice? Anything I've overlooked/not thought of? Specific schools I should investigate? Everything is appreciated.
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