What are some colleges that would be right for me?

[ordinarygirl♥]

I'm a senior and I'm trying to figure out what colleges to add to my college list (I prefer a lot of options just in case)

GPA: 3.6 unweighted (I know, pretty low)
SAT: 1900 - however I will be retaking it so hopefully I reach 2000+
Will be taking SAT II Spanish, US history, Math Level 1 or 2
Senior class presidential committee
100+ hrs of social service
Youth program coordinator
Debate club active member
Theater club member
Took couple of courses at Harvard University as a junior
Interned at a company last summer

I would most likely want to major in Marketing or Business Administration.

I was looking at some schools like NYU, UCLA, Wharton (UPenn), U of Michigan?
Is my GPA too low for these schools?

Also my high school doesn't offer AP/IB/Honors (which is so frustrating). Will it affect my admission process?

Thanks in advance

P.S.
I would prefer well-known colleges in the US

[paulfriedman7]

To find appropriate colleges use

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/

Check student reviews of colleges by Googling the words "student reviews" and the names of the schools you are interested in (one at time). Also try Googling just the name of each school by itself. Then click where it says “Google reviews.”

Also check out:

http://www.usnews.com/education

http://www.princetonreview.com/college-education.aspx

Estimate your chances of getting accepted at any particular school using the Cappex “What are my chances?” calculator. (Note that only your UNWEIGHTED GPA is used for college admissions. SAT scores are using 2400-point three-test system, not the 1600-point two-test SAT.)

http://www.cappex.com

But keep in mind that the only way to find out for sure is to apply and see what each school says. The admissions process is extremely quirky, and it’s difficult to predict exactly who will get accepted and who won’t. Your chances of getting into any particular school are ZERO…if you don’t send in an application.

Common applicants are your friends. Use them. For maximum coverage you will need to use both.

https://www.universalcollegeapp.com/

https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx

Learn about professors

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/

You can often find out about on-campus housing at

http://www.dormsplash.com

You can find out about fraternities and sororities at

http://www.greekrank.com

more college admissions info

https://sites.google.com/site/paul7collegeinfo/

[Crystal Gayle]

As a professor, I'm going to give you some advice that I wish someone had given me.

1. The school you go to matters less than what you do when you get there.
Take advantage of opportunities to network, develop social skills, complete internships etc. Your future employers care less about what school you went to than what kind of job skills you have. I realize this doesn't seem important to you now, but it sure as heck will once you are a staring down the barrel of graduation.

2. Not going into thousands of dollars of debt is far more important than going to a prestigious school. It is not always the people who went to Wharton or Princeton that make six figure salaries.
Do not take out more student loans than you plan to make in your first year of work. So if you are going to be a teacher, don't take out more than 20,000. If you are going to be an engineer, maybe you have a bit more wiggle room. But for God's sake, don't be like me and take out 120,000 in loans to get a graduate degree and then make slave wages.

3. If possible pick a college that is particularly strong in the subject you are interested in. Notice that this is near the bottom of my list, as your major will likely change while you are in school. In order to find this school go to the counselor at school and ask them to review with you which schools are strong in which educational fields. They should have lists and rankings provided by various news and educational groups.

4. From there, utilize a few of these resources:

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/08/7506102/ho...ht-for-you

http://www.usnews.com/education/articles...our-wallet

5. Do not pick a college because it is "well-known", because your best friend is going there, because your parents push you to go there, or because someone you know "went there once upon a time"

[PE2008]

Look at colleges in the next tier down.
Some examples:

U of Rochester
Sewanee—University of the South
Manhattan College
SUNY–Binghamton

Do not go into extravagant debt.