Took 4 APs and 2 honors throughout high school. A president of one club, a VP/co-founder of one club, and a secretary of one club. Ran track and field for 3 years. was in math and science honor societies. Little work experience. Is this a good application? what colleges can I get into with these stats and ECs?
Whether these are good stats depends upon which schools you are applying to. These certainly are way above average and will get you into a very good school, but are very unlikely to get you into an Ivy League or equivalent or any “top 30” school unless you are not telling us something important. There are a lot of very good universities in the US, hundreds of them, and you should have excellent chances at a top 200 university.
What state do you live in? How do your stats compare with your in-state top 2 or 3 public universities (or in-state top 10 if in California)? How do you feel about your in-state top 2 or 3 public universities? What is your budget?
I live in new York. My stats seem like a reach for a university like New York University… our budget is fine and can afford most schools. I’d be really happy with going to NYU
NYU is a very expensive private school that costs about $70,000 + per year. Will your parents spend close to $300,000 for an undergraduate education? Take a look at Temple, Pitt, and American- these may be matches. Does your school have Naviance?
You will likely get into Buffalo. Binghamton is not a safety school for you and if you get in, it may not be during the EA round. We also don’t know your major.
What else are you looking for in a school? What is your major?
looking to major in computer science. Temple, Pitt, and American are definitely options, but I’m looking to get into a better school. BTW, I am taking the SAT again on august 26th and hoping to score above a 1470, and am also planning on taking the ACT and aiming to score above 32… with these ideal stats, what schools could i get into during the Early Decision round?
and no, our school does not have Naviance.
I’d say you have a decent shot at NYU. There are several different schools you could apply to there, with varying levels of selectivity, but I don’t think you’d be wasting your time if it’s really where you want to go. Also look at George Washington, Boston U, Syracuse. What are you interested in studying?
Would you consider WPI? Your stats are good enough for merit aid there. Even if you don’t need it, it’s nice not to pay full price. At least your parents may think so.
What schools did you have in mind? The Ivy League and equivalent schools, top publics etc are reaches for you even if you raise your scores. Syracuse and BU would work. If you want to apply ED to a reach that’s fine, but make sure to have a list of safety and match schools. I would focus on fit.
If you love NYU and your parents can afford ( and will pay) $70,000+ per year, go ahead and apply. Whether you choose to ED or not is your decision.
What about NYU do you like?
Other schools I had in mind were Northeastern, Cal Poly, USC, university of Rochester, university of florida, university of Washington, and university of Miami. I am thinking of studying computer science or business. Are the schools I listed possible? My low GPA is really coming back to bite me now, making me put in twice the effort on studying for the SAT and trying to break 1500.
I like that its a very good business school and is in-state for me. It isn’t as hard to get into as all the top business schools; that is why I thought it would be a good fit. Of course, a huge drawback is the expensive cost
I think Northeastern and Rochester are both reaches. I think UF is a match- what is it about UF that you like? I am just curious given that you loved NYU.
Yes … NYU is in-state… but it is a private school, not part of the SUNY/CUNY system. It is my understanding ( I am not knowledgeable in this area) that the business school is quite competitive. Why do you think it will be easier to get in because you are a NYS resident?
My bad, I think I phrased it wrong. I thought NYU would be easier to get into compared to other top business schools solely off of their stats. Their 75th percentile for SAT is 1510, and I’m hoping to land in there to compensate for my low GPA (has a below average change of getting in NYU, but not a reach).
NYU College of Arts & Sciences is probably a match for you, but Stern is a definite reach. It is one of the most elite, selective undergraduate business schools in the country. I don’t know what the acceptance rate is for its “Poly” division. Cal Poly SLO admits by department, and yours is one of the most competitive. Some of the other universities you mentioned might be within reach for some programs, but more difficult for Computer Science. UF can be pretty competitive for out-of-state applicants, so don’t see it as any kind of safety. University of Washington is also highly selective for Computer Science.
My son had similar stats to yours, but was not applying to a competitive STEM program. We were shocked when he was wait-listed at UWashington, since he was accepted at UC San Diego, which is generally considered more selective. He got into Tulane, but with no financial assistance. That could be an option for you, if money is not a major concern (if NYU is high on your list, I presume finances are not a primary consideration). Try Lehigh, University of Richmond . . . if you have a significant bump in your scores, then Vanderbilt or Washington U might be long-shots, but they would be huge reaches now.
Thanks for the input! Congratulations to your son. If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly was his GPA and SAT and/or ACT score? And yeah, I have considered Lehigh, but I haven’t looked into University of Richmond yet
He graduated from H.S. in '14. He only had a 3.3-3.4 unweighted GPA (pretty rigorous private school), but weighted was over 4.0. He did full IB program, with some additional APs. His first round of tests were respectable, but second put him in your range. His lowest score on the 3-test SAT was the Writing (630, IIRC), but his M/CR was a 1440. His Composite ACT was 31, but the Writing & English scores were his highest, so it served him to submit ACTs and SATs, to show he was strong in all areas on some tests. He had terrific “Leadership” ECs, and his recommendations were undoubtedly superb.
He applied to an implausible variety of colleges, ranging from tiny LACs to huge public universities. He applied to 15 in all. Only three rejected him: UCB, Claremont-McKenna, and UNC-CH; he always recognized that they were reaches. Two waitlisted him: U of Washington (Seattle), which surprised us, and Reed, which we had considered a reach. He was accepted at: UCSD, UC Davis, Occidental, Tulane, Pitzer, Whitman, Willamette, New College of FL (attending), Eckerd, and Guilford.
Wow, certainly getting waitlisted at UW is a surprise with such excellent stats. The thing is my GPA is 3.45 unweighted and I’ve only taken 4 APs and 2 honors classes through junior year, so obviously my course rigor is nowhere near your son’s. Also, I go to a decent public school, while your son went to a rigorous private one. So not sure, but my chances at the schools he got accepted to are most likely pretty low…
Washington’s Common Data Set reports the unweighted HS GPA of enrolled freshmen in 2016 as follows:
3.75 to 4.00: 65.40%
3.50 to 3.74: 25.96%
3.25 to 3.49: 6.20%
3.00 to 3.24: 1.89%
Under 3.00: 0.55%
Since you are in NYC already, and want computer science, I am going to suggest Pace University where you are going to get a fat merit aid with your stats. I know Pace is not rated very highly overall, however, their comp sci and business school, particularly, accounting program are very well known and respected in NYC. I know many people who have done comp sci or accounting at Pace as undergrads, got awesome jobs with major corporations on Wall street, etc, and then went back to NYU Stern or Columbia for Master’s paid by employer.