Well then you’d like Wisconsin-Madison. They have luxurious private dorms next to the campus, and it is surely an academically high quality safety.
Great stats, great list, although more than necessary. With a compelling essay, she will have her pick of the best. A lot of good comments here, so I’ll address only Tulane as a safety - don’t rely on them, as there is a good chance she will get deferred and then wait listed. With her stats, they will expect her to be using them as a safety. Consider Case Western instead. I think she’ll have a good shot at WUSTL, Duke and Northwestern.
If one of her possible majors has competitive admission to get into later, but also has direct frosh admission, she may want to apply to that major. However, at some schools not getting into the major means rejection from the school, while at others, it can mean getting in as undeclared or a second choice major if one meets the threshold for admission to the school.
If she writes the optional essay for Tulane and makes it compelling, it will be an easy in for her, in my opinion. There’s a lot of talk about Tulane rejecting the high-stat kids, but those are the kids they are trying to attract by offering those large scholarships. They just need to make sure the kid would actually consider going. A lot of high-stat kids skip the optional essay and that’s a pretty clear sign to Tulane that they aren’t all that interested.
At any rate, with stats like hers and being a URM, she will have her pick of some great schools. She might consider adding Tufts if she is into international relations.
My very bright niece just decided to go to U of Toronto. It’s got a gorgeous campus with lots of Hogwarts-like buildings and is really strong in the humanities. Lots of local here like McGill. I really believe finding a safe safety you like, is the most important thing. After that you don’t really have to worry about the reachiness of the rest of the list. The best reach is the one you get accepted to early, or have admissions standards that guarantee acceptances based on grades and/or scores. I really hate SCEA. It cuts off so many possibilities.
Apply early to U of Wisconsin, and she’ll hear back early; This was my D’s first acceptance and she received it in the first week of December. Huge relief to have it in her pocket, even though she didn’t end up going there. (Goes to Tufts which you said your D doesn’t like.)
Your daughter has done a great job! Best of luck!
@GossamerWings, that’s what we had understood when my D applied to Tulane as a safety, so she wrote a very compelling optional essay. High stats that got her into 10 top schools, but wait listed at Tulane. They knows what’s going on. Just say’n.
I wouldn’t count any private college or university or out of state public that practices holistic admissions as a safety. D16 has 99th percentile stats. She applied to NYU Tandon - her stats are much higher than the average Tandon admit - and she was denied. She was denied or waitlisted to other privates where her stats were above the 75th percentile too. The one private where she was admitted - Santa Clara U - other students with even higher stats were denied.
@NJProParent - did your D apply after November 1st? The key is to apply before then. If your D did that, wrote the essay, and had an ACT of 33 or higher than I would be shocked if she were waitlisted.
Note that Tulane offers both EA and SCEA. Tulane considers applying SCEA as showing a higher level of interest. (Note that Tulane’s SCEA restrictions are different and more restrictive in some ways than SCEA restrictions at some other schools.)
OP- I think your D needs TWO more subject tests, not just one. If she’s a “heritage” speaker (i.e. been hearing Spanish at home her entire life), taking the SAT 2 in Spanish and scoring well is a given.
Your D sounds fantastic. But if she’s not jumping up and down with glee over Penn, I’d reconsider Huntsman. She may find her “peeps” more easily in the regular Arts and Sciences program. And may get her more jazzed about Penn in general.
Where do the top kids from her HS end up?
If Princeton is her first choice, I think that combined with rolling admissions at U of M, or Madison, if they actually still have it, could be plan A.
Does your D have a class rank, or don’t they do it? Is she a favored student at her school?
@GossamerWings, applied in Nov. for engineering, wrote essay for scholarships, wrote supplemental essay, stats similar to OPs (ACT and SAT - took both, SAT IIs, GPA, ECs,). Got into all her other schools including Ivies. Tulane was the only school that deferred and then wait listed her. It’s a great school, but I stand by my post that OP, with her stats, should not rely on Tulane for a safety.
Thank you all again for the advice. @mathmom - Does University of Torronto provide housing after the first year? I would like her to apply to Tulane and UM (RD) and Michigan (EA) in September. If she ends up applying to Brown, Columbia, or Penn ED instead of Princeton SCEA, then maybe she can even switch the Tulane and UM applications to EA. It is a bummer that she can’t apply for the Singer or Stamps at UM if her application is RD.
@blossom - I’ve read all the Huntsman facts carefully because I don’t want to close any doors until she makes a decision of where to apply early. You can use you native language for application purposes, and if you have native speaker proficiency in Spanish, then your target language can be Portugese. I was also concerned about Georgetown, but they will accept the Spanish as her third subject test. I have to disagree with you though that it is a given to score well if you hear the language at home. The grammar is hard. @NJProParent - I appreciate the warning about Tulane.
University of Toronto provides housing after the first year, but it is not guaranteed. Each of the colleges has different requirements that must be met. For example, Trinity College guarantees housing (residence) if the student has a cumulative GPA of 3.7 or greater. There are plenty of apartments, condos and houses available for rent that border the campus.
@NJProParent - so she didn’t apply by November 1st - makes a huge difference. I still think it’s a safety for a good student who applies by November 1 (which sends a message that they are interested in applying for scholarships there). After November 1st tips off the school that it’s not a priority for the kid. I can think of a number of schools that have non-binding EA and do similar things re: deferrals and/or wait lists.
As you build the list I would consider adding Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, and Emory as excellent warm weather schools with substantial merit opportunities.
In total you should have about a dozen schools perhaps two clear safeties and 10 of the top schools on this expanded list. Even if admittance is 3 of the 10 schools your child will have excellent choices. And don’t fall in love with a single school any of the 10 should be excellent.
I don’t think it’s a given a kid will score well on his/her heritage language. I think ADCOM’S assume that a smart, literate kid who has been raised somewhat bilingual will score well, especially in a home with two college graduates. That’s what you’re dealing with, not with what Blossom thinks.
Agree with @blossom - not too much upside for a presumed native speaker to take a language subject test.
It may be OK for a native or heritage speaker to take a subject or AP test in that language as an *additional * test beyond those normally required or expected.