Am I pursuing too many reach schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Will be a male high school senior 2008-2009</p>

<p>User Name: churchill1990
College Class Year: 2013
High School: Private
High School Type: sends some grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 3.93 Weighted unavailable
Class Rank: school doesn't rank
Class Size: 32</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>SAT I Math: 770
SAT I Critical Reading: 760
SAT I Writing: 770
ACT: 32
SAT II U.S. History: 620
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 680
SAT II French: 730
AP's:
European History: 3
US History: 4
English Literature: 4
French Language: 4
Music Theory: 5</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule: Choir, Jazz, AP Economics, AP Physics, International Relations, AP English Language</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Large choir, select jazz ensemble choir, church youth group, early morning seminary, private piano & voice lessons, school & community theatre, summer homestay in France 2007, summer employment as a research assistant for eco-friendly homebuilder 2008, community summer theatre troupe 2008
Leadership positions: Tenor section leader in both school choirs, 2nd counselor (VP) in church youth group, lead and supporting roles in 6 musicals
Volunteer/Service Work: Help organize annual service projects through youth group, from cleanups and yardwork to helping members in the community with moving, cleaning, medical assistance, etc. Also volunteer with my younger
Honors and Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Commended, MusicFest 2-Time Silver Medalist for Piano, Local Solo & Ensemble Winner, 1st Place Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, School Music Award, "Duty to God" Youth Leadership & Service Award</p>

<p>Colleges of Interest:</p>

<p>Columbia University
Harvard University
Princeton University
Stanford University
Yale University
Brigham Young University
Northwestern University
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University</p>

<p>Can't decide between Columbia ED or Yale SEA</p>

<p>Desired College Characteristics:</p>

<p>Location type: Urban
Size: Medium (5,000 - 10,000)</p>

<p>Extra Notes:</p>

<p>I have an interesting back story which further explains my academic situation. My junior year was unique in that in order to accomodate my schedule I had to take classes outside of the regular block schedule. A major part of my extracurricular life is my involvement in choir and jazz ensemble, which each constitute classes at my school, and due to scheduling conflicts I couldn;t take all of my desired classes. I talked directly with my principal and the teachers of the classes in question and did something no one at my school has ever done before: I took 9 classes instead of the usual 7 or 8, two of which were completely outside school hours, including AP Music Theory. On top of a hardcore academic load, I usually had 2-3 of extracurriculars everyday after school and either a performance, event or service project during the weekends. In addition, as part of my practicing Mormonism, I attended early morning seminary every weekday from 6:30am-7:20am before school. I do not mention all of this to brag but to merely explain why my grades slumped from sophomore to junior year (I went from a 3.95 to a 3.5, but by catching up on work and studying extra for AP's/finals I brought it up to a 3.8 my junior year, for a 3.93 cumulative). My senior year is way less hectic and in no way do I intend to use my junior year as a crutch to explain any "hardships" from my personal background - I brought that upon myself and suffered the consequences for it. Though it is certainly unique and I am extremely proud of the results that arose because of it, in hindsight I would have limited myself in what classes I would have taken and not tried to cram so much into so little time.</p>

<p>In college I really want to study music and combine it with another field of study such as psychology or economics.</p>

2

<p>no, i don’t think you are. but you should really try to up your subject scores to 700+ if you want to have a chance at schools like harvard.</p>

3

<p>You’re pretty much 100% in for the last 4 schools you mentioned, and have very good chances (IMO) at the first 5. A 3.93 unweighted is very respectable, you have amazing SATs and EC. You should be set, and no you are not pursuing too many reach schools.</p>

4

<p>I disagree w/ ^^^- Vanderbilt and Northwestern are matches, not safeties. The first 5 are high reaches.</p>

5

<p>Agree with chazhands that you shouldn’t count Vanderbilt or Northwestern as safeties.</p>

<p>You are definitely not 100% in for Harvard, Yale, etc. No one is.</p>

6

<p>Note that several of the schools you mention do not have a major in music performance. While you may be able to do some performance/lessons for credit, most of the major will be music history, theory, etc. You also may find that at a couple of them the only music major is a B.M. in the music school, which you may or may not want.
I would add that your list is pretty lopsided. It’s not that you have too many reaches, but that you don’t have enough matches. There seems to me to be too much of a gap between Vanderbilt and Northwestern (which asre still reaches, although a bit less than the Ivies and Stanford), and UofW and BYU. I wouldn’t advise anybody to reduce the number of reaches, especially when your shot of getting into any particular one is iffy. Of course, if you really like one of those safeties, or think you’ll get a nice scholarship there, this strategy may make sense.</p>

7

<p>Columbia University - Reach (I would suggest you do ED)
Harvard University - Reach/Crapshoot
Princeton University - Crapshoot
Stanford University - Reach
Yale University - Crapshoot
Brigham Young University - Safety (scholarship)
Northwestern University - Match
University of Washington - Safety (scholarship as well)
Vanderbilt University - Match </p>

<p>I wouldn’t apply to HYP. Apply to only one of those three. Great stats though! chance me! </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/548705-let-s-put-smile-face-chancing-me.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/548705-let-s-put-smile-face-chancing-me.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>“I wouldn’t apply to HYP. Apply to only one of those three.”</p>

<p>Ah, but which one? That’s the problem with this advice.</p>

9

<p>Well, it depends on what you like really. College town or big city? Are you ok with the reading assignments given by Columbia? Stuff like that :D</p>

10

<p>Thank you so much for all of your comments, they’ve been extremely helpful! I have responses/questions for all of you as well as additional info that may clarify some things:</p>

<p>harrypotter123 - I talked to my school’s college counselor who mentioned that my Subjects tests, though on the low side, were sufficient enough on paper to present to big league schools. Is that much importance really stressed on 700+ test scores? For example: I got a 620 on the US Subject Test, which is well below average for an Ivy League applicant, but got a 4 on the AP exam, which explains that despite my low SAT scores I did have enogh mastery of the material to get a well qualified AP score. Do those scores interact with each other or are they incomparable?</p>

<p>kfive, chazhands, MidwestMom2Kids_ - I’m confused with what exactly constitutes a “match school” vs. a “safety school” - if I’m slightly above/below the average stats for incoming freshmen the previous year then can I count that as a match? I was counting Vandy and Northwestern as matches because my test scores, etc. were slightly above their averages. And how high above the average stats for a school can I be to then label that school a safety?</p>

<p>Hunt - In my college search I’ve decided to apply to a mix of audition-only vs. no audition schools for music in case I’m considered below-par for music performance. I want to pursue music in college for the intellectual, creative aspects of it, not necessarily to pursue a professional track into the performing world. Also, a B.A. vs a B.M. in music doesn’t matter to me as long as I can major/concentrate/minor in something else so that I don’t only have a music degree at the end. And without reducing the number of reaches on my list, what colleges would be similar matches to Vandy/Northwestern?</p>

<p>spades1948, Hunt, pekingnese09 - I visited Columbia, Harvard, Yale and Princeton and liked all 3 for very different reasons, so to me they are three completely different schools. Partly explains why I want to apply to all 3 instead of forsaking 2 in favor of the other one. I liked the different lifestyles you can find in two completely different college environments - Princeton intrigued me because of how much could be packed into a tiny, subdued town, and Columbia/Harvard/Yale impressed me because of each individual city each are located in. My strategy, therefore, was to apply to all of them, see where I get in or don;t get in, and that way my decision of where to go would be decided for me.</p>

<p>Something else that I forgot to mention in my stats: I have a double legacy at Stanford (my grandmother in '54 and my dad in '77), so I don’t know if that would have any influence on my chances at Stanford.</p>