Am I shooting too high?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Stats:
-HS junior
-3.64 unweighted GPA, 3.78 without my freshman year so there's improvement over time shown on my transcript
-school doesn't do class rank
-PSAT scores of 201 (sophomore) and 216 (junior), plan on taking SAT twice and the Math II and Chemistry subject tests
-Honors classes: English 1, English 2, Latin 4, Latin 5, Chemistry, Algebra 2, Precalculus
-AP classes: Calculus AB (no BC at my school), Chemistry, English Language
-self studying AP U.S. History exam while taking regular U.S. history class
-plan on taking AP English Lit, AP Micro, AP Stats, AP Calc BC, AP Physics B, and AP Physics C exams next year (only Calc BC would be self study)
-self studied geometry the summer before my sophomore year to get ahead of standard math track in my school
-vice president of my class this year
-member of National Honor Society (which I've heard is meaningless)
-2 seasons of JV cross country, 1 season of JV indoor track, 3 seasons of JV outdoor track
-white, middle class male from Massachusetts</p>

<p>I've started looking at colleges recently, and I've visited Williams and Wesleyan so far. I feel like I might be overestimating my chances, though, and it worries me. My list right now is looking something like:</p>

<p>Williams
Wesleyan
Amherst
Bowdoin
Vassar
Northeastern (mom thinks it's a safety, I'm not so convinced)
MIT
Tufts
Colby
UMass Amherst (safety)</p>

<p>I feel like I should probably shift my focus from these top colleges that I probably can't get into and maybe look into some state schools instead, because my GPA and extracurriculars are so bad compared to most posters here looking at similar schools. Am I right?</p>

<p>Thanks for reading this monstrosity of a post.</p>

2

<p>First thing to do is make sure that your safety really is a safety:</p>

<ul>
<li>You must be certain of being admitted.</li>
<li>You must be certain of being able to afford to attend.</li>
<li>It must have the academic programs you are interested in.</li>
<li>You will be happy to attend it in the case you get into no other school with enough financial aid (if needed).</li>
</ul>

<p>But some of your schools (e.g. MIT, Williams) look like very far reaches.</p>

<p>What are your intended or possible majors and your cost constraints?</p>

<p>Remember that many state schools give little financial aid to out of state students. Howeveer, some have relatively low list prices (e.g. Minnesota - Twin Cities, SUNY schools, NCSU, Virginia Tech, Cal Poly, Minnesota - Morris, Truman State; the latter two are small relatively inexpensive public LACs).</p>

3

<p>I’m probably not applying to Williams because I didn’t like it very much after visiting. MIT is my top choice as of now, so if I have a far reach then that will be the one.</p>

<p>I think I want to major in chemical engineering, but since most of those schools don’t offer it, chemistry is fine too.</p>

4

<p>It is fine to shoot for one or two reaches, but given your GPA, I think that too many of the schools on your list will be reaches. If your HS has Naviance, it should help you to see where you stand in regard to these colleges. And in my mind, there is too big a gap between these reach schools and your safety schools. Maybe consider some schools like Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, Trinity, Union (all excellent in engineering) if you like the small-mid-sized schools and some of the flagship state school if you prefer a bigger university.</p>

<p>And I don’t really know the field, but I’d think there would be a big difference between being a chem major and a chem-engineering major so consider that carefully before making a choice. If a school doesn’t have what you really want to study, maybe just eliminate it from your list.</p>

5

<p>I would be amazed if you got into MIT…
YOU WON’T get into MIT…
Apply, I’m just saying though…</p>

<p>Aim a little lower unless you get 2200+ SAT scores</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>Chemistry is much worse than chemical engineering in terms of job and career prospects, according to career surveys at some universities that have by-major listings.</p>

<p>You can use the [ABET</a> -](<a href=“http://www.abet.org%5DABET”>http://www.abet.org) accreditation listings to look for more smaller schools that have chemical engineering degree programs, if that is what you want.</p>

7

<p>I originally applied to all my schools for chemical engineering, except LACs where I applied for chemistry…
Now in April senior year, I’ve decided to attend one of the LACs and major in Econ… lol</p>

<p>Stuff happens… just apply to them</p>

8

<p>If you do wish to study chemistry, you may want to check if the chemistry degree program is [American</a> Chemical Society approved](<a href=“American Chemical Society”>American Chemical Society).</p>

<p>But you may want to check the various <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html&lt;/a&gt; on the job and career prospects of chemistry versus chemical engineering.</p>

9

<p>Thank you for being honest, everyone.</p>

<p>To address a few of the replies:
-I do fully plan on getting 2200+ on the SAT. I don’t think that’s too hard considering I got my 216 PSAT score without any studying or preparation (didn’t even know the test was the day it was).</p>

<p>-I always knew that most of the colleges I’m considering are reaches. I know I have no chance at MIT, wavylays94, and to be honest, your post comes off as pretty obnoxious. It’s just my dream school, so the .00001% chance of getting in is worth it to me. I’m open to dropping most of the other schools, however.</p>

<p>-It’s hard for me to find lower schools to look at because of what my parents and I want in a school. The goal is for me to stay in New England or New York in a small to medium sized school. Everything in the region either seems way above my level, like the schools on my list, or way below. My GPA might not be great, but if I drop any lower I’ll be looking at places with average SAT scores under 1900. I’d like to think I’m a bit better than that.</p>

<p>-What’s the deal with grad school and chem engineering? Can you go to grad school for chem engineering with a chemistry degree from a LAC? I plan on going to grad school immediately after undergrad.</p>

10

<p>Department of chemical engineering web sites like Minnesota’s suggest that it is possible to get into a graduate degree program in chemical engineering from an undergraduate degree in chemistry. [Graduate</a> Admission FAQ : CEMS : University of Minnesota](<a href=“Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science | College of Science and Engineering”>Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science | College of Science and Engineering)</p>

<p>However, this is probably not ideal compared to having an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering. You may want to ask various departments of chemical engineering at reputable schools (MIT, Minnesota, Berkeley, Texas, Stanford, Wisconsin, Delaware, etc.) about such matters. Also note that a chemistry major at a school without chemical engineering may not be able to take chemical engineering electives that would help prepare for graduate school in chemical engineering.</p>

<p>The “New England or New York” restriction is rather limiting; using that geographic restriction to search for chemical engineering degree programs on the ABET accreditation list yields 25 schools:</p>

<p>Brown University
Providence, RI, US
City University of New York, City College
New York, NY, US
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY, US
Columbia University
New York, NY, US
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY, US
Manhattan College
Riverdale, NY, US
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA, US
Northeastern University
Boston, MA, US
Polytechnic Institute of New York University (Formerly Polytechnic University)
Brooklyn, NY, US
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY, US
State University of New York at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY, US
Stony Brook University (Formerly State University of New York at Stony Brook)
New York, NY, US
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY, US
The Cooper Union
New York, NY, US
Tufts University
Medford, MA, US
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT, US
University of Maine
Orono, ME, US
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA, US
University of Massachusetts Lowell (Formerly University of Lowell)
Lowell, MA, US
University of New Hampshire
Manchester, NH, US
University of New Haven
West Haven, CT, US
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, RI, US
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY, US
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA, US
Yale University
New Haven, CT, US </p>

<p>Pennsylvania and New Jersey add 15 more:</p>

<p>Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA, US
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA, US
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA, US
Lafayette College
Easton, PA, US
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA, US
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark, NJ, US
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA, US
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ, US
Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ, US
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ, US
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ, US
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, US
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA, US
Villanova University
Villanova, PA, US
Widener University
Chester, PA, US</p>

11

<p>

</p>

<p>You are correct on this matter. With a 30% acceptance rate this year, Northeastern would be a match.</p>

12

<p>For engineering, I’d look into some of the Patriot League schools (Lehigh, Bucknell and Lafayette in PA), along with Villanova ¶, Carnegie Mellon (PA - but maybe too far away), Trinity College (CT), Union College (NY), U of Rochester (NY), George Washington (DC). It never hurts to try for a few reach schools as well.</p>

13

<p>Average SAT of 1900 means there’s a lot of kids with your stats. You need to look at that solid layer of great schools just below the top. CMU looks like more of a match. Your geographical need eliminates many good matches for you, however.</p>

14

<p>Damn, it looks like Pennsylvania is full of schools in my range with the degree I want. The only problem is how far away it is. My parents want me to stay around western MA just in case I need to go home for something, but I should probably weigh the pros and cons of staying close vs going far.</p>

15

<p>Apologies for the double most, but I’ve been spending all day researching colleges. My list now looks something like this:</p>

<p>Amherst
Bowdoin
Bucknell
Carnegie Mellon
Colby
MIT
UMass Amherst
Northeastern
U of Rochester
Tufts
Vassar
Wesleyan</p>

<p>I don’t really know what I’m getting into, so please (politely) correct me if I’m wrong with these guesses: The biggest reaches are Amherst and MIT, both of which I absolutely love. The not quite as crazy reaches are Bowdoin, Tufts, Vassar, and Wesleyan, but it’s still highly unlikely I’ll get in. Carnegie Mellon and Rochester are my closest matches. Bucknell, Colby, and Northeastern are fairly probable but not something to bet on. UMass is still my 100% safe school.</p>

16

<p>I would add more safeties/matches in case you’re wrong. Every year, the admission stats are getting worse and not better than previous year.</p>

17

<p>DrGoogle, is that regarding my first list or the one I posted an hour ago? I’m leaning toward eliminating colleges like Bowdoin and Colby but keeping it open for now.</p>

18

<p>I think Northeastern is a match (one I think you’ll get into, but not really a safety). I don’t know for sure about U Mass-Amherst, but my guess is that it is not a ‘true safety’ either (I think you should get in, bun I’m maybe 75-80% sure, not the 95+% I would want for a safety school…</p>

<p>The others on your list – seem like reaches, honestly. Not that you shouldn’t apply, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you get into one or two, but you need a few more schools in the Northeastern Tier, .</p>

19

<p>Would schools like Carnegie Mellon, Bucknell, and Rochester fall under that category?</p>

20

<p>I read the list from post #15. Also if you add some EA schools like Northeastern that would help tremendously.</p>