Hi
I’m going to be a senior in the fall. I’m compiling my list of possible schools that I would like to apply to. One problem I’m having is coming up with some “reach” schools. I have trouble gaging what would be a “reach” or simply a lost cause and waste of time.
About Me:
GPA weighted: 4.561 GPA unweighted: 3.865
Including all four years of high school I have taken AP Psych, two AP English classes, AP Spanish, AP Government, and AP Calculus along with a variety of honors classes.
I took college prep science for Chem, Bio, and Physics. I didn’t take honors or AP because science isn’t really my strong suit, nor am I planning to pursue a science career. I got A’s in all three of these classes.
My ACT score: 30, would be a 31 if the school superscores
I did not take the SAT
I have done marching band all four years. I have also been in band class all four years.
I have done badminton all four years. Sophomore and Junior year I was on JV and senior year I will be on varsity.
I was the team captain for the badminton team this past junior year.
I am lifeguarding this summer.
I have done a program for three years in which I tutor younger children in musical instruments.
I have volunteered at my local library with a reading program with little kids (elementary school age).
I am not considering colleges in the South because as a person whose body temperature is hot ALL the time and who suffers easily from dehydration, I would be miserable. Mid West, Northeast, Mid Atlantic, or West Coast are all fine.
I consider myself liberal but not radical. So any middle ground school or liberal school is all right with me. I just do not want a super conservative college.
The easiest advice is to use the SuperMatch function on this site and generate a list of schools. Then go to your GC office/Library and see if they have a copy of the Fiske Guide and do some reading on the ones that sound interesting. Then come back to this site with the list and ask for opinions.
(I also forgot to mention I’m a white female)
I’m not sure what my intended major is but I’m interested in psychology and English. I do very well with English and Reading classes.I also find psychology interesting. My parents are pushing me towards business though, and I’m trying to keep an open mind about it.
Some possibile reaches:
Georgetown
Swarthmore
Vassar
Villanova
William & Mary
When you say reaches, quantify the probability that is acceptable to you. Is a 1 in 10 chance worthwhile to take? There are reasonable reaches like Villanova and a lottery ticket like Swarthmore.
I know that Swarthmore would be a reach for almost anyone, along with most of the others on the list.
I think I’m just confused where I sit because I have a decent GPA but I didn’t take honors or any AP science so that may rule me out automatically at some of the reach places. I just don’t want to waste time and effort and money applying for a college that would no doubt reject me for a reason I can foresee. So in a roundabout way, I don’t want a 1 in 10 chance because I think my lack of advanced science classes would make the admissions not give a second glance at my application.
My favorite on the list is probably Georgetown.
You are barely in the middle 50% for Georgetown in terms of ACT and below average for a school with a 17% admit rate. And, white female is a tough demographic. Better reaches might be schools like Lehigh, Bucknell and Lafayette and Holy Cross as reach/matches. In NESCAC, Conn College would be a good one,
Yes Georgetown does require 3 SAT subject tests, but looking at what @OnTheBubble said my grades wouldn’t be enough alone.
I already am considering Lehigh.
I already have thought about how many more applications Villanova will get after their successful basketball season, so it most likely will be harder this year
I’ll look into Bucknell and BC and Lafayette!
For English/psychology/pre-MBA, I could see you getting into at least one, and maybe two or three, of (middle ACT score ranges included) Kenyon (28-32), Bates (28-32) and Hamilton (31-33).
At this stage, some value can be found in an analysis such as “The 610 Smartest Colleges” (Business Insider), which would help you compare colleges across a range of types.
The only issue with the suggestions above is that the average ACT scores are higher in regular decision, ie non-hooked. Bates 32 ACT with a 17.8% acceptance rate in RD. Tough for a white female there. Hamilton the same. Kenyon might be less gender pressure outside the northeast but not much.
Colby might be the best option, the female acceptance rate is much higher than the other three.
After looking into the few colleges I was very intrigued by Boston College, so thank you for the suggestion! That will probably be my reach, and possibly Villanova. The rest of my list is still up in the air though.
I asked my counselor on her opinion on what a good reach school for me would be and she said Dartmouth…
Delaware State University! Its in Delaware, just 70 miles south of Philly. Great school, variety of studies, close to popular tourist destinations, and easy to be accepted in with your academic profile
No no no I’m not Ivy bound at all. I found it funny that I expressed to her that I didn’t want a lottery 1 in 100 chance type of reach school and she thought Dartmouth would be one for me. Must have been a miscommunication on my part.
I also looked into Colgate, does anyone know more about how selective it is? Looks pretty selective to me.
