applied to USC, wellesley, and WashU -- do I need to send out more apps?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey alllllllll...</p>

<p>Sooo basically I'm only applying to 3 schools. I already applied to Stanford REA and got rejected (big surprise.) I applied mostly because I did EPGY there and loved it, and because my grandfather, great-grandfather and great-grandmother went there and my grandfather was really pressuring me to apply. My app at the time was half-assed and I really didn't get my **** together until recently, so I don't blame them for their decision.</p>

<p>However: even though I knew it was coming, and was really emotionally prepared for it, it still kind of sucked (I'm sure you guys can understand that.) It definitely took the wind out of my sails, applications-wise. I did put together a new Common App, which is much more cohesive with a much better essay, one that I think is much improved over the one I sent to Stanford.</p>

<p>So now it's Dec 29 and I've already submitted my apps to 3 schools: USC, Wellesley, and WashU (where I have legacy.) I think I have a pretty good chance at all of them, but I know they're not safeties in any way (I'll include my stats at the bottom of this.) Basically, I just haven't really had the energy to apply to more schools, especially those with extra supplemental essays.</p>

<p>I'd like to hear people's opinions on whether I'm screwed or not, whether I should go ahead and try to apply to a few more schools before the Jan 1 deadline that most of them have, etc...the thing about applying to schools with the Jan 1 deadline is that I don't get back to school until Jan 5 and my guidance counselor def isn't checking her email during the holidays, so I'm sure she'd be SUPER ****ed, considering we're supposed to give like 3 weeks notice for transcript requests.</p>

<p>ANYWAYS sorry this is so long. Here are my stats. Thanks for your time, and I'd really appreciate everybody's opinions :) </p>

<p>-White Female
-NH public school, not accredited
-income<10k
-job: freelance correspondent w/ local newspaper (consistent publication including cover stories)</p>

<p>ACADEMICS
-GPA is around 3.8 unweighted, I can never remember exactly
-ranked 28th out of about 450 kids (i know i know )
-pretty rigorous courseload, abbreviated transcript included at the end of this post</p>

<p>ECs/AWARDS
-varsity gymnastics&letters 9th, 10th, 11th
-yearbook 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th (currently editor in chief)
-french honor society 10th, 11th (quit this year, it's a long story but i refuse to be associated with the group of people who are running it now)
-granite state challenge 12th (just some state-wide televised trivia competition, but i was one of four kids chosen to represent my school, and it was kind of a big deal at the time)
-Wells 21st Century Leadership Award 12th (meaningless book award basically)
-NMSF
-National Merit High Scorer Award 11th (highest PSAT score school-wide, I don't know if it's worth mentioning on an app)
-Governor's Citation, 10th & prob 11th (I don't really know what this is other than it's for good grades but it sounds good)</p>

<p>VOLUNTEER
L’il Iguana | 10th | 20 hours
Meals on Wheels | 10th | 4 hours
Nashua Soup Kitchen | 11th| 6 hours</p>

<p>RANDOM STUFF
-did stanford's EPGY for a month in summer 2007, creative writing course
-helped organize a big community protest to get our municipal gov't to settle on a contract w/ the teachers' union</p>

<p>TEST SCORES:</p>

<p>SAT: CR-750, M-630, WR-770 --- TOTAL=2150
Subject Tests: Literature-710, US History-750, BiologyE-640 (don't ask me why I thought taking that was a good idea)
AP Tests: AP Lang-5, AP USH-5 (I was a junior)</p>

<p>quick rundown of jr/sr schedules&grades:
-NOTE: my school goes on a block schedule, so we only take 4 classes a semester. it sucks. it's why i haven't taken more APs</p>

<p>Senior Year, Semester 1 (and quarter 1 grades)
AP Gov-A
AP Lit-A
AP Psych-A-
Honors Calc-A</p>

<p>Senior Year, Semester 2
AP Gov
AP Lit
AP Psych
AP Macroeconomics</p>

<p>Junior Year, Semester 1*
AP Eng Lang-B+
AP USH-B-
Honors Chem-A-
Honors Precalc-A-</p>

<p>Junior Year, Semester 2
AP Eng Lang-A-
AP USH-A-
Honors Physics-A
Honors Zoology-A-</p>

<p>*Around jan/feb, I got extremely ill and ended up in the hospital for about a month on and off. this is the worst semester i have on my transcript academically.</p>

2

<p>to be frank, there's still a chance you won't get into any of those schools despite your good stats. You should definitely apply to a safety to avoid being very depressed come April.</p>

3

<p>forgot to add something, although it may be totally irrelevant: i'm applying for majors in gender studies and/or education (with an essay on feminism)</p>

4

<p>can you suggest a good safety? i'm really not good at the safety thing; i've used collegeboard, but the collegesearch thing never seems to work for me, and i think i just don't know enough about most schools to come up with ideas.</p>

5

<p>I think you should apply to some others. For ideas, search for a thread that used to be called something like "Brag about your lesser known school." There are some good colleges listed. Some good colleges also have a slightly later application date. I think Earlham's is in Feb. That way you won't feel so rushed.</p>

6

<p>Look at Denison. RD is due 15 Jan.</p>

7

<p>I agree with the poster who said that you need to apply to some safety schools. Also, are there any in-state public universities you might be interested in? You seem to be low-income (did you mean <10K or <100K?), and most of the schools you listed do meet 100% of need, but even that may not be enough for some low- to middle-income families. (Even if a school had met 100% of my "need," my parents couldn't afford the $18,000 that the federal government said that they should be able to afford.) Aside from schools that you know you could get into and be happy with if you went, you should also apply to schools that you know you will probably be able to afford.</p>

8

<p>okay, i just sent in an application to umass amherst, my mom said that i could blame the fact that i'm letting my guidance counselor know so late on her haha (i don't live with her and i'm here visiting for the first time in awhile.)</p>

<p>my income IS <10k, that's for taxable income anyways....i know it comes out to 24k for the free/reduced lunch form, but i'm pretty sure that's not the amount that we report for taxes. </p>

<p>i'm thinking about duke, bc they don't have a supplemental essay. umich's deadline is feb 1, so i think i'll apply there too. i have things already written that'll work for uva's supplement short answers. </p>

<p>other maybes:
tufts
notre dame
cornell (legacy)
johns hopkins
colgate (legacy...or something, my cousin's going there right now)</p>

<p>i dunno, at least it's a better list than it was before?</p>

9

<p>Legacy means a parent attended the college and in some cases a grandparent.</p>

10

<p>Killerqueen,
None of the colleges you listed as "possibles" are safety schools. They are all selective in their admissions policies. Do you have a state college or lower tier college which you know would fit your statistics and also fit into your family's budget? There are threads here about colleges which give very good financial aid, but are not as selective as the ones you have listed.</p>

11

<p>I think Umass Amherst is a great safety choice. Still, I never felt comfortable with only 1 safety, but perhaps you will.</p>

12

<p>well, my safety is umass amherst. by 'maybes' i meant 'maybe apply,' not 'maybe get accepted' (haha i wish) ... sorry, that was badly-worded, it must have sounded amazingly cocky haha</p>

<p>i'm not extremely worried about financial aid, i think fafsa + school stuff will probably take care of it. my grandparents are really wealthy and i know they will take care of what's left, and i don't mind taking out loans. home life isn't so great right now financially, but i am amazingly fortunate to have been blessed with the ability to pay for college.</p>

<p>my state school would be UNH, where i REALLY REALLY do not want to go. i know it's a big school, but i really just don't think i'd be able to deal with seeing so many people i know around campus. not to mention that i really don't like new hampshire, i'd like to get out of here as soon as i can...</p>

<p>about USC -- when the NMSC people sent out the college reporting service letters, i put down USC as one of the colleges i wanted them to notify or whatever. i was under the impression that this would help my admission chances a lot...confirm/deny?</p>

13

<p>i have safety-phobia :(</p>

14

<p>You didn't mention size, location major preferences, but based on gender studies and creative writing, here are a few more schools that might be a good fit considering your other selections:</p>

<p>Goucher
Scripps
Drew
Bryn Mawr
Wheaton - MA
Elon
Mills
Fordham
Remember when thinking about true safeties, you also need to consider financially safe schools. Generally that means in-state or tuition-exchange agreements with neighboring states. Other than that, given that OOS tuition can be high and not likely to give adequate aid, your best bet is to look at privates that have something to offer, where your stats or other qualities will make you stand out.
The other schools you mention are great and you do have an excellence chance for admission, but chance and certainty are two separate things.</p>

<p>College of Charleston</p>