Applying to too many reaches?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>All right, as of right now I'm thinking about applying to four reaches: Wesleyan University, Kenyon College, Pomona College, and Claremont McKenna College. I have decided to limit myself to 10 applications. I'm thinking I should replace one of the reaches with a match or high match. Which one do you think I should axe off? Some things to know </p>

<ol>
<li>I have visited Kenyon, Pomona, and CMC. I love all three.</li>
<li>I'm a libertarian, and I'm worried that the students at Wesleyan might eat me alive.</li>
<li>I am for sure going to major in History. My aspiration is go into screenwriting though, so a good film studies or literature/english program would be nice to have. I know that CMC is great for history, but they don't even have a film studies program. </li>
</ol>

<p>Any thoughts?</p>

2

<p>If you are willing, some stats would be really nice! I’m going to apply to Kenyon too!</p>

3

<p>If you really want a terrific film program with a double major in history, I would bump Wesleyan up to the top of your list - hands down! If you haven’t done enough research, I strongly encourage you to check out their film department including their great list of Wesleyan alumni in the business. For example, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner - yeah, the new season premiered tonight so his name was in my head. </p>

<p>This thread was to see if you have too many reaches, BUT I would also check out Northwestern and Columbia for two of the best film departments as an undergraduate that allow you to double major quite easily unlike schools like Tisch. The beauty of both schools is that you can take a plethora of screenwriting courses - you don’t have to delve into directing or whatever if you don’t want to. You can focus on your writing if you desire or dabble here and there. The best part is that both universities offer degrees in both standard English AND Creative Writing. So, if you decide that you don’t want to major in Film, you could major in Creative Writing if you’re serious about it or regular old English as well - both schools are fabulous in all three. </p>

<p>Yet, I notice you only mention LAC, and you did not provide any stats, but those are among the best LACs so I was only extrapolating. Wesleyan, Northwestern, and Columbia are the real-deal in terms of film; they are not some knock off. And, these three schools will allow you to get a liberal arts education. So, I’m just throwing this information out there so you can do some research on each program and perhaps decide to swap one school for another. Anyways, as long as you have one definite safety (financially and academically) and maybe two match schools that you are quite sure of, you can apply to as many reach schools as you want within reason. Another comment on your list of schools: Kenyon has a terrific English department. But look into what I said, and if you want, I’ll provide some more information. </p>

<p>Cheerio in the meantime!</p>

4

<p>Thanks for all the info Tinfoyl. I am aware of who Matthew Weiner (Mad Men is tied for my favorite show)</p>

<p>Here is my entire profile</p>

<p>Background - I’m a white male from St. Louis, Missouri. I got to an elite college prep school, that is ranked #25 in the nation. My sophomore year in high school I was suspended for a drinking incident with my wrestling team (near death experience), but since then I have proved through academics, athletics, and by starting a club to promote a sober student body, I have shown that I have grown past this incident. </p>

<p>Grades - My GPA has a huge upward curve. It started off low freshman year (2.9) and has grown to a 3.72. I have taken all honors and AP courses. My teachers harp on the fact that I am a great debater, and a driving force in class discussions. My two recommendations are going to come from my adviser, who has taught me in World History I and AP European History. (He is a graduate of Kenyon College). My other rec is from my Drama teacher, who has directed me in numerous plays and has watched me become one of the school’s strongest actors.</p>

<p>Test Scores - On the ACT I got a 28 (31 reading, 29 English, 28 Science, 24 Math). I have also taken two subject tests. On Literature I scored a 680, and on US History I scored an 800. (I plan on majoring in History)</p>

<p>Common Application Essay - I am an extremely talented writer, and the topic of my essay is going to be about my transformation. The summer in between my Sophomore and Junior year I lost 105 lbs., and this change on the outside masked the metamorphosis that occurred on the inside. </p>

<pre><code> Extracurriculars
</code></pre>

<p>Sports - Two years of Football (had to quit due to concussions), two years of Wrestling (had to quit due to concussions, and for earlier mentioned reasons), two years of Cross Country (two varsity letters), and four years of Track and Field (2 varsity letters)</p>

<p>Theater - By the time I have sent out my application I will have been in 7 productions. I have had my share of small ensemble parts, but I have also been able to play some large roles in plays such as The Elephant Man, The Curious Savage, and soon to be The Tempest. </p>

<p>Clubs - I am the founder of Campus Libertarians. I am also a co-founder of the Dream team (the student body sobriety group I talked about earlier). I serve as the school’s newspaper Sports Editor, and I also am a member of the school news station and the Debate team. </p>

<p>Summer Activities - The summer in between my Sophomore and Junior year I worked at film making camp for elementary school aged kids for several weeks. This summer I am going to a screenwriting camp at the University of Tulsa.</p>

5

<p>Anybody have an opinion on the matter?</p>

6

<p>You’re right. Those are all reaches. I assume you don’t need any FA?</p>

7

<p>Eh I wouldn’t qualify. My parents probably won’t pay over 40 K. </p>

<p>My question is should I apply to 4 reaches?</p>

8

<p>I don’t think 4 out of 10 is too many reaches. They are reaches because your odds of getting into any one of them are relatively low.</p>

9

<p>If you’re happy with your 1 or more safeties, then applying to 4 reaches should be fine.</p>

10

<p>Okay, that makes me feel a lot better, because I really do like all four schools.</p>

11

<p>If you’re insistent on limiting yourself to ten schools, no more, no less, go 2 safety, 2 match, 6 reach.</p>

<p>There are nuances within those categories, “high reach,” “reach,” “low reach,” that will be up to you to figure out.</p>

12

<p>I am not sure all 4 are reaches. I think your hs ranking #25 is pretty high, and the school might not give much inflated grades.
Go to your GC and find out if these are reaches or matches, instead of us guessing over the internet here. I know plenty of kids from high ranking school such as Mission San Jose, Lowells or Monta Vista in our area with mediocre stats got into UCLA, Berkeley and Chicago etc.</p>

13

<p>Kenyon is a match for anyone with even a remote shot at Pomona and Wes, I think the latter 2 are unrealistic reaches though.</p>

14

<p>That’s interesting advice kwu. I’m going to e-mail my college counselor about that. My problem is that the schools I really love, are all super selective. The other schools I’m considering are</p>

<p>Truman State University (financial safety)
University of Tulsa (my sister goes there, so I feel like it’s a safety)
Illinois Wesleyan University (match)
Rhodes College (match, haven’t visited yet)
Tulane University (high match, haven’t visited yet)
Occidental College (match)
Trinity University (match)</p>

<p>I am for sure going to axe off one of these, maybe two of them.</p>

15

<p>From what I saw of Tulsa on their web site it’s more like a match for your stats. Since they don’t publish their CDS it’s difficult to tell how much they weight anything like scores, grades, family connections.</p>

16

<p>fyi - I agree with kwu’s advice … I suggest thinking about this the other direction … 2 safeties are definately enough … 2 matches sounds Ok also assuming they are solid matches (maybe stretch this to 3) … then the only question is how many total apps you’d like to do and why not fill them up with reaches. One other thought your desired program is pretty specialized so I’d first focus on schools with the best programs and look at the safety/match/reach separately … I mean if your list came out 3 safeties and 7 matches and no reaches but these schools had the best programs in your field that would be a great list for you … as long as the list has a couple safeties and matches how the rest of the schools fall into categories doesn’t really matter.</p>

17

<p>erin’s dad - ACT range at Tulsa is 23 to 30, with a 53% acceptance rate. I think at the very least it’s a low match.</p>

18

<p>The 25th percentile of ACT for Trinity is 27. I think that would make it a high match/low reach for you with a 28. 75 percentile is 31.</p>

19

<p>You would get into Tulsa for sure.</p>

20

<p>3togo, if my parents would let me go to film school that would be my approach. However they refuse to pay for that (understandably so) so I have decided to double major in English and History, and then possibly go to a graduate film program.</p>