Balancing My List

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Below are my statistics and the schools which I am currently planning on applying too. Before I get too into the CommonApp, though, I was wondering if anyone had any more schools to suggest. I plan on majoring in American Studies and am looking for 100% aid met. For safeties and such, which I think I most need, I am willing to accept concessions. Besides that, though, what I desire in colleges should be clear in the others I have listed.</p>

<p>~3.9w, 3.75uw (upward trend, 3.5uw freshman to 4.5w junior year)
Unranked school.
SAT: 2010 (CR690, M610, W710) (retaking in October, no promises though)
SAT Subjects: USH800, LIT710, WH680
ACT 32 (W35, 32CR, 32S, 28M)</p>

<p>AP Euro - 5, AP US - 5, AP English Lang. - 5, AP Art History - 4, AP Spanish - 1
Senior APs: English Lit., Government, Environmental Science</p>

<p>Student Newspaper – 9: Freelance Writer 10: School News Editor, 11: Assistant Editor-in-Chief, 12: Editor-in-Chief
Associated Student Body Elected Official – 11: Class Treasurer, 12: School Treasurer
Ecology Club – 9: Member, 11: Member, 12: President
Chess Club – 9: President, 10: Vice President, 11: President, 12: President
Robotics, Botball Team – 9: Member, 10: Documentation Captain, 11: Co-Captain, 12: Co-Captain
Rotary Interact Service Club – 10: Member, 11: Member, 12: Treasurer
Model United Nations – 10: Delegate, 11: Delegate, 12: Delegate
Student-to-Student Mentorship Program – Club Founder</p>

<p>150 service hours from ACLU summer internship, another 50 hours from Ecology Club, and another 50 from student mentorship.</p>

<p>Considering this, here are my schools as I currently have them ordered in my mind:</p>

<p>Brown (ED)
Vassar
Wesleyan
Stanford
Ponoma
Skidmore
Reed
Hamilton</p>

<p>I feel that as is, this list is really top-heavy. My school requires I apply to four UCs (Berkeley, LA, SB, SC for me) and four CSUs (I have no ideas, willing to take suggestions for that as well), but I am not really comfortable with those or the financial aid they will give. Any suggestions for lower-level schools would be great.</p>

2

<p>Your SATs seem low to me for most of your schools, and unless you are an URM or have a major hook, the UCs are unlikely to be genereous with aid. </p>

<p>And your selection of schools is kind of all over the place - for example, Berkeley and Reed (or Vassar) or Stanford and Hamilton - have VERY little in common. </p>

<p>Tell us if you're a CA resident, and what kind of school you want (east or west coast, LAC, big research u?) and then we can advise you better.</p>

3

<p>Just use ACT and you have a shot?</p>

4

<p>katliamom, I understand that SATs are very low, but I feel as though my ACT counteract it to a certain extent and that my retake should be somewhat better, but I am not by any means going to forecast the 200 point gain that some people do on this site. </p>

<p>To be clear, I do not really feel my list is all that inconsistent. My target size is the larger LACs, with no real preference to coast so long as it is on one of the two and north of say Virginia on the east coast. I also am very liberal and looking for a progressive education with few distribution requirements. With these specifications in mind, I agree Stanford is somewhat inconsistent with the rest, but I am applying there because of my mother's insistence that I do so. I'm not sure why you feel Hamilton doesn't fit in with these. </p>

<p>Again, the UCs are only there as a my high school's requirement, not my interest in them.</p>

<p>And, again, I do realize that the list is top-heavy. That is why this thread exists, after all.</p>

<p>I am a Caucasian, California resident with a very low family income, first generation, attending one of the best public high schools in the country according to Newsweek and USNWR. </p>

<p>CaseSpartan10, I wouldn't really be comfortable doing that nor do I think it would substantially improve my chances.</p>