can someone tell me which schools are reaches/matches/safeties/etc?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm going to be a junior this year soooo I can't really give tons of info but I'll tell you what I know
I want to go to school for history and maybe have another major in comparative literature.
These are the schools:
Harvard (This is a reach obviously I'm just listing every school)
UChicago
Emory
George Washington
College of Charleston
Washington University in St. Louis
Dartmouth
Boston University
NYU
Connecticut College
Vanderbilt
Syracuse</p>

<p>I'm not applying to all of these obviously these are just the ones I'm looking at for whatever reason... don't even know why I'm looking at Syracuse and Vandy but whatever
Anyway these are my stats/ECs etc
Freshman year:
World Civilizations Honors: A-
Spanish II: A+
Biology Honors: B+
English Honors: B+
Geometry: A+
+stupid electives (ceramics, photo editing, family science) all A+'s</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
AP US History: B+ (****ed about it too... this won't happen again)
Algebra II Honors: B
Spanish III: A+
English II Honors: A
Chemistry Honors: A-
again with the dumb electives that I got A+'s in (women's studies, intro to business, crafts lololol and an SAT prep class)</p>

<p>Junior year classes:
AP US History II
Pre-calc Honors
Spanish IV
AP Lang/Comp
AP Macroeconomics
Physics Honors
Independent study on the medieval Middle East and Africa and also origins and development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam along with religious societies and controversial sects of different religions (ex. Opus Dei, Priory of Sion, Illuminati)(Obviously I've read Dan Brown)(basically me reading tons of books about history which is my dream class)</p>

<p>This is what I'm thinking for senior year but not sure yet
AP Lit/Comp
Spanish V
AP Calc (We don't pick AB or BC at my school, they place us in whatever they feel is appropriate)
AP Euro
Independent study on world literatures (basically me reading whatever I want as long as it's classic lit, which I love, so it will be awesome)
AP Gov/Pol
Global Studies Honors or AP Art History.. not sure what yet, or I might take silly electives like women's studies II and abnormal psych. not sure yet.</p>

<p>Note: I'm taking introduction to psychology at my community college this summer... it's like AP psych only I don't have to take the AP test</p>

<p>test scores:
PSAT: 216
-M: 65
-CR: 75
-W:76</p>

<p>SAT II: Chem- 580 LOL super fail... yeah i like didn't know how to do chem so that's what's up, not submitting that one obviously... I plan on taking Lit, Spanish, Math II, US History, and Physics... taking my pick of those scores</p>

<p>EC's
Job since freshman year, not going anywhere
"volunteer" at an elementary school after school for kids who struggle... like a tutoring/homework help session. since freshman year
Habitat for Humanity, Reach 2 Women, Spanish Honor Society. All since sophomore year, officer of Reach 2 Women (we're like a board of officers, we don't do distinct positions. its a comm service group)
It's like all volunteering... I always say I don't have the heart for it but I actually do it and feel good about it. weird</p>

<p>I don't know what else to write. I LOVE history and literally all I do is read books about history, I love classics because it gives such insight into the time period, and I love like history based novels. I'm writing a killer essay I can tell you that I'm already planning it out hahaha</p>

<p>Thanks in advance guys it's really very much appreciated I'm like a nervous wreck about college! ah junior year so scary. Also if you have any tips PLEASE share! Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>What is your home state? With that PSAT score you might be able to make NMF depending on the state. Your reaches are the usual suspects: Harvard, UChicago, Emory, WUStL, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt</p>

<p>BU, Connecticut and Syracuse should be more on the safety side. How much can your family afford for school? Some of these schools don’t offer much financial aid.</p>

3

<p>Your grades almost certainly put Harvard (and most of the other Ivies) out of reach unless your school has unusually strict grading and your rank is way up at the top. Nothing in your ECs jumps out as compensating for your B grades or sub-70/700 scores unless you have a big “hook” you have not mentioned.</p>

<p>One or more of Chicago, Emory, Vanderbilt and WUSTL should be reachable if your grades next year are very strong and your essays are good.</p>

<p>In moving a notch down in selectivity to find match schools, I suggest you look beyond large urban universities (BU, NYU, GWU) to consider small liberal arts colleges as well (especially ones in the USNWR 21-50 range or so). Examples: Bates, Colby, Kenyon, Macalester, Whitman. In my opinion, compared to larger universities in the same range, these schools give you more of the small classes and cohesive community atmosphere you’d find in the Ivies and other top 20 national universities.</p>

4

<p>Erin’s Dad: We’re fine in terms of finances. If we don’t get aid we should be fine. My college fund is solid and I have a job with small but steady income if it’s necessary. I live in New Jersey.</p>

<p>tk: I’m totally aware that Harvard is out of reach, I just think my family would kill me if I didn’t apply. I’ve wanted to go since I was like four-ish. I now realize how insane Harvard sounds and I’m not getting in, etc. My grades have been $h!t, to put it bluntly. I expect them to be significantly better this year seeing as how my mother has just recently been cured of her cancer that she’s had. Lifts a weight off my shoulders. I need to be in if not an urban area than at least a suburban area with immediate, reliable access to a city or city-esque type of place (ex. New Brunswick). I can’t be in the middle of nowhere. It’s just how I am</p>

<p>If you guys know of any schools that are in cities or small cities please do tell, I’m really looking anywhere. good comparative lit and history programs are a MUST. Also if you have any tips/suggestions for junior year/college search/applying/etc please feel free to share!
Thanks everyone, much appreciated</p>

5

<p>tk21769 is a little harsh, I think. Your “B” classes are all honors or APs, and colleges generally prefer that over "A"s in mediocre classes. Your PSAT also looks promising; if you get 2300+ in the actual SAT, I wouldn’t say Harvard or any Ivy college is out of reach.</p>

<p>Please don’t mention Dan Brown in your college essay though. It’s a nice little thriller, but it’s generally seen as only that. And its prose is awful:
[Language</a> Log: The Dan Brown code](<a href=“http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html]Language”>Language Log: The Dan Brown code)</p>

6

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<p>No, they’ve been very good. Maybe not quite good enough for Harvard, but good enough for many excellent schools.</p>

7

<p>Herunar: Ha! I definitely won’t mention Dan Brown in my college essay. Thanks for the heads up. I generally read more… quality(right word?) texts. I just like the historical/informational aspects of his work.</p>

<p>tk: Thanks. I don’t consider my grades to be as good because they aren’t where I want them. I tend to exaggerate, like a lot.</p>

<p>I appreciate all the tips guys thank you!</p>