Attend semi-prestigious private high school (ranked within the top 50 on niche)
White gal
Dad went to Emory, Mom to UMich
Intended Major(s): Environmental Science, Econ, CS, Sociology, Anthropology (not 100% sure, probably going to apply one of the less competitive majors)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.86/4
Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.26/4
Class Rank: N/A
ACT/SAT Scores: 34 Superscore
Coursework
School Doesn’t offer APs (0 )
Taken as many honors classes as possible
Awards
1 national scholarship
4 school academic related awards
Extracurriculars
Keeping it vague!!
JV basketball (captain)
Varsity Lacrosse and Volleyball
Saxophone in band
Volunteering (200+ hours)
Retail job (shout out to Tillly’s)
Online business (5K profits)
Free STEM summer program at T20
Girls Who Code: Summer Immersion Program
Environmental Activism - school leadership role as well relating to this
School magazine (Lead editor)
Assistant Researcher --2 week research project; data utilized by govt.
Essays/LORs/Other
LORs - I don’t really know… probably avg. to slightly above agv. My english teacher (5-8/10) a bit quiet in class but strong writer, Math teacher (7-10/10) loves me!
For essays I haven’t finished them all, common app pretty solidly drafted and supps that I DO have done are pretty FIRE.
Cost Constraints / Budget
My NPC has been incredibly varied across different schools. Some, like a couple T20s give so much aid, and for others I’m full pay.
Schools
Brown University ED?
Dartmouth College ED?
University of Chicago EA
Duke University
Northeastern EA
Northwestern
Tufts
Boston College
University of Richmond EA
Syracuse
UMASS Amherst EA
PLEASE suggest schools, I want to max out my common app (20), I would like any safeties, targets, and reaches. My favorite schools rn are Brown and Dsartomouth (maybe will ED to one?). Also chance me!!! Would I have a good shot EDing??
Your LORs aren’t about are you a good student. If you’re asking a teacher, they should know you. They should know what you do out of class.
The schools know if you’re a good student by your grades. They want to know about you - your traits, characteristics, what you like to do, etc…
It seems odd that some schools would give so much but others full pay. Yes, aid will vary but it shouldn’t by $40 or $50K per school. Not sure the amounts you are saying but perhaps your family isn’t filling out the NPCs accurately.
I think each school on your list is possible but then doesn’t mean probable.
What do you like about these schools - there are some differences.
And what is your budget - for auto merit purposes?
Ps your school’s college counselor should have some guidance for you based on past students.
How much can your parents pay a year for college for you? Would your parents’ income and assets keep you from getting much, if any, financial aid? Because if the answer to this is that they cannot contribute enough to close the gap, you can put in a thousand applications, but you will be going to UMass Amherst (a very good school).
You have a ton of reaches, none of which are likely to take you. You will get into Richmond, Syracuse, and UMass Amherst. Would you choose Richmond and Syracuse over UMass? If no, then don’t bother applying to them, cause you’re gonna get into UMass. For the rest of them, sure, throw in applications, but don’t hold your breath, although I do think that you might get into Northeastern and Boston College. You’ll only get into Tufts if you show tremendous interest, manage to convince them that they are your first choice, and since the way to do that is to apply ED, and you’re not, you’re gonna have trouble convincing them that you’ll enroll there if they accept you. Tufts is hyper-focused on yield.
If your family can afford the Net Price Calculator number for Dartmouth (and you’re absolutely sure you’re entering the family financials correctly), then I do think that you have a possible shot at Dartmouth ED, probably not at Brown, even ED.
You pay for each application, so it’s not as if the Common App is an all you can apply buffet, up to 20 schools, unless you’ve qualified for an app fee waiver. If you don’t, then you really should only apply to schools that you want to go to, that you have a shot at getting in. If you do qualify for a fee waiver, then your whole app game should be focused on the private schools that would be likely to give you so much fin aid that it would be cheaper for you to go to a private school than to UMass Amherst.
At colleges where major matters for admission, changing into the more competitive major after enrolling may mean another competitive admission process.
But can you afford full pay? If not, what can you afford? Did the NPC results for the schools you are considering ED for show affordability?
At many colleges, students do not apply for a particular major at all, of course. However, if your range of interests is truly this broad, you may want to consider schools with especially flexible curricula, such as Amherst, Hamilton, Smith College, Grinnell and Brown University (already on your list). To combine some of your interests, perhaps consider a major in public policy, with an emphasis on environmental issues.
Your current list seems reach heavy to me. While I think you stand a decent chance of getting into a reach, if you do not (including because the financial aid package isn’t good enough), i would focus on adding safeties you like. Maybe a school that would give you something different than U Mass so you can ultimately pick the one with the vibe that feels most right.
I am going to throw out a name for consideration: Ursinus in Pennsylvania. It offers all the majors you want, is on The Colleges That Change Lives list, and often shows up on Best Value lists.
I know an Ursinus grad who was accepted to a PhD program at an Ivy.
If that school doesn’t appeal, maybe you can suggest size, geographic location, or other characteristics you especially want and people can suggest less selective/less expensive options that meet the criteria.
As others have said, this is a very reach-heavy list. I think you’ll get into UMASS Amherst, and Syracuse - they’re targets. All of the rest are reaches to high reaches. The ones you’re considering for ED are high reaches, making them unlikely even in the ED rounds. But, you might have a decent shot at some of your less high reaches if you were willing to ED - for example, I think you’d have a very decent chance at BC if you ED, but I suspect you wouldn’t get in regular decision. BC admitted a very large chunk of last year’s class in the ED rounds, and was rejecting/waitlisting many many students in the RD rounds with 4.0 UW, and 1500+ SAT.
If you would be completely happy at UMASS Amherst or Syracuse, then you can definitely go with this list, knowing that most of the schools on the list are very unlikely, either because they are very high reaches, or because they’re lower reaches that are very hard to get into during the RD rounds. But, if you would want to have more options, then you may want to leave off some of the super high reaches (Brown, Dartmouth, University of Chicago, Duke, Northwestern) unless one of them is your dream school, in which case take your shot, and add in some more targets and lower reaches. Based on this list, maybe Rochester, UVM, Wake Forest, William & Mary, and Elon would be good additions. You also may want to consider ED’ing to a more attainable reach (only if you really love the school, of course).
While I agree with you generally, the student should check SCOIR or Naviance at their school to see how students from their school do at the various colleges. For example, our public HS in MA sends a lot of kids to BC. Last year 40% of kids who applied were accepted. Plenty of kids got in during RD (about 30% acceptance). No one with a 1500+ SAT was denied. Those statistics are much higher than BC’s published acceptance rate. I’m assuming part of it is that they know the school and know kids are well prepared - they also get a high yield (60% among RD applicants) so I’d guess it makes them more comfortable admitting a lot of kids RD because they know they have a strong likelihood of attending. That being said, I think this student will be accepted to Syracuse, UMass and probably Northeastern (but probably to NUin or an alternative campus). I think they also have a reasonable chance at BC if their school has a history of sending kids there.
