Chance Me :) - Elite LAC's, WashU, & more!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi! Just like all of us here, I’ve tossed and turned the idea of me going to an elite school for years now. Doubting whether I’m good enough, comparing stats, etc…all that fun stuff! I would love your BRUTALLY HONEST opinion, PLEASE!

Schools I’m interested in: Amherst College, Williams, Hamilton, Scripps, Colby, Vassar, Swarthmore, Washington University (STL), Emory, UVA (guarantee - multiple connections on admissions board…unfortunately I don’t love it)

I’ve considered ED-ing to Amherst…if this is problematic please let me know
(I really want to ED somewhere, out of laziness so I can only apply to 1 school AND to increase my chances)

I’D LOVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS THAT MIGHT SEEM LIKE A GOOD FIT :slight_smile:

School Type: Public, ~400 students
Location: New Jersey
Race/Gender: white female, dual citizenship (sounds insignificant but Amherst actually told me it’s a hook for them)
Prospective Major: Political Science, Government, Law + Jurisprudence, Urban Planning (offered only @ Vassar)
GPA: N/A yet but I know it’s a low 4 (I’m guessing 4.2)
Rank: N/A
ACT: reasonably a 33 (still testing)
SAT: reasonably a 1400 (still testing)
SAT II: 730 on Ame Hist, don’t even know if that’s worth sending…?

Honors (7):
Bio H
Lit H
World Hist H
Ame Lit H
Ame Hist H
Econ H
French H

AP’s (7):
APCSP (got a 5 on exam)
APUSH (score N/A)
AP Psych (score N/A)
AP Lang (score N/A)
(Senior Year: AP Lit, AP Human Geography, AP World)

EC’s/positions/awards:
French Honors Society
National Honors Society
Model United Nations (secretary, won award @ conference)
French Club (president)
Debate Team (co-founder, VP, won 1st place @ comp)
Student Government (class secretary, executive treasurer)
Elementary school mentor program
~100 hrs of community service for local girls’ organization
Won a New York Times writing contest, article published in
Worked for presidential campaigns 2x
Working on an urban planning initiative/referendum (reform a local road)

Please be honest w/ me about chances of getting into the schools I listed (+ feel free to suggest others)! If you’ve read up to this point, thank you! :slight_smile:

2

Your list appears to be well chosen for your interests and not beyond that appropriate for your accomplishments. Simply be aware of the low acceptance rates at most of these colleges. Schools with rates below ~25% can be challenging admits even for students such as yourself. Those with microscopic rates obviously can be even tougher.

Though I don’t have access to its percentile equivalent, your SAT II score seems worthy of submission.

You might consider Bates, Macalester, Kenyon and Bryn Mawr for their strong government programs, similarity to your current choices and somewhat more lenient admission thresholds.

Though I could see you perhaps adjusting your list, you seem to be on a nice track overall.

3

If a 33/1400 are actual test scores, they would be low for most of the schools on your list.

American and George Washington might be matches for a Political Science major.

How many years of lab sciences classes have you taken? Even for a public policy/political science major you will need at least 3 years of lab sciences for the higher ranked schools.

730 on USH is an OK score although 750+ on subject tests is preferred. It wouldn’t make or break your applications if you send it.

4

@Ibzeda: I would like to offer you a tip. In the future do not write “out of laziness”; instead, write “in the interests of efficiency”.

5

Without actual standardized test scores (ACT or SAT), and no class rank & guessing at your GPA, it is a bit challenging to offer even a guess at your chances of admission.

It would be interesting to know what you don’t like about the University of Virginia.

6

I’m kind of surprised no one has raised the issue of cost yet. @ibzeda, how much is your family able and willing to pay and/or how much financial aid will you be seeking based on your family’s EFC?