thank you!!! makes a lot of sense thank you for this insight.
Thank you for your kind words!!! Yes, I still like Amherst enough to do well on the supplements. I’m not that into Tufts, but my parents really want me to apply so we’ll see where that goes. Best of luck to your son 
Thank you! Yeah I think NU was a good shot ED, and no regrets no matter the outcome. Both U Colorado and U Wisconsin would be great options! We’ll see how it works out, thank you for all your insight and kind words!
This makes me sad. Is there no mixed race bucket to drop yourself into? You’re incredibly lucky to have a multiracial background and I hope in the future you find ways to celebrate it! I grew up in a multicultural household and have always hated being put in buckets. Good luck in your applications! I wish you all the best!
The common app allows you to select multiple races, but you have to indicate what races they are and my mom preferred I didn’t check off anything. I definitely am appreciative of my multiracial background and celebrate it, just not in college applications it looks like. Thank you so much, really appreciate it!
Bates and Haverford are probably the only targets I see. Your ACT score is very strong (great job!), but your lack of rigor gives me a bit of pause. Not impossible to get into some of these school, just would be a lot easier with more rigor.
The LACs on your list, Amherst, Wes, Tufs etc all place a strong emphasis (from what I have seen) on rigor. If you study thier profiles, heavy IB and AP seems to be a minimum requirement. Scoring well on a one off test is good, but the rigor (and great grades) show work ethic.
I do NOT mean to suggest you do not have a work ethic required, again, you are a solid candidate and you will find YOUR school, but I’m just passing along my observations having gone through this process recently. Best of luck.
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Thank you for your insight and the ACT compliment! Don’t worry, not offended at all by the rigor comment and I know my lack of rigor is the weakest part of my application (it’s something I wish I knew earlier on because maybe I would’ve done honors chem in 10th grade and done 2 APs junior year). I’m definitely content with Bates and Haverford being targets. Thanks for all of your help and hope everything is going well for you!
I strongly advise against thinking of Haverford and Bates as targets, especially if you’re applying RD, both schools admitted around 17.8% last year. Have you looked at the Common Data Sets for these schools? Both schools take at least 50% of their class during ED1 and ED2. Both schools get plenty of applications from NYC private and selective public schools, so even if you’re one of the few students from your school applying to Haverford and Bates, don’t assume that because you’re applying from an NYC private school you have an edge (maybe a slight edge for Haverford if you attend Friends Seminary or Brooklyn Friends).
Here’s a profile of the class of 2025 at Haverford
Scroll down to see the numbers for Bates class of 2025
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I think CU is a definite safety. If you liked CU, you might also like UVM, and you would have a decent shot at their honors college with your stats. I went to CU long ago, and I have a ds who is a sophomore at UVM. Similar vibes, although I prefer UVMs smaller size if I had a do-over.
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“I think I always had high hopes for UMich but may not be counting on it at this point… but the application is in so we may as well just wait and see.”
Is UM your second choice after NU, did you apply EA to any other college? Would your RD list be considerably smaller if you were say deferred from NU but accepted into UM or UNC or Wisconsin? In terms of chances, I think other posters have done a pretty good job on that, especially around how your HS has done with these schools and your GC’s advice. Good luck!
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That’s true. I don’t go to either 2 of those schools. Thank you for linking the insight and I’ll reconsider.
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Thank you so much! I was going to apply to UVM but my list was getting kind of long and my parents prefer CU because they like the area and they know people who went there. Maybe I’ll reconsider UVM though. Thank you!
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I applied EA to UM, UNC, Wisconsin, CU boulder, and Macalester. UM is definitely a second choice (and UNC). Unfortunately, I probably won’t hear back from UM, UNC, or CU Boulder until late January, well after RD is due. While I would cut some schools off my list for RD if admitted to Macalester or Wisconsin, my mom wants me to “keep my options open”. The only difference getting deferred from NU would be maybe not applying ED2. Regardless, if I do ED2, I may pull it depending on if I get into UM or UNC. Thank you!
I’m a parent of a current applicant, not one of the experienced folks on here. But from where I sit (kid is at a large, well-regarded public HS in the DC suburbs), your list is very very reachy. I’m a Tufts alum but per the Common Data Set and my son’s school’s Naviance, it’s completely out-of-reach for my kid who has a 3.8uwGPA and 4.5wGPA. The middle 50% unweighted GPA for Tufts admits from my son’s HS is 3.88 to 4.0. It’s essentially the same for Northwestern.
I think if you look carefully at the data, you’re going to find numbers close to that for Amherst, and not that much lower for Wesleyan, WUSTL, and Colby. If your HS has a lot of pull at these schools, maybe your prospects are better. But if I were you, I’d start looking more widely and diversifying your list. Remember any school that accepts less than 20% of applicants is a reach for anyone - most of the SLACS on your list are in that category.
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Yeah, far be it from me to discourage anybody from applying to Wesleyan but, if you are doing so because you think it’s full of a lot of artsy kids and easy “gut” courses, you’re headed for a fall. You will need a B+ average just to be considered for its signature film studies major and some of its STEM departments, like astronomy and physics, compete with the biggest universities in the country for awards and prizes.
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Understood- my school does have a decent amount of pull at some of these schools, but I do agree my list is too reach heavy. Hoping that Wisconsin works out but exploring other options may be smart. Best of luck to your child and thank you for your input!
Your list is reach heavy but that’s ok if you have just one school that you know you’ll get into, can afford, and would be perfectly happy at. And you have a school on the list you’ll get into…more than one.
You can only go to one so in that sense the list is fine.
If you want to add another safety, say a SUNY or since you have CU, an Arizona or to be closer a Pitt or northeast flagship where the early deadline hasn’t passed, go ahead and add one. You can likely even find schools that have no additional essay requirements. And if you Google niche + no app fees you can find schools with no app fees, extra essays and where you can self report your test. So it’s free and not much a time commitment other than researching to find if a school could potentially work for you. So you can use up your 20 slots.
If that gives you comfort it’s worth it. You might get in somewhere, get a great offer, decide to visit and love it. Like a Dayton or Rhodes as examples.
But I do think your list, while reach heavy, works assuming you would absolutely be happy at, for example, CU.
good luck.
I think this can really backfire on you. Reason is that Common App asks some really nosy questions like: parents full name, place of birth, names of colleges, workplace and title. So basically the colleges will be able to figure out that your mom is Asian.
And they’ll be left with trying to figure out why you’re hiding this fact. This just muddies things. I would disclose your race and be proud of it. If you’re going to get rejected, its not because your mom is Asian. Rejection rate from these highly selective schools are high regardless of race.
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Honestly, Tufts is a reach for everyone…I applied ED to tufts with a 33 on my ACT, 12 dual enrollment courses, 12 honors classes 2 APs, a 3.97 GPA, and rlly good essays and still probably won’t get in. I do not think your schedule is rigorous enough for tufts
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