GPA : 3.8 UW, Top 20% Weighted
SAT : 1570
SAT Math II : 770
SAT Literature: 770
SAT US History: 750
Hooks : African American
Income: Middle Class, 60k
ECs:
Freelance Writer, over 60 articles written a month and worked with 4 local businesses
Content Marketing Company Owner, 2.5k in monthly revenue
Affiliate Marketer, raised 3k in revenue for clients
Charity Volunteer, raised 4k a month(so far, a total of 30k)
Cofounder of Coding Club, held a dozen competitions
Hospital Clinical Report Editor for a UNV branch
Internship with a Professor at a university
Active Portfolio Manager, 160% returns [Thinking of removing this]
Algorithmic Trader, developed low beta, high alpha algorithms
Volunteer, Shelved Books at Public Library
I’m fairly confident that my essays will be above average, as I enjoy writing and feel like I could make a good piece. My LORs would most likely be average, since I know my teachers well but I feel it’s not likely to expect more.
Here are the schools I’m aiming for:
Northeastern(Early Action)
Villanova(Early Action)
William and Mary(Regular Decision)
University of Virginia(Early Action)
University of Michigan(Ealy Action)
Washington University in St.Louis(Regular Decision)
Rutgers(In state, Early Action)
Which of these things schools do you think I’d be able to get into? While my SAT is high, my GPA and ECs are mediocre. Thanks in advance!
Only in CC would a 3.8 GPA be considered medioce. URM with high standardized test scores/decent grades-good chances at most of your schools. WashU might be a low reach among your schools.
You didn’t specify a potential major but University of Chicago might be a reach school to consider given your grades/demographics. Try to shoot for some more reach schools.
On what planet are your EC’s mediocre? I don’t think your stats would disqualify you for any school, though it depends a little bit on course rigor and resultant weighting, since you only gave us your unweighted GPA. What courses have you taken?
These top public flagships are a great fit admissions-wise, but financially speaking, elite publics will tend to be expensive and offer limited financial aid to an out of state student, unless there are particular named scholarships you can secure (which is possible). If your family income is really $60K, you will qualify for significant need-based aid at high-end private U’s, and they might end up being more affordable than UVA/UMich/W&M.
The important question is, what do you want to study, and in what kind of setting? Just to give an example… UChicago has been mentioned. If you wanted to study heavily academic economic theory at one of the top econ schools, this would be great. But if you want something that’s more overtly business-focused, then something from the array of undergraduate majors at Wharton/UPenn might be a better fit https://undergrad.wharton.upenn.edu/concentrations/ Tepper/CMU could also be a good fit, although their aid can be a little stingier than some others. Cornell could be a great choice for either econ or business - you’d just need to decide which school/program within Cornell to apply to. USC could be a great option too.
But I’m really just guessing at your academic interests based on your EC’s. What are you looking for, major-wise and vibe-wise? Do you want a deeply intellectual/abstract/theoretical “life-of-the-mind” type experience, or more of an incubator for action, entrepreneurship, etc? (Your post hints at the latter, but that may not tell the whole story.) For all we know at this point, you might enjoy running businesses but still want to major in French Literature. Drill down a little more on what you are looking for and you’ll get great suggestions here.
The reason I feel my ECs are mediocre is because 1) they’re not related to school, while many top applicants have recognition(head of many clubs, debate champions, etc), and 2) my ECs are not “lite” version of what others do( 100k Businesses, millions raised for charity, etc). My UW GPA is a 4.25/5.33, which qualifies me as top 20%.
I have taken the most rigorous course load possible: All honors courses, and all APs when they became available to me in Junior Year. This means AP Calc AB, AP Physics, AP Micro/Macro, AP Lang, AP US History.
While my income is middle class, my father fortunately is enrolled in a program where his children(my brother and I) will have 80% of college paid for. This means that cost wise, most colleges are reasonable.
I’d like to study Economics, as that’s something I’m interested in, but I also want to avoid preprofessional schools. I’d like to have a more classical, liberal arts type education if possible. I would love an intellectual vibe over a professional one.
uuuhhh… i think you stand a great chance at all of these schools. i, quite frankly, think you have the stats considered to be ivy league+ (vanderbilt, duke, emory, rice, etc.) material. shoot for those reach schools. don’t underestimate yourself. you’re a terrific candidate.
Okay, that helps a lot. But it doesn’t really explain your preliminary list. Northeastern is extremely pre-professional. Villanova tends that way too. WashU is a mix - you could find what you want there, but why WashU in particular? The public U’s on your list make sense but the private ones seem not to fit the “classical liberal arts” profile.
Here is a list of the top 20 undergraduate programs for producing eventual PhD’s in economics:
Swarthmore
Williams
Reed
Macalester
Carleton
Amherst
Grinnell
Wellesley
Pomona
Wesleyan
CalTech
Centre
Princeton
Whitman
Davidson
Knox
Haverford
Ohio Wesleyan
MIT
Kalamazoo College
Even if you were only to pick from that list, you’d have no trouble finding everything from high-reaches to safeties.
Reed and Macalester are comfortable low-matches for you, yet highly fantastic, highly-intellectual schools. Grinnell, Carleton, Wesleyan and Haverford are more competitive but still matches, and also have very intellectual vibes. Swarthmore, Pomona, Williams, and Amherst are super-selective but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have a shot - I think you’d have a very good shot. The thing that makes these top schools super-hard to get into is that once you pass the first filter, they still have five or six or eight qualified applicants for every spot. But that’s the phase where the racial-diversity hook helps the most. It’s great that you’re not cocky about your admissions chances, but don’t sell yourself short - a lot of tippy-top colleges would want you. (I wouldn’t even 100% rule out your getting into MIT, and studying econ there would be amazing.)
Other great schools not on that list - UChicago, Cornell, Tufts, Brandeis, and perhaps Claremont McKenna (in the Claremont Consortium with Pomona, and particularly known for econ, but with a somewhat different vibe that you’d have to assess for yourself). And Stanford is a super long shot but I wouldn’t count you out - they love entrepreneurs.
Speaking of which, don’t worry about having the EC’s you have instead of the standard school-based stuff. It’s not only fine, it’s distinctive and impressive.
Thanks! I’ve considered these top schools, but I’ve always pretty much treated them as rejections. This is mostly because the common data set of most top schools says that something like 90% of admitted students are in the top 10%, which i’m not there. I also have legacy at Princeton, but I’m not terribly hopeful. Thanks for the list, I appreciate it!
I haven’t completely ruled them out. I’ll apply early to Princeton due to legacy, and I’ll apply to Yale since thats my top choice, but I’ll consider applying to other Ivies as well. Thanks for the suggestion!
Don’t get too carried away with your college list. Otherwise, you’re going to end up with a bunch of rejections or a bunch of acceptances to colleges you can’t afford. Start with cost. Ivy leagues are a fairly safe “financial” bet. They’re good about meeting financial need if you can get in. If you can afford the college, then apply. If you can’t, see if you can get it paired with a scholarship. If not, scratch it off your list. I can tell you that you would qualify for a near or full tuition scholarship at Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, TCU, and Baylor.