Chance Me- Rising Senior, 3.9 UW GPA, 1500 SAT, 33 ACT, Poli-Sci Major for East Coast Liberal Arts

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US Domestic
  • California
  • Private Christian High School
  • White Male
  • Duel Canadian Citizen

Intended Major(s)
Political Science with a minor in Religious Studies

GPA and Test Scores

  • 3.9 Unweighted
  • 4.22 Weighted
  • 33 ACT (Recently Retook)
  • 1500 SAT

Coursework
My school offers a lot of Science and Math AP classes which I’m not as interested in. I took as many classes as possible in subjects I find more interesting.
Sophomore

  • AP World History (5)

Junior

  • AP US History (Expected 5)
  • AP Language and Composition (Expected 5)
  • AP Statistics (Expected 3)
  • French IV
  • 4 Total Bible Classes

Senior

  • AP Literature and Composition
  • AP Human Geography
  • AP Calculus AB
  • AP Government

Awards

  • NHS
  • CSF Gold Seal Bearer
  • Boys and Girls State Delegate
  • Principal’s Honor Roll
  • Academic Letter
  • First Degree Blackbelt
  • Eagle Scout

Extracurriculars

  • Applied Martial Arts
  • Game Master in Boy Scouts
  • CrossSwords (Armed Combat combined with Logic, Rhetoric, and Philosophy)
  • Cofounded and Co-Captain of Debate Team
  • ASB Representative
  • Editor of School Newspaper
  • Founder and Head of Philosophy Club
  • Helped homeschool younger sister in History, English, and Math

Essays/LORs/Other
Solid essay, great LOR

Cost Constraints / Budget
Up to about 80k per year

Schools
(According to CollegeVine)

  • Safety
    Elon University
    Gettysburg
    Union College
  • Target
    Lafayette
    Franklin and Marshall
  • Hard Target
    Bucknell
    Richmond
    William and Mary
    Davidson
  • Reach
    Bates
    Wake Forest
    Tulane
    Colgate
    Cornell
    Vanderbilt
    Princeton
    Dartmouth
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How do you get to 4.2 ? What is your weighting system ?

You need to have your parents run the net price calculator of your reach schools. Many are or will be well over $80k a year. If you have no need, then you need to redo your list to get under $80k. And that won’t be hard.

Dartmouth is $88K for this upcoming year so will be $90K+ when you go.

Colgate $84K

Wake $88K, etc.

I’d love to see an AP science but not if it’s too much a stretch.

How did you pick this list coming from CA? If you’re at a private HS, your guidance counselor can likely give you the best guess.

Some of the response would be related to cost/need - if you’re full need, a need aware school like a Lafayette might turn you down. If not, you’d get in, etc.

So that’s the first thing.

But I’ll assume full pay. It’s my guess - but again, your GC would be best, that your safeties and targets would all happen as would Bucknell.

The hard targets are iffys and the reaches are reaches.

All that said, if you were to ED to Bates or Wake Forest and I don’t know that you want to, Bates would be a likely and Wake probably as well - and full pay helps at both - but again, Wake is over budget as is Bates.

So the list is eclectic - I see rural, I see city, etc.

And given the major - you’ll find many “like” schools with a bit less prestige at a much lower figure.

Or put it this way - if Gettysburg ends up $45K and Wake $88K, which are you choosing?

If the answer is Gettysburg, and you are a full pay student, I’d re arrange the entirety of the list, removing many and adding new ones, using that same test as an example. Gettysburg vs. Cornell, Gettysburg vs. Princeton, etc.

Hope that helps.

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No Fordham? I realize that is not a liberal arts college, but seems to have much of what you’re looking for and it would be an easy target with your stats - you’d probably even get some decent merit aid. Or maybe you’re not looking for such an urban environment?

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The title of the post indicates that the OP is a rising senior.

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What sciences have you taken? I understand it’s not your favorite, but selective colleges want kids that have taken the highest possible rigor.

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Possibly not interested in a Catholic university

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My bad.

I see Sophomore above the AP courses and it was separated so I got confused.

Thanks - will edit my response for them.

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No Washington and Lee?

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Holy Cross, Worcester MA. Excellent for Poli Sci. Getting to be a tough admit with 21% overall acceptance rate and 16% regular decision.

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I’ve taken Physics, Bio, and Chem

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4.2 out of 5.0. 7 classes a semester and no AP’s Freshman year dragged my GPA down. The costs are relatively flexible, and I’m not going to get any need-based aid anywhere. I haven’t decided where I want to go early decision, but I’ll be visiting some schools later this summer to see. The list is quite eclectic, as I went through a few college books and narrowed down the ones I liked to these 17. I’m willing to pay up for some extra prestige, as salaries coming out of places like Princeton are significantly higher than those out of Gettysburg.

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I looked at Holy Cross, but the drinking culture was a little too much for me.

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I looked at Washington and Lee, but it didn’t stand out too much for me as a reach.

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Not a big fan of the Bronx

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Throwing in Boston College, they would probably have a good program for Poli Sci + religious studies. /thoughtful

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Based on your intended major, this site might offer you further ideas:

Worh respect to East Coast LACs, you may want to consider additional NESCACs.

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I would take out Princeton, and consider adding in Georgetown in its place.

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Nothing more than at any other college on your list.

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So 4.2 out of 4.0 right ? So AP gets a point?

What is your end goal ? Grad school ? Wall street ? Yea Princeton has higher outcomes $ wise but it depends on what you plan to do. If you plan to work for an NGO or go to law school, it likely won’t matter. Talk to your folks about this - very important they understand by the time you go it will be near $400k at some on your list vs you can go to a small LAC for $160-180k. Or small public for less - so you are not blindsided later. Many parents can afford but don’t want to afford. And kids find out later because they never had a concrete discussion. You said $80k - it came from somewhere.

You picked these out of a book but b4 you go to campus and look back east, you might visit a few campuses near home. Go to large, medium, small. Some kids think they want small but then find them limiting.

My kid loved WUSTL til he found Purdue and later Alabama.

My daughter loved bigger, til she found smaller and in a city.

Just make sure that you optimize your trip. If you find out you don’t like small, you may want to add a UVA or UNC as an example.

Btw someone mentioned W&L because of the Johnson Scholarship. Take a look

Thanks

Ps you don’t need to ED but you can.

Pps - you have many schools on your list near others not on your list. For travel efficiency, you might want to find some neighboring schools to visit so you can get more in.

Ppps - name a college short of a byu or liberty without drinking and drugs. When you go to schools, especially with a wealthy student body, you’ll find that. But if it’s not for you, you’ll avoid it. Ps - you know Tulane is year after year rated amongst the top party schools in America.

You have a lot of frigid schools - make sure you are aware of weather too

Best of luck.

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I, too, would guess you’re likely to be admitted to your safeties, targets, and Bucknell. The others would be reaches. Some of the schools, like Richmond and Tulane, definitely pay attention to how much interest an applicant shows. I’ve read several accounts of “top” students being declined in favor of students with lower stats but lots of demonstrated interest.

For someone who has concerns about the amount of drinking on campus/amongst the student body, I would say that there are a number of schools on your list that I find surprising. There will be drinking at most colleges in the U.S., but some have a reputation for having more of it than others, and I have strong suspicions that several of the schools on your list would be heavier than others. Of course, it’s also possible to avoid it at any college.

Have you lived in Canada or are you just a dual citizen who’s always been in California? If the latter, you might want to think about adding a school in a warmer location, like Furman (SC), which seems as though it might have a vibe similar to what you’re looking for.

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