Chance Me for
Middlebury College
Swarthmore College
Pomona College
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College
Colgate College
Haverford College
Wesleyan College
Colorado College
Junior in Albuquerque New Mexico
Attend a top 50 independent school in the nation
Male
Objective:
ACT: 34 (one sitting)
GPA (at my school):3.9 UW and 4.24 W (we calculate it weirdly 4.0 for any A, 3.7 for B+, 3.3 for B, 3.1 for B- etc… then I am given a 0.02 boost for every semester of advanced/AP class) So far (12 semesters of APs and 6 semesters of advanced classes)
SAT MAT II: 750
Going to take SAT Bio (have a 98 in AP Bio so hopefully it goes well)
AP Scholar: Chem 3 World 5 Calc AB 5
Going to take Bio, Spanish Language, and Calc BC this year
Senior Course Load: AP Phys C, AP Econ, Advanced Logic and Probability, Advanced Chorus (lol), Advanced English, Humanities
Subjective:
Varsity Soccer this year JV Captain past 2 years
Mock trial varsity past 3 years; won state once and got 4th at nationals; just got 2nd at state this year 
Sung in Santa Fe Opera 2 years in a row
Made highschool allstate singing past two years
Sing in Chorus and extracurricular singing group
Chess team captain: won chess state past three years
Heavily involved in Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Met one on one with my state senators and represantatives multiple times to talk about pancreatic cancer
Appeared on my local news channel on TV talking about pancreatic cancer
Going to DC to lobby for PanCan on capitol hill in front of Congress
That’s about all there is to me guys!!!
Also, if you think I could get merit aid at any of the schools on the list could you note that. Thanks for your help!!!
I think you have a very good chanve everywhere although Pomona might be hard bc of its low acceptance rate…chance back?
I am curious what you would say about pancreatic cancer. I thought that was one of the cancers that is fast growing, and typically too far gone before they find it (ie, before it causes any symptoms), and too difficult to test for in the absence of symptoms.
If you dream is to go to a top liberal arts college, don’t forget to have a plan B, particularly if cost is an issue (it is very hard to predict whether you will get into a top LAC and if so whether there will be financial aid).
@DadTwoGirls What we talk about at the meetings about Pancreatic Cancer is the budget being devoted to Pancreatic Cancer research (lab work) as well as money towards awareness. I have met with my senators to ensure that a sufficient amount of money is being put into pancreatic cancer and cancers in general. During advocacy day on capitol hill, we talk to congress about the dangers of pancreatic cancer, improvements in screening tests, and the amount of budget that needs to be devoted in the following year.
I am guessing few if any of those colleges have merit aid. Yes, you are on target, but they are all reaches, though
Colgate is a match. Have you got other match and safety schools? I certainly would not be happy with your list as is.
My twin DD’s are going through acceptances now and with very similar profiles they are getting mixed results so definitely need a true safety or two; in today’s world every one of these is basically a reach for everyone - agree that Colorado and Colgate may be targets, albeit very different schools
As long as the other parts of your app are strong, (recs, essay, supplements) Colby, Colgate and Colorado College should be matches. You should however look for a true safety.
The other school - you certainly have a good shot, but because of their selectivity, you can’t bank on any of them. You may be a good candidate for ED
I don’t agree with the very lovely @wisteria100 :-). All those colleges except Colgate have acceptance rates at or below 20% (Haverford is 21%), which puts them in the “reach for all” category, IMO. Holistic admissions means you can’t assume your high stats will give you enough of a boost to call them matches. Haverford is looking for a very particular kind of student. You need matches and safeties, for sure.
Agree as I am going through it now with twin DD’s that both have single sitting 34’s/super score 35’s, multiple 750-800 SAT subject test scores and the same UW/W GPA’s as OP. Luckily, they have so far been accepted to Bates, Colby and Kenyon, waitlisted at Middlebury, but denied at Swarthmore. Not sure about other RD admission results yet, but Colby’s acceptance rate will likely be only 15% this year - it’s tough out there…
I think the fact that you are male and from New Mexico you have a good chance of getting into at least one of LACs. That being said, I agree all except Colgate are reaches (CC may be a match if you don’t need financial aid, they are very need aware in admissions). You need to add some matches and safeties (look at schools like Dickinson, Lawrence, St. Lawrence) and/or apply early decision if you have a clear 1st choice and NPC shows it is affordable.
I’m going to agree with the other posters. You look like a great applicant, but these LACs can be quirky when it comes to admissions. They will look carefully at your essays, ECs, etc. In the case of all the kids I know who had similar lists, it was very unpredictable which colleges accepted them and which denied them (and it didn’t just go in the order of acceptance percentages). It’s a great list, but please add some less selective LACs just in case.
@Lindagaf - Thank you for the ‘lovely’ shout out! I feel the same about you
Interesting about Colgate - while they do admit a higher % (possibly because the school enrolls more students than most of the schools on the list) their mid 50 for the ACTis actually higher than Colby and Colorado College.
@mocktrialer5 has an ACT score in the top 25% for the 3 schools I mentioned, which is why I think he is a match, though not a sure thing. Checking his school’s naviance could give some good perspective. Naviance from my school would suggest he would have excellent odds at Colby and Colgate (i don’t have any Colorado info)
@Lindagaf @wisteria100 Can you please ban Russian Whistleblower; he recently joined and is posting horrible comments on multiple people’s posts. Thank you
Anybody can have good chances to be on top if he or she is determined to try. There’s no harm in doing your best. I’m sure anyone could do it.
I can’t speak to all on your list, but my D17 is going to be going to Colorado College. Her GPA matches yours and her ACT was 32, and her ECs weren’t quite as flashy as yours but they were strong. I think you have an excellent future wherever you land, because you’re obviously smart and driven, and any school would be lucky to have you. One thing you may want to look into is which of these schools are the best “fits” for you.
Pomona is basically a crapshoot, by the way. If you like the Claremont McKenna consortium, again look into which is the best fit.
@Chembiodad , I am biased in these matters, as D attends Bates and was also accepted to Kenyon, but Bates is the best of those three choices:-) D didn’t apply to Colby, too preppy in her opinion!
OP, not sure who Russian Whistlblower is, but please flag the offending comments and the mods will deal with it. Best of luck to you.
@Lindagaf, thx for the feedback. My DD’s have felt the same about Bates - one is a xc/track recruit and she really likes the coaches. Colgate acceptances just came in today so still have to wait out the next 10 days, but glad they have great choices
Thanks @Chembiodad @Lindagaf for the great feedback. This isn’t my complete list of colleges; I was just wondering what my chances were at top liberal arts colleges. I am going to apply to a few of these but I am also going to try to get lots of merit money from lower ranked liberal arts schools like Rhodes College and American and Lehigh