Chance My Kid Please

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Trying to build a list of target schools but interested in the chances of what my son likes so far. He would like to major in chemistry and/or planetary/space sciences. He eventually would like to be an Astrochemist.

He is a junior this year.
GPA - 3.72 unweighted, 4.0 weighted
ACT - 35
PSAT - 1480 (not sure if will take SAT also)

Current classes - AP English 11, AP US Hist, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, Physics, Directing, Tech Theater, Independent Study
Senior Yr. classes - English 12, AP Gov, Dual Enrolled Multivariable Calc, AP Physics, Chemistry TA, Directing, Tech Theater

EC - Works a part time job at a local bakery, Swim instructor, Lettered Varsity Swimming, 3 time All Star Swimmer, Summer swim team competitor for last 9 years, 2 time Junior Olympic Water Polo finisher, director of 3+ high school plays, nominated for Cappies 2 times for sound director in theater, set director and stage manager for many high school theater shows, singer in a band that has produced an album, songwriter, won Best Delegate for Media at Harvard Model Congress, Works tech (sound, lights etc) for local theater companies. I am sure there are more but that is all I can think of right now.

Schools he is interested in applying to (Resident of Virginia):
MIT
Brown
Columbia
UC Berkeley
Tufts
U Colorado Boulder
U Rochester
UC Santa Cruz
UC San Diego
Wash U @ St. Louis
Case Western
Virginia Tech

Any help is appreciated as well as any other school suggestions. Thanks!

2

His list is both expensive and reach-heavy. Have you run the net price calculator for each of these schools, and you’re comfortable with the costs?

A few others that are less selective might be
Purdue - planetary science major
ASU - school of earth and space exploration offers a few different paths
Arizona State - has a planetary science minor to combine with any STEM major

3

UCs are going to be expensive for OOS and there is no financial aid. GPA is calculated differently-only AP/IB/DE classes from 10th-11th grades earn extra GPA weighting.

I would take out the 3 UCs and maybe add Emory, Rice, and Vanderbilt. The cost will be slightly more, but the educational quality is better.

UCSC is an odd choice for somebody from Virginia. The school is going to be culturally different from what your family may be used to. It had a reputation for being the UC where potheads used to go.

The UW GPA is slightly low for Ivies/MIT but not that bad. My son got into WashU last year with about the same UW but higher weighted GPA.

For planetary/space sciences, the University of Arizona is supposed to be very good and there is a likliehood for financial aid for NMSF/NMF.

4

I’m from San Francisco so I get the UCSC reputation but it actually has one of the best Space Science programs in the country. My son is very much a “hippie” and loves the west coast and the northeast. UCSC is a safety school for him, I think.
He really doesn’t want to go to school in the south, basically anywhere south of VA, so he is not interested in Rice, Vanderbilt or Emory (I tried!). I will bring up U of Arizona & Purdue, thanks!
Regarding cost, since he is only applying to one in state school, we have accepted that the cost of college is going to be huge anywhere he goes. We have been saving since he was born, so luckily we can do this.

5

i think that your son has excellent ECs, and with that ACT score he definitely has good chances at a majority of those schools. the GPA needs to go up, and your son needs to start doing things that are chemistry-aligned, or even science aligned. his ECs are great in individual substance but lacking in direction

6

oops - I meant ASU and U of Arizona!

7

Boulder is not that selective so he should have no problem getting in there with those stats. However definitely give some thought to Colorado’s pot culture if you end up getting serious about that campus. Berkeley has stratospheric expectations but his 35 does put him in contention there, especially if his 3.72 GPA includes no Cs. For the holistic admissions offices, his ECs, although commendable, don’t have anything to do with his stated career or academic interests so consider having him add a summer experience that supports that career interest. Looking at his list, you would think he wants to study theater. I was told by a professor friend of mine that admissions offices like when a kid has a paying job, especially a customer-facing one, since that’s actually become rather uncommon among applicants to selective schools these days. So that’s an asset. I’ve heard that WashU tilts heavily toward its early applicants – might want to look into that more if he gets serious about that school. He’s done well – best of luck!

8

Theatre experience would be an asset at a liberal arts college where they want multi-dimensional kids. Chemistry would be solid at any number of LACs with merit aid. It is much harder to find active space research on campus, though. He could do NASA internships over the summer.