<p>Hello all:
I know I posted a "chance me" thread a couple months ago, but I am looking at some different schools and I just got my SAT scores back.
I intend to double-major in Political Science/Government and History. My academic information is as follows:
I go to a large public school and rank somewhere in the top 3%.
Cumulative GPA: 3.95
I have taken 2 AP classes (European History & AP English Language & Composition) as the school I attended in 9th & 10th grade did not offer honors or AP classes, but I will take 5 more this year (AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Environmental Science, AP English Literature & Composition).
I have also taken 3 college courses (British History (taken at UW-Madison), Calculus and Analytic Geometry (taken at a local community college), National Intelligence and Security (taken at American University)) and I will take two more this year at UW-Madison under my school district's dual-enrollment program (Intro to African History & Wars and Religion).
US History SAT II: 800; Literature SAT II: 740
AP US History (4) (Self-studied, taken in 9th grade), AP European History (5), AP English Language & Composition (5)
ACT 32 (English, 35; Math, 30; Reading 36; Science 27) (I plan on retaking it in October)
SAT: 2270 (Critical Reading: 800; Math: 750; Writing: 720)
I have good, but not outstanding extracurriculars except for my independent research of history and volunteering with a political campaign and I have about 600 volunteer hours.
I am applying to the following colleges
Amherst College
Boston College (Applied EA)
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Carleton College
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Georgetown University (Applied EA)
Grinnell College
Harvard College
Macalester College
Oberlin College
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
University of Chicago (Applied EA)
University of Wisconsin at Madison
Vassar College
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University
Thank you!</p>
<p>All Ivy leagues: reach
Amherst, Stanford, and Williams: reach
Oberlin, Grinnell, Vassar: very high match-low reach
Swarthmore, Wesleyan: reach</p>
<p>I thought Grinnell, at least, would be a match.</p>
<p>I think BC, Vassar and Wesleyan are all matches. Maybe Georgetown and Bowdoin as well.</p>
<p>@Cicero1 </p>
<p>Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Dartmouth College
Swarthmore College
Vassar College
Wesleyan University
Williams College</p>
<p>Two years ago, I applied and got into all of these schools, and your stats are definitely better than mine where back then! I ended up matriculating at Dartmouth. Scores and everything are great, but honestly all of them are reaches for everyone–even the best of the best! What you have to do is somehow set yourself apart in your essays. Talk about something that you are crazy passionate about! You’re in the running, now you have to stand out. </p>
<p>GOOD LUCK!! </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, @xoxo14!
Anyone else?</p>
<p>Amherst College- not sure
Boston College (Applied EA) - not sure
Bowdoin College - not sure
Brown University - reach
Carleton College - not sure
Columbia University - high reach
Dartmouth College - reach
Georgetown University (Applied EA) - low reach
Grinnell College - not sure
Harvard College - high reach
Macalester College- not sure
Oberlin College - not sure
Stanford University - high reach
Swarthmore College - reach
University of Chicago (Applied EA) - low reach
University of Wisconsin at Madison - not sure
Vassar College - not sure
Wesleyan University - not sure
Williams College - reach
Yale University - high reach’</p>
<p>apply to less colleges</p>
<p>any safety? </p>
<p>APPLY TO AS MANY COLLEGES AS YOU CAN! It’s the best way to increase your chances of an acceptance. </p>
<p>^ what every college wants you to think.</p>
<p>I disagree. It worked for me. I applied to 16 schools. 4 safeties and the rest were matches and reaches. </p>
<p>The OP doesn’t have any safety, he/she needs to put one or two</p>
<p>I thought UW-Madison would be a safety as I am in-state and I’ve known a lot of people who got in with 25-30 ACTs and 3.5 GPAs, etc. </p>
<p>Sorry I didn’t see that one.</p>
<p>Amherst College = REACH
Boston College (Applied EA) = MATCH
Bowdoin College = REACH
Brown University = REACH
Carleton College = REACH
Columbia University = REACH
Dartmouth College = REACH
Georgetown University (Applied EA) = REACH
Grinnell College = MATCH
Harvard College = REACH
Macalester College = MATCH
Oberlin College = MATCH
Stanford University = REACH
Swarthmore College = REACH
University of Chicago (Applied EA) = REACH
University of Wisconsin at Madison )= SAFETY, likely Honors College
Vassar College = REACH
Wesleyan University = REACH
Williams College = REACH
Yale University = REACH</p>
<p>Your list is too reach-heavy. You either need to remove a few reaches or to add a few matches. Would you be happy attending UWisconsin if all other choices fell through? I would recommend you add one safety just in case (Lawrence? Beloit? Earlham? St Olaf?) so that, in the worst-case scenario, you have choice in the Spring.</p>
<p>Maybe 1/4 of your list is target or safety… don’t apply to 20 schools of which more than 3/4 are reaches/high targets</p>
<p>You’re a competitive candidate at all those schools with a high GPA, strong test scores, and course rigor.</p>
<p>I also disagree with most of the comments. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a list that is “reach-heavy”. You are clearly an ambitious student and those schools are not unrealistic options for you. I would be surprised if you didn’t get into at least one of your targets/reaches.</p>
<p>Also you’re going to spending a lot of money just to apply to all of these schools, send test scores, send transcripts, and other fees… in the end, you’ll only be attending one school next fall, so cut the list down to schools that you really want to go to/can see yourself going to </p>
<p>Oh, and I just got a 35 on the ACT (35 English, 32 Math, 36 Reading, 35 Science).</p>
<p>^I really disagree with Jimtheboy - this is a shortsighted strategy, that only works for full pay students. If you need financial aid, you need to apply widely. And the more you need, the more widely you need to apply in order to compare packages. </p>
<p>CONGRATULATIONS on that 35, it’s really impressive, especially since the Reading and Science sections have become so much harder in the past year or so.</p>