<p>I posted this in the chances forum. Would appreciate any input from any of you here also. </p>
<p>Junior, Competitive public school, </p>
<p>Stats:
GPA UW: 3.9
GPA W: 4.4
Rank: Top 5%
SAT: 2210 (720 CR, 760 M, 730 W)
SAT IIs: US History and Physics in May and Math in June
National Merit Scholarship qualified (11)</p>
<p>APs:
10th grade- AP Euro History - 5, Comp Science BC - 5
11th grade- AP Physics , AP US History, AP Macroeconomics, AP English
12th grade- going to take AP Chemistry, AP Govt, AP Psychology, AP Philosophy, AP Calculus, </p>
<p>EC:
Summer job for two summers as teacher assistant for 4 - 5 year old special education kids.</p>
<p>Debate Team - 9 - 12 - Speaking awards
NHS - 11 and 12 - Committee leadership
Community Service Club - Leadership Position
Intramurals - basketball and football
Table tennis Club
Piano - 5 years</p>
<p>Volunteer at Recreational Center for disabled people - at various events
Volunteer at hospital for 4 hours a week. - over 100 hours</p>
<p>Interested schools - Premed</p>
<p>Columbia
Brown
University of Chicago
Northwestern
Michigan Ann Arbor
Case Western
Madison, Wisconsin
UIUC </p>
<p>I believe you posted this thread twice on the parent's forum by mistake. </p>
<p>I think you already know what I am about to tell you but here goes anyways. You have a range of schools, which is good. Have you had a chance to see the actual campuses? Sometimes this makes a big difference in helping to select a school for application or admission. Would you want to get one more "safety" where merit money is likely? And has he decided that LAC's aren't for him?</p>
<p>I was interested to see how many of your schools are "different". For example, U Chicago and Columbia are known for their strong core, while Brown is known for its open curriculum. My son applied to both Chicago and Brown, so I certainly don't think this precludes applications there. Just make sure he understands the different nature of the schools. Northwestern and Chicago are also very different schools--both excellent, but the atmosphere on campus is quite different. As long as he knows and understands this, it's no problem.</p>
<p>If he applies to U Chicago, have him put a lot of time in on the essays. It can make a difference. I'm sure you know it's tough to get into Brown and Columbia (and Chicago and Northwestern aren't easy!). My son's scores, gpa, and rank were a smidgeon higher than yours. He was accepted at Chicago and waitlisted at Brown (where he is a legacy). That's not to say that kids with comparable or lower scores didn't make it in, but make sure he understands that a rejection or two are just part of the game.</p>
<p>Have you decided to apply anywhere ED or EA? You can get your Michigan app in early. It's always nice to have an early admit. Good luck to you in this crazy process.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding. I probably posted it twice by mistake. My computer gave me an error message so I assumed it had not posted.</p>
<p>Yes I know what you are saying and I totally agree.</p>
<p>We have visited 5 of the 8 schools listed and are going to visit the rest this summer. I think my son understands the difference. He is still undecided about what he prefers. He is not particularly drawn to any one school so I don't think he is going to apply ED. </p>
<p>We had a friend's child who applied to 6 ivies, and two other schools he did not particularly want to attend. He was rejected at all the ivies and ended up a little disappointed. </p>
<p>I think my son understands that admision to the highly selective schools is not certain. He does not want to even check out the LACs. </p>
<p>What other school would you suggest where he stands a chance for some merit aid?</p>
<p>At the top of this forum there are two sticky threads that discuss merit awards at various schools. They are quite long, because as you can imagine, this is a subject that is of interest to many people. Take into consideration that your son will have to be at the top of the applicant pool at a school to get merit aid. Some colleges that you might check out that are not LAC's are: BU, Brandeis, URochester, Tulane, UMiami, Syracuse, Northeastern, Clemson, UArizona & Indiana University.</p>
<p>Since he is not sure what kind of school he prefers, I strongly suggest schools with early rolling admissions such as Michigan. Having an acceptance from Michigan will lighten anxieties a great deal. It will cut down on the number of applications required to secure at least one admission. I believe students apply as early as September and receive a reply within a few weeks. Other state schools may also have rolling admissions. Check their websites.</p>
<p>Columbia - major reach
Brown - major reach
University of Chicago - reach (write good essay, probably not worth it for premed)
Northwestern - reach
Michigan Ann Arbor - in
Case Western - in with scholarship (around 15K)
Madison, Wisconsin - in
UIUC - in</p>
<p>I would add Emory, Vanderbilt and WustL as reach-matches.</p>
<p>I'm a parent of an 11th grade daughter with statistics almost identical to your son's (but different interests, so my kid and yours are not direct competitors :) ).</p>
<p>If your son can handle it psychologically, he might want to consider applying to one of the "major reach" schools ED because ED applicants have a greater chance of being admitted than RD applicants do (at Columbia, something like 22% of ED applicants get admitted, as compared to 8% of RD -- one heck of a difference). Kids at your son's and my daughter's level need all the help they can get if they're applying to places like Columbia, where (let's face it) they do not stand out in the crowd.</p>
<p>Of course, applying ED would commit your son to attending the school if admitted, and some kids are not ready to do that early in the year. But if he's willing to make the commitment, it might be a good idea to take advantage of ED even if he doesn't have a true first choice. My daughter intends to do so.</p>
<p>Edited to add: When it comes to ED, there's also one more thing to think about. If your son's highest priority is to avoid having to go to a state school, a really good case could be made for not applying to a school at the Columbia level of selectivity at all. Instead, he could choose to apply to a school at the Northwestern level of selectivity ED. Your son would be a very competitive candidate for Northwestern ED. But of course, that means giving up all hope of Columbia or Brown. It's a hard thing for a kid to contemplate doing this, but some personality types will do it.</p>
<p>Wow, I'm not sure Columbia and Brown are "major reaches" - reaches, for sure, but not unrealistic. Marian's point about ED strategy is well taken.
You mentioned merit aid, have you run financial numbers for Mich, UIUC and Wis (is he in-state for one of these?). If he needs merit aid to attend a private school, then he needs to broaden the scope of his list - either geographically by going South or West: or size wise because boys have a small advantage at smaller schools, and more rural schools also may be more likely to give aid, pr se;ectivity wise. </p>
<p>If he truly doesn't care too much about the location or atmosphere of the school, and he's definitely pre-med, save the money and go to one of the state schools, in fact, I would recommend looking at some second tier state schools. He might save even more money, and for med school admissions it helps to be a big fish in the pond - try to find one that either has an honors college or gives some type of perks (early registration, for example) to students with AP credits. Look at some out of region honors colleges - the one at Ole Miss, for example is quite good, and so is the one at the Univ of Al, although he probably won't qualify for computer honors.</p>
<p>Try to get him to keep an open mind, particularly if finances are flexible. I'm assuming he is a junior, they change a lot, develop all sorts of opinions and criteria, when the process changes from something theoretical to actually having to fill out forms and write essays - it is not uncommon for them to go from "I'm going to apply to 10 schools" to "No way I'm writing another essay!". you gotta have the alternatives ready.</p>
<p>For premed, you must be able to work with profs and not get lost in the herd. If you pretty sure your son will stand out even in a pack of grad students, ignore what I have to say next. Which is: look at a couple of LAC's where he would be desirable admissions material (male - and at a location where he would provide geographical diversity). If money is a concern at all, there are many excellent colleges that provide merit aid.</p>