Chances + Suggestions

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

So, the main reason I’m making this thread is because my parents and friends are convinced I should apply to Ivy League schools (and the likes), but I don’t think I can get in (I promise I’m not trolling, although I understand if you choose not to believe that since this is the internet after all). I’m also looking for more school suggestions, as I feel there are a lot I haven’t considered. My plan for college is to double major in math and economics.

Schools I’m really looking at are:
UW, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Tulane, UMiami, UMich-Ann Arbor, Boston College, and Tufts.
If I were to apply to Ivys+, the two I’m leaning towards are Brown and Penn, if that helps.

As for my stats, I’m a WA state resident attending a public high school. I’ve completed 3 AP courses, and am taking 3 more this (senior) year. This year I will be taking AP Calc BC. Almost all of my other academic classes have been honors/college credit (Fresh. English and World History being the exception).

GPA: 4.0 UW, hs does not weight
Class rank: 1 (based solely on GPA)
SAT: 1550 composite, 740 RW, 770 Math, only took once
Letters of Rec: should be good, one is from a teacher who I had Fresh and Junior year. We talked a lot and really connected. Second is from soph teacher, who knew I tutored one of her students for her class last year and really likes me.

ECs are where it gets really iffy.
I’ve played the cello for seven years, being the principal in my hs orch junior and (presumably) senior year. I am also a member of the top orch in a community student-based orchestra organization (joined soph year)
I was the Secretary of my school’s FBLA soph year and President Junior year. This year I will probably be just a member, but might be Treasurer.
I also have 50+ hours of community service, most from the same place.

With my ECs being what they are, I really doubt my acceptance to an Ivy+. If I’m really off base here, I do apologize for wasting your time.

Aside from just chancing me, I would also like to hear some suggestions for other schools I should consider. I’d prefer more of a medium-sized school in a small-ish urban environment. Even though I know UW isn’t either of those things, I visited and didn’t hate it, and with it being the great school that it is, and with me only having to pay in-state tuition, I’d be remiss if I didn’t apply. I also feel like I need a good reason to pass up UW, especially to move across the country (although I guess there isn’t really a difference between CA and East Coast in regards to getting to/from since I’d fly either way…).

Thank you for reading this! I can provide any more info as requested since I’m sure I forgot something.

2

You sound pretty realistic… your parents probably see the 4.0 and the great SAT and think you have a good Ivy shot and they aren’t wrong that your odds are better than most unhooked kids but they probably don’t realize that that still means your odds are still really low and it’s not worth your time to do the application unless you are really interested yourself. Your list sounds like a good mix of target and reach schools.
If you want a couple of other suggestions, what about University of Rochester or Case Western Reserve - both are medium sized universities in smaller cities and have good math departments.

3

@washugrad Thank you so much for replying! It’s nice to hear someone say what I’ve been feeling, and for saying my list looks good; I’ve been stressing a lot over that.

Also, not that it really matters, but since I can’ t go back and edit, I thought I should come down here and point out that my SAT is 1510, not 1550. The section scores are correct, I just can’t add apparently. So much for being a math major…

4

@Brandon109 Additional schools to consider include Harvey Mudd, Gonzaga, Wazzu, and Reed.

5

You have the stats for all of your schools, but Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Tulane, UMich-Ann Arbor, Boston College, and Tufts are very tough even for students such as you, with excellent credentials. As for smallish urban environments, Wake Forest is often an overlap with Tulane. While Emory is not in a smallish urban environment, it has long been an overlap with Tulane as well. If you like BC, why not BU? For a little bit of breathing room chance-wise, consider Elon, Pfizer, Lewis and Clark. If you like U of Michigan, why not U of Wisconsin?

Great job in high school! You have a great future ahead of you!

6

Are your parents will and able to pay upwards to $80k a year? Would they do so for any school or just for those schools like the Ivies that some feel are the only ones worth that price? Is your family eligible for financial aid and have you run NPCs on various schools to see what they cost? Are your parents aware of all of these things like, there are no merit scholarships at Ivies and a lot of very selective schools ? Also, that you can’t believe a lot of the hype out there about not having to worry about costs?

Assuming that money is absolutely no object, then start looking for schools you think you’ll like, that have courses and programs that you might interest you.

Nail down an absolute safety for you, preferably early. UW might do just fine. Your list of schools looks great to me. Do you have a particular favorite and if you do, how would it go with your parents if you wanted to forego the Ivy try and enhance your chances at say Pomona or CMC by applying ED to a school?

Is your aversion to any school in the Ivy Sports League because of a fear of failure if you do not get accepted? Would you go to Harvard, Princeton , Yale, Duke, Rice, Stanford, Chicago, MIT, CalTech if offered the opportunity? Is it the effort and the emotions it might evoke that makes you want to avoid applying to these schools?

No, you are not a shoo in for these most selective schools. But you do have a fighting chance. I think it’s wise not too get overly invested in things that have a high chance of not happening at the cost of not getting to know more realistic options, but to avoid altogether for no good reason makes little sense either. Pomona is right up there in selectivity , you know, and it really doesn’t fit your medium size, urban environment req which is about all you have in terms of what you want in a school. Neither does UM.

As more reaches, Emory , CMU, Wash U SL, Vanderbilt and John’s Hopkins meet your criterion. Moving to target schools like GW, Villanova, Drexel, uMiami, Rochester, Brandeis, Case Western

Tons of Likely schools , though UW as ahard core safety is hard to beat or any EA or rolling school could suffice. You have excellent stats and I’ve no doubt most schools would love to have you. It’s not unreasonable for you to give the most selective schools a shot and surprising you are not.

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@NJDad68 Thank you for the kind words!

@cptofthehouse I’m really lucky in that my parents don’t really care where I go and just want me to be happy. But they still think that I have a shot at Ivy+ and that it’s stupid I just write them all of rn, thoughts you echoed so maybe I should listen. I guess my aversion is really just “fear of failure” like you said; I don’t think I have a shot so I don’t want to get my hopes up and be disappointed when the inevitable happens. But I’m also not in love with any of the schools and would be applying mostly just because of their name. I guess I should just do some more research and find some more reach schools that I like.

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Reed might be a good candidate school for you. And nothing wrong with UDub as your ‘safety’ school.

Sounds like you might want a smaller school environment, meaning that an LAC is a good fit for you. Whitman and Lewis and Clark are close to you and should be considered. Occidental in California might be good for you as well.

9

You would be an excellent candidate for Washington’s Honors Program.

https://honors.uw.edu/
2019 Incoming Freshmen (middle 50%):
High school GPA: 3.87-3.99
SAT: 1380-1530
ACT: 32-35
https://honors.uw.edu/apply/directors-updates/
Congratulations and good luck!

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As a parent of a WashU kid, I wouldn’t recommend the school for a potential math major. Heard some bad things about the department and the quality of the teaching.

As I mentioned in another post, expand your search to LACs.