Hello everyone I am a rising senior and I am beginning to formulate my college list. I would love advice or suggestions if anyone has any whatsoever.
Schools (absolutely not a final list):
Tufts University (Potentially ED)
Boston College
Bowdoin College
Bates College
University of Connecticut
Wesleyan University (legacy)
Colgate University
Hamilton College
NYU
University of Richmond
Washington and Lee University
University of Virginia
University of Michigan
Stats:
-SAT I: 2220 (CR 720, Math 700, Writing 800) (may take again)
-SAT II: Have not taken yet. Plan on taking Literature and WH in the Fall but I’m open to suggestions.
-GPA: 3.71 UW. Upward trend. School does not weight or rank.
-School type: Highly competitive, highly ranked public
-Rigor: Two AP courses junior year but numerous honors and advanced courses throughout HS
-Senior year courseload: AP Lit, AP Euro, AP Bio, AP Spanish, precalculus
ECs:
-Founder and Co-President of Model UN
-Board Member of a nonprofit organization
-President of a major statewide book drive that collected over 35,000 books
-Leadership positions on numerous other service projects
-Secretary of Mock Trial Club
-Tutor of high school and middle school students
-National Honor Society member
-Spanish Honor Society member
-Accomplished musician having played at restaurants and private parties
-Internship with Treasurer of nonprofit
-Retail job
Other:
-Very compelling story about a medical issue that affected my performance freshman year. Will be explained by my guidance counselor and potentially by myself in my essay.
-Most likely fantastic recs from great teachers
-Ethnicity: Hispanic
-Gender: Male
-Location: New York
Thank you so much! I can chance back if necessary.
Your ecs are great, as is your sat. Any improvement to your gpa would be beneficial, and make sure they hear your story behind your freshmen year. Write great essays and you have a shot at all this schools. Good luck!
Tufts University (Potentially ED): High Match
Boston College: Match
Bowdoin College: Low reach
Bates College: High match
University of Connecticut: Safety
Wesleyan University (legacy): Match (without legacy would be a high match)
Colgate University: High match
Hamilton College: High match
NYU: Low reach
University of Richmond: Match
Washington and Lee University: Low reach
University of Virginia: Reach
University of Michigan: Low reach
I hope you won’t need too much financial aid if you’re applying to NYU-they’re famously stingy.
@tsm714 What are your requirements for financial aid?
You are a great applicant for two reasons, one is accomplishment and the other is demographic. Hispanic males are the second most underrepresented demographic.
Bowdoin, Bates, Colgate, Hamilton, Wesleyan and Washington & Lee are very similar schools. You are an average to slightly above average applicant which is great. Wesleyan should be your ED or else you will lose the legacy card. If you dont wanna go there that is another issue. Because of your demographic, you will get in more of these schools than the average applicant. Figure RD acceptance rates of 12% - 17% for this group.
Richmond, U Conn you should get accepted easily.
UVA and Michigan because you are OOS who knows. If you need financial aid, forget these two.
The first group, you need to visit and interview to show interest. Bates has a program called Prologue where they pay for the entire 3 day program.
Tufts University (Potentially ED): low reach
Boston College: high match
Bowdoin College: Low reach
Bates College: match
University of Connecticut: Safety
Wesleyan University (legacy): Match
Colgate University: High match
Hamilton College: High match
NYU: match
University of Richmond: Match
Washington and Lee University: high match
University of Virginia: Reach
University of Michigan: Low reach
@BatesParents2019 Thank you so much for your advice! I am fortunate enough to require little to no financial aid whatsoever for my undergraduate education, if that is relevant. Out of curiosity, why would applying RD to Wesleyan make me lose my minority card? Does being a URM somehow decline in significance after ED? Also, I forgot to mention, I am a legacy to the University of Michigan.
I agree with NotVerySmart in terms of matches, reaches, etc. and would also add that as a Hispanic person you may have a little more of an edge than you would get solely from your scores. My HS is in an area with a lot of Hispanic kids and I’ve seen a few with just alright test scores get in to good schools, possibly because of their minority status. Good luck!
Tufts University (Potentially ED): High Match
Boston College: Match
Bowdoin College: Low Reach
Bates College: High Match
University of Connecticut: Safety
Wesleyan University (legacy): Match
Colgate University: Match
Hamilton College: Match
NYU: Match
University of Richmond: Safety
Washington and Lee University: Low Reach
University of Virginia: Low Reach
University of Michigan: Low Reach
You’re definitely a really strong and interesting candidate, no matter where you apply. I would suggest, however, avoiding discussing topics like medical situations or any sort of explanatory circumstance in your essay- assuming you know that your guidance counselor is going to talk about it. Essays a good place to talk about who you are as a person, rather than what you’ve been through. Just a suggestion, though. There are certainly awesome essays that totally ignore that.
Good luck!!
@WellOkay But the thing is, medical situations can BE defining as to whom you are as a person. If you had difficult circumstances, medical or otherwise, it can be a great idea to write about how those experiences shaped you as a person and made you the way you are. Maybe not though, just an idea of mine. Thank you
Tufts University (Potentially ED): Match
Boston College: Low Match
Bowdoin College: High Match
Bates College: Match
University of Connecticut: Low Match
Wesleyan University (legacy): Match
Colgate University: Match
Hamilton College: Match
NYU: Reach- idk if in state helps, but for oos i would call it a reach
University of Richmond: Match
Washington and Lee University: High Match
University of Virginia: Reach because you’re OOS
University of Michigan: Low reach
Everything you have looks good except for your low gpa. Maybe it’ll help if you improve that a little during senior year and apply regular decision?
I am a rising senior and I am beginning to formulate my college list. I would love advice or suggestions if anyone has any whatsoever.