College Admission for top tier schools for a somewhat average student.

Applying to College
41

You’re from Texas, right? Are there any state schools on your list? You indicated that you need financial aid, so the first thing you have to do is find a couple of safeties (schools you’re sure to get into, can afford, and would be happy to attend). These schools usually have admit rates closer to ~40% than ~10%.

How much can your parents afford to pay? You won’t be able to get enough outside scholarships to pay for tuition, room, and board. Colleges determine need and many will subtract the amount of outside scholarships from the amount of your need and reduce their grants by that amount. For example, say they determine your need is $20k/year and offer you a $10k scholarship (most don’t meet need) and you get an $8k outside scholarship. They’ll subtract the $8k from the $20k and your new calculated need is only $12k. Because your need is less, they’ll reduce your $10k grant – maybe by a few thousand or maybe by the whole $8k – so your net cost won’t change.

If your parents can afford the apps, having a couple match and reach schools is fine. Just make sure to line up your safeties first.

42

There are so many great colleges/unis you could attend that you would find a great fit with fantastic job opportunities. I think what most folks are trying to explain is that somehow you came up with a list that is not a good fit for you.

Let’s just say your unweighted GPA is 3.2 by the end of this year. Senior year grades are not reported when you apply. Let’s just say when you take the SAT this spring you get an 1150.

For the colleges you are considering:

Princeton, for example, (only accepts 7% of all applicants) and total enrollment is 1,319 freshman.

Of those that are accepted, here is where their unweighted GPA falls:

3.00-3.24: 1% (13 kids)
3.25-3.49: 3% (39 kids)
3.50-3.74: 8% (105 kids)
3.75-4.00: 88% (1161 kids)

The average reading SAT score is 730 and the average math SAT score is 750. (Total 1480)

Remember the lower GPA % are often athletes. Also, out of the 1319 new freshman, they try to fill about 50/50 male/female, which lowers your chances above by half.

Then they are looking for kids with specific hooks or skills, etc. etc.

This is the way it works and why everyone is warning you to be realistic. I could give you similar stats for all of the schools on your list.

Also, Imperial College of London - you have to have 3 AP tests with scores of 5. Are you on track to have that completed by the application deadline of Jan 15, 2018?

It’s fine to apply to one or two reach schools, but there is a lot of money, effort, extra essays for each school you apply to, so I think the general message is to find schools that really are matches, have the type of campus you would like: urban versus suburban or rural, small or large class sizes, something that is affordable.

Ask your parents what they are willing to pay each year, because that will help your list as well. There’s no point in apply to any match or reach schools that are not affordable so that takes some research as well.

Take a look at the list Dusty Feathers provided, some great options there! You will certainly have plenty of job opportunities from this list!

I have no doubt there is a terrific college waiting out there for you, you just need to be open to finding it!

43

@Fishnlines29 Also this, from the P web page:

%applicants by GPA range

Below 3.5: 2.3% accepted
(And obviously, the lower the dip under 3.5, the slimmer.)

What post 41 shows, smack in front of us, is that 88% of kids at P are going to be tippy top performers, ready for the higher level classes and expectations. You’ll be sitting next to kids who did knock themselves out in hs, did learn at that top level, and have already been using that knowledge you have yet to master. In engineering, they’ll have multiple top math and sci classes behind them, many will have taken it further, with college level math/sci behind them (beyond AP.) Plus the relevant experiences outside the classroom.

Tippy top adcoms don’t choose based on one’s “hopes” or promises, nor, “I want to.” You have to be ready to hit the ground running. They have to see it, in front of them, today.

OP has much to learn about how this works. Being able to face this and process it would be a mature step.

44

Even IQ tests can’t test intelligence and can be prepared for. What’s more, psychometricians haven’t really settled on a definition of intelligence. If we can’t really form a consensus definition of something, how can we possibly claim to test for it?