Costs need to stay below $35k a year, merit aid might be necessary (at least $5k, so achievable at the matches but not as likely at the reaches). All safeties are affordable.
Nothing colder than Pitt, please, if you’re suggesting additions. (Medical issue)
Current List:
Vanderbilt
Duke
Emory
Tulane
Wake Forest
University of Miami
Pitt (in-state)
Temple
Alabama
Potential Major: Bio (?) Considering premed
Also interested in studying computer science and music
Academics:
New SAT: 1590
Old SAT: 2260, only sending when required
National Merit: most likely (224 SI)
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
Class Rank: 1/271, may end in 2nd
Most rigorous course load
ECs:
State president of a large CTSO, several years as a state officer, multiple national and state top-three awards (main EC)
Also play classical piano, run sound for stage crew, and participate in a service organization (50 service hr/year) and NHS (15 hr/yr)
My Questions: Is this a balanced list? Are there any schools I should consider adding / removing?
If you like Pitt then you are fine. You can get your acceptance early since it has rolling admissions and cost for instate is about 35K a year full pay.
@guitar321 I like Michigan I just don’t think I can handle the winters! I’ll look into UVA but I’m not sure how well the finances will work OOS. Thanks for the suggestions though!
@Dolemite I do like Pitt a lot, and we’re visiting soon to be sure. A lot of friends with similar profiles have gotten a lot of merit aid, so I’m not counting on it but it would be nice.
Sorry for the double post, but I have a follow up question. Would the addition of Chapel Hill make sense, since I don’t have a lot of very high reaches? Or would 10 schools be too many?
You could add Chapel Hill, OP, if you really like the school; however, I think it would still be in the high match/low reach range. 10 schools is a perfect number though! I really think you have a solid list here though - you’ve clearly done your homework. That being said, because of the need for merit/financial aid, applying early decision to one of these schools would be unwise. You just have to pray everything works out for the best!