college list help please??

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have a college list but I have a feeling that NONE of them are safeties for me and maybe just a couple matches, so I need a little help...
I go to a wealthy public hs in Boston suburbs, ranked 2 in the state.
Many people from my school go to highly selective colleges.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.5 unweighted (its kinda low...), school doesn't weight or rank
Also, my school only offers like 5 AP classes and doesn't have honors, just a lot of really challenging and accelerated classes.</p>

<p>SAT I: 2250 (680 Math, 770 Critical Reading, 800 Writing -I'm taking it again in October to raise my math score)
SAT 2s: US History=710
French=770 (I'm retaking it with listening and plan on getting an 800)
Literature=800
APs: US History=4
This spring I plan on taking exams in AP French (def a 5), AP Psychology, AP European History (I am teaching myself because my school doesn't offer it), and maybe I'll take AP English.</p>

<p>-doubled in french and spanish in junior and senior years>>was allowed to skip to honors freshman spanish instead of beginner and first year courses like normal route</p>

<p>I already know that I want to major in some combination of:
-romance languages
-history
-philosophy
-anthropology
and I absolutely LOVE all of them and would be hard pressed to choose!!!
I want to be a historian/anthropologist and write books and be an expert in my field. So a liberal arts education is what I'm after for the most part.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-member of a competitive Ballroom Dance studio team, won first place in an all-New England competition
-voice lessons for 6 years
-participated in school theatre productions
-went on 3-week French exchange homestay sponsored by my school during my sophomore year
-took spanish classes for a month the summer before my junior year
-interned at a reality tv studio in my freshman year
-went on a french immersion program in Quebec for 3 weeks in summer before junior year
-have taken A LOT of acting classes outside of school
-have a talent agent and do acting and modeling on the side
-went to Summer Yale Drama Conservatory this past summer</p>

<p>Clubs/Leadership Positions:
-founder, president of my school's Ballroom Dance Club, 2 years
-founder, president of my school's Book Club, 1 year</p>

<p>Community Service:
I have somewhere between 100 and 200 hours of community service. I volunteered every week of my sophomore year at a local soup kitchen and was promoted to the position of a Coordinator, stopped after a year because the soup kitchen closed down.
-I started a canned food drive single-handedly at my school in my sophomore year in order to donate food to the soup kitchen i volunteered at
-was a leader at freshman orientation in my senior year and also volunteered at other school events like the Senior Citizens' Thanksgiving Dinner every year</p>

<p>Honors/Awards:
-National Merit Semi-Finalist (don't know if I'm a finalist yet)>>PSAT was 223
-French Award, junior year
-National French Exam, 6th in the nation for three years in a row (sadly i never surpassed it)
-hopefully I will win the Kirshner Essay Prize this year, a history essay scholarship prize my school gives to one senior for a history research paper (I'm the only person I know who's doing it and I have been working on this essay for like a year)</p>

<p>My essays are coming along well and my guidance counselor LOVES me and is going to write me a really good recommendation. Also, I come off REALLY well in interviews.</p>

<p>So, considering all this, here is my college list so far:</p>

<p>-Middlebury College (!!!)
-Dartmouth College
-Brown University
-Georgetown University
-Swarthmore College
-Wellesley College
-University of Chicago
-Scripps College (my attempt at a safety)
-College of William and Mary
-Barnard College</p>

<p>Don't laugh, I know they're all hard to get into...my favorites are probably Middlebury and Swarthmore. Some of them are kind of what-the-hell-why-not choices, like Brown and UChicago, because I feel like I would regret it if I didn't try. My school actually has a very high rate of seniors who get accepted at Middlebury because they know our curriculum (especially language departments) is top-notch.
So what do you think are my chances with these? And what safety/match schools would you suggest?</p>

2

<p>If the only reason you have Scripps on there is because you think it is safe, I would just cut it off. You have competitive stats, but it's definitely not a safety.</p>

3

<p>You may also want to take a look at Skidmore, Goucher and Ct College.</p>

4

<p>Middlebury certainly makes sense with your strong interest in languages. Your comment, "I want to be a historian/anthropologist and write books and be an expert in my field. So a liberal arts education is what I'm after for the most part..." makes me wonder why Georgetown and to a lesser degree, Dartmouth and William & Mary are on your list.</p>

<p>Have you considered Smith as a terrific alternative with your interests -- and a little less selective than some of the others on your list?</p>

5

<p>Head a little bit west. Macalester, Oberlin. Kenyon maybe. Carleton.</p>

<p>You are unfortunately competing against many other great students from great schools in the Boston and surrounding area. </p>

<p>What attracts you to Georgetown? Would American University or Catholic university have any of the things that make you interested in DC? </p>

<p>I know the University of Chicago and DePaul are night and day different but DePaul is great and really worthy of consideration as a safety school you could love. You'd get some nice merit aid there, I think.</p>

<p>I see a love of study abroad and a community service orientation. Going out on a limb a bit here, but Concordia College in Morehead could also be a safety for you. It is a cool school. Concordia</a> College, Moorhead, Minn. - Students Become Responsibly Engaged in the World</p>

<p>Check Colleges that Changes Lives or the CTCL web site to skim, looking for another possible safety. Try to pick two colleges that are true safeties for you.</p>

<p>Have you had a frank discussion with your parents about finances? (Do you need a financial safety too? I see you are choosing colleges that offer no merit aid.</p>

<p>Good luck. I think you will get into colleges on your list but this will be a very competitive year and it is good to have a couple of safeties that you would love to attend.</p>

6

<p>Bryn Mawr would be another great alternative...excellent programs in your interest areas, less selective than some schools on your list, bi-co with opportunity to take classes at Haverford (tri-co includes Swat.) Beautiful campus...</p>

7

<p>Maybe I am crazy, but I think that you have a good shot at a number of these places. University of Chicago sounds like a great fit for you. You are engaged in learning, and it shows. Barnard sounds like a great fit, too. You stand out from the resume builders and pre-professionals. Many of these liberal arts schools are probably thrilled when someone applies who is really interested in the liberal arts. U of Rochester would be a reasonable safety. Tulane would be good, and offers merit aid. Bucknell is worth a look. I agree with Kalamazoo, Macalester, Smith, Goucher.</p>