<p>I'm currently a rising senior and I have my basic college list planned out but I was really hoping to get more opinions whether I should apply or my chances of getting in! Also for my reaches, which schools have a greater early decision rate?</p>
<p>Asian American Female - Class of 2015
9th grade- International School in Asia
10, 11, 12 grade- Public Californian School
GPA: 3.7 unweighted, 3.9 weighted- Honor Roll every semester
ACT: I'm taking it in the fall but my first time practice test was a 29; preparing for it now
Subject Test: USH- currently waiting for score, preparing to take two more in the fall
Sports: JV & Varsity Soccer
Clubs: Amnesty International, Model United Nations (Logistics coordinator), French Club (going to be president my sr yr)
Awards: Ranked 2nd in National French Contest (10th gr), Received Outstanding French award (11t gr), Honorary Mention at MUN Conference (11th gr), Athletic Award (10, 11 gr), Presidential Community Service Award
Courseload: IGCSE (9th gr), French Honors (10th gr), AP Lang & USH (11th gr), AP gov, french, lit (going to take as a senior) - Currently waiting for AP scores from jr year
Extra Curricular: Peer Tutor (11th gr), Private Volunteer Tutor for elementary kids (10th&11th gr), Interning at French Culture center (currently)</p>
<p>Reaches:
Emory
Notre Dame
Tufts
Washington U
Wesleyan
UC Berkeley
Georgetown
Boston College
(I'm not applying to all of these, please help simplify!:)</p>
<p>Match:
Boston U
NYU
George Washington U
American U
Bryn Mawr
UCSB
UC Davis</p>
<p>Safeties:
Rutgers U
SMC (community college)
UC Irvine, Riverside</p>
<p>Please tell me what you think. It would mean SO much to me. Thank you !</p>
<p>What are you interested in studying?</p>
<p>@shawnspencer International Relations! </p>
<p>Well you have a wide list, so I hope you know a little bit about each college. One thing that stands out is that Bryn Mawr is an all girls school. It also only has “international studies” which is a relatively new program (started in 2012) Another is the campus style. Schools like NYU, BU, and GW will not have enclosed campuses or much green space, and is really “in the city” so to speak. Is that okay to you? Some may like it because it gives them easy access to the city, but others prefer and actual campus. </p>
<p>What are your cost limitations? Those 3 schools I just mentioned also happen to be very expensive and don’t give out a whole alot of aid. Do you have financial safeties? If not definitely look into them. Notre Dame is also a cathlic school with alot of school spirit, so that’s also something to consider. Georgetown and BC also have some religious affiliations, but it by no means dominates the school. Do you prefer urban? rural? suburban? When you say Washington University, I assume you’re referring to the one in St. Louis</p>
<p>Are you considered in state for UC schools? If so they could be a good financial match, but otherwise you should definitely get a sense of what your family can pay and you can calculate net cost from there.</p>
<p>I am considered in state and cost wise, obviously I’d apply for financial aid but the cost isn’t a priority fortunately. I actually visited NYU and Notre Dame and honestly, both urban and suburban appeal to me. I’ve lived in both atmospheres and I’ve enjoyed both so much. I’m planning on visiting more of these campuses during the fall. I have a relative who goes to Bryn Mawr and have visited there a couple of times and definitely am interested. Which schools would you say are the best matches ? Thank you for your input!</p>
<p>What about size? Does that matter to you? I know you mentioned that cost doesn’t matter a huge deal, but it should definitely play a factor into a decision.</p>
<p>Visiting is one of the best ways to eliminate colleges off the list, but costs aside, look into the relative strengths of the programs. As I mentioned, the courses in international studies and international relations are different. Out of the schools you mentioned, I know Tufts, Georgetown, and GW’s Elliot are well known for IR. But yeah, look into those departments as well.</p>
<p>GW has one of the best International Relations/Studies program in the country. Keep that on your list if you are really serious about studying IR! Also, your stats are in line with GW 
Good luck!!</p>
<p>You won’t have any standardized test scores until the fall,but you will need to have a pretty good idea of where you want to apply before then. That is a bit of a dilemma. You are obviously bright, but you have listed some exceedingly selective schools on your list. Georgetown is probably the most illustrious Foreign Service School in the country. It is also highly competitive. If your test scores are excellent, you might streamline the process by applying there Early Decision. I think you should plan to eliminate either Wesleyan or Washington University once you receive your scores. Washington U is known for weighing test scores very heavily, so disappointing results will hurt you there. I’d say applying with anything under a 30 is probably a waste of time. Wesleyan is going “test-optional” next year, and it will undoubtedly experience a significant increase in applications. If your test scores are strong enough for consideration at some other schools on your list (ie. in the 30s), you could drop Wesleyan from your list. I think you should also consider Occidental as a match: they offer a semester at the UN, and have a very high percentage of students studying abroad. </p>
<p>I’m aiming for 32-34 and I’ve been preparing for a couple of weeks now. Do you know which schools don’t weigh test scores as heavily? besides Wesleyan? </p>
<p>I know that all of those reach schools are very difficult to get into. Which one’s the most realistic? </p>
<p>Also, do you think I have pretty good chances for Boston Uni and American Uni ? </p>
<p>Nobody can chance you until you have scores. You should also calculate your UC-weighted GPA, if it is not the 3.9 you quoted above. That is the problem you have right now. No college will base its decision on a practice score, or the score you are aiming for, and nobody on CC should try to predict without that essential information. I’d say that you have a pretty solid chance at American’s regular College of Letters & Science, but its International Service school might be more selective: let’s call L & S a match, for now (until we know ACT score), and IS a high-match. You should research the admissions data for International Service, if you’re interested. That can be difficult, because some universities only publish aggregate statistics, which aren’t broken down by division. I think that BU is probably a match, but how strong a match will again depend on your scores. Anything below a 30 ACT would probably put Tufts out of reach, as well as Washington U. I would remove WUSTL from your list unless you really hit a grand-slam on your ACT: only 25% of their accepted students scored under 32 on the ACT. Here’s a list of U.S. test-optional colleges; just bear in mind that the most prestigious among them are also highly competitive and might require additional application materials (e.g. graded papers, extra essays, etc.): <a href=“ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest”>http://fairtest.org/university/optional</a></p>