College List - Need help with safeties & matches!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I think I'm pretty darn good at picking reaches because that's all I have so far.</p>

<p>Here are some stats:</p>

<p>Senior in the fall
Male / Asian (Korean)
Arizona / Large public school
Most rigorous courseload
GPA: 4.0 UW/4.7 W
Rank: 1/~550
SAT I: 2290 (720 CR, 770 M, 800 W) - retaking in October
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 US History, 750 Physics
Notable Awards/Distinctions: Will be National AP Scholar & National Merit Semifinalist. Nothing major.
Major ECs: Taekwondo (1st degree, few gold medals in freshman year), Piano (haven't really competed so nothing to show for it), Church (lots of youth group stuff, missions trips, pianist, volunteering, etc.), NHS/LHS/MHS, leadership positions in clubs (couple of small awards for Sci Olympiad and Decathlon).</p>

<p>I'm thinking of going into biomedical engineering, or some other engineering, or biology. I don't really know what I want to do, but at this point, I'm leaning toward the medical field.</p>

<p>Current list:</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale (possibly SCEA?)
Stanford
Columbia (SEAS)
Dartmouth
Northwestern (sister goes here... sort of mandatory)
Johns Hopkins
Cornell
Brown
Berkeley
U of A (major safety; I would hate to go in-state.)</p>

<p>I realize this list is incredibly random (urban vs. rural, big vs. small, cold vs. hot), but I really don't have a preference (or I'm indecisive). If I had to choose, I'd probably say urban, small to mid-sized, don't care about greek life or partying, don't care about weather, and not fond of LACs. I will be applying for financial aid, but I don't think money is an issue (my parents are willing to do anything). Visiting is not possible at this point, other than Northwestern to help sister move in. I guess what I'm looking for is a respectable, out-of-state safety school (one is really all you need, right?) and a few matches. Oh, and I definitely need to shorten my reach list.</p>

<p>If you need any more info, please feel free to ask! Thanks for your help.</p>

2

<p>I’d suggest Northeastern University, American University, and Drexel University as urban, mid-sized options.</p>

3

<p>Well even though it doesn’t meet your size criteria, I would add Purdue. Great Engineering and Biology program. Not too far from Northwestern so moving-in can be easy for your parents. I’m sure you will qualify for a merit scholarship with those stats. </p>

<p>I think Purdue will be a match/safety for you in terms of Engineering. It’s a very respectable state university and is part of the Big Ten. Great international recognition due to extensive amounts of research on-campus.</p>

4

<p>Maybe Case Western (good with merit money also). Best of luck!</p>

5

<p>Case Western and Rose-Hulman.</p>

<p>IMO, there are no “matches” for your stats, because the schools that you match all have 10 times more applicants than they can handle.</p>

6

<p>Since you’ll be applying for FA anyway, look at these threads: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html?highlight=keilexandra[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html?highlight=keilexandra&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>IMO, there are no “matches” for your stats, because the schools that you match all have 10 times more applicants than they can handle. </p>

<p>Most of these schools after HYS are “matches” for this OP. They just aren’t “safties.” If you feel very strongly about BME and will stick with it, also consider Duke.</p>

8

<p>UCSD (if you can afford it which I ssume since Berkeley is on the list ) is top in BME. So is Duke which is still a reach but not as much so as many of your schools.</p>

<p>I’d be surprised if NU does not accept you with a sister there.</p>

9

<p>U Rochester would be an excellent match and would probably be a very nice fit.</p>

<p>– Great BME and biology programs, check
– Urban, check (~200,000 people)
– Small/medium, check (~5500 undergrads)</p>

<p>Merit aid is not unlikely, especially if your SAT goes up a bit in October.</p>

<p>[Wikipedia</a> - University of Rochester](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Rochester]Wikipedia”>University of Rochester - Wikipedia)</p>

10

<p>I will definitely consider Purdue, UCSD, and U Rochester. Not Duke, for personal reasons (and I also don’t want to add another reach).</p>

<p>I always thought “legacy” only applied after the person graduated from the school. So then wouldn’t my sister attending NU not be a factor at all?</p>

11

<p>Actually, a sister will not make you a legacy when she graduates, but most schools give a slight advantage to siblings of students currently enrolled.</p>

12

<p>Tufts and Holy Cross-both near Boston.</p>

13

<p>I would say you have plenty of matches. Except for Harvard, Yale, and Stanford all none of those schools are real reachs. What you need, more so, is a safety that’s no U of Arizona. I am considering Fordham as an option for this (I have the same SAT score as you but my GPA about .25 lower). They have a full tuition scholarship for NMSF and it’s a mid-sized urban research university. You can also apply EA which gets the safety out of the way. Also, do you think you could make your list more suitable to your interests by replacing Dartmouth with University of Chicago?</p>

14

<p>University of Pittsburgh is not-so-much small-to-medium, but it’s urban, they have great medical programs, and you would be competitive for a full ride.</p>

15

<p>University of Michigan could be a good choice and also McGill. Both have rolling or early admission so you would know something before April.</p>

16

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<p>ehh, not really. The ivies aren’t matches, and the other schools (JHU, NU) are top schools as well. And Berkley isn’t a sure-bet for an OOS.</p>

<p>Check out Rochester, Pittsburgh, Alabama, maybe Penn State, Carnegie Mellon (not a safety but a decent choice considering your needs), </p>

<p>btw - if your preference is urban, why is Cornell and Dartmouth on your list? And Dartmouth has a bit of a LAC-y vibe to it, which you said you were avoiding. Don’t get me wrong, those are 2 amazing schools that I would suggest to someone who deems them a fit, but I feel like you really need to reevaluate your list and figure out WHY you’ve decided to apply to these places. You’ll have lots of supplements to fill out, and you’re definitely going to need to convey WHAT makes each school a good fit for you.</p>

17

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<p>This is a good suggestion for several reasons. Chicago fits the OP’s criteria better. He can visit when he moves his sister in to Northwestern. It’s a bit less selective than Dartmouth. Finally, it has an Early Action option. So if you get good news early in the year, that becomes your safety (assuming money is not an issue).</p>

18

<p>uChicago does not have engineering so the OP would have limited options! (Biology!)</p>

<p>Plus UChicago cannot be deemed a match if the applicant is not OK with the core curriculum! (he/she doesn’t have Columbia and yet have all other ivies on the list so infer he isn’t a big fan of core curriculum!)</p>

19

<p>Look into colleges in the Patriot League: Colgate, Holy Cross, Bucknell, etc All top academic schools and division 1 sports.</p>

20

<p>Thank you everyone for your help!</p>

<p>I’ve decided to take out Dartmouth and Cornell. UChicago is out because my parents figured if I were to go to college in Chicago, it should be Northwestern. Plus, no engineering is a huge negative.</p>

<p>I actually don’t mind core curriculum, which is why I did include Columbia.</p>

<p>My parents would not budge when I tried to push for U of Roch, Purdue, and CMU (for personal reasons again). So, I decided to add UCLA. I’m a legacy (mom) and think I have pretty good shot.</p>

<p>Official list: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Northwestern, JHU, Brown, Berkeley, UCLA, and U of A.</p>

<p>Any other suggestions or comments would be appreciated!</p>