3.8 uw 34 act elite national prep school with strong deflation; medium ECs in community service and drama/thespians; 9 APs with 4-5; social science/history/civil rights academic; URM with some legacy: Harvard, Yale, Penn, Duke, Brown, Georgetown, Wesleyan, Vassar, Boston College, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Oberlin, GW
Thoughts please!
Looks pretty top heavy. Are they all affordable?
Yes on affordable; possible tweaks?
if you are paying for an elite prep school, take advantage of the advisors/counselors at school.
Which college do you have legacy at? Is it undergraduate or graduate legacy? If you have legacy at an Ivy or T20, according to Cornell Admissions, it’s maximized by applying ED vs. RD.
As @bluebayou says above, elite prep schools would likely have a guidance counselor familiar with selective colleges admissions in the NE, and can advise you on your college list based on past students’ experiences.
Also, I am going to Brown, and highly recommend the Open Curriculum (I see it on your list,) if you’re interested in multiple fields and want to be explore them w/o the limits of a traditional general education requirement system, or to sample a variety of courses S/NC (Pass/Fail,) w/o the fear of getting a bad grade stopping you from taking a course.
I agree that this list is top heavy. I don’t see a safety at all. But I suspect she will get into at least one. She needs to show interest at many of those. The matches are GW, Holy Cross and Oberlin.
I’m guessing you might be aware by now that those tippy tops you listed are not interchangeable. I’m seeing a real disconnect between some of these colleges. Brown, Wesleyan, Vassar, Oberlin are so vastly different to Penn, Georgetown, BC and GW. Just wondering what type of college she is actually interested in. What is this list based on? She will have a LOT of work writing all the essays.
Thanks @Lindagaf for engaging. Don’t really get the snappy referrals to the school’s GC from some…
Philly and DC schools are from her specific like of those cities and BC from school looks. The others seem more aligned to substantive preferences. What would be good quirky/artsy/liberal subs for the more preprofessional bunch (penn, gt, gw, bc)?
Muhlenberg and Conn College could be safety/match schools with strength in theatre/arts.
Skidmore would be a safety/match.
People are telling you to ask her college advisor because elite prep schools have fantastic college advising. Her counselor can advise you MUCH better than we can, as s/he knows the prep school and ots record at each school, as well as knowing your daughter in resl life, and also frequently having inside info on the schools. Honestly a better resource than CC in your case.
Highly agree with @cinnamon1212 b/c I went to a public high school, and while my HS counselor was amazing, my school is no where close to sending the number of people to T20/Ivies that the elite private prep schools do. Also, as you indicate in your original post, your daughter’s school has grade deflation, and only your guidance counselor who has seen and helped students apply year after year from your school will know how strong your application is compared to other students from your school, and this well especially help when applying to colleges were your school has had a track record of multiple students getting in.
Appreciate that; was looking for any first hand experiences from parents and students, not as alternative to GC, but thanks for the well intentioned suggestion.
No problem @gablesdad ! I can definitely help with the specifics of the application process outside of school context based questions (my high school experience was likely very different from that of your daughter’s, and is probably different from the kid living in the next town,) as these are better posed to a person familiar with the quirks of your school’s curriculum, grading policies etc.
I do highly recommend applying Early Decision to a school (always apply Early Action if you have the choice,) b/c it is the ultimate form of demonstrated interest even for schools like the Ivies which technically don’t consider it. However, the legacy at which school your daughter has can increase her chances of being admitted ED vs. an equally qualified candidate, so take that into consideration (with undergrad legacy > graduate legacy for all ivies but Penn I believe.)
If your daughter does decide to apply ED, only do so if ALL of the following are true:
- Your daughter LOVES the school and would 110% attend if admitted.
- Your daughter is extremely confident that she can present a well thought out and crafted application by the early deadline, which is usually November 1st.
- You and your family can afford the school if admitted (which you say you can in an earlier post.)
Also, as other posters have commented, while all the Ivies have amazing academics, the school environment and culture varies quite a lot. I created this brief guide for students interested in pre-health @ the Ivies, but it should still apply here:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/ivy-league/2193795-a-pre-healths-guide-to-the-ivies.html
Hope this helps!
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@cinnamon1212 , I do not agree that Skidmore is a safety. Its acceptance rate is a bit lower than Lafayette and 10% lower than at least three of the colleges mentioned.
Quirky and artsy safeties for the preprofessional is a pretty interesting combination, haha. I like the suggestion of Conn College as a low match. Again, she will need to show interest. Really, having an EA public U is a good way to at least have one safety in hand while waiting on decisions. Not sure where you are located, but there are plenty of good public U’s in the Northeast.
GW and artsy/quirky is an oxymoron. And I’m sure there are some artsy and quirky kids at all of these schools, but I would also say that BC isn’t known for that, or Penn. If she likes Philadelphia, she could consider Bryn Mawr or Haverford, also in Philly. What about Temple as a safety? She will find artsy kids there but it’s also got its share of preprofessional kids. She will probably get a nice merit scholarship too.
If she likes Boston, I personally think Tufts is a much better choice than BC, thought it’s a reach for all. Sure, BC looks Hogwart-ish, but has she visited? Great school, but there is a distinct religious vibe there and it’s pretty preppy. I have to say that after visiting, my D was totally turned off. Northeastern is also way more in line with what it sounds like what she wants, but also far from a safety.
ah, this reminds me of when i was applying to colleges as a first-year, haha. i must reiterate what some other posters have said, though: vassar, wesleyan, oberlin, and brown are all vastly different from boston college, duke, georgetown, and even lafayette.
if your daughter is looking for picturesque, quirky/liberal/artsy schools, the vassar/wesleyan/oberlin/brown cohort makes sense. the others, not so much. your daughter’s interests sound much like mine (I’m a social science and human rights guru), and i looked into (and applied to) 3/4 of the VWOB cohort; i never really looked into nor did i apply to bc/duke/georgetown/lafayette. then again, i don’t know her personally, so i suppose it’s unfair for me to assume!
i, albeit surprisingly in terms of CC standards, don’t know much about harvard or the social/academic life, nor do i know much about HC, so i won’t really talk about those.
yale being on her list makes sense since it’s arguably the artsiest of the ivy league and technically vassar’s “brother.” V/W/O/B all make sense. i do think it’s important to note, however, that oberlin is located in a rather small town— if she’s looking for a city, that might knock it out of consideration.
i agree with @Lindagaf, penn and gw are nooot particularly artsy/quirky. it’s also worth mentioning that both schools do indeed have a bit of a pre-professional vibe. haverford and bryn mawr are fantastic alternatives if she loves philly. i have two friends at bryn mawr; both love it dearly. if she likes d.c., maybe americanu would fit the bill better.
has she ever thought to look into barnard or bu? i think she would really like barnard… intellectual, liberal, artsy students in NYC… it’s a women’s college, but it’s right there next to columbia, and many of the students at barnard take classes at columbia. it offer’s a degree in human rights, as does bu (technically as a minor).
conncoll is a good school to look into, and i would add sarah lawrence as well. both campuses are beautiful and both have that liberal/artsy/quirky vibe.
has she ever thought to look into, hmmm, uconn or vermont as state school options/safeties? umass maybe?
my apologies for such a long post (and I’m double sorry if none of this helped)! your daughter is very accomplished and will go so far. it’s a trying and stressful time at the moment, but it’s also a very fun and exciting time as well. i hope this helped at least a little bit. (:
Had a bunch of childhood friends who went to Harvard and Yale (okay, 50 years ago, but the perspective is valuable.) My sense is that it was infinitely easier to be a washout socially at Harvard than at any LAC or, interestingly enough - at Yale. Harvard is much more about credentials and how to get them. It’s really easy at the end of four years to have garnered great recommendations for grad school (usually at Harvard) and not have made any friends. My Yale friends made out much better in the school spirit department; they seldom miss a reunion, a fundraiser, etc… Just my two cents.
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If looking to round out your matches, I would take a look at Hamilton and possibly Bates/Colby. All are probably high match/reaches due to size, but all are worthy of consideration if you’re already interested in Wes, Vassar and similar schools.
In view of the unpredictability of the pandemic, you might want to also apply, as a safety, to your own or nearby state flagship. Just because you never know what the future looks like.
She may want to apply to Bard as a safety. They offer Early Action and definitely has a quirky, artsy vibe.
Bcos one of the biggest things that you (“dad”?) are paying for is academic advice and counseling. (Our top public HS has a GC/student ratio of 700:1.) Your kid should leverage the advice of those who know him/her well and whether they are a good fit for some of those schools. (For example, I’d venture to say someone who was a great fit for Oberlin might not enjoy their time at BC…)
Obviously, an early legacy app will have the highest change of acceptance, but don’t ED unless they really want to attend.