Here’s my list. My GPA is 4.3 out of a 4 scale, my ACT is 33 and my SAT is 1500.
Standford, Penn, Duke, Vanderbilt, Hopkins, Cornell, WashU at St. Louis, Tufts, USC, Notre Dame, Boston College, Colby, Wake Forest, Rutgers.
Are you instate for NJ?
What are the net price calculators on the websites of above colleges saying that your family is expected to pay?
Most are reaches for everyone.
What is your major or career goal?
Your list is very reach heavy. You need more safeties and matches. what are you looking for in a college? What appeals to you about the schools on your list?
Aside from Net Price Calculators and questions on goals as stated above…
Stanford, Penn, Duke, Vanderbilt, Hopkins, Cornell, WashU at St. Louis - Pick 2
Tufts, USC, Notre Dame, Boston College, Colby - Pick 3.
Wake Forest, Rutgers - Go for it
That gives you 7.
That’s what I would suggest, though I know nothing about you or your goals.
Well, sort of.
Colby doesn’t fit your mix. Did the school make your list because of the free application?
Academic interests?
What you want to study and some of your interests are important to cutting down some schools. Will you be okay in South Bend or Boston in February?
Colby does not seem to fit the other schools on your list. If you want a university I would take Colby off the list.
You have 12 universities on your list. 2/3 of them are in the top 10 universities in the US. There is nothing wrong with shooting high but I think you would benefit from a more balanced list. I assume you are in state for Rutgers. If you want a more balanced list maybe you could do a total of 10 universities.
I would suggest you keep Rutgers, BC, Wake Forest, and USC. I would also suggest you keep no more than 3 of the very reachy schools ( Stanford, Vanderbilt, WashU at St. Louis, Cornell, Notre Dame, Hopkins, Penn, Duke). To round out your list you might consider schools that are bit less selective but still very good schools. You seem to be looking at super selective universities or your state flagship. There are plenty of good schools in between. Some that I am familiar with are listed below but you should look at others also.
University of Rochester-nice campus in a small city. I went to school in that region and always liked the campus
Baylor-Nice school for a student who really wants the big football experience. My friend’s son is there right now and he loves Baylor.
University of Miami-nice campus in a nice urban neighborhood.
Villanova-Just outside Philly. Nice place for a student who wants to be near a city but not in a city.
Case Western-My son graduated from here. Very strong in sciences, and engineering although it offers a wide range of majors.
I would like to reiterate that the above are schools that I know. There are lots of other good schools out there that aren’t in the top 20.