College List Review Please

College Search & Selection
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<p>Can somebody please review my college list.
Here are my stats, not for chances, just so that someone can tell me how reasonable my list is.</p>

<p>Gpa: 3.9 w/3.7 uw [gpa is out of soph and junior year.]
fresh year grades waayyy better than soph year grades. I missed a month of school bc of sickness and then ended up with horrible grades for the year. iunno if colleges will understand that. so basically, straight As junior year, not so much sophomore year. :'( :'( :'( </p>

<p>SAT: 730 CR/ 660 M/ 610 W (essay = 8) I'm retaking in October</p>

<p>SAT IIs: Bio M - 730 US History - 700 MathIC - November</p>

<p>I'm 7th in a class of 40 at a very competitive private school. I'm taking the most rigorous course load possible. I'll have 4 APs by may (US history, calc ab, english lit & phsyics) and my school offers 3 others (chem, spanish, french).</p>

<p>Awards:
Mock Trial Award - 9th, 11th
Precalc - 11th
Spanish 3 - 11th
Media - 11th
AP History - 11th</p>

<p>ECs:
V Lacrosse - 9th, 10th, 12th
Soccer - 11th
SADD - 9th
Open Studio - 10th, 11th, 12th
Mock Trial - 9th, 11th, 12th
P2P Student Ambassadors summer exchange to Australia - 9th
worked as bus person at restaurant for summer - 10th
Studied Medical Science and Creative Writing @ Oxford University during summer - 11th
Volunteered at animal hospital - 9th
Helped preserve woods - 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
Ride with Smithtown Hunt (6 yrs, w. colors and also i'm their youngest whip [big honors]) - 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
Horseback ride (11yrs) - 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
Horseshows (ahhh forever) - 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
Hunt in Virginia - 11th, 12th
Member of a virginia hunt - 12th
Took care of sick horses - 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
Helped teach a girl how to ride on one of my ponies for free - 10th, 11th, 12th
Play Clarinet - 9th, 10th
National Youth Leadership Forum On Law - 12th
Polocross - 1st place in tournament (mix of polo and lacrosse) - 9th
I also know how to play polo but I dont do it on a regular basis</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule:
English AP
Graphic Communications (1st Semester)
Physics AP
Public Speaking
Psychology
Sculpture (1st Semester)
Global Politics (2nd Semester)
Calculus AB</p>

<p>Also, I think I can write great essays and get good-great recs.</p>

<hr>

<p>Okay, so sorry you had to read that mess. Here is my list:</p>

<p>Cornell
Columbia
Duke (maybe)
UPenn (maybe)
Boston University
William & Mary (prob wont apply)
USC
NYU
Colgate
Tufts
UVA
Northeastern
Skidmore
Sarah Lawrence College</p>

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<p>Nobody can help? </p>

<p>is that way too many schools? Are any of them reasonable for me?</p>

3

<p>i don't see why you wouldn't get into skidmore...maybe check out mount holyoke also, if you plan on continuing horseback riding?</p>

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<p>thanks. I REALLY want to continue riding in college.</p>

5

<p>bump......................</p>

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<p>14 schools is way too many in my opinion...any more than 10 seems like "binge applying" hahaha</p>

<p>Northeastern - Can you continue riding in the middle of Boston? Safety</p>

<p>What do you want to major in? That could have a big impact on your list.</p>

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<p>yeah i know 14 is a lot. I'm not applying to W&M (13) and i might not apply to DUke & UPenn, and if I do it will only be one of the two (12). Northeastern doesn't have a riding team/club/intra. but I figured it was my safest safety so I have to keep it unless I can find some better school that has something for riding. I'm also not sure about UVA and USC(no riding anything). So i might be at 10 already, im just not sure lol. DA MN MY INDECISIVENESS!</p>

<p>Also, I dont know what I want to major in yet. But I want to go premed.</p>

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<p>There is a book about colleges with riding programs called "Horse Schools":</p>

<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157076297X/qid=1129218454/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-5276565-6551244?v=glance&s=books%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157076297X/qid=1129218454/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-5276565-6551244?v=glance&s=books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Your list is reasonable but I would drop Skidmore, Sarah Lawrence, Wm and Mary, and Northeastern. Keep Duke and U Penn.</p>

<p>Can you tell us more about your preferences? What are you looking for in a college? size, location, social life, urban/small city/rural, culture, public/private???</p>

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<p>Why drop/keep those schools?</p>

<p>I dont really have a preference to school size. Right now I'm at a school w. less than 200ppl, and I like that. But I also don't mind being part of a large school. I like schools close to the coasts. As for social life, I want to be able to do something other than party, while still attending somewhere that i can ride at. I would like a private university that has a liberal student body. It's strange but I would feel at home at a rural school and at a city school. It might be because I've spent half my life living in manhattan and the other half on a farm. Basically, I want a school where I can make friends, ride horses, have a social life and most importantly get a great education.</p>

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<p>Well considering you want a liberal school I would definitely knock off UVA (no riding), USC (no riding), Duke, and W&M (you already sounded iffy), all conservative schools. It looks like you've already narrowed down your list to this:</p>

<p>Cornell
Columbia
UPenn (maybe)
Boston University
NYU
Colgate
Tufts
Northeastern
Skidmore
Sarah Lawrence College</p>

<p>That is a reasonable number to apply to. Make sure you LOVE your safeties though!! NYU and Columbia - can you ride a horse in Manhattan? lol</p>

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<p>thanks :-D</p>

<p>columbia and nyu's teams ride in NJ.</p>

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<p>....................................................</p>

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<p>Skidmore is a keeper.</p>

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<p>Rachel-
Skidmore's 75th percentile SAT score is 1340. Your CR/Verbal is 1390. I suggested dropping Skidmore because you are overqualified. It is a safety that you don't need. I thought you would not be challenged there.</p>

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<p>Its another reach but Dartmouth has a riding team and a much more pleasant experience than riding a bus to NJ everyday lol. Can't say enough about how great the community is, although people do like to party. There is so much else going on as well though. I have a few friends who were on the team, they are really a tightknit group. Dump Northeastern/ Skidmore/ or Sarah Lawrence, you don't need three safeties.</p>

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<p>Collegehelp, </p>

<p>No, she needs a good safety. Skidmore has all the horsey qualities she wants and is a great safety.</p>

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<p>wow, thank you everyone for responding :-D
im def keeping skidmore. I think I'll drop northeastern, im just afraid to because i feel it's my only sure bet (i think it is).
im going to start looking at dartmouth now slipper, thanks.
and SBmom thanks for the reassurance about skidmore.</p>

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<p>rachel, just to reiterate what you probably know, but I believe you should give your safer schools good focused attention (if at all possible visit, stay overnight, & interview; meet with riding program head, etc.) </p>

<p>This way if it is NOT a school you'd really enjoy attending, you will be able to find another one, and if it IS a school you'd enjoy, you have probably increased the "safeness" by showing that you have real interest -- and you've also given yourself a chance to get excited about the school.</p>

<p>My D had similar stats to you and after visiting Skidmore she felt she would be very happy there. The campus is beautiful (wooded knoll with huge grassy expanses), the victorian-looking town is charming, the kids are very low key and nice, and it is a great horse place with Saratoga race track right there.</p>

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<p>Thanks again SBmom. I'm going to skidmore next monday/tuesday and im doing everything but staying overnight :-/. (I'm interviewing and hopefully meeting with their riding team's coach. + the tour and info session, of course)</p>

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<p>BTW there have been threads about schools with great riding programs; you could do a search. Or look up "college equestrian teams" on Google. I seem to remember Dickinson, Drew, Hollins and some others...</p>