College List

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm a rising senior and I'd like to finalize my college list over the summer. I've already cut down quite a lot but I'm kind of stuck and I do not intend to apply to more than 10 :| </p>

<p>Stats:
My school doesn't have GPA/class rank
SAT I- 2200 (800 in writing and 1400 M+CR, planning to retake & raise my math score)
SAT II: Literature 730, Spanish 790, French 800
IB diploma: HL History, Psychology, Spanish and SL Math, Biology, English
currently predicted 40 (out of 42, so not counting extra points), with 777 775 - the 5 is in math sl, but I am hoping to raise it to a 6 or perhaps drop to math studies in september</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
varsity soccer since freshman yr
horseback riding since 2nd grade, won several regional competitions & placed in national ones but had to stop before jr year as I am currently in boarding school and cannot train there
ballet: 4 years, had to stop last year for the same reason ^^
1st place national spanish debating competition, won scholarship at language course in Spain over the summer
School newspaper/literary magazine since freshman year
literary society: essay published in regional Shakespeare conference book, will be one of main organizers of similar conference held at my school next year
50+ hours of community service volunteering at local care home
law firm internship this summer
summer jobs at city zoo/riding school
will hopefully be student organizer of school charity campaign for twloha next term
currently writing/illustrating children's book, planning to charity
and some others, but they aren't as relevant/I haven't been as involved</p>

<p>my college list:
Brown (top choice)
Columbia
Yale
UPenn
Tufts
Northwestern
NYU
Georgetown
UCLA
Vassar
Haverford
Swarthmore
Pitzer/Claremont McKenna/Pomona (still undecided on which one)
American or GWU
BU
Boston College</p>

<p>I know I have quite a few reaches/high matches and no /real/ safeties, but I'm also applying to the UK and a couple in Canada and my biggest safeties are there. I don't see a point in applying somewhere I would almost certainly not attend. </p>

<p>I don't have many specific requirements, as you can see my list seems pretty random (i promise it isn't). I would like a liberal-leaning but diverse school, either in a city or close to one. I would prefer a large school, but I have a few lacs in my list as I really like the flexible curriculums and the focus on the liberal arts, plus they are all quite close to bigger urban areas so at least I'd have the chance to get away from the "bubble" if I wanted to. I'm obviously leaning towards the humanities/social sciences and thinking of majoring in history or politics, but am still undecided. </p>

<p>Any suggestions on what to remove from my list (or add if you have any ideas)?? thanks :) </p>

2

<p>I’m an international student btw, you might have guessed but I realized I forgot to mention it lol</p>

3

<p>**planning to give proceeds of children’s to charity (sorry if this was unclear)</p>

4

<p>As an international, you will have to pay the bulk of your education costs yourself. There are schools which offer aid to internationals, but let’s first establish your ability to pay $65K/year: can your family afford it? do your parents know they can afford it? :-bd </p>

5

<p>Yale and Gerogetown SFS: High reach
Brown; Upenn; Columbia; Georgetown; Pomona: Mid each
Rest: Mid to high match</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

6

<p>@jkeil911‌ my family is in the process of trying to determine whether we’d be able to afford the full price, but either way i’m pretty sure all these schools offer aid to internationals. Apart from Yale, which is need blind, asking for fin aid would decrease my chances but then again I would rather stay in the UK than apply to lots of safeties and go somewhere very far from home that i don’t /really/ like :slight_smile: </p>

<p>@houseofcats‌ thank you! :smiley: do you not think that Brown and Columbia are a high reach as well, since they have a <10% acceptance rate, and Georgetown is a mid reach since (i believe) it has a greater acceptance rate than Pomona? </p>

7

<p>@houseofcats actually I see what you mean about Georgetown as a high reach, I’m not sure whether I’ll be applying to SFS or the regular college, since it also has a history major and a social & political thought minor and is easier to get into! </p>

8

<p>@berrymads‌ I think if you look into Brown’s and Colombia’s curriculums more you’ll be able to take one of of your list, which would save you money and time (both of which are extremely valuable). I bet you’ll want to remove Columbia because you say Brown is your top choice (and for what it’s worth, I agree with you 100% there). But Brown and Columbia have opposite views on how their curriculum should be set up, so you should look into that. </p>

9

<p>@430ktk‌ thank you so much for your advice :slight_smile: Brown and Columbia are actually my top 2 so I doubt I’ll be removing either haha. I know their curriculums are almost complete opposites, but I really like the way both are set up. Columbia places real emphasis on the humanities and I love all the classes part of the core curriculum. I would be taking classes quite similar to those at Brown… I visited both recently and really liked the atmosphere/campus. I know this is a very unusual choice lol, but my “top choice” always alternates between the two. I know their curriculums are fundamentally very different, but due to Brown’s flexibility I think they could be quite similar in some ways as well, it just depends on what you make of it :)</p>

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<p>If you want to double major, that’s not really an option at Columbia. An admissions officer told me that only about 5% of students do, and many have to take an additional year. So if that’s important to you, keep that in mind.</p>

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<p>@430ktk‌ yeah I heard about that, I think that’s the main reason why Brown is currently my top choice :confused: But then again Brown doesn’t offer minors, which could also be an annoying situation. I don’t know what I want to do yet, but if I did decide to pursue both politics and history I’d be able to do that in the form of double major at Brown and major/minor at Columbia. Thanks for the suggestion though, I should take that a bit more into consideration before making my final decisions.</p>

12

<p>Yeah, I think once you figure out more what you want to do, it’ll be easier to make a decision between the two. I just honestly don’t see someone applying to both. Here are some Ivy League stereotype jokes if you want to see which stereotype appeals to you more or anything (if that’s even possible, haha). I know they actually helped solidify Brown as my first choice.
<a href=“Ivy Stereotype Jokes - College Confidential Community - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-confidential-cafe/1661877-ivy-stereotype-jokes.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

13

<p>@430ktk‌ hahaha those are really funny and I do see how they could be accurate lol. I see myself in a couple of these actually, but I guess everyone could “fit” into each stereotype in some way? I’m not sure hoow much they can help my decision-making process but thanks for sharing hahah :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>berrymads</p>

<p>Please also review the applicants’ stats of your target schools . A higher acceptance rate does not necessary mean its easier to get in. For instance, Gerogetown SFS has a higher acceptance rate ( almost 17%) even than college for class 2018, but after you review their applicants’ stats and the actual number of applicants, you know why it is not rare to have waitlisted or rejected applicants ended up at HYP due to the very limited spots.</p>

<p>Less number of applicants apply to Georgetown due to their recommendation /requirement of

  1. Non common app with 2 Part
  2. 3 SAT2 tests
  3. Personal Interview</p>

<p>As a result, higher acceptance rate</p>

15

<p>@houseofcats yes you’re right, Georgetown SFS is extremely competitive would be a high reach, I just meant that Georgetown college is easier to get into than SFS :slight_smile: </p>