College recommendations help please!

College Search & Selection
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<p>*Why am I being overoptimistic? I don’t think I’ll get accepted by all of these, but surely given my credentials I’ll get into at least one.
*</p>

<p>Because those of us who’ve been on CC for many years have seen kids with super stats get rejected from EVERY ONE of their high reaches. </p>

<p>When you have schools rejecting kids with perfect SATs and perfect GPAs with interesting hooks, no one can be certain that they’ll get into “at least one” - especially if you’re from the NE where they get gazillions of apps from kids who’ve been grooming for ivies since they were embryos.</p>

<p>“my credentials”</p>

<p>You really don’t have any credentials yet. You haven’t taken the SAT or ACT yet. Your PSAT means nothing to elite schools - they’ll never see your PSAT.</p>

22

<p>

True, but given it I expect to do well on the SAT.</p>

23

<p>Oh wait are you a junior? Well if so its great that your getting your list of schools currently, I did myself but surprisingly my list did change… mainly a few schools on my list I had to remove due it being very likely unaffordable ( which is still possible most of the schools on my list now) or limited to sending test scores out. Ideally I was applying to about 14 schools, but it appears it will be 7-10.</p>

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<p>Yes, I’m a junior. I’m trying to get a list so I can visit schools this spring.</p>

25

<p>*True, but given it I expect to do well on the SAT. *</p>

<p>I expect that you’ll do well, too. But, you have to understand…the elites reject hundreds of kids with PERFECT SATs, therefore a strong SAT is no guarantee. </p>

<p>Ivies do NOT use formula admissions - such as…he has a 4.0 GPA and a 2350 SAT, therefore he’s accepted. They have an unexplainable and often illogical way of accepting and rejecting students.</p>

<p>I’m concerned that you don’t have a “hook”</p>

26

<p>I understand that, but I don’t see how being white would prevent me from attending. I certainly don’t expect to get into <em>every</em> one, but consider this: Ivy campuses are still dominated by white students.</p>

<p>I’d think my ECs are pretty strong: starting a successful business, running a political campaign website, etc.</p>

27

<p>Wait a minute: you’re a junior, looking for a liberal-arts-college feel, thinking of majoring in Computer Science or Political Science, and your top universities are Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, and Dartmouth? Are you not even going to consider Brown?</p>

<p>Here’s why I think your list is a little whacked up:</p>

<p>1st off, prestige matters, but connections matter more. Especially if you’re going to major in computer science (or polisci, for that matter): getting good internships, getting good summer jobs, getting good research all will ensure you get a great job/go to a great grad school more than your grades, or how highly the general public perceives your school. Currently, your list is basically the schools, in order, based on the USNWR ranks. However, that doesn’t say too much about the education you’re going to get there.</p>

<p>If you were going for quality of their computer science education, I’d say your lsit should probably look like:
MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Brown, Harvard, Princeton</p>

<p>If you were going for quality of IR program, your list should probably look something like:
Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, U Chicago</p>

<p>However, that’s my view primarily on where your professor quality is likeliest to be highest. The real reason I think Brown should be on your list, though, is just how easy it is to get involved in the things you’re passionate about. For example, as a freshman CS major I can already next semester be a teacher’s assistant for a class, I plan on participating in a research class, and I could volunteer to teach junior high kids programming. And during recruitment season (spring semester), there are opportunities out there for freshman.</p>

<p>I don’t know as much about our polisci, but it’s one of our biggest concentrations, and I know, as a nearly-LAC, where undergrads outnumber grads nearly 3 to 1, that professors tend to use undergrads in positions that would, in larger schools, be filled by grad students. Which opens up a lot of research opportunities that involve more than lab/tech work.</p>

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<p>[Need-blind</a> admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission]Need-blind”>Need-blind admission - Wikipedia)</p>

29

<p>I’m afraid the schools you’ve listed won’t accept you based on your grades alone. Your grades certainly qualify you for the schools you’ve listed, but are in no way superlative. Same goes for your scores. Kids with PERFECT SAT scores get rejected. And PSAT score is not a great indicator anyways…</p>

<p>What sort of activities are you involved in? As a person interested in Politics, the schools you’ve listed might want to see that you’ve done something supporting this interest. E.g., internship/volunteering with your local congressman or something of that nature.</p>

<p>Btw, don’t say schools like BU are “below” you. It would be a match, given your credentials.</p>

<p>I suggest narrowing down your given list and adding some real matches/safeties. Good luck.</p>

30

<p>Btw, don’t say schools like BU are “below” you.</p>

<p>I agree. There are students on every campus that are very, very smart, and there are certainly such kids at BU.</p>

<p>You have to realize that some kids with high stats (higher than yours) end up at schools like BU or similar for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they were rejected from ivies, perhaps their family works for BU and they can’t afford other schools, who knows. There’s a variety of reasons why super smart kids end up at state Flagships or lesser ranked privates.</p>

31

<p>*I understand that, but I don’t see how being white would prevent me from attending. *</p>

<p>“Being white” isn’t a negative in itself. I think what is meant is that you’re white and from the NE. You’ll be competing against all those white kids from the NE (including those from ivy preps) that have been preparing for ivies since birth. Their stats and ECs are amazing</p>

<p>*I suggest narrowing down your given list and adding some real matches/safeties. Good luck. *</p>

<p>I agree, but since he needs a lot of FA, his safeties and matches have to be schools that will give him a lot of money. Safety and match schools are often bad with FA, so he needs to include schools that will give him huge merit, so his fed grants/aid will cover the rest.</p>

32

<p>mom2collegekids has basically covered it for me. You need to look around CC’s stats pages more and realize that it’s not as logical as it should be. Also, you should tone down your arrogance, because colleges can detect that. Saying schools like BU are “below” you is not a good way to approach your situation especially because of your need.</p>

33

<p>chsowlflax17: I actually have considered Brown for a while, but I have two issues which might come up (maybe you can address them):

  1. Just how liberal/hippy is it? I’m fine with some irreverence, but I don’t want an entirely “art school” atmosphere.
  2. Does Providence suck? (I’ve been there once, wasn’t too impressed.)</p>

<p>Everyone else: I’m sorry of it seems conceited, but I’m just tired of usually being the smartest person in the room. I’d like to go to a college which is intellectually challenging, where my peers are passionate about learning and don’t slack off, where debates are stimulating and my assumptions are challenged. I don’t think a school of 17,000 where over 50% of students are accepted offers that.
Also, I have a limit at 10,000—I don’t want to go to a massive university.</p>

34

<p>bump</p>

<p>Any recommendations for match or safety schools?</p>

35

<p>but I’m just tired of usually being the smartest person in the room.</p>

<p>I have no idea of what kind of high school you attend. I mean no offense, but if you’re lowish income, then your school may have a lot of lowish income kids. If that’s true, then the fact that there aren’t a lot of smart kids at your school is probably due to that. That could be distorting your outlook. If you went to a school with a lot of highish income kids, there would be more kids like you. :)</p>

<p>How many National Merit Scholars does your school usually have each year?</p>

<p>*I don’t think a school of 17,000 where over 50% of students are accepted offers that.
*</p>

<p>Many match/safeties will have those kind of acceptance rates.</p>

36

<p>

My school, though a district school, is actually pretty high income, with an overall “smart” student body. We do send a couple of students to top schools every year.</p>

<p>

Fine. I’d definitely say this is true of schools like UChicago. But the fact is BU is large, accepts the majority of students who apply, and simply is a terrible fit for me.</p>