College suggestions?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>To be honest, I'm sort of lost right now--I've been looking at colleges, but trying to find places where I actually have a chance of getting in is giving me a headache. So suggestions would be very appreciated.</p>

<p>Currently I'm definitely applying to GTech and UGA (in-state schools) and also looking at NYU CAS. Columbia and Caltech are my pipe dream schools. :P</p>

<p>Asian-American female, attending a decently competitive public magnet.</p>

<p>Rank: 30/470 or so, I don't have the exact class size.
GPA: 3.75 UW / 4.325 W - weighted GPA should go up at the end of this semester.</p>

<p>Taking out freshman grades, GPA is 3.938 UW / 4.75 W. Yeeeah.</p>

<p>Scores:
SAT: 2280 (800 CR, 760 M, 720 W - planning to take again in June)
PSAT: 234 - probable National Merit Semifinalist
SAT II: 800 Chem, also planning to take Math II and one other - probably Lit
AP: 5 Bio and World Hist.; waiting on Calc BC, French, CS, Chem, APUSH, and Lang</p>

<p>Junior schedule: 7 APs (ones listed above + Calc AB) plus a "post-AP" class - Chemical Engineering. Emphasis on the air-quotes there.</p>

<p>Senior schedule: AP Gov, Econ, Lit; PE; Georgia Tech Calculus II and II; Magnet Research (required); one free slot. I'm not sure what I'll fill it with yet--maybe Physics C?</p>

<p>Extracurriculars - this is what has me in a bind. They're...kind of awful.
Piano - 10 years, planning to cut a CD for any colleges that accept that kind of thing
Math team (10-12)
Inkwell/Creative writing club (11-12)
Computer club (11-12)
NHS, Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta, etc. (11-12)
Also doing an internship at Georgia State over the summer.</p>

<p>No leadership whatsoever (I said "awful," didn't I?), community service is pretty much limited to occasional afterschool tutoring. I'm planning to improve this with the time I have left, but I'm aware that at this point, it's pretty much going to look like an obvious ploy.</p>

<p>Quality of academics is the most important factor for me. Everything else is really secondary. (I get sort of antsy if I don't have some sort of challenge on my hands. Magnet neuroticism strikes again!) The other major thing is probably financial aid: unless it's a /top/ school--which, haha, not happening--my mother isn't going to shell out 50k to send me out of state when I could go to GTech on Hope for practically free.</p>

<p>As I said before, I'm completely lost right now, so any help you could give would be awesome!</p>

2

<p>Some schools that are sure to keep you busy & are reaches/targets:</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins
University of Chicago
Syracuse University (if you are in the Honors Program)
Stanford</p>

<p>and, of course, the most study-psycho school, MIT ;). MIT offers pretty generous financial, too!</p>

<p>Have fun in your search!</p>

3

<p>You’ll get into GT (possibly the honors program), and since it’s a Top 4 engineering school and free, I doubt you’ll find a better value.</p>

4

<p>wendi, I have been looking at some of those schools, but I was under the impression that my stats were…less than competitive there, to say the least. I don’t know. I’m trying to stay realistic :S</p>

<p>And Burdell, it’s not really about “best value,” per se–my mother /is/ willing to pay a certain amount of money for me to go to another school, as long as it’s at least around Tech’s caliber. Just not the whole package–and I really, really don’t want to go to Tech. For one thing, I don’t think engineering is for me. (Science/math, yes. Engineering, no.) For another, my mother works at the school, and the departments I would be inclined to go into are ones where she knows a lot of the professors–it’s just an awkward situation.</p>

<p>There are other reasons, of course, but they’re mostly of the petty teenager variety.</p>

5

<p>Well, many of them are reaches. You have a chance, but you’re on the lower end, especially for Stanford and U of Chicago. </p>

<p>MIT is… well. MIT’s unpredictable. Wow adcoms with your essays :D. I know two older siblings of a friend who had similar stats as yours (lower GPA, and they did debate & got some awards, but nothing major), who were admitted to MIT. They had ridiculously hilarious (but well written) admissions essays, though, so I’m pretty sure that was a big factor.</p>

<p>Syracuse is a match, though. Plus, they accept 50%+ of their applicants, and you are definitely academically strong enough to be considered.</p>

<p>JHU is… well. You’re definitely within the range of competitiveness in academics, you’re just lacking in ECs. Take a chance, anyway.</p>

<p>Otherwise, if you really don’t think that you’re not even in the running, consider:
Emory
Vanderbilt
Georgetown
U of Michigan</p>

<p>And, a semi-personal favourite of mine, Boston University :D.</p>

6

<p>I’ll definitely look into those. Thanks for the help.</p>