Colleges based on my current stats?

College Search & Selection
1

I am a current sophomore, and I’m wondering, with my stats, what colleges would be good to look into. I want to major in Planetary Astronomy or Astronomy and Music Performance. Those things are important to me and are what I enjoy.

Grades:

9th grade:
Geography/Civics (A)
Honors Algebra II (C+)
Band (A+)
Honors French II (B+)
Honors English 9 (A-)
Health (A)
Team Sports (A+)
Freshman Physics (part of STEM program) (B)

10th grade (1st semester grades so far):
Acc. Pre-Calculus (B+)
AP Biology (B-)
Band (A+)
Honors French III (B)
Honors English 10 (B)
Team Sports (A+)
World History II (A)

GPA (end of 9th grade):
Weighted: 3.75
Unweighted: 3.25
Rank: 57/272

GPA (10th grade alone):
Weighted: 3.86
Unweighted: 3.43

EC:
Band (9,10, and I plan on doing it 11 and 12. Section leader 9 and 10 so far.)
Student Council (9, 10, and I plan on running for VP for 11 and President for 12)
Math Team (9, 10, and I plan on doing it 11 and 12. 2nd highest scorer on my team)
Jazz Band (9, 10, and I plan on doing it 11 and 12)
Class Council (9 and 10. I’m leaving the council)
Outing Club (9. Not available 10)
Science Bowl (10 and I plan on doing it 11 and 12)
Youth Orchestra (Principal 9 and 10 so far)

Community Service:
~60 hrs so far

Awards:
3rd place in Earth Science, Physics, and Astronomy category at state science fair (9)
Academic Award (9)

College specifics I like:
Small school (max of 20k undergrads)
I’m okay with all location types (rural, suburban, urban)
I would like to be in New England, eastern Canada, Mid-Atlantic, or far West Coast (Washington, California, Oregon)
<90% demonstrated need met. Money is an issue.

Colleges I’m interested in at the moment:
BU
Caltech
Dartmouth
Harvard
McGill
New England Conservatory
Princeton
UMaine
Whitman
Yale

Any info and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I know this is early for me to be thinking about college, but I want to get a headstart on this. I’m just wondering about matches or reaches. I’ll post my PSAT scores when I receive them in a few weeks.

Thank you!

2

Too early to chance but a 3.43 UW GPA is not a good sign for most of the schools you listed.

3

You have a ton of time so you definitely don’t need to stress when I say this, but a lot of the schools you listed are Ivy League schools which most students with 4.0’s UW and 4.8’s W are denied from, so they may be a stretch for you. You name a lot of really well known schools, maybe you should look more into different colleges other than the ones you hear about the most. Also, Ivy Leagues definitely don’t love giving out financial and merit aid. Try looking at more liberal arts schools, they’re smaller like you said you want, and from what I know they’re more generous with money. These would be schools like Bucknell, DePauw, Bard, etc. There are small state schools as well like University of Delaware! I’d say the best fit from your list is BU.

Also, if you’re looking into pursuing musical theatre as your major, thats a whole new array of schools. Remember, you want to find a college or university that is the best fit for you and for what you want to do. Maybe look more into schools that offer strong Astronomy and Musical Theatre programs. Just because it’s a strong academic school like the ones you’ve listed, doesn’t mean it’s a strong fit for you! College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won :slight_smile:

4

If money is an issue, you need to take a close look at your options in your home state. Out-of-state schools are possible for those who can pay high rates and/or have high enough test scores and GPA to get merit. Once you have a couple of safeties (schools you can get into, afford, and be happy to attend), add some match schools.

You have time though. For now, just do your best enjoy high school. Good luck.

5

@mcmelxo I want to do research, so I think a research university would be a better fit for me than a lac. Music performance is different from musical theatre. Theatre is acting, performance is instrumental. I visited Dartmouth last week, and the admissions department does cover all or almost all of a person’s demonstrated need.

@austinmshauri My state is pretty rural, so there aren’t many schools. There are UMaine, Bowdoin, and Colby, but only UMaine has what I want to major in. I have that school as my safety and as an in-state school, even though I don’t think it would be the best school for me. Thank you for your help!

I just realized that I probably should state what courses I am planning on taking in grades 11 and 12.
11th grade:
AP Language
Astronomy
Honors Chemistry
AP US History
Calculus AB
Band
Honors French 4

12th grade:
AP Lit
AP World History
AP Physics
Calculus BC
Band
AP French
AP Stats (maybe)

6

Why don’t you come back in a year, when you have critical junior grades and at least one round of test scores to report?

7

OP, do you know what “research” involves?

8

@woogzmama Will do! I also get my PSAT scores in a few weeks, so I’ll comment the score breakdown for that.

@TomSrOfBoston Yes. I already am doing research projects outside of school. I had to do one for school last year for the science fair as part of STEM. I really enjoyed it and am starting a new research project that I am still doing for the state science fair, just not as a part of STEM (I quit the program). This year (and last year, too) I am doing research at a nearby college observatory and creating a project around a hypothesis and essential question I have about something in Planetary Astronomy.