@Publisher Thank you so much! The main reason I’m wary is that my older brother who was really smart as well applied to a lot of top tier schools (Ivies) and didn’t get in. I want to make sure that I end up with a lot of options, and am not over confident. However, I will try to aim higher. Thanks again.
@Mwfan1921 I will make sure to keep safeties and matches. Right now my top safeties: Knox, Juniata, and Millsaps. My favorite matches are Whitman, Grinnell, Davidson (high match), Kenyon and Conn College. Are these all acadmically challenging (I assume so but just checking)?
Yes, I think those schools are appropriately categorized. I would call Davidson and Grinnell high matches, and Kenyon/Whitman/Conn College highly likelies. Does your school use Naviance or Scoir? That would help you assess your likelihood of admission too.
Be sure to demonstrate interest at the schools where it is considered in the admission process…you have the high stats profile that could get you waitlisted or denied at schools that don’t think you are likely to enroll.
I agree OP is highly impressive, yet unhooked students with similar profiles are denied admission at the elites every year. I encourage OP to reach high, but also to have matches and at least one safety.
@Mwfan1921 Yeah, I’ve been in contact with the admissions committee at all of my schools to show demonstrated interest. They seem very inquisitive, although I could be reading too much into it.
@Publisher It was really nice to be at MIT. First of all, it was amazing to work with very smart individuals who encouraged learning. We also got to meet with many distinguished professors as well who were really cool people.
Some people dismiss this list, saying that people can get into a top college without any of these accomplishments. That’s certainly true, but on the flip side, I have very good visibility into three activities this year ranked 8 or higher (10 is best). The majority of people with any of those accomplishments seemingly had multiple HYPSM acceptances to choose from this year by regular decision time.
@Diaz42, take a look at that list and see where fit amongst them. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
Two more colleges to consider as matches are Vanderbilt and Rice. Vanderbilt has traditionally been very stats based in that people above a certain SAT and GPA threshold were rarely rejected. Rice is a fantastic research university that is very undergraduate focused and so feels like an LAC in some respects. Both compete for happiest colleges, seemingly trading who wins each year.
@hebegebe I have a Level 9 award. I don’t think that Rice or Vanderbilt would be considered matches since they have sub 20% acceptance rates. I will look into both of the schools nonetheless.
The OP has clearly stated that she loved Midd, and wants to apply to similar colleges. Yet some people here cannot imagine that a student with the OP’s excellent profile would not be obsessed with applying to the Mostest Prestigioustest University out there, and seem intent on pushing her to do so.
The OP has clearly stated a preference for Liberal Arts colleges, so I don’t see why people are pushing her to apply to that poster’s favorite Ivy league.
Also, while the OP has an excellent profile, and is competitive for any place, including Yale and the other CC Favorites, these colleges also reject the majority of their amazing applicants. So I think that pushing any applicant, even one as accomplished as the OP, top apply to these colleges, despite the fact that the OP did not demonstrate much interest initially, is a bit irresponsible.
The OP has excellent high reaches in Pomona or Bowdoin, and doesn’t need to add Yale, just because some poster here thinks that no list of colleges is compete without an Ivy, preferably a HYP, on that list.
The only Ivy I would recommend to the OP, based on her clearly stated preferences, is Dartmouth.
Vandalism by drunk students is common across all colleges. But many of the more prestigious ones avoid reporting it. One of the issues of left-wing leaning colleges is that they have the need to make sure that everything that is wrong about the college is reported and agonized over. Middlebury Campus especially likes doing it.
On the other hand, while they were still on campus within hours of being told that they need to go home within a couple of days, Midd students thought of the low income students who were needed to go home to less than ideal situations, and did what they could. As they were being told to get their things together and get out, students put together a mutual aid list, to take care of students who were in worse situations than themselves. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/17/mutual-aid-coronavirus-contributing
The OP should definitely throw their hat in the ring at any school, however prestigious, that is of interest. They’ll clear the bar to get serious consideration. I definitely think they have a good shot at even the tippy top schools. With that said, I have also known high school vals with great scores and very nice accomplishments who have not gotten in to those same tippy tops.
I think that the recommendations, from Yale and Dartmouth right down the list to much less selective represent a nice range of options. But if the OP wants a LAC, many of the schools tossed out there are not that.
I do agree that this kid should not sell themselves short. It’s good to understand that even with great stats, the super selective schools will be a reach. It’s another to believe that because they are tough that they aren’t worth the application.
S19 (without any national awards but with high SAT, rigor, and grades, plus NMF, art portfolio with art that won Scholastic Awards and athlete) got in Hamilton, Bowdoin, Davidson, Grinnell, Carleton, Kenyon and some midsized unis but was waitlisted at Midd. Had a really good alumni interview with Midd alum in Chicago that went two hours. The alum even reached out to him afterwards to see if he got in.
So, admissions can be tricky especially without using ED.
"Some people dismiss this list, saying that people can get into a top college without any of these accomplishments. "
that’s a pretty accurate list, I don’t how anyone can dismiss a recruitable athlete as not the best chance of getting in.
"I have a Level 9 award. "
OP - are you female if you’re willing to share, because a female STEM Level 9 could be very helpful.
“stated that she loved Midd”
she further said she’s souring on Midd after the campus incidents. and the LAC preference could be what happened with the brother.
“The OP has excellent high reaches in Pomona or Bowdoin, and doesn’t need to add Yale”
Well Yale would have good history programs, not sure on physics or environmental science.
For a STEM award winners like the OP, I would consider one of Stanford or Princeton, along with Pomona (which I think would be a great fit if admitted). Those would be the best for all the majors she’s interested in. I would add another LAC reach and then work on the safeties and matches.
Colby is similar IMO. I’d also try for Bowdoin, Amherst, Conn, Hamilton, Williams, Bard, and a bunch of others mentioned here. You would probably get a wonderful scholarship to someplace like Wheaton (MA).
For some reason y’all think I am a female. I am an Asian American specifically Chinese Male (I know its unfavorable towards admissions). Also, Yale has the 2nd best environmental science program in the country, so I don’t want to discount it because it is not an LAC.
To clarify for any further comments, here are SOME of my achievements (not going to list them all for anonymity:
1580 SAT, 4.0 UW GPA, 5s on AP Human Geo and Psych
Part of RSI (Research Science Institute) program at MIT
Has performed environmental science research at a T20 University
Participated in Summer Research Program in Ecology at Harvard
Also has won multiple extremely prestigious olympiads
Overall, I think I’m a pretty strong applicant, but I will make sure not to fall into the trap of being overconfident. I will definitely check out Princeton and Stanford.
Yale seems to offer well-established programs in areas such as environmental management. For broader environmental studies/sciences with their attendant philosophies, however, I’m surprised that you were able to find this ranking anywhere, particularly with respect to an undergraduate degree.
I don’t know if Bates has been mentioned but Environmental Science is very popular and it’s a good program. There are a lot of crossover applicants. Should have mentioned that previously.
Personally, I would group Bates College with Bowdoin, Middlebury, Colby, & Dartmouth colleges moreso than with Wesleyan, Haverford or Swarthmore since OP prefers the feel/vibe/environment of Middlebury College.