<p>so i'm a junior and this week i had my meeting with my college counselor at school. she was really nice but she told me that quote "you should look into some more realistic options" after i expressed interest in wake forest, vanderbilt, and davidson. at this point i couldn't even bring myself to mention that ideally i actually want to apply to duke and brown as well..</p>
<p>so i was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on chances for me at those above schools as well as maybe some schools a step down from those since i need to give her a list of "realistic options" that i like by next week. (oh and the problem isn't that i don't have safeties, i have two that i love and both of which i could probably get a full ride to. st marys of md because my dad teaches there and florida because hopefully i'll be an NMF and they give full rides to them and they have an amazingg honors college i've heard)</p>
<p>stats:</p>
<p>GPA- 3.7 unweighted, 4.4 weighted (don't do class rank but about top 5% of 300)</p>
<p>PSAT- 227 (most likely high enough for NMSF in my state)
SAT- got 2090 the first time but i was really sick and will be taking it again after extensive tutoring
ACT- 32 but i'm taking it again</p>
<p>2 AP tests soph year- US history (4) and Stats (5)</p>
<p>currently in the IB diploma program but taking 2 additional APs this year and 3 more next year as well as all the IB stuff</p>
<p>ECs-
- #1 singles spot on the varsity tennis team all 4 years and most likely captain next year
- NHS
- summer enrichment program for top 5% of students at my school
- founder of our school's branch of FBLA
- Speech and Debate team all 4 years
- literally 100s of hours of various service at different organisations
- volunteer twice a week coaching special olympics tennis and basketball teams during the winter and spring seasons
- 3 or 4 different club tennis teams
( i didn't have time for any other ECs or to be especially involved in any since i had to travel nearly every wknd for tennis tournaments and spent every summer training in florida.. however i won't be playing in college and my counselor was aware of the fact that i'm good enough to play for most of the school's on my list and STILL said i don't have a very good shot at them)</p>
<p>***be honest with me if you think my counselor is right and i should look into more realistic schools because i really don't have a problem with that and if i don't find any i still LOVE my safeties</p>
<p>lol it think all those schools would be close to matches for you and i think you need to go to your dean and talk to him/her about your counselor's tenure</p>
<p>...You do know that those schools could fill every freshman spot with the amount of Validvictorians(sp) that apply each year and still have to reject kids.</p>
<p>I think your counselor was wrong. If she said that when you mentioned Duke or Brown first, then I could understand, but even you have a chance at those 2 schools.</p>
<p>Perhaps you misunderstood her a bit. She may have been suggesting that in ADDITION to those schools you come up with some safeties and matches. The schools you mention are reaches for just about anybody. Diversify your list a bit and you will be fine.</p>
<p>The schools you listed are turning down lots of kids that are wonderfully qualified, just like you are. They are also accepting qualified kids just like you. Unfortunately, at that level, the acceptances can seem to be almost random as the adcoms try to choose a variety of kids with a variety of interests and skills to create a diverse and interesting class.</p>
<p>So DO NOT give up on those schools! But DO look for some that accept a higher percentage of their applicants. Those schools a tier or two down are more likely to give a top student merit money, which can be very helpful.</p>
<p>the way you make it osund is that your counselor thought you were joking and told you to get back to earth...maybe you misunderstood because thats not the position your in</p>
<p>And just fyi - Florida isn't giving full rides for NMFs anymore. The new president changed that to be more in line with other publics. You will be able to waive the oos tuition and will recieve a smaller scholarship. Check on the amount from their website.</p>
<p>can anyone think of any schools that might be a few steps down from these but that are similar and that i have a better shot at?
not necessarily safeties but i guess "low matches" as sfgiants puts it</p>
<p>sorry!
preferably southeast coast medium sized.. i want to go into engineering but am also interested in liberal arts so if it doesn't have engineering major thats fine
i think i'm too picky though so if schools don't match all of my criteria don't worry about it i don't mind trying bigger or smaller or even california</p>
<p>oh and i've visited elon and emory and just didn't really like either one, since i'm thinking those would be the level that i'm looking for except perhaps lower</p>
<p>You should have an excellent chance at Wake Forest and Vandy. Davidson is a challenge if you apply RD because they strongly prefer ED1 and ED2 applicants.</p>
<p>"i need to give her a list of "realistic options" that i like by next week."</p>
<p>Why the rush? Don't feel pressured. Here's what I'd suggest. Take a look at the the freshman profiles (section c) in the common datasets for the schools you're interested in.</p>
<p>You should be able to get an idea of how well you fit what they're looking for. If you are near the 75th percentile for SAT scores, that's a good sign, but look into some of the other stats as well. Put it on paper if you like. When you meet with your GC again you will have some objective data. Then you can say that the list you are giving her is realistic. If she pushes back, ask if there is something in her experience that tells her otherwise about the schools. She may know of some things that don't come across in the numbers for a particular school... or she may back off of her previous statements.</p>
<p>I would encourage you to apply to Davidson if you are truly enamored with the school - while the previous poster is correct that they are turning away tons of qualified students - they do appreciate other things besides scores in our experience - and your community service would be attractive to them I think.</p>