Critique My College List

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey guys, I need some help with my college list.</p>

<p>First, here's some basic info about me:</p>

<p>-Asian Female
-3.86/4.6 GPA
-No rank (class size is about 130)
-Income: $33000ish
-NJ Public HS</p>

<p>-Prospective Majors:
-Neurosci & Behavior/Behavioral Neurosci
-Psychology (Neurosci path)</p>

<p>-Minors:
-International Relations
-Philosophy</p>

<p>-670 CR/760 M/690 W
-31 Composite (retaking)</p>

<p>-Many clubs, most being community service club (leadership positions)
-1200+ volunteer hours (since 9th grade)
-Passionate about community service.
-Career choice is either psychiatrist or working in the UN</p>

<p>-AP: US 4 Bio 4 Lang 5
-This year's APs: Stat, Physics B, Gov, Lit, Calc AB</p>

<p>Hopefully I didn't leave out anything..
Okay, so here's the list. (Dun dun dun)</p>

<p>-JHU
-Tufts
-Barnard
-Carnegie Mellon
-NYU
-GWU
-Pitt</p>

<p>I'm also applying to these schools through QuestBridge:</p>

<p>-Yale
-Vassar
-Wesleyan
-Williams</p>

<p>Are too many of them reaches?
I don't wanna be too overly ambitious and just end up wasting money you know?
So, please take a moment to comment, give suggestion etc.
Feel free to suggest other schools that I might be able to attend.</p>

<p>(I generally like relatively small schools with colder weather
in a suburban/urban setting.)</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch guys :)</p>

2

<p>I think Tufts would be a good match, Barnard too. Try other seven sisters: Smith, Mt Holyoke…where are your safeties? Marist? Oh, I just thought of this one, especially for community service: Trinity in Hartford. You’d really enjoy that one!!</p>

3

<p>My safeties are GWU and Pitt.</p>

4

<p>If you like small, NYU is out. I suggest Carnegie and Williams for you. Just be careful. You should visit if you can. </p>

<p>-Just a suggestion:
You say you’re Asian. What ethnicity exactly? It really helps to know these things because certain kinds of “Asian” can also be counted as Pacific Islander, and the smaller the minority you’re part of, the better. </p>

<p>You should also think about joining a sport, if it’s not too late, and try for at least one fine/ media arts class. Think ROUNDED. </p>

<p>Also, if you are well spoken and personable, try to get an interview. Giving the college a real sense of who you are is alway good. (If you get an interview, smile, laugh, and wear a bright color. If you’re good with witty banter/ repartee, throw in one or two jousts. Interviewers like that.)</p>

5

<p>Thanks bbboy.</p>

<p>I’m unable to join a sport because of a wrist injury :frowning:
I actually joined softball last year, but my wrist problem returned,
so I can’t even hold books with my left hand. Gah.</p>

<p>NEVER pass on an Xray because it’s too expensive!
was the lesson I learned, lol.</p>

<p>Anyway,
I was in advanced art classes until last year, as well as choir.</p>

<p>I’m Korean/Japanese. Definitely not URM :/</p>

<p>as for NYU, I’m willing to compromise the size of the class
for its great urban setting and the proximity to my home (30-40 min)</p>

6

<p>If you can, visit your reaches. It will help you know if you REALLY want to go there. Because if you’re applying to a reach, you should REALLY want to go there. If you like one of your mid-level schools better, than dump that reach, it can save you some money.</p>

7

<p>Williams is very rural, and in that way it’s the outlier on your list.</p>

<p>I’d also recommend you take a good look at Smith and Mount Holyoke. Great science opportunities, have what you want with regards to cold weather and suburban location, and it sounds like you don’t mind women’s colleges if you’re interested in Barnard.</p>

8

<p>Sorry to hear about your wrist.
Your stats are very good. You should do well regardless of not having a sport.
Good luck. Let me know where you end up.</p>

9

<p>bumpp 10char</p>

10

<p>could you guys tell me which schools are reaches/matches/safeties?</p>

11

<p>If you’re looking at Questbridge, I’m assuming you’re low income and are going to be mostly on your own come “paying for college” time. In that case, drop NYU, GWU, CMU, and Pitt OOS off of your radar screen unless you want to get into some SERIOUS debt. Look for schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need and, even better, those that do it without loans. You have the stats for those kinds of schools, in my opinion.</p>

12

<p>You’re Asian and from NJ–you have a lot of reaches. This puts you in an ultra competitive pool. While low income is a tip factor, it’s probably not enough to counter the pool you’re in and below median scores for many of these schools.</p>

<p>Then you have schools like NYU, CMU and Pitt, where you have a good chance, but won’t necessarily get the aid you need.</p>

<p>The bottom line is without some more schools that meet need and are leass selective than your current ones, you could end up with little choice in April.</p>

13

<p>Pitt is fairly generous with merit aid to OOSers, actually–full tuition is not uncommon. That would leave <10k for the OP to pay, and if they wanted her, they might throw some need-based aid on top.</p>

<p>But yes, look for full-need no/low-loans schools. The QB schools are free to apply, yes? And you can’t beat a full ride. You should be able to get fee waivers for the others.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that JHU, NYU, and GWU do not promise to meet full need. NYU, in particular, is not known for being generous to high-need applicants. CMU can be variable; they package aid based on how much they want you.</p>

14

<p>ooh, i didn’t know i was below the median for many of my schools.
i’m not sending my SAT score.</p>

<p>thanks for the advice, guys.
yeah i was very iffy about NYU.</p>

<p>would pitt be considered a safety for me?
and what would be my matches?</p>

15

<p>Everyone should know the median stats at every school they are applying to. How else can you assess your chances?</p>

<p>Pitt can not be a safety unless you can afford to pay in full past any Federal aid you qualify for as they guarantee nothing.</p>