Decisions decisions decisions ;)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm having a lot of trouble trying to narrow down a list of colleges to apply to...here's a rundown of my profile. I'm definitely open for suggestions that are good academic fits, although I'm leaning toward schools that have good prelaw programs:</p>

<p>TX resident
4.0 UW/4.53 W
1/595 Rank
2150 SAT (800 V, 680 M, 690 W) - retaking one last time in October to boost math score and hopefully writing too
SAT IIs: Math IIC (700 - might retake); Literature (730); U.S. History (750)</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>ECs/awards/honors:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>NHS: President; 1 year. Organizing community service projects this year. </p></li>
<li><p>HOSA: Member-at-large; 3 years - made it to Nationals 2006 for Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Issues Exam (top 10%), National Recognition Program, Barbara James Service Award</p></li>
<li><p>FBLA: Vice President; 3 years - made it to State 2006 for Business Calculations (4th place)</p></li>
<li><p>Latin Club: 4 years. Lots of community service projects, including Operation Christmas Child. </p></li>
<li><p>BPA: 1 year. Hoping to run for chapter office, will be competing.</p></li>
<li><p>Quiz League: 2 years. Team made runner-up in district '06.</p></li>
<li><p>Public library volunteer for 4 years - 300+ hours.</p></li>
<li><p>Helped start MUSE - free mentoring/tutoring program for elementary age children at public library - 100+ hours of effort.</p></li>
<li><p>Community service through Mission Arlington, Salvation Army, Alzheimer's Assoc, etc</p></li>
<li><p>Health science clinical rotation student for 1 yr; business internship this year. </p></li>
<li><p>I'm also a first generation Asian female college student. Parents make about $46000/yr. I work part-time about 16 hours/wk at library. </p></li>
<li><p>Will mostly likely make National Merit Finalist (PSAT: 226). </p></li>
</ul>

<p>*</p>

<p>Pretty good recs from English/bio teachers; clinical rotation teacher (knows me very well); good relationship with counselor. </p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Essay will be excellent - writing is the area where I definitely shine.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Interested in: law. Want to go onto to great grad school.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Senior courseload:</p>

<p>Speech/AP Euro
AP Calculus BC
AP English IV
Academic Decathlon (honors credit)
AP Biology II
AP Statistics
Richard Greene Scholar Internship (business internships + $10000)</p>

<p>Will graduate on Distinguished Plan.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>AP US History - 5
AP World History - 5
AP Psychology - 5
AP Language - 5</p>

<p>Will hopefully attain some kind of AP distinction at end of this year.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>The list...</p>

<p>Stanford
Dartmouth
Brown
Columbia
Cornell
University of Chicago
Rice
Williams
Amherst
Pomona
Wesleyan
Claremont McKenna
Bowdoin
Southern Methodist University
UT-Austin (already admitted due to top 10% rule)</p>

<p>Reaching too far, too low? Best fits? Let me know. Appreciate it!</p>

2

<p>Okay, first the answer to the question--are you reaching too far?--The answer is no.</p>

<p>Now, the next question--where do you really want to go? I can tell you to go to Columbia or Pomona or Stanford, but (1) I have no idea what you are interested in majoring in, and (2) I have no idea which school you would prefer since you tell me very little about what you want in a school other than the pre-law comment.</p>

<p>Off your list, the top law schools (in order) would be:
Stanford
Columbia
Chicago
Cornell
and Univ of Texas-Austin (all of which rank in the top 15 or so). Other top law schools are at Yale, Harvard, NYU, Penn, Berkeley, UCLA, and Michigan.</p>

<p>Quite often it pays to go to the school as an undergrad since it gives you a slight (very slight) advantage in being admitted to their law school. For example, more students going to Yale Law School went to Yale as undergraduates than from any other school. However that number is still less than 3% of the accepted class of law school students.</p>

<p>but many of the LAC listed have good pre-law programs also, so don't rule them out.</p>

<p>Tell us a little more about what else you are looking for if you want us to make better recommendations--and good luck with your college apps.</p>

3

<p>I'd really love to go to Stanford or Univ of Chicago, but I think I'd be happy at some of the LACs too. My main problem is money, since I know I'm going to need a lot of financial aid to afford most of these schools. Thought about maybe applying to Harvard or Yale, but I know those will be a shot in the dark with my ECs and lower math scores.</p>

<p>I'm thinking about majoring in psychology or political science, maybe a minor in something business. Mainly, I'm looking for a college environment where I can get some personal attention, which I know the LACs offer, but I want a school that will prepare me well for grad school, too. I thrive with class discussions and smaller class sizes. Diversity would be great, I don't want to be stuck at a school that's like 99% white, no offense or anything.</p>

4

<p>Stanford - Reach
Dartmouth - Reach
Brown - Reach
Columbia - Reach
Cornell - Match
University of Chicago - High Match
Rice - Reach
Williams - Reach
Amherst - Reach
Pomona - ?
Wesleyan - Match
Claremont McKenna - ?
Bowdoin - Match
Southern Methodist University- Safety</p>

<p>Your SATs trip you up. Score over 700 on the Math and Writing and above, say, 2250 total and you''ll definitely improve your chances, though most of the schools on your list will still remain reaches mainly because of the competition (lots of vals with 4.0 GPAs and 2250+ SATs apply to these schools) and the fact that most of these schools have admission rates of less than 20%.</p>

<p>Here's some other very good, but a bit less selective schools you might want to take a look at:</p>

<p>Northwestern
Wesleyan
Johns Hopkins
Cornell
Carleton
Vassar
Tufts
Washington and Lee
Emory
Vanderbilt
Notre Dame
Georgetown
Bowdoin
Haverford
Macalester
Davidson
Colby
Univer. Of Southern CA
Colgate
Brandeis
William and Mary
Oberlin
Bates
Tulane
Hamilton
Grinnell
University of Virginia</p>

<p>You also might want to take a look at Washington University in St. Louis. It would be a low reach for you given your current stats, but it's a great school - ranked #12 by US News.</p>

5

<p>Hmmm...Just saw the thing about financial aid. If that's a big consideration, you may want to find a school with a decent honors program that is willing to offer substantial scholarship or grant money to lure kids of your calibre into the program. University of Pittsburgh, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, and Penn State come immediately to mind. There are others.</p>

6

<p>musely:</p>

<p>UCB/UCLA: Match (out of state)</p>

7

<p>Rice has some great merit scholarships along with providing 100% of need. Any top undergrad program will get you to law school.</p>

8

<p>musely, there is nothing in your profile that would keep you out of any school in America. There are, of course, no guarantees AND THESE ARE VERY SELECTIVE SCHOOLS but come on guys -- #1 rank + all A's! She doesn't need another 10-20 points on the SATI.</p>

<p>As an Asian female you're up against a pretty tough demographic and I think that is your biggest disadvantage. Nothing you can do about it, though, so concentrate on the positives. </p>

<p>At some of the schools on your list Asians are still considered URMs so I would rate your chances at those as somewhat better than the urban and ivies that are very popular among Asians. Williams, Amherst and Dartmouth are three on your list that especially want to recruit Asians, but don't worry, they're not 99% white.</p>

<p>You need to be very clear on whether your family would qualify for need based aid or if you would require merit aid. If you qualify for need based aid, then you have a good chance of getting it from all of the schools on your list. If they admit you they will most likely figure out a way to help you pay for it. </p>

<p>If, however, you're looking for merit aid, then you're going to have cross off most of those on your list and start over again with a VERY different collection. </p>

<p>From what you've told us it appears that you'd get substantial need based aid, but have your family use one of those on-line calculators just to be sure.</p>

<p>This is the most important point. After you figure out your financial situation you can go on to refining your list.</p>

<p>Assuming that you want to go to UT or SMU you are covered. If you would prefer an LAC environment, you should continue to research to find some more matches and safeties. </p>

<p>I'd also question what criteria you used in formulating this list as the environment and atmosphere are so different. Colleges, especially LACs, want to admit people who will fit with the personality of the school. When you craft your application you want to get that across. While it's technically possible for someone to "fit" in with Dartmouth and Columbia, or Chicago and Williams the cultural differences between these schools makes me think that you ought to do some more homework on what would be right for you.</p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how you do.</p>

9

<p>With Chicago, the essays matter a lot. You also have to show them that you love intellectual inquiry for itself, not just as a means to an end (grades, career, etc). I think that you will get in. (I went there). If you are happy with your safeties (including UT Austin), you can apply pretty much whereever you like and just see which schools take you and give money. Sounds as if you are eligible for need based aid, but still, many schools may expect your parents to pay $5000 or more per year. When looking for aid, it usually pays to aim a little low. Vanderbilt sounds good. Boston College may be good. Vassar sounds good. These schools are known for giving aid. I know that you are trying to narrow down though, not expand your list. I think that you have a pretty good chance at all of your schools.</p>

10

<p>Stanford is as hard to get into as Harvard and Yale and especially so for Asians. I agree with those who say you need to up the SATs for a good shot at a very top schools, they all reject the majority of vals.</p>

11

<p>I just signed up for the ACT today: I'll be taking it on Oct. 28. It's my first time taking this test, but assuming I do pretty well on it (hopefully a score of 30 and above), do you think that would help my chances at schools like Stanford, Dartmouth, and Amherst, since I know those three are especially selective?</p>

12

<p>Dartmouth and Amherst are much less selective than Stanford. I'm no expert, but is a 30 better than your SAT score? It seems like kids at the top schools are getting 34 plus.</p>

13

<p>Actually, yeah, you're right. I just looked at an SAT/ACT comparison chart, and a 33+ on the ACT score is comparable to a 1490+ on the SAT. So let's say I get at least a 33 on the ACT and submit both that score and my SAT scores to the schools I'm applying to. Which is usually favored more, SAT or ACT? And would having both help my chances, especially since I'm hoping to raise my SAT scores when I take it again in October, too?</p>