<p>Your stats aren't fantastic, so based on that:</p>
<p>Cut-
Darmouth
Brown
Amherst
Georgetown
Colgate
UChic
Middlebury</p>
<p>With the rest, why not just pick based on location, general feel, school size, etc? These schools don't have a lot in common.</p>
<p>I never even heard of Elon University, unfortunately. I assume you go to it? </p>
<p>Falthor.</p>
<p>No. I know people there. I know students there. I have been there several times. Its in Greensboro, NC. A stunningly gorgeous campus, Div 1-AA sports...that are HIGHLY competitive....and one of the highest percentages of students overseas in the country. They have strong programs, a small size, are highly selective and just a warm endearing campus culture. A LOT of kids from the north are figuring this out and applying in droves. Trust me on that. A bunch of kids from New Jersey are there.</p>
<p>I can't get rid of Colgate. I'm sorry; I love that school. When I visited it, I fell in love with it. The campus was beautiful, the students seem really cool, and I just felt at home. It was a fantastic school. </p>
<p>As for narrowing down, I do like the big-college feel, but I want to be the big fish in a small pond, so my focus is now leaning towards the smaller, more selective colleges. Sorry for the confusion. I have a lot to offer; my stats aren't the greatest in the sense that you think of, but my counselor will say great things about me, as well as my teachers. Now to decide who will say the best things about me, because every teacher admires my work ethic, enthusiasm, and the like.</p>
<p>And nocousin, I will. You just didn't experience it firsthand (since you're a mother, not a student), so I really don't know. Thank you all for the help, and I hope that I could narrow my list down soon.</p>
<p>^ It would be nice to know things like your love for Colgate. Which colleges are definite keepers? Don't waste our time with a huge list if you have already made decisions about some of the schools.</p>
<p>I don't really understand your "big fish in a small pond" comment. At a selective LAC, you would probably not stand out. If you want that kind of effect, look at LESS selective colleges that would be happy to have you.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, too many college applicants will have great recs, great essays, great ECs, AND great grades. The last two are particularly important because they take time throughout HS to build up. Being a minority will help, but better to be pleasantly surprised than shocked by rejection.</p>
<p>No harm in "loving" a school. But if its a reach, be certain to keep that at arms length. DONT get too attached, because their admissions committee gets thousands of applications and its really a numbers game. Yes, recommendations help and can push a bubble kid over the edge. But if your stats are just too far below their cutoff, it wont help at all. Just the facts. We have been there, done that. Believe me.</p>
<p>Go ahead and apply and give it your best shot, but look upon it as a long shot. And embrace your match/safety schools. </p>
<p>And FWIW, sometimes you can get in the back door as a transfer student. I know a kid who was rejected at Georgetown, went to NCState, applied as a transfer to Georgetown this year and got in. So it happens.</p>
<p>Colgate is the only definite school I'm applying to. I'm just highly considering others, and then considering others. I don't know about these others, so I'm going on tours and such these next few days to visit the rest. </p>
<p>Big fish in a small pond means being noticed, being involved, being something big in a small setting, meaning standing out. I don't think it could be any easier than that. Small fish, big pond: just another student in a school full of fish (pun not intended). I have good, not great grades (hoping to change that next year in the first and second trimesters: straight As), and my ECs: I'm sooooo involved in my school and will be even more involved next year. Everyone knows my name and loves that I give 100% commitment to the school; I even won an award, the only one given to juniors, for it. Selfless dedication, whoo!</p>
<p>I am really scared right now. This is unknown territory; my parents have never gone through this process, so they have nothing to offer. Man, I'm just scared period. So much is happening and I can't stop it.</p>
<p>Calm down, for starters. We acknowledge your natural fears. Normal. You are not alone. 3,000,000 kids did this last year. From your postings we can see that you can think on your feet and write. So write a GOOD essay as well for all your applications. Be methodical in how you approach this. Cut your list down to 12 schools tops. Make folders for each one, and keep all your stuff from that school and what you do on the application process in that folder so you can find it at a moment's notice and NOT miss deadlines.</p>
<p>Finally, recognize that you are going to college next year. You just dont know where yet. And its not entirely up to you to decide: the admissions committee holds you in their grasp. So just accept that you can only do your best, hope for the best and let it go. By April of next year you will have at least 6-8 acceptances if not more. </p>
<p>EC's are important, but they are NOT the initial determinating factors. SAT, GPA and rank count much more. EC's come in when you are on the bubble.</p>
<p>Your success in life is NOT determined by WHERE you go to college. Its determined by the fact that you go to college and how well you do when you are there. Pick a school (match) that you like and focus on it. A school that will help you thrive (being a big fish in small pond as you put it). You have some great schools to consider. Now go get em! </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>My GPA is pretty high but could definitely be higher, I'm in the top fifteen percent of my class, and my SATs are decent. My ACTs are much better than my SATs, but I am definitely going to improve this fall, hopefully into the 30s by that time, along with the 2000s for the SATs. Also, hopefully 700s on the SAT IIs in Math Level IIC, Lit, and Spanish With Listening. Let's pray that I can improve everything before the college admissions process comes to a close. </p>
<p>Thanks for your help. So, twelve colleges? How many should be matches, and how many should be reaches? 4 Matches, 8 Reaches?</p>
<p>Safeties? You need to find schools you should be accepted to as well..</p>
<p>Wouldn't some of my matches be my safeties?</p>
<p>NO. 3 reaches tops. DONT waste time on reaches. 4 or 5 matches. These are your BEST schools, so embrace them. 3 or so safeties. </p>
<p>Its time to think pragmatically. TOO MANY kids are focused on prestige names and apply to reach schools and get burned...and then in April of next year are reeling. DONT DO THAT.</p>
<p>Its okay to have ambition. That is a good thing. But dont OVER do it. 3 reaches tops. A reach is any school where your CORE SAT (CR/MATH) score is at the 25th percentile or lower. Match is the 50th Percentile. Safety is where YOU are at the 75th percentile or higher of THAT school. </p>
<p>(Not to be confused with the schools own 25/50/75th percentiles. I am talking about YOUR scores on that scale.)</p>
<p>DO NOT waste time on REACHES. Apply to three and move on. Spend MOST of your time on Match schools. Learn about them, study their curriculum, their faculty, their programs, their student body stats and such.</p>
<p>Visit the ones you can.</p>
<p>How come you're focusing on the now? What if I do extremely better on standardized testing and my transcript in the beginning of my Senior year? For example, in the "What are MY Chances / Cry For Help" thread, I mentioned that if I do well in my classes, chances are I may increase my unweighted cumulative GPA from a 3.44 to an almost 3.6 (3.58 to be exact), and that's both a tremendous improvement as well as a chance of getting those reach schools to become matches. </p>
<p>Gah, the confusion!</p>
<p>Try an in-state university.. matches aren't necessarily safeties.</p>
<p>Safeties = definitely should get in
Matches = ok/good shot of getting in
Reaches = doable, but difficult to get in</p>
<p>I have one in-state: Rutgers. I don't want to stay in New Jersey; I want to be independent and away from the folks at home. I know how offensive that sounds, but I must leave the nest.</p>
<p>From what I understand, doing really well your first semester won't help too much. Standardized testing you can improve, but it's too late to make a dramatic improvement to your GPA for getting accepted to colleges.</p>
<p>You just have to accept that and apply to schools in your range. My GPA is lower than it should be, so my "matches" generally have a higher GPA than what I have but similar or slightly lower SATs.</p>
<p>ETA: Make sure your parents are on the same wavelength money-wise. You don't want to make that mistake. I am too from NJ and my parents have told me to "take a good look at Rutgers" because it's a good in-state school and it has relatively cheap tuition/room and board.</p>
<p>Well, all colleges look at the first and second trimesters at my school, since the mid-year report is necessary for some applications. Furthermore, the GPA, I think, is still important, since some of my match colleges' average UW GPA is a 3.6, maybe a 3.7. If I continue to maintain some sort of consistency, is the possibility of getting into a college based on those new credentials still there?</p>
<p>Your October SAT score may not come until mid November. You should already have half of your applications done by then. Do NOT apply at the last minute to schools. The admissions offices are swamped then and wont give your applications much consideration....like, they only look at the raw scores and decide on that basis.</p>
<p>also pick ONE ED school. It can be a reach if you want.</p>
<p>What about the Common App? One application, all schools? The only schools I'm looking at that don't are (up until this point, just the schools that were mentioned in the first post, I don't know about Elon at all) Georgetown, U of Maryland, Rutgers, and UMBC, which I'm no longer looking at. The focus there is on research, and I'm not a science guy, unfortunately. I like science, but I won't want to make a career out of it.</p>
<p>My ED school (if you're talking about Early Decision) will be Colgate, definitely.</p>
<p>If your GPA or test scores go up, great. You can readjust your list when the time comes, or just enjoy some of your reaches becoming matches. YOU STILL NEED TO FIND A SAFETY THAT YOU LIKE. If you want to get away from NJ, Rutgers isn't a true safety because you wouldn't be happy to attend.</p>
<p>Find a safety (admissions and financial, if that's an issue) and love it.</p>