What is the vibe that you’re looking for? As opposed to what? Is it something you can articulate? If you can, I imagine there are people here who can steer you toward schools you might like that you hadn’t previously considered.
Excellent point above. Be ware that a teacher’s good recommendation letter that speaks about the student, would be much more helpful than a generic letter from a stat rep.
What counts as a “generic” letter? I’ve known the elected official in question for quite some time and I’m sure any LOR from them would be a shining testament to my character.
I’m looking for a vibe, or kind of typical student rather, that isn’t necessarily focused on making the most money after college but is attending a university of such caliber to get an excellent education and broaden their intellectual outlook. Coming from modest roots, I’d say I’d like to be free from the prep-school kids but they’ll appear at just about any elite institution. Most of all, I want to be surrounded by people who are intelligent and are confident in their abilities—my high school really only has four or five people who I’d consider intelligent (that is, not just getting good grades) and they often doubt what they’re capable of, restricting themselves in the process.
As for Georgetown and UPenn not having the vibe I’m looking for, I’d say the former is too career-focused and the presence of the Wharton business school in the latter is also too money-motivated and doesn’t jive with my left-leaning political views.
@clipper1301 It seems I was mistaken. You have a solid idea of what you’re looking for and what you aren’t. There is still more research to be done (you’re only a junior) but if you can make a balanced list of schools with reaches, matches, and safeties I’m sure you’ll have a great admissions experience next year. And given you’re in-state for Michigan with your stats, I think you’re allowed to have a reach heavy list as long as you’re still being thoughtful about what you actually want.
Also, given what you’ve said, I’d consider moving schools like Columbia and UChicago higher on your list-if you have a ranked list yet. Their core program makes them hubs of intellectualism, they have an emphasis on liberal arts education, great polysci/government departments, and they’re both in the middle of great cities.
AP in foreign language is normally year 4 or 5 in US high schools. However, if you are taking a foreign language course in a different high school (or a college), you do want to check with the instructor or department to ensure correct placement in courses at the new school, since different schools advance at different speeds. I.e. if your old high school’s year 2 is only equivalent to the new school’s year 1, you would have to take year 2 at the new high school. Or if your old high school’s year 2 is equivalent to the new school’s year 3, you could take year 4 at the new high school.
Except for the small-city setting, I think you might like Bates.
Maybe Swarthmore or Haverford?
I don’t have personal knowlege of these schools, just what I’ve read on this forum (and the schools’ websites).
If you only have 2 years foreign language, I would not bother with a foreign language subject test or AP exam. That would be too difficult and not worth the effort. I would study for subject tests you think you can do well in though.
It seems like a strong application. Easily highest in your class and 5s so far on AP exams looks good. If no one from your school has gotten into Ivies that doesn’t look good for top schools, but it should look impressive what you have done from that school. I would go ahead and apply to top Ivies, as with holistic admissions they may be impressed. A friend who is a guidance counselor at a maybe slightly better school encouraged a student to apply to top Ivies when she wouldn’t have done so otherwise, and she got into all 3. You should be able to get into at least a top 50 school, maybe top 20.
Urban school with less than 10,000 undergraduates in the Midwest-that describes WashU very well. And it has a highly rated Political Science Major.
Wash U has one of the most affluent student bodies in the country…I’m sure it’s a great school, but does it have the social vibe OP is looking for?
Maybe Reed College- Dont’ let the ratings fool you…intense, left-leaning, intellectual, Portland Oregon…
West coast is too far away for me, I’d need to go somewhere I could go home by car, bus, or Amtrak. WashU is QUITE affluent (some 26% of students are from the Top 1% of incomes I read somewhere), but what are the geographic origins of these rich kids? Are most of them from wealthy suburbs of midwestern metros or affluent Connecticut shore towns? I may be able to handle the former, but it’s going to be hard either way.
How do Northwestern and WashU’s political science departments stack up?
Why would admissions departments at T20 schools not look kindly upon no one from my school ever having gotten into Ivies/T20, etc.? Would it suggest that my school isn’t preparing me for the rigorous academics these universities are known for? We do send one or two to UMich Ann Arbor every year, but that’s about it.
WashU is pretty diverse geographically. They have been trying to diversify enrollment, but that being said, the SES could be slightly more diverse. But my kid hasn’t seen much overt ostentation.
Of course a lot of Chicago kids are going to be from the wealthy northern suburbs. The local St. Louis kids will be from the wealthy suburbs (Clayton, Ladue) but there are some from less affluent areas of the city.
WashU’s Political Science department is highly rated. Not sure about Northwestern’s though.
Both Northwestern and WashU have very strong polysci departments. They are also both pretty geographically diverse and I know Northwestern works hard to have a socio-economically diverse campus. I have to disagree with Inthegarden’s statement about being disadvantaged because of your school’s lack of a track record with Ivies. It’s true, student’s ability to handle a rigorous curriculum given their background education is taken into consideration by AOs. But outstanding essays and your high stats (record-breaking stats apparently) paired with recs from teachers who are willing to say you are one of the strongest if not the strongest student they’d ever had should dispel any fears that you won’t be able to adjust to the rigor of a T20 school.
Also, I know where you’re coming from with avoiding the ‘snobby prepschool kids’ but I encourage you to remember that rich kids can be (and often are) very nice. And as you’ve already pointed out, when applying to the kinds of schools you’re talking about, they will be unavoidable. Of course, you can weigh stuff like this as you choose. But I wouldn’t count WashU out because of its high proportion of 1%'s. (And if it matters at all, I’ve never heard anyone describe WashU students as snobby or anything like that).
^Just for the record, it wasn’t me who said something about OP’s school’s low track record with the Ivy’s… in fact, I always assumed the Ivy’s are on the lookout for the diamond in the rough…the fresh face from an unrepresented school, for geographic and demographic diversity… but who knows?
I have a friend that goes to WashU and studies Polysci there. Their program is apparently amazing.
In 2017 the median income at WashU was $272,000. 84 percent of the kids were in the top 20 percent. Has it really changed that much in the interim, especially with them increasing their ED admissions to 60 percent of the class? This is not meant as argumentative, it’s a genuine inquiry. Socioeconomic diversity is a priority for my D20 so I can understand your position, OP.
I would do a little more research and try to whittle your list down, at least the number of Ivy’s. I imagine your app would be competitive at any Ivy but all of them are reaches. My friend’s son applied to several last year. Perfect ACT score, max GPA, and awards…denied at all of them. More than 10 applications starts to get difficult to manage plus you’ll probably be writing many essays for admittance and scholarships.
You’re fortunate that UM is basically a safety school. Find one more safety (likeable, guaranteed admittance, and can afford). After that play the lottery.
After the Ivy’s maybe American in DC or Fordham in NYC. Fordham is Jesuit Catholic so pretty liberal. UVA, Wake Forest, JHU, BC, and William and Mary also came to mind. You would probably need aid/merit but I think with your scores/grades you would be considered for top scholarship money.
I plan to visit most of these schools so I’m sure at least five of them will get knocked off my list. I think NYU is the first to go considering how expensive it is. Georgetown and Penn are likely next. In the end, Yale and Vanderbilt will probably go as well.
Safeties are a pickle right now as there’s a big gap in-state between UM and MSU, Central, and the like. I would probably say a small college like Kalamazoo would serve as my second safety but the cost is questionable. What is another state school that could act as a safety that has a good Political Science dept.? UVA?
The reality has set in that I would be a reach at all of these schools—and not just me, but for any top applicant who isn’t internationally recognized in something. The stats get you in the door, but the rest is anyone’s guess.
The big stress now for me is where to play the ED card.
Have you and your parents run the Net Price Calculator for all these schools? That typically weeds out schools too. I know you don’t like MSU but that seems to be a good safety #2. It’s a good school, well known, and probably is affordable. It’s not where you go to school but what you do when you get there.