Do I have a good list?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi, I've finished applying to 14 schools, and I want to know if I've compiled a good list. Part of me thinks I've shot waaaaaay too high and that my safeties aren't really 100% safeties.</p>

<p>By the way, I'm Canadian, but I hold U.S. citizenship. So if the extracurriculars don't look too spectacular, it's honestly because there's less of a focus here on them (compared to the U.S.)</p>

<p>Basic Info:
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Filipino
GPA: 95%
SAT Reasoning Single Sitting: 1420 / 2220 (750 CR, 670 M, 800 W)
SAT Reasoning Superscore: 1440 / 2240 (750 CR, 690 M, 800 W)
SAT IIs: 750 US History, 760 Lit
Class Rank: 1/92</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (by the end of Grade 12 year):
Yearbook: 2 years
Concert Choir: 2 years
Show Choir (so-called "glee club"): 2 years
OLLA Service Club: 2 years
Drama ("The Outsiders," "Grease", "Twelve Angry Men"): 2 years
Retreat Leader
Student Council: 1 year
Graduation Committee: 1 year</p>

<p>Recs: Amazing
Essay: Slightly risky topic, but well-writen.</p>

<p>So here's my list, sorted into categories:
Reaches: Dartmouth, UChicago, Stanford, Yale, UPenn, Princeton, Cornell, Swarthmore
Matches: Notre Dame, Boston College, NYU, Vassar
Safeties?: Fordham, UMiami</p>

<p>Again, my main concern is that my safeties aren't truly 100% safeties, speaking only academically (of course, my financial safeties are in Canada).</p>

2

<p>You don’t need US safeties. Assuming you applied to enough safe Canadian schools, those should be your safeties. It doesn’t make sense to come here and pay more unless there is a marked increase in quality.</p>

3

<p>Certainly that’s true, but I’ve never been particularly attached to Canada (I left the U.S. in elementary school), and I would only attend school in this country as a last resort. In fact, I’d probably try to transfer out immediately.</p>

<p>So I still want to know if my “safeties” in the U.S. are indeed safeties, academically speaking.</p>