Do I need more safeties?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>After submitting some November 1st applications and reflecting on the list of colleges I'm looking at, I’ve realized just how top heavy my list actually is. I’ve already applied to my state school and will likely get a good financial aid package. My dream school, and the one I applied to REA is Stanford because I loved the vibe I got when I visited, and I know I’ll have plenty of connections if I act on my dream of founding a tech startup company. Money is a big issue for my family; my father is a student and my mother is unemployed so we have very little income.</p>

<p>So far:
Emory
Northwestern
Rice
Tulane
UChicago
WashU</p>

<p>Related stats:
35 ACT 11 Writing
780 SAT Chemistry
750 SAT Math II
Did not take regular SAT
APs: Four 5s, Three 4s, and Two 3s
GPA: 4.5 weighted / 4.0 unweighted
(I feel like this is pretty competent, save for those 3s)</p>

<p>I tutor some middle school students in math, I’m the VP of a school math organization and hold an office at the national level in another organization, mentor some students in FLL robotics, and am part of school SGA and NHS. (Nothing really notable, save for the national office)</p>

<p>What do you think of my list? Do any other schools have notable financial aid that I have a good chance of getting into?</p>

2

<p>Is there a school on your list that you are 100% sure will accept you and give you the money you need? If so you are fine, but it looks to me like you should consider another one or two schools where you are well above the average student’s stats and perhaps also your state flagship.</p>

3

<p><<<
already applied to my state school and will likely get a good financial aid package. </p>

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<p>likely? You’re not sure that you’ll have all your costs covered? If not, then it’s not a safety. What school is this?</p>

<p>Since your dad is a student and your mom is unemployed, it sounds like your family can’t pay anything. If so, then you need all costs covered, right? A “good” package may not be enough. How would you pay the rest?</p>

4

<p>You only NEED one safety. You can have more, though. A safety is a school that you WILL be admitted to, and WILL be absolutely affordable. Does your state school fit that criteria?</p>

5

<p>What is your state school? There are some good safety schools from which you’d receive excellent merit aid listed on the pinned threads in the Financial Aid forum.</p>

6

<p>At most schools you’re listing, the difference between all stellar applicants is made on EC’s, and unless you forgot to mention time spent taking care of siblings or working or helping parents out, you don’t have anything in your extracurriculars that makes you “stand out”. Your academic profile is outstanding, but so will 80% applicants to Stanford. Of course, there may be additional things that you didn’t share in this short post. But based on what you shared, while you’re competitive academically, when competing with Siemens winners, Olympians, prodigies, etc, your odds are very small, much smaller than 1 in 20 at Stanford. As for your RD schools, they’re all highly selective. You may bring geographical diversity if you applied to schools far away but this plays a much smaller role at the schools on your list.
All these schools are reaches by virtue of admission rate, except for Tulane, a school which does not promise to meet need so while they may choose to meet need for you due to your high stats, they may also choose not to. :s For this reason, you really need to add schools. As for your state school, it depends whether it offers full rides and/or meets need - if you’re in Illinois or Pennsylvania, you’re out of luck, if you’re in New York State or California, you’re fine, and if you’re in Georgia or West Virginia or Florida, you’re sure to have something even if it will be short of a full ride. So, if you live in one of the “unlucky” states, you may end up shut out financially, even with such superlative stats, and you certainly do not belong in community college.
(do you have fee waivers? If not, request them!)
My advice to you is to choose a few LACs that meet 100% need, admit more than 30% students (+ a couple that admit more than 40% students) and/or are located 400+ miles away from your hometown. You can include some that are closer, of course, but applying to a LAC from further away does give a boost. Read the Fiske Guide or Princeton Review’s best College or insider’s Guide to the colleges, to figure out which ones are the best “fit” for you - Carleton or Colgate? Hamilton or Grinnell? Macalester or Washington&Lee? Connecticut College or Whitman? Investigate and target a few for fit, checking that they admit more than 30 (40)% students - don’t look at stats, just at fit. Then, get to work on the (many) supplemental essays.</p>

<p>In any case, due to your interest in starting a start up (and those, while not exclusively there, thrive in the Silicon Valley, so CA is a good location) I would recommend you apply to one of the Claremont colleges, and perhaps two - perhaps HarveyMudd, or Scripps if you’re a girl. </p>

<p>What state do you live in and in what type of environment (urban, suburban, rural)?</p>

7

<p>If you will be happy with State school, Emory or Tulane, I say don’t waste any more time with applications.</p>