Do These Colleges Work?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm going into my Freshman year of high school at a private school. I've made excellant grades my life, and my standardized testing scores score score over the high average everytime. I was doing some research this summer about these colleges out of boredom, and I'm wondering if my choices would fit me. I know that I am only a freshman this year, but I understand that this is just a starting rough draft and these choices and/or stats will change over the years of high school. I just wanted to go into Freshman year with my goals in mind.</p>

<p>I plan to major in Biology, Biochemistry, or something similar to those like Molecular Biology. I also plan on going to medical school to study to become a doctor. My other career choices as of so are either an Engineer (Aerospace, Biomedical, Chemical, Civil) or Teacher/Professor. I also want to take elective courses in the humanities, like Literature, Philosophy, Music Theory, and/or Spanish.</p>

<p>Last Year's Schedule and Grades
History Honors - A+
Physical Science H - A
English H - A
Spanish I (high school credit class) - A+
Algebra I H (high school credit class) - A+</p>

<p>This Year
World History H
Spanish II H
AP Biology
English H
Geometry H</p>

<p>Other Stats:
Hispanic Male
GPA: 4.0
President's Plague Award for Consistant 4.0 GPA</p>

<p>Extracurriculars as of now:
Debate Team - Starting this year, but I plan to continue this until senior year
Guitar - 2 years, plan to continue this
Piano - 1 year, plan to continue this
Boy Scout - Been part of this forever, hopefully making Eagle by 18</p>

<p>Would these Colleges work?</p>

<ol>
<li>Cornell University (Arts and Sciences) (M) (Top Choice)</li>
<li>Dartmouth College (R)</li>
<li>Emory University (Emory College of Arts and Sciences) (M)</li>
<li>Florida State University (College of Arts and Sciences) (S)</li>
<li>Harvard University (Harvard College) (R)</li>
<li>New College of Florida (S)</li>
<li>Princeton University (R)</li>
<li>Rice University (M)</li>
<li>University of Chicago (The College) (M)</li>
<li>University of Florida (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) (S)</li>
<li>University of Miami (College of Arts & Sciences) (S)</li>
<li>Yale University (Yale College) (R)</li>
</ol>

<p>(S) = Safety Pick (35%+ Admission)
(M) = Moderate Pick (20%-34%)
(R) = Risky pick (Less than 20%)</p>

<p>Order by Desire To Go There (per risk group)</p>

<p>(S)
1. University of Miami
2. New College of Florida
3. University of Florida
4. Florida State University</p>

<p>(M)
1. Cornell university
2. Rice University
3. Emory University
4. University of Chicago</p>

<p>(R)
1. Princeton University
2. Yale University
3. Harvard University
4. Dartmouth College</p>

<p>Other Possibilities:
Boston College (M)
Denison University (S)
Duke University (M)
Eckerd College (S)
Elon University (S)
Northeastern University (S)
Northwestern University (IL) (M)
Tufts University (M)*</p>

<p>Please tell me if I'm aiming too high, need more extracurriculars, need more information, too early to start thinking about this, if I need less/more schools to apply to, etc. All that good stuff and more.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for reading all this.</p>

2

<p>too early…things could change a lot from now til junior year…</p>

3

<p>So… the grades you’ve listed are middle school grades? lol</p>

<p>But seriously, you’re mind’s in the right place but it’s way too early to tell.</p>

4

<p>Also, college selectivity will change, for better or for worse, depending on the college. For instance, the University of Chicago is in the process of changing its admissions from an essay-based, self-selective process to one of a more Ivy League mindset. By the time you apply, its acceptance rate will probably be at least 10% lower than what it is now.</p>

<p>EDIT: “President’s Plague Award.” Man, you must’ve really p*ssed him off.</p>

5

<p>aab: That’s what I thought too.</p>

<p>Bdl: Same thoughts.</p>

<p>Phuriku: Oh, I didn’t know that. And sorry for the typo; as funny as that one is, I meant plaque.</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback!</p>

6

<p>Students should usually not consider schools such as Cornell, Duke, or UChi as matches. Duke turns away more than 8 in 10 applicants…</p>

7

<p>Eatsalot: Good point. Does that mean those 3 are more reach/risky picks than moderate picks? Duke wasn’t in my Top 12, it was just a possibility floating in my mind.</p>

<p>Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but a match is a school you have a relatively good chance of getting into and suits your needs for a college, like location, etc., right?</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Correct. I think the point eatsalot was trying to make was that it’s very difficult to say that anyone is a match for Cornell, Duke, or Chicago. Just as no one would consider Harvard, Yale, or Princeton to be matches, as they are reaches for everyone, it is getting to the point where Cornell, Duke, and Chicago are so selective that they might be considered reaches for everyone, too. From personal experience, I know a handful of people who got rejected from Chicago with 2400 SATs (and these were people who had Chicago as their first choice), and I also have heard of many people going off to places like Stanford after getting rejected from Chicago. There are so many applicants that the admissions process is often incredibly ambiguous. When only 1 in 6 or 7 applicants is admitted, regardless of how good your application is, there’s a reasonably high chance it will get rejected.</p>

<p>That isn’t to discourage you. If you were to apply to those schools today, I think you would have a good shot at getting into most of them.</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the information; that was helpful. So, those 3 mentioned will belong in the “Risky/Reaches” section in the upcoming years, but it’s weird that people rejected can go on to different, yet “better” school, like Stanford.</p>

<p>So, a match for me, if I can keep up and maybe improve this record (easier said than done) might be Rice or Emory, considering my location in Florida?</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>Well, I’m pretty sure no one in the world of academia would argue that Stanford is a better school than Chicago in terms of academics. One could argue that Stanford is more selective, due to a significantly lower admissions rate, but there are inherent flaws within this argument. Even though Stanford’s admit rate is 20% lower than that of Chicago, if you look at the two schools’ SAT scores on collegeboard.com, they’re about identical.</p>

<p>There’s something called self-selection which is important upon analyzing admit rates. A school which receives very few unqualified student applications is deemed ‘self-selective’. It’s admission rate is higher, but for a reason. At schools like Harvard, it’s been estimated that 20-40% of the apps are “crap applications” - they’re just from applicants who are in no way qualified for the school, but they apply because… well, it’s Harvard. Next year, you’ll probably see Brown’s acceptance rate plummet below Harvard’s. Does that mean that Brown is more selective than Harvard? No, it means a lot of students want to go to Brown because Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) is attending. Best look at average SAT scores and GPA to see the true selectivity of a college.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I would agree here. Both are still selective schools, though. Also, your preferences may change over time. In 3 years, you might want to move FURTHER away from home.</p>

11

<p>Shouldn’t you be stealing your dads plAyboys or something :)</p>

<p>rice is probably still a reach.</p>

12

<p>So you haven’t even started 9TH GRADE? You do realize colleges don’t care at all about middle school grades, right? I mean it’s good that you care about getting a good education, etc. but it’s way to early to think about college admissions. You haven’t even taken SATs/ACTs yet, and that plays a somewhat significant role in your applications. Plus essays and recommendations.
For now, I’d say do well in high school and participate in activities that you enjoy (colleges will be able to see through resume padding). Get to know your teachers well and in 10th/11th grade you can take the PSATs. For now, also, remember to have fun…lol</p>

13

<p>Stanford and Chicago are both so strong it’s stupid to dispute</p>

14

<p>First off: Presidents Plague? Congrats =D</p>

<p>Congrats on getting started really early! There’s really nothing wrong with starting early, but there are a few things that you really can’t decide yet/haven’t done yet.</p>

<p>You have no real idea what career path you want to pursue (medicine, engineer, or teacher… that just about covers most fields :D). You may end up wanting to do engineering… but then Princeton isn’t exactly the best place for you is it?</p>

<p>You haven’t experienced a lot of classes yet. I thought that I was going to do engineering pretty much all my life (though never had known which concentration). Then, after taking Physics and APUSH in 11th Grade, I found out that I really am not interested in an engineering field and have more interest in business-related fields.</p>

<p>You’re going to have to have a pretty beefed up resume when you head to good colleges. I don’t mean that it has to be crazy… but you have to volunteer, have leadership positions, do ECs. It’s quality over quantity: don’t go to 50 clubs and volunteer at 15 different places… consistently do clubs that you are interested in (the colleges you apply to don’t care what clubs you’re in really, as long as you enjoy what you do and continue with it… you’ll find that it makes a difference to do what you like).</p>

<p>I’d suggest a few more colleges too:
-Stanford (Ivy of the West, I think)
-Columbia (the Core Curriculum definitely covers the sort of stuff you want to study, aside from your major of choice)</p>

<p>And another thing: don’t go into HS too career oriented! I honestly still have no clue what I’m going to do (HS senior this coming fall)… I’ve just found that taking a wide variety of classes as been to my advantage, because not only do I get to see what I like/not like, but I get to stay interested. Plus, you may find out that you like something new.</p>

<p>Try not to keep TOO short of a list just yet… your interests and likings will change. But glad to know that you’re focused =D</p>

15

<p>He isnt even in high school yet, its too soon for him to be thinking of any colleges let alone be receiving advice about ivy league reaches and matches based off of middle school grades. To the OP, honestly dont even worry about college right now, just try to enjoy high school. Keep your grades up, thats the only thing you should be worrying about.</p>

16

<p>Skateboarder: No, that’s what the internet’s for, silly. Thanks for the info, though.</p>

<p>Anony: I know it’s early, but like I said, I just wanted to go into my high school with my goals in mind and was mainly wondering that if I keep it up, would the schools I mentioned fit me or not.</p>

<p>Nedgar: Thanks for the congrats and info. I’m planning of taking a wide variety of courses anyways, and already have an idea which clubs I might like and where I would want to volunteer. The problem with Stanford is that I’m in Florida, and that’d be way too far way. Columbia’s core curriculam and general education requirements are also really imposing, but I’ll keep it in mind.</p>

<p>Vigilent: Thanks, I’ll try.</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback everyone!</p>

17

<p>Declaring Duke/Cornell/Chicago matches before even beginning high school is absurd. It reminds me of my ten year old cousin: “I wanna go to Harvard but I’m gonna use Princeton and Yale as backups just in case!”</p>

18

<p>ChoklitRain: Lol, you’re right. I just called them moderate picks (not matches) based on admission rates before learning about self-selectivity and other things from people on this thread. Like I said, this is just a rough draft. Thanks for the feedback.</p>

19

<p>^ generally the only kinds of people who can call those schools matches(which I consider to be a 60-70% shot at getting in) are those who get accepted to Harvard/Princeton/Yale. in other words, a few thousand kids out of about 3 million.</p>

<p>if you’re interested in a school, you can go to its forum on this site, and search for “results” or “decisions” to see what’s necessary to get in, and also how random it all can be</p>

20

<p>I see what you mean. So, for those people, a normal reach for most people is a match for them, which means those three would fall under the reaches category.</p>