Here’s the list of colleges that I’m planning to apply to in the fall (stats below).
Safety:
Miami University (Ohio)
Ohio State University
Syracuse University
Match:
Boston College
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Reach:
Johns Hopkins (first choice but won’t apply ED)
Harvard University
University of Notre Dame
Stanford University
I’m worried that I don’t have enough match schools and that my matches may be closer to reaches… I’m not really interested in any LACs because they are smaller than I would like.
GPA: 5.1 weighted, 4.28 unweighted (I’ve only ever gotten A+'s and 3 A’s)
Class rank: 2/330
ACT: 35
SAT: 1570
SAT II: 800 Chem, still waiting on Math 2 but likely high
Have completed 8 AP’s, with 4’s or 5’s on all of them, will take 5 more senior year
I’m a white female from a public high school. EC’s are pretty generic… Key club, student council type things. Varsity track and swimming all 4 years. I did start a club at my school that is pretty unique and I can definitely focus on that in my essays because it took up a significant amount of my time.
Any thoughts, opinions? I am happy to provide more information if needed. Thanks!!
You should always mention cost constraints and state. Do you know what you want to study? Your list ranges from fairly rural to big city environments. What are your goals?
Cost really isn’t an issue. My parents are willing to pay $250,000+ if I get into Harvard, but I still like the idea of going to a less elite school and getting merit aid.
State is Ohio.
I am looking to study something in the sciences… currently I’m leaning towards chemistry-type things and going pre-med, but engineering is still being considered.
In general, I prefer colleges that are more suburban/secluded but very near a major city– Boston, Baltimore, etc. The exceptions to this are Notre Dame and Miami, but they each have their own merits that make up for being in the middle of nowhere.
For merit aid safety, consider Alabama. And it might sound crazy, but consider retaking the ACT in hopes of a 36. I say that only in terms of merit aid for ACT 36 specifically. Alabama does not fit the city profile but it has engineering and a good honors college presence.
Another match to consider is UW-Madison.
For other matches, North Carolina or Virginia?
For a safety in your area, I would replace Syracuse with Indiana. It is a beautiful campus, nice town, good chemistry department. I majored in chemistry there years ago.
@mommdc
I will look into Pitt, thanks! At my high school, Ohio University is where people go when they don’t get in at OSU or Miami, and it is known for being a party school.
@WISdad23
I have heard a lot of things about merit aid at Alabama. It may be a little farther than I want to go but something to look into!
Is there a significant difference in merit aid between a 35 and 36? I could probably get a 36, but I figured my score was high “enough” that it wouldn’t make a huge difference.
I’ve thought about UNC Chapel Hill but (it’s crazy, I know) there are a TON of bugs in North Carolina. I swell like crazy when I get mosquito bites and seeing two spiders would have me packing my bags… needless to say I’m afraid of bugs.
I visited Syracuse and loved the campus/area, but I will look at Indiana. Is it just University of Indiana?
I’d look at both Tufts and Cornell. Tufts is just outside Boston and is a high match for you I think. Cornell isn’t near any real big cities but for some reason that I can’t pinpoint other than intuition, I think you should take a look.
Emory (high match)
Brandeis
U of Rochester
Wake Forest
Tulane
Lehigh
SMU
Case Western
…and OOS at UW-Madison, IU, U of Minnesota, etc. (although I don’t think any state school is worth twice as much as OSU, if you wanted to go to a public school…)
Additionally:
Washington U, Rice and Vanderbilt are similar in environment and are roughly as selective (and as good…) as Notre Dame. Georgetown is also in that peer group and is a more urban/suburban Catholic option. Emory (above) is also with that group in terms of academic quality and rep, but it isn’t quite as selective – a real bargain in terms of your chances of getting in.
@prezbucky
Thanks for the great suggestions! Some of them are a little to close to home (Case) and others are too far (Rice, Tulane, Emory, etc). From a quick google search, Brandeis and Lehigh both look very interesting! Hopefully I can find time to visir those two.
I agree with you about the OOS thing. The only reason U of Michigan is on my list is because they matched the price of in-state tuiton for several of my friends that went there.
You’re list looks good, and you’ll definitely get into at least one of these schools tbh. Just visit if you can in order to gt a good feel of the school culture
Not encouraging you to grub for one more ACT point, but with your stats you have some potentially high payoffs. The dilemma for high stats, full pay students is whether it is truly worth the money to attend a selective school full pay or take the value of merit scholarships at less selective schools. This is what an ACT of 36 and a gpa of 4.0 gets you at Alabama:
"A student with a 4.0 GPA and a 36 ACT or 1600 SAT will be selected as a Presidential Elite Scholar and will receive:
Value of tuition for up to four years for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies
One year of on-campus housing at regular room rate
$1,000 per year stipend for four years
$2,000 one-time allowance for use in summer research or international study (after completing one year of study at UA)
$1,000 one-time technology stipend"
So the total cost of your degree would be equivalent to 3 years housing plus transportation. That might be ~$65,000. If your parents are otherwise willing to pay the $280,000 full pay of other schools then you would be +$215,000 at the end of 4 years.
Merit scholarships are great if, and only if, the fit is right - with a mean ACT of 27 and only 40% having scored higher than a 30, the peer population may not be a fit. If you are looking for merit scholarships you may want to consider Wash U, Vanderbilt, Grinnell, Oberlin, Richmond, amongst others.
@Chembiodad
Wow, that Alabama program looks great! There is an Eminence Scholars program at OSU that offers full tuition + room and board, as well as a $3,000 a year stipend. Plus, these people get extra mentors & priority housing and all kinda of other things. I’m not certain how many people are accepted into this program, but I know people from my school have been in years past and I’m pretty competitive for it.
However, the fact that the scholarship at Alabama is guaranteed for those scores is amazing! Thanks for the info!!
@Chembiodad Tufts CDS shows interest in the “considered” column. Acceptance rate is around 16%, average SAT 1450, average ACT 31-32. With the OP’s stats, Tufts Syndrome might be an issue though. I’ll still call it a high match if a visit is made. Certainly less of a lottery than the other four reaches on her list.
