Does My List Have a Good Balance of Safeties, Targets, and Reaches?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi all!
I’m new to College Confidential, but now I’m finally dipping my feet in the water! Currently I am a first-year English major at Santa Monica College. I have taken 12 units this semester and plan on taking 22 more units by the end of this school year. I am hoping to transfer to another school this year, but if I am not accepted into any of the colleges on my list this year, I can always stay another year at SMC and apply to UC schools next year.
*NOTE: I did not pick these schools for their prestige. Rather, I researched the curricula of English departments in various colleges and selected the colleges that had the most appealing course offerings to me.

Anyway, here is my list of colleges in order of preference and my intended major at each school:
1.Northwestern University-Journalism
2.Stanford University-English
3.University of Chicago-English Language and Literature
4.Brown University-English with a focus on nonfiction writing
5.Johns Hopkins-Writing Seminars
6.Duke University-English
7.Yale University-English
8.Middlebury College-English and American Literature with an emphasis on creative writing
9.Carleton College-English
10.Oberlin College-Creative Writing
11.Pomona College-English
12.Washington University in St Louis- English Literature with a focus on creative writing
13.University of Pennsylvania-English

Here are my stats:
-High School

*GPA: 98.7 out of 100 (unweighted)

*SAT: 2040 / 2070 super score (700 CR, 630 Math, 740 Writing)

*AP tests:
+Sophomore Year:
1.Chemistry-2
2.World History-4

+Junior Year:
1.US History-5
2.Calculus AB-4
3.Language and Composition-5
4.Physics 1- 2
5.Physics 2- 2

+Senior Year:
1.Literature-5
2.Statistics-4
3.Spanish Language and Culture-4
4.US Government and Politics-4

*SAT Subject Tests:
1.Chemistry-680
2.World History-640
3.Math 1-650
4.US History-760
5.Literature-660

*Extracurriculars:
1.Law club- Understudy for 1 year and lawyer for three years. My mock trial team made it to playoffs two times.
2.School newspaper-Staff writer and editorial editor for four years
3,Literary magazine-Contributor for 1 year
4.Track and field-Ran winter track for two years and spring track for four years. Qualified for county championships in winter during my senior year and in spring during my junior and senior years. Received most improved runner award junior year and county scholar athlete award
5.Cross country-Participated for four years. Team captain for two years. County-qualifying runner junior and senior year. One of top 7 runners during junior and senior year. Received most improved runner award junior year and county scholar athlete award
6.English Honor Society-Vice president and co-founder during my senior year. Read to children at elementary schools, organized bake sales, and hosted Halloween and Christmas events.
7.Senior volunteer at local hospital-Participated for two years. Over 1500 hours of service at the front desk and on the floors. Received Volunteer Recognition Award in 2016
8. Member of chamber choir and womens’ singing group-Participated for four years and represented school in national choral conference. Received choir award in 2014, 2015, and 2016
9.Phone manager in local political campaign in 2015 and 2016- Canvassed, made phone calls, and trained interns
10.Art Honor Society-Member for three years, secretary for two years. Painted murals, decorated from school events, and made mosaics.

-College

*GPA:3.9

*Fall semester courses (12 units)
1, American Literature 1
2. Contemporary American Literature,
3,Asian American History
4.Intermediate Composition (12 units)

*Winter semester courses (8 units)

  1. Sociology 1
  2. Calculus 2

*Spring semester courses (14 units)
1.Arabic 1,
2.Early English Literature
3.Creative Writing
4.International Political Economy

*Extracurriculars:
1.UNICEF volunteer
2.Assistant Director of Animal Rights Club
3.Plan on writing in the school newspaper during the winter and spring semesters

-Demographics: I am a Middle Eastern, bisexual female from a low-income single parent household. My mother has never completed college.

-Essay topics: I plan on writing about my struggles and triumphs as a Lebanese immigrant and survivor of an eating disorder.

Feel free to suggest any schools, and thank you so much for your responses!

2

To answer the question about your list - the answer is No. You don’t have a balanced list because all the schools on your list are reaches. Not a safety or match on that list, with the exception of Oberlin which may be a high match.
Perhaps look into Bennington, Kenyon, Bard.

3

@wisteria100 Thank you for your input! I guess I was aiming a bit too high, so I’ll take a look at the colleges you recommended.

4

Additional options that are more match-range:

LACs:
Trinity (CT)
Connecticut College
St. Olaf
Dickinson
Gettysburg
Whitman
Sewanee
Lawrence
Beloit
Rhodes
Kalamazoo
Earlham

Private U’s:
NYU
Tulane
Boston U
Case Western
SMU
Miami (FL)
GWU
Syracuse

5

@prezbucky Wow! Thank you so much for such an extensive list. You’re a lifesaver!

6

You’ve gotten some great suggestions so far, but don’t forget to figure out a financial safety school. Have you been running net price calculators? Also, as a transfer student you will likely be eligible for less merit aid than a freshman applicant despite your strong stats.

7

@AroundHere Yes, I definitely have to keep finances in mind as well. My household makes under $15,000 a year so hopefully I will get some income-based aid.

8

15,000??

9

@dragonmom3 Yes, my mother is unemployed and we receive monthly stipends from my retired grandfather.

10

in that case, you’ll need schools that give strong need-based or merit aid.

Some of the schools i mentioned are not known for their generosity – be sure to run the NPC on each school you like before applying.

Here is an article that lists the schools that claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need:

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-09-19/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

Many of these are reach schools, but not all of them. Match schools for you will be schools at which:

  • Your GPA, test scores and rank (or equivalent transfer stats) are close to the mean, at schools with a 40-60% admit rate, or
  • Your stats are at or above the 75th percentile at schools with a 20-40% admit rate.

(I don’t think, outside of ED, you can really think of a school with an admit rate under 20% as a match…)

11

@prezbucky Thank you for the list and the advice. Now I definitely have enough information to find some match schools!

12

Looks like your “safety” would be to stay at SMC and apply next year to UCs and other schools.

For UCs, you can check transfer admit 25th-75th percentile GPAs and admission rates here:
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major

Be sure to check the net price calculator at each school before applying. However, also be aware that some private schools offer different (worse) financial aid for transfers compared to frosh, and may indicate that their net price calculators are meant for frosh applicants. Generally, merit scholarships are harder to come by as a transfer. State universities are typically much more expensive with less or no financial aid for students who are not residents of the state.

13

Look at schools that meet 100% need. Honestly, I think even that list of additional schools are high matches/low reaches. You def need to review your list and look at common data sets.

14

@ucbalumnus I will definitely take your suggestion into consideration. It is truly unfortunate that transfer students receive less aid, but I’ll just to have to work with it.

15

@NEPatsGirl I agree with your statement. I should be focusing more on meeting my financial needs right now than anything else. Data sets will certainly be helpful for me.

16

Three to look at might be Franklin & Marshall, College of Holy Cross and Trinity. The last two are high matches, not sure about the first.

17

Try Boston College. They meet full need.

18

@annoyingorange Wow I did not know that! Thank you for letting me know.