<p>Thanks, I was already thinking about Grinnell and this solidified it. I was also thinking about Davidson, do you know anything about their sciences?</p>
<p>Holy Cross has a great pre-med program and very high med scghool acceptance rate.</p>
<p>I have more colleges that sound really cool. Some of them were mentioned in other threads, but instead of asking in there, it’s easier to leave it on here where everyone can see my stats. Get back to me on what you think, in regards to anything.</p>
<p>Colgate U
Hampshire C
Kenyon C
Reed C
U Richmond</p>
<p>Kenyon’s science’s are less impressive than Grinnell’s and they have frats, so you have to be okay with a somewhat more conservative culture. Reed, by contrast, is very out there on the ‘quirkiness’ factor, so you’d have to be okay with that (but Portland is a great place if you don’t mind a lot of rain).</p>
<p>Doesn’t Reed have a very high PhD production rate though? My dad said it was one of the top LACs in the country. </p>
<p>I was looking at Johns Hopkins, and I was wondering if I took the SAT again in October, and then two or three SAT twos in November, and did better on my reading score of the SAT, would I have a chance at getting in there? It’s a really great school and I have friends living nearby, but I heard it’s really cutthroat and vicious.</p>
<p>yes Reed is one of the best LAC’s in the country. However, like M’s Mom said, you have to consider the environment that you are going into. I thought about applying to schools like Reed but I visited a local LAC that was very “quirky” and I definitely decided it wasn’t where I wanted to spend 4 years of college. Being comfortable with your environment is a big key to being able to succeed academically. If you are having trouble deciding what schools you want to apply to and can’t travel very far, I’d fine different types of schools in your area, visit, and see what you are comfortable with</p>
<p>Something, I think, that’s good about Reed is that there are no “weed out” courses.</p>
<p>Also, Reed’s second for PhD productivity in the life sciences. </p>
<p>Grad schools love Reed.</p>
<p>Colgate will be difficult. My S and niece attended and had much higher stats. Also know students w/ higher stats that got waitlisted or denied.</p>
<p>Bucknell is maybe a match/reach. D2 attends and got in w/similar stats but also applied ED and is a legacy. She was surprised she got in. Your stats are on the low side for the school. But if you really are interested, make admissions know that you really want to attend.</p>
<p>D1 attended Cornell. She also had much higher stats (very similar to her brothers actually). As you have stated, this is a reach.</p>
<p>Thanks for those posts, I know both Colgate and Bucknell will be difficult, as well as a lot of my choices, but I’m hoping for at least a higher reading score, if not all across the board, on the upcoming SAT. My thought process was that even 30 points on my reading score would help my chances in a lot of schools where I’m near the bottom of the middle 50% in the reading category. </p>
<p>With that in mind, what does everyone think in terms of safety/match/reach for these schools:</p>
<p>Brandeis U
Bucknell U
Clemson U
Colgate U
C Holy Cross
Davidson C
Grinnell C
Hampshire C
Kenyon C
Reed C
U Miami
U Notre Dame
U Richmond
U Rochester
Wake Forest U</p>
<p>Don’t think about whether or not it would be a fit, or location or anything, just admissions right now please. However, if you have something helpful to say about a certain school/schools, please let me have it.</p>
<p>Notre Dame, Colgate, Davidson, Reed, Brandeis, Kenyon and Grinnell are reaches.</p>
<p>Bucknell, Richmond and Holy Cross are high matches. (Their acceptance rates are low enough to perhaps make them reaches, but going on test scores alone, you’d be a viable candidate.)</p>
<p>Rochester, Wake Forest, Hampshire and UMiami are matches.</p>
<p>Clemson is a low match, in my opinion.</p>
<p>To be honest, your list as it stands now is quite overoptimistic. My suggestion would be to take the first seven schools I named and discard four of them, and to replace them with several matches and a definite safety. Some match schools you might like: Bennington, Skidmore, Clark University…</p>
<p>Good luck on the SAT, but to be honest, it is not your only weakness. Your extracurricular activities will not help you much either.</p>
<p>might want to add a few more public schools including one in your own state that you can definitely get into. Public schools usually just look at just SAT scores, class rank and GPA and rarely consider extracurriculars. They are mainly (with the exception of the very best publics) looking at the numerical stats.</p>
<p>I think you are foolish to ignore the finances of college.
If you want to go to med school you will need to conserve some funds. How much can your family afford? Most of the schools you listed are $45000+/year plus the cost of med school.</p>
<p>With the LACs and schools that are holistic in admission process you really shouldn’t separate fit and stats. Their admissions process is set up to view your “fit” alongside your stats.</p>
<p>Reed has a very different “vibe” than the other schools you listed. I agree that Reed does NOT have weed out courses. This is because ALL their courses are taught at a level other schools would consider as weed out courses. </p>
<p>I agree with Ghostt, your list is very high. Add schools (especially mid-level LACs) where you can get merit aid. Most LACs tend to draw from region. Use this to your advantage. Look at Rhodes in Memphis (I personally find it similar to Richmond), Ursinus in PA and the other LACs mentioned by others (Muhlenberg, F & M, Skidmore)</p>
<p>As you are looking at schools across the country, consider transportation. One of the schools my son likes would include 2 plane rides on different carriers and a bus. I’ve already expressed to him that I will not aid him in the crazy logistics if he attends.</p>
<p>I am not ignoring the finances of college, I am well aware of the cost of all of my schools. The reason I asked what everyone thought admissions-wise of my list was that I wanted to know what my matches were and what my reaches were. Going off personal opinion and college websites isn’t a safe way to determine your list, so I requested the help of the people who are most knowledgeable about the college process. After getting an idea of what caliber schools would accept me as a student, I can look at the financial aspect of everything, and substitute schools that have similar admissions requirements but lower costs. </p>
<p>I appreciate everyone’s input so far.</p>
<p>I agree with Ghostt. Your list should include the University of Maine at Orono for a safety, both academic and financial, especially if you are considering med school.</p>
<p>I think that you should also consider U VM. Every kid I know who goes there loves it, it is LAC-like for a state U, and it makes a lot more sense financially and chance-wise than schools like Grinnell, Davidson, and Reed.</p>
<p>Hampshire seems like an outlier for you, in terms of atmosphere/school character. I’d expect a student who liked Hampshire to be looking at Bard, not Colgate.</p>
<p>Your major weakness is obviously your CR score. If you could raise that significantly, it would put you in a better place. Another possibility is looking at SAT-optional schools, like Bates.</p>
<p>Thanks. I agree, Hampshire isn’t exactly what I’m looking for. </p>
<p>Everyone is saying that all of these schools are horribly expensive, and true as that may be, won’t they all give scholarships and financial aid? Some of the schools that I’ve been looking at report that the average amount of money they give to students is a pretty large amount. I don’t think I could get a full-ride anywhere, but I’m sure I can get decent scholarships at most of the places I end of applying to. </p>
<p>Are all of my schools as financially risky and “foolish” as people are saying they are?</p>
<p>Bump this up please, and does Notre Dame have Early Action or Decision? How much better would my chances be if I applied under one of these plans?</p>