Eurghhh...Can't narrow down college list! Help, PLEASE! (Safty/Match/Reach)

<p>Okay, I think I've decided the way to narrow down my list is to not apply to as many safeties. However, I don't even know what a safety is anymore. Ugh, I can't apply EVERYWHERE! Could you guys tell me which of these are a "sure thing" and which are matches? (I already know my reaches). </p>

<p>I want to go into engineering (undecided). I'm your typical (maybe less so) CCer w/ 4.0 and 33 ACT. W/ that info take a look at my college list:</p>

<pre><code>* Cal Tech
* Carnegie Mellon U
* Cornell U
* Franklin W Olin C En
* Harvard C
* Illinois Inst Tec
* Johns Hopkins U
* MIT
* Northwestern U IL
* Purdue U
* Rochester I Tec
* Stanford U
* U Calif Berkeley
* U Calif Los Angeles
* U Illinois Urbana
* U Michigan
* U Southern Calif
* Washington U St. L.
* Worcester Polytec I
</code></pre>

<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated ASAP because I reallllly need to get sending my ACT/SAT II scores!</p>

<p>ALSO, question: I'm thinking of Biomedical engineering maybe...Can anyone go to med school despite their undergraduate major w/ a good MCAT score?</p>

<p>Yes; you can go into med school with any major but the most popular are obviously hard sciences; bio, chem, bme.
Drop(Or drop some, leave some) Stanford U, Harvard, MIT, CalT unless you got some amazing EC or accomplishments.
Note: not in order</p>

<p>Reach:
* Harvard C
* Stanford U
* MIT
* Cal Tech</p>

<p>Reach/Match:
* Northwestern U IL
* Cornell U
* Johns Hopkins U
* Washington U St. L.
* Carnegie Mellon U
* U Calif Berkeley (OOS)</p>

<ul>
<li>U Michigan(OOS)</li>
<li>U Calif Los Angeles(OOS)</li>
</ul>

<p>Match:
* U Illinois Urbana (OOS)
* U Southern Calif</p>

<p>Safety:
* Purdue U</p>

<p>No Idea (Don't know enough)
* Illinois Inst Tec
* Rochester I Tec
* Franklin W Olin C En
* Worcester Polytec I</p>

<p>Your EC's aren't horrible, but there's nothing about them that stands out. The guy on your other thread was right in that your only true weak point is the rigor of your schedule.</p>

<p>Reach: Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Johns Hopkins (Low reach)
Match: Washington St. Louis (high match), Northwester, CMU, Cornell, Berkely, UCLA, USC, Umich
Safety: Purdue, Illinois, RIT
Don't know about the rest</p>

<p>You should aim for 2-3 of the reaches, 3-5 of the matches, and two bona fide safeties.</p>

<p>I don't know what your preferences are, so I can't narrow it down. Tell me which you would apply to out of Stanford, Harvard, and MIT, and the other schools will fall in line.</p>

<p>For example, if you like MIT, stick with Caltech, Carnegie Mellon (techy schools)
If you prefer Stanford, apply to Umich, UC-Berkeley (well-rounded universities)
If you like Harvard, go with Johns Hopkins and Cornell (snooty east coast)</p>

<p>WUSTL is definitely a high match; its one mysterious school with weird admission</p>

<p>purdue is a safety, MIT, Harvard, and Stanford reach Carnegie Mellon along with John Hopkins. good luck</p>

<p>High Reach: CalTech, Olin, Harvard, MIT, Stanford. Reach: Cornell, Northwestern (non-ED), WUStL Match: CMU, Illinois, Michigan and, assuming that you are a California resident, UCLA and Berkeley. Safety: IIT, Purdue, Rochester, WPI</p>

<p>Do you live in Cali?</p>

<p>No, I live in St. Louis. I kind of want to go to Cali though! Well, far away...out of the midwest (besides safeties I guess).</p>

<p>2-iron: I feel like I like all of those...Maybe techy schools best though. Hmmm</p>

<p>Hmm, I know Olin's application deadline is December 1. </p>

<p>You're either on the bus with that application, or not. Olin's a reach for most everybody. . .your drama ecs probably help you more at Olin than at other techy schools. </p>

<p>If you are serious about Olin, post on the Olin forum here. Several current students and alumuni pop in there now and then.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>I AM interested in Olin! I'm "on the bus" with that one...Just need to do the essays haha.</p>

<p>AGHHH the only thing that is stopping me from applying to all of these is my stingy parent not paying for sending score reports!</p>

<p>Worcester Polytech is a true safety, but your (stingy) parents might like the $ they would give you.</p>

<p>Seriously; DO NOT LET YOUR PARENT LIMIT YOUR COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS; even with need based aid, it can vary quite a bit. Remind them how much possible $$$ you can save per year.</p>

<p>They're not paying for my education so meh.</p>

<p>If you are hoping for need-based aid, most of the public universities on your list should be deleted. You are out-of-state for all of them. If you mean that your parents aren't paying because you have another firm source of money, then ignore this comment.</p>