Hello, I am a senior from New York State and am feeling tremendously overwhelmed by the college search process. Before jumping into the rigorous application process I wanted to get some feedback as to what my chances are with some schools and if I should make any adjustments to my list.
Here are some of my credentials:
Unweighted GPA: 96
Weighted GPA: 99
Rank: 9/380
ACT Comp: 30
Senior Year Course load:
- Intro to C++
- Syracuse University’s Public Affairs / AP Macro
- AP Biology
- AP Calc BC
- Syracuse University’s Writing 105
- Wind Ensemble
Junior Year Course load:
- AP US History
- Wind Ensemble
- Pre-Calc Enr
- English Enr
- SUNY Albany’s Adv Spanish Grammar
- SUNY Orange’s Physics 101/102
Extra-Curriculars:
- Community Service Club (Secretary/Executive Board Member)
- NHS (Secretary)
- Drama Club (Technology Chief)
- Lighting Technician (Paid)
- Honor Societies: Math, Science, and Foreign Language
Volunteerism:
- Hospital Volunteer (4hrs/week
- Heifer Recycling Project (1 hr/week)
- Elementary School Volunteer (varies)
Here is my pending school list:
Cornell
Northeastern University
Boston University
University of Rochester
RPI
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Binghamton
CUNY: City College, Queens College, Baruch, Hunter (Macaulay Honors?)
Fordham University
Clarkson University
Manhattan College
NYIT
As of right now, I think I am going into computer science, but I also have a strong passion for architecture and interests in engineering and medicine.
Preliminarily, It appears you have chosen your schools based on statistical factors more so than with a concern for overall fit. Of the fifteen schools on your list, you are likely to get into at least 11 of them. I’d suggest you look at those schools closely first to see which work for you and which don’t. Applications to all of them may be unnecessary. Nonetheless, I do see the schools you have chosen as matching fairly to really well with your expressed academic interests.
Your GPA, course load and rank are all superb! Your ECs/volunteer work is good, but nothing amazing. Likewise, your ACT score is good, but not incredible. Overall:
Cornell - reach
Boston University - low reach
SUNY Stony Brook - match
SUNY Binghamton - match
CCNY - match
Queens - low match/safety
Baruch - match
Macaulay Honors - reach
Fordham University - match
You may be interested in Cooper Union - also in New York, and I think tuition is $20,000 these days. They are focused on architecture, art, and engineering. It is a reach for you, though. Another potential option is NYU Poly. They don’t have architecture but they do have computer science and engineering.
City College is an excellent in-state, inexpensive choice for engineering and computer science. (Living in New York may not be that expensive, but you will offset that with the very cheap tuition).
Honestly, I think you have a pretty decent list. I personally think it’s better to weight a list more heavily towards safety and match schools than reach schools, although others may disagree with me.
As long as schools on the list are affordable, I think it is a good, well-rounded list. I’d apply EA/rolling to any schools where that option is available so you hopefully have some acceptances by December. Good luck.