Hi everyone,
I’m hoping some of you can give me some feedback on my final college list, since deadlines are this week. I know it’s really late, but I am stressing over whether I should apply to all of these schools, add/remove some, etc so I would really love some opinions! Thanks!
Stats:
GPA: UW- 3.77, W-4.5
Rank: 15/525 (large public school in MA)
SAT: 2210 superscored (800 R, 640 M, 770 W)
ACT: 32 individual time, 33 superscored
Extracurriculars: good, leadership
Major: International Relations
I have already been accepted to UDenver with a good scholarship and UMass Amherst’s honors college. These were my safeties, which is why you won’t see any on my list anymore. Also, I was deferred from Colorado College and UChicago, so waiting to hear back in March/April from those.
List:
-American U
-Macalester
-Emory
-Tufts
-Colby
-Connecticut
-Brown
-Cornell ILR school
-Georgetown SFS
-URochester
-JHU
-Middlebury
-WUSTL
If this list seems top-heavy, are there any suggestions for schools that are a little more in my range? Thanks so much for any feedback!
So to sort things out for you
Reach:
Brown
Cornell
WUSTL
JHU
Midd
Georgetown SFS
Tufts
Emory
Match:
Macalester
Connecticut
Colby
Safety:
UMASS
American
UDenver
I would advise you to add a couple more matches. Some good ones might include Trinity, Colgate, and Hamilton.
If anyone else has any other good ones to add please feel welcome to.
@wisteria100 I’ve considered GW but I don’t like the open campus, which is a lot like BU (why I’m not applying there either). @intparent@newjerseygirl98 Dickinson seems like a good choice bc it has a good IS program. I think I might add one or two matches, maybe Trinity and Dickinson? Thoughts about that?
I don’t know much about Trinity. Dickinson does consider interest, so really review their website carefully to find specific reasons why it seems like a fit for you.
Dickinson would be more of a safety for you. Trinity definitely more preppy, sporty than Dickinson, though there was an intellectual vibe there too. Dickinson seemed a little quirky which could be a positive or a negative based on the student.
@wisteria100@intparent Ok, so should I maybe not apply to Dickinson since I already got into honors at umass Amherst and was invited to apply to honors program at Udenver? I’m just trying to find a good solid match. It’s really short notice I know, but most of my colleges have acceptance rates of 35% or 17%. Is this ok or should I find another match? And are the matches/reaches set by @NEF2016 accurate?
Dickinson would likely give you merit if that is something you want to consider. @NEF2016 post seems reasonable, but Emory and Tufts may be more of a match/low reach than straight up reach
@wisteria100 Ok thanks. Dickinson’s app isn’t due until February anyway so I have time to decide. However talking to my sister who’s also applying this year I thought about adding Brandeis or Hamilton? If I don’t apply to Dickinson, I think I want to just add one or two to my original final list. So I guess it’s coming down to Trinity or Brandeis or Hamilton? Possibly Colgate? I’ve visited Brandeis and the campus was nice although I didn’t love it. Keeping in mind I want to major in IR/IS, which of the three is best, or would a different school be better? Or maybe I don’t need another match at all?
Dickinson is strong in IR with a particularly strong, flexible study abroad program. My D1 was able to spend two semesters off campus, one studying in a country with no study abroad programs (the study abroad program worked with her to direct enroll in a university there), and one on an internship with the Dept of State in DC. If you do a good job on the essays, you could very well end up with some pretty good merit aid, as noted above. My opinion is that you should leave them on your list.
If you didn’t love Brandeis, then don’t apply. Of Hamilton, Colgate, Trinity and Dickinson, I was extremely impressed with H and C, impressed with T and lukewarm about D, but since @intparent has a child at D of course she/he would have a much better perspective. Hamilton seemed outstanding in every way with a very intellectual vibe. You need to buy into the open curriculum and the small size though. Known for writing especially, but seemed strong in lots of areas. Colgate was more preppy and sporty with an evident sense of a strong knit community. Very strong alumni network, good opportunities for research and was very impressed with the faculty/student relationship we saw there. Trinity was more similar to Colgate than Hamilton.
