Finalize my list please!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>As the common app release date dawns on us, I was looking to get some feedback on my final list of schools and application strategy. Some useful information before diving into the stats: Financial assistance is not a factor in my school choices, and I am totally open to all suggestions. My school limits me to 9 applications, so if you suggest a school, please indicate which one it should replace. Thanks!</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 Reading, 35 English, 35 Math, 35 Science)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Biology, 790 US History, 760 Chemistry
PSAT: 227 (National Merit Semi-Finalist probable)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
AP (place score in parentheses): APUSH (5), AP French (5), AP Physics B (5) [My school does not offer AP Classes, these were self-studied]
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semi-Finalist (predicted), National Semi-Finalist in Congress Debate 2013, National Qualifier in Congress Debate 2014</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):</p>

<p>*Model United Nations - Secretary-General (President) of this club. I cannot fully describe how much effort and time I have devoted to this activity. Debate and International Relations are my two primary passions so when I entered high school I was seriously disappointed in the state of the Model UN Club. I have spent the past three years building up the club and bringing it back from the brink of ruin. I have reinvigorated our annual conference and we now host over 200 area students each year for an all day conference, which makes upwards of 2,000+ dollars, run entirely by me and my staff. I have gotten the club to out of town conferences, fought with the school administration over budget constraints, and tripled the size of the club's membership. It is my responsibility to train all of the members and this year we have won over 15 awards at three regional conferences (maybe not impressive to universities, but if it's passion they want I'm proud of my club and it took a lot of hard work). 5 hours a week, 9-12th grades</p>

<p>*Student Government - Clerk (President) of and 4 time elected representative to the student honor board. Only 2 representatives from each grade are elected annually, and I am the only representative from my grade who has served all four possible terms. I take this commitment very seriously, and I don't think it will come across as flimsy resume padding or the result of a pointless popularity contest. 2-3 hours a week, 9-12th grades</p>

<p>*Debate Club - Member of the Debate Club, I participate in the Congress Debate event. Sophomore year I ranked 8th in my region and advanced to nationals and national semi-finals after qualifying at my regional tournament. Junior year I ranked 1st in my region and advanced to nationals. I also have a series of best senator, silver medal, and gold medal awards from local tournaments. 3-4 hours a week, 9-12th grades</p>

<p>*School Newspaper - News Editor for the school newspaper. During my freshman, sophomore, and junior years I wrote in 13 of the 15 editions that have been published. I have been featured on the front page 3 times. 4 hours a week, 9-12th grades</p>

<p>*Squash Team - 4 year member of the squash team. I have been playing squash for five years and I play in regional tournaments as well as on my school team, I really love the sport although I am far from great at it. 3.5 hours a week, 7-12th grades</p>

<p>*Volunteer Tutoring - I tutor underprivileged elementary school students on a weekly basis. I struggled to find a volunteer outlet that was really meaningful to me but I think I've found one in this program. I really connect with the two boys I tutor and I love seeing them every week. I tutor them in a variety of subjects, help them with homework, and teach them a series of lesson plans concerning topics ranging from earth science to american history. I may be the head of the school club that organizes this program next year. 9-12th grades, 3 hours a week.</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: This summer I am interning in a congressional office in Washington DC. I work 45 hours a week, for 2 months (around 390 hours total), so its a solid work experience. I have also volunteered for several local campaigns.</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteer tutor described above (3 hrs/week for 4 years)</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Summer Immersive Langauge Academy for French, Service and French Language Immersion Trip, Summer conflict resolution camp for students from the USA and the Middle East with a competitive application (10% accepted, well known program), Summer Internship on Capitol Hill.</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private, Competitive
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Extensive legacy at Yale. Parent and sibling attended Harvard. Both parents attended Stanford for grad school (I don't know if this counts as a legacy).
Intended Major: International Relations, Political Science, Maybe Minor in Middle Eastern Studies</p>

<p>Current Application Strategy:
Harvard (SCEA)
Pomona (ED II if rejected from Harvard)
Yale
Stanford
UVA
UMichigan
Carleton
MIddlebury
Tufts</p>

2

<p>It’s an interesting mix. I certainly think you should aim high, with such a strong resume. Do you want the cold weather in Vermont and/or Minnesota, or does something else particularly attract you to Carleton or Middlebury? They seem a little incongruous with the rest of your list. I might be inclined to substitute Georgetown and/or Penn for some of your choices: both very strong in the fields you’re interested in. </p>

3

<p>Thanks @woogzmama‌! Ive visited Penn and I’m not too into it, and I’m not sure i want to stay in DC for Gtown. Middlebury has a great language program and Carleton and a strong international bend and I really liked the feel i got from the campus and student body. :smiley:
Thanks for your suggestions and insight! </p>

4

<p>Good list, are you going to apply to UMich and UVA EA? Might as well, and you’ll hear from Michigan before regular decision applications are due.</p>

<p>It’s interesting like the other poster said that you’re applying to Middlebury and Carleton, especially since they’re so small compared to UMich and UVA, but your choice. I think your list looks pretty good. Columbia and JHU (maybe a little close to home, haha) also have good IR programs.</p>

5

<p>Is there any particular reason you’re applying to Pomona ED II if rejected from Harvard? With extensive legacy at Yale, I wouldn’t have guessed you were willing to close that door for Pomona. </p>

<p>If, however, you are interested in Southern California, USC offers half tuition scholarships for NMF automatically. In addition, if you apply by the scholarship deadline, you will be considered for other larger scholarships (full tuition, full ride) automatically, and if chosen, they will invite you for a final round of interviews on campus (travel accommodated) much like UVA’s Jefferson Scholars program. You seem like a competitive applicant. I’d go for it. </p>

6

<p>You should probably have a safety or two. Keep in mind, some safeties may reject you due to yield protection. Is there any school on here that you aren’t really that passionate about? You should definitely try to make space for UMD seeing that you are in state. You should also try to find some match schools. You could very well get rejected by every school on here. I think American U would be a very good match for you. It has your intended majors and is in a great location for someone who wants political Sci. The Ivies may have better name recognition, but the amount internships available for a political Sci major in DC is unmatched.</p>

7

<p>What school is your safety? None of the schools on your list is obviously a safety for you.</p>

<p>Also, can you afford full price to all of these schools, or are there cost constraints you need to consider?</p>

8

<p>My son’s highschool limited the number of applications too (8 in his case). I felt this was arbitrary and unfair to kids who were applying to highly selective schools. Sometimes you just need to cast a wide net, especially since you seem to be interested in a range of types – large State U’s, medium sized privates and small LACs. HYS are so selective that they shouldn’t even count in your 9!</p>

<p>I have the same question as others: where’s your safety?</p>

<p>If the school won’t budge on their 9 max restriction, I would talk to your counselor and ask him/her if you could finalize your list after you hear from Harvard SCEA. If you get in, you won’t need any safeties. If you’re outright denied you could recalibrate to add more matches and safeties.</p>

<p>If Pomona is truly your #2 choice (and not just chosen because they offer EDII) then you might want to add some other LACs in the same general personality like Amherst, Williams, Davidson. </p>

<p>UMich and UVA seem to be the outliers here. Great schools but a very different experience from Pomona and the other LACs on your list. Maybe you should think some more about what size appeals to you.</p>

<p>I like the suggestion of adding JHU and maybe some of the other Ivies like Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell.</p>

9

<p>Same safety question. You do know you have to take the SAT to “certify” your PSAT score for NMF, right?</p>

10

<p>Thanks guys!
Erin’s Dad, I do know I have to take the SAT, but from what I have heard its a fairly easy cut off - nevertheless thats why i marked “probable”.
In regards to a safety school, i hope i don’t come off badly when I say that I thought UMichigan would be a safety for me. Generally, people above a certain ACT/SAT and GPA cutoff from my school get in there, and my counselor said that I could consider that a true safety. However, I understand that the application is still competitive, and I am open to more safety suggestions.
@ucbalumnus‌ Nope, financial aid is not a factor in my college decision process.
@momrath‌ Thanks for the detailed post! I have been thinking about that Pomona ED 2 step for a while. I really would want to go to Yale, but Ive heard that the legacy doesn’t help if you don’t apply early, and i was thinking that an early rejection from Harvard would be an indication that I would need to apply somewhere with a slightly higher acceptance rate. I know Pomona ED 2 is still very competitive, but I love the school and I am wiling to take on the ED commitment for the acceptance bump. However, this whole strategy is open to suggestions.
Finally, I think UMD-CP is a pretty good choice. Its a little bit close to home - but if everyone thinks that its a more viable safety than UMich I will consider it.
As to the variety of schools on my list. I have always been critical of narrowing down my choices by urban/rural and large/small metrics. Ive visited all these schools and I like them all for reasons outside those bounds. On the other hand, I don’t like some schools that are similar to them like Amherst, Williams, and Wesleyan. I know that makes me hard to predict and make college choices hard to suggest, but I really am open to all opinions and suggestions.
Please let me know, especially regarding my opinion on safeties!</p>

11

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t see why high schools have such limits. The only reasonable limit for the high school would be the number of unique recommendations that the need to be sent, in order to keep the workload on the counselor and teachers manageable. Schools which do not use recommendations would not be counted against such a limit, and schools which share the exact same recommendations would all count as one in this scheme.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>“Generally” means what?</p>

<p>If you are fine starting at a community college or taking a year off to work and reapply to less selective colleges if you get shut out, then you can afford to take more risk in your application list. If not, then you may want to ensure that your safety choices are completely assured.</p>

<p>If you make National Merit, you may have some more choices listed at <a href=“http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/”>http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/&lt;/a&gt; .</p>

12

<p>I personally think OP should leave Mich on his list. While not a “true safety”, it is probable that he will get in, and he will hear from the deadline before RD applications are due. If he is somehow rejected or deferred, OP should then add UMD-CP, and explain his plan to his GC.</p>

13

<p>

Does UMich still have rolling admissions? That was a bonus for those who wanted to use UMich as a safety, but I thought it was discontinued.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t consider UMich as safe as UMD. It really depends how much risk you want to absorb. If it were me (and it isn’t) I wouldn’t take the chance.</p>

<p>I don’t think EDII offers as much of a boost as EDI. (Of course there’s no way to know for sure.) If Har[vard is your top choice, followed by Yale, followed by Pomona, then I wouldn’t apply EDII to Pomona and shut out Yale.</p>

<p>I really think you should talk to your counselor about expanding the 9 school limit. You can’t predict acceptances at HYS – or even Pomona – so if you leave those four on the list plus 2 safeties, you need more than three in the middle range. </p>

<p>[I think I would have come to blows with my son’s counselor on this issue had my son not been accepted ED.] </p>

14

<p>You need a safety - school with 100% chance of you getting in. </p>

15

<p>@momrath You’re right about michigan discontinuing Rolling Admissions, however I have on good account that for Early Action, Michigan releases results before Regular Decision applications are due. Sources range from Michigans website to past year results threads to my result as a senior applicant last year (December 18th). As a result, I was able to remove matches and some other schools from my list. OP should apply to UVA and Mich early.</p>

16

<p>Michigan’s early action deadline is November 1, in which case they promise an early action result by December 24. However, one possible result is deferral to the regular decision pool. <a href=“http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/early”>http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/early&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Virginia’s early action deadline is November 1, in which case they promise a result by January 31. <a href=“http://www.admission.virginia.edu/admission”>http://www.admission.virginia.edu/admission&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Maryland’s priority deadline is November 1, in which case they promise a decision by January 31 and give the best consideration for admission and scholarships. Its regular deadline is January 20. <a href=“http://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/FreshmanApplicationDeadlines.php”>http://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/FreshmanApplicationDeadlines.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>So waiting for Michigan’s early action result before applying to Maryland could result in a less favorable result from Maryland. Virginia’s early action result won’t come before Maryland’s regular deadline.</p>

<p>Note that Harvard and Yale REA/SCEA does not restrict applying EA to public schools, so you can apply to Harvard or Yale REA/SCEA and also apply to any or all of Michigan, Virginia, or Maryland early.
<a href=“First-Year Applicants | Harvard”>https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/application-timeline/restrictive-early-action&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Single Choice Early Action for First-Year Applicants | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions”>Single Choice Early Action for First-Year Applicants | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions;

17

<p>I think UVA and UMichigan are pretty much guaranteed</p>

18

<p>@AmbiD77 Not UVA; UVA (and UNC) tend to accept far less OOS students than UMich.</p>

19

<p>I know around 5 people who went to UVA, all OOS, and none of them had stats have as impressive as the OP</p>

20

<p>@AmbiD77‌ I know people with similar stats to OP who ended up being waitlisted at UVA. Your point?</p>

<p>OP has a great chance at UVA, and I do think OP will be accepted, but his chance isn’t so great that it’s a guarantee.</p>