Finding Reasonable Reaches

College Search & Selection
1

I have a relatively good idea of my safeties and matches, but I’m having trouble understanding where I should apply for “reaches”. What I mean is I’m looking for something that is a reach, but I also actually have a chance at( mid level reaches, nothing that is impossible save divine intervention).

STATS:
ACT: Comp 34
-34E, 29M, 36R, 35S
GPA UW: 3.92
GPA W: 4.52
SAT II: None (COVID), may take some when SATs open back up. Advice on those and if I need them is welcome.
APs: 13 by the time I graduate. 5’s: World History, Biology, Stats, Lang, Gov 4’s: Phys 1, Macroecon, US history, cap sem To be taken: Phys C mech, Calc AB, Lit, cap research

Class rank #13/146 (Unweighted GPA)

So here is the deal with my GPA/rank: I go to one of the top 60 or so public schools in the nation. It is incredibly common from juniors to take 5+ APs (I took 6). It isn’t so much that the grades are inflated, it is just that everyone here has amazing grades. I do have a principal/guidence counselor willing to vouch for me and explain that, had I choosen to attend a local school, my rank would be better. My one B, if you were wondering, was in Algebra 2 hon as a freshman.

Awards:

-National Merit (Likely Commended)

-Honorable mention in poetry for the southeast region Scholastic competition

-Maxima Cum Laude National Latin Exam Latin III

-Other awards, mostly local with some state latin, detailed below.

Extracurriculars:

-Relay For Life Team Captain: Team has raised over 17k in the past two years, 3k-4k (final numbers aren’t in yet) of which was raised by me alone.

-Tutoring: Started/organized a tutoring group during COVID. We (around 10 students) taught primarily classroom math (algebra, geometry, etc) and SAT/ACT prep to 20+ students, including english as a second language students living abroad. This program is likely to expand when school reopens.

Literature Magazine- A group of friends and I reinstated our schools literature magazine after a 5 year hiatus. I was an editor 10th grade, a treasurer and the sole layout editor (which I did on my laptop at home with no support bc COVID) in 11th, and I am all but ensured the Presidency/Chief Editor position in 12th grade.

ENHS-Member 10th, treasurer 11th, likely president 12th. I have plans to reinstate a book drive to our sister elementary school. I say likely because this is closely tied to Lit Mag.

Latin- I took three years of Latin, and was a top student all the way through. Despite starting in middle school and being 2 years younger than many competitors, I placed in the top 10 mythologists at both the local and state level over 3 years. My certamen team was the first from my school to qualify for the state competition is several years.

HOSA- I’m late to HOSA, having only started in 11th. I was placed first locally for epidemology, but State was cancelled.

Science Fair- I’ve placed in the top 3 microbiology projects locally for 4 years running, and made it to the State level this year. Alas, also cancelled.

Shadowed Plastic Surgeon summer 2020

Summer job (2019,2020)- McDonald’s, mostly, but I also did have a weird job in a warehouse for an online healing crystal and essential oil company. I didn’t believe in it and also I’m pretty sure there were a lot of labor law violations, so I left.

Other:

I have a “glowing” letter of rec from my 10th grade English teacher. I have high hopes for this letter, since she told my parents she adored me and would have adopted me if she could. I also have a presumably good letter of rec from a plastic surgeon I shadow, who is well recognized in his field, a dual Yale and Harvard alumm with connections to the Yale board. My final letter of rec is from a physics teacher. I assume this letter will be good, since he told other classes he thinks I am an execellent student unprompted, but I think it will be the weakest of my letters.

I’m not athletic. I have some minor qualifications as an alto/mezzo choir singer, including all county and some choir festivals. I’m not sure if I should put this on my application. I also play piano, but don’t have much to show for it. I also play rookie harmonica, but that is kinda…not a thing colleges care about.

Demographics: Living in Florida, White/Asian (Chinese), Female

College preferences: I would like to stay in the South or East Coast, but I’m not opposed to other locations if I like the school. I’d like it to be about 5k- 15k students. I want to persue premed as an english, comparitve lit, classics, or similar undergradute with a minor in bio with at least some classes in cellular/microbiology. I’d like to be urban or suburban, with most classes on a single campus or maybe two. I’m not afraid of core requirements, but I’m not looking for any massive core programs a la Chicago. The poltical enviroment isn’t super important to me, but I am quite liberal and openly LGBT and wouldn’t want to be on a super conservative campus where I might be made to feel I am “not natural”.

2

Hi there! What schools are you looking at currently as safeties/matches? So that i have a better idea of which schools to recommend that you don’t already have on your radar

3

By reasonable, what do you mean? If you mean that students like you are accepted at a rate of > 5%, that would include almost every colleges out there, except those with acceptance rates which are < 5%. However, if you mean that you are looking at colleges where students like you are accepted at a rate of, say, over 10%, that would possibly preclude about a dozen. However, applying ED/REA, that would, of course, expand your choices.

In short, you are more or less where most unhooked, high stats students with good ECs are.

So there is a fairly long list of colleges which would be reasonable reaches for you. However, what can your parents afford?

You should also be putting as much, or more, effort into choosing your matches and safety, since there is a much higher likelihood that you will attend one of these.

Have you given thought to smaller schools? You may like liberal arts colleges, even though they have fewer than 5,000 students.

4

Do you have financial restrictions? If you stay in Florida, you’ll get bright futures and the resident grant, so even at private schools you’ll start out ~$10k ahead. UMiami has a lot of merit too.

There is my favorite Florida school, Rollins.

5

@bremcclarey I’m currently looking at safeties in the vein of UF and FSU. I have full bright futures, so I wouldn’t pay tuition. I’m also considering applying to USF, but my odds are really good at UF and FSU, so I probably won’t.

For matches, I’m looking at Tulane, UPitt, UMiami, Boston U. Most of these are about scholarship money.

I also want to apply Emory and Wake Forest, but I’m not sure where those fit on my list.

I already know that I’m looking at Brown and Yale as high reaches, probably. I have a hard time judging these things.

6

Does your school have Naviance? Can you see there how students with your stats are doing at schools that you may be interested in?

7

@MWolf My family is solidly upper middle class, but I’d like to avoid taking on too much debt because I want to go to medical school (I’ll pick up enough debt there). Anywhere that promises to meet 100% of need is probably enough, but I would really appreciate it if they allow me to stack outside scholarships upon the aid they give me.

I’d like to be in the 10%+ range, or at least 10%. I want to be making wise decisions with my time and application money.

I have considered LACs, but I’m not sure about the size. I’m mostly afraid of not finding any research opportunities. I think I might like it though, as long as it isn’t in the middle of nowhere. I live in a boring enough place right now, I want something different. I just can’t go tour anywhere right now, so I have no clue what they feel like.

8

I should also mention that, living in Florida where it is standard to apply to state colleges by November, I’m very likely to apply EA to anywhere I care about.

9

@califmom23 My school doesn’t offer Naviance. I have a rough idea of where we send students. Similar students from my school often end up at UMiami and a variety of bigger name southern schools. We’ve sent someone to Duke every year for the past few years. The problem is I don’t know anything about their ECs and awards, just a rough idea of gpa and coursework.

10

@FriedRiceGirl I would recommend checking out Northeastern University! It might not be as much of a reach as you’re looking for, but the acceptance rate is currently at 18%, with average ACT scores being 33-35. It’s right in Boston, way more of a campus feel than BU. Great programs in the humanities but stronger in STEM. Great thing for you is that Northeastern doesn’t have a core curriculum!!

11

Here are some examples of college policies with respect to outside merit scholarships when student also gets need-based financial aid from the college. Note the variation. Note also that many colleges do not have clearly stated policies on their web sites.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2184881-list-of-outside-scholarship-financial-aid-policies-stacking-scholarship-displacement.html

If you choose a less expensive college for undergraduate, will you have more money for medical school (meaning less debt at the end)?

12

Emory and Wake popped into my head first. UVA? Maybe Wesleyan, Swarthmore or Davidson for reaches. A little smaller than you’re looking for but I think they’re strong in English.

Run the NPC for all your schools and talk to your parents.

13

I would not assume that research opportunities are less at LACs. There are still professors that are pursuing funded research, and they do not have a pool of grad students to help them. My D was a STEM major at a LAC and was able to do paid research in her major all 4 years. Classes are smaller and your opportunity to develop close relationships with your professors are probably better than at a large research university.

14

Tulane now has an acceptance rate of 11% so it cannot be thought of as a match for anybody. Boston U has an acceptance rate of about 19%, and therefore is also a reach for everybody. Miami U has an acceptance rate of 27%, so it is a low reach, maybe a high match.

On the other hand, UPitt may be more of a low match, perhaps even a safety

As for research opportunities - LACs are far better for research opportunities for undergraduates. In research universities, there are likely more positions, but as an undergraduate, you will be mostly stuck doing the lower-level work for graduate students. At LACs undergraduates are encouraged to work on their own research projects in labs.

One of the most important factors in being accepted to PhD programs is research experience. Of the top 10 colleges which have the highest percent of students who end up with PhDs, 7 are LACs, of the top 25, of the top 50, 37 are LACs, and of the top 100, 69 are LACs.

So, if you are looking for job opportunities as practice for industry jobs, a research university is likely to better place, since the work that you will do in labs is closer to the type of work that people without grad degrees will do in industry labs, and it i smore important for industry that you have the experience working in a lab. If you are looking to go to have independent research experience, which is what grad schools like seeing, a LAC is better, since you will likely be able to produce your own research, and have presentations and publications.

15

@MWolf I hear what you are saying, except about Miami. Probably 10-15% of my school gets admitted each year- maybe it is the Florida thing.

I’d be interested to hear your recs regarding LACs and what you think might be more reasonable matches. I know I said english, but I still want to make sure they have strong STEM, by the way.

16

I realize I said admitted- I mean attend. A large group of students get admitted, most kids who apply get in.

17

I’d suggest looking at Rice In Houston. It’s right next to the Texas Medical Center, probably the largest concentration of medical systems in the US. Lots of research opportunities and a great school.

18

Hey! Your list seems pretty good as of now, but I have to agree with the other people here that mentioned how BostonU, Tulane, etc. have become high reaches for the most qualified applicants. If you want to stay in the South, I would recommend Emory, Vanderbilt, and Rice as well, and don’t dismiss the power of ED for any of these schools (but I understand that fin-aid can then be a problem). No reason to remove Brown or Yale from your list if you love the offerings beyond the prestige. But I would say to limit your list to 12-15 schools and your high reaches to 5: you really need the time to develop and refine strong essays, and its hard to do so for 20+ schools.

I also really love LACs for pre-med: Davidson might be nice to add to the list. Good luck!

19

Brown is very good for classics and purely anecdotallly, seems to be committed to making sure the department has students, so this could be good for you.
You might also look and Bryn Mawr, and then Haverford. While smaller than you want, together they might be of interest. All those have your preferred vibe.

20

Meets need schools meet need as they define it. Run the Net Price Calculator of every school you’re interested in to see what they might cost. Have you asked your parents how much they’ll pay? You can only borrow ~$5500/year, so your debt can’t be more than about $27k over 4 years.