Going on visits soon..is this list okay?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm a junior looking into colleges and I've made up a list, but I was looking for some insight to make sure my thinking is correct. Also, if anyone has any suggestions that meet my criteria please mention them! I'm going to be in the Boston/Providence area and then in DC over spring break for some family stuff, and I would like to get some college visits in because I won't be able to afford to go back again. So I want to make sure this list is okay.</p>

<p>I'm looking for a medium sized school, not too big or small. Semi-urban is ideal, a suburb near a city is fine too. I did make an exception for Dartmouth though because I love their programs. I'm more of a preppy kid I guess- I like J. Crew, etc. and I appreciate when people dress nicely. But I'm also fairly liberal (at least on social issues). I'm atheist, and I would prefer not to go to a religious school (made an exception for Georgetown here). I want to go to a coed school that doesn't have an unbalanced gender ratio (more than 60/40 in either direction). I would prefer to go to a school that is more nurturing than cutthroat. I'm not positive about my major, so I would like somewhere with flexibility. I'm thinking about Public Health or chemistry/premed. I'm also really interested in cultural anthropology, but I doubt I will pursue it because I can't see it turning into a career. I would like to be able to take classes/possible minor in these subjects though. </p>

<p>Schools:</p>

<p>High Reach:
Harvard SCEA (third gen legacy)
Princeton
Stanford (both parents went to grad school here, idk if that matters)</p>

<p>Reach:
Tufts
Georgetown
Dartmouth
Brown
Pomona</p>

<p>Match:
Claremont McKenna
UCB, UCLA, UCSD</p>

<p>Safety:
UCD, UCSB, Cal Poly SLO</p>

<p>For merit: (I'm a NMSF)
Northeastern Honors
Drexel Honors
UNM Honors
Davidson</p>

<p>I know 19 is a lot, but 5 are UC's, so that's really only one app. I feel like with admissions being so selective, a certain amount is luck so I want to make sure I have high chances. But is this a bad plan?</p>

<p>For reference, here are my stats:</p>

<p>SAT: 2190 (750 M, 710 CR, 730 Writing) (I'm retaking it, should be 2250+)</p>

<p>GPA: uw 4.0, w 4.24</p>

<p>Rank: we only report quartiles, so top 25%? But I'm probably ranked around 10-15/400</p>

<p>Junior year courses: AP Bio, APUSH, AP Stat, AP Psych, American Literature, Spanish 3</p>

<p>Senior year courses: AP Lit, Gov/econ, AP Physics, Honors Spanish 4, AP Calc AB, TA</p>

<p>Major Awards: NMSF, Congressional Gold Award, some Johns Hopkins CTY stuff</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>ECs:
•Leo club (treasurer 11, president 12)
*•Red Cross Club (founder & president)
•Science Bowl team/science club (secretary)
•Golden Heart Club-volunteering
•jv soccer (9)
•jv softball (10)
•piano 13 years</p>

<p>Work
•2 part time jobs = about 15 hours/week since tenth grade- teaching private piano lessons and working at a local franchise of a national tutoring company
•paid internship at a nutrition company *(6 hours/week)</p>

<p>Volunteer:
•convalescent hospital- 400 hours. Head of community outreach- I started a letter writing program between residents and elementary students. I worked with six schools and we have sent over 1,000 letters back and forth.
•60 hours Leo club
•150 hours red cross</p>

<p>Summers:
Before 9: club soccer
Before 10: CTY Genetics, moved
Before 11: 7 weeks in Thailand doing chem research
Before 12: I've applied to 8 lab internships (Jackson, SIMR, NIH, etc.) but if I don't get any of them I'll most likely have a paid internship at a local hospital.</p>

<p>Gender: Female
Race: White, ethnically Hispanic
State: CA
School: top 100 public (about 20/350 per class to top schools, 100+ to UCs)
Hooks: Dad, Uncle, grandpa went to Harvard</p>

<p>If you took the time to read this, thank you so much. I know it's really long. If you need any more info feel free to ask!</p>

2

<p>I would move Dartmouth, Brown and Pomona to high reach.</p>

<p>Are you a National Hispanic Scholar?</p>

3

<p>You are too top-heavy imo, given your stats, rank/decile, and resume, and need more match, high match and low reach schools. Based on your supposed rank, you would be in the top 5% and not the top 25%.</p>

4

<p>Okay thanks. Do you think the list is too top heavy? </p>

<p>No, unfortunately I didn’t know about the program at the time (my bad). But I did read on their website that I can have my counselor email the program before May, and still be recognized. I’m going to talk to her tomorrow. My PSAT is high enough that I should qualify.</p>

5

<p>Whoops cross posted. Thanks for the input, can anyone suggest some matches?</p>

<p>Edit: I am technically in the top 5%, but my school only releases quartiles.</p>

6

<p>USC (solid match and “nurturing”)
Duke (low/mid reach and “nurturing”)
Rice (low reach, very “nurturing”, but small student body)
Northwestern (low reach, somewhat “nurturing”)</p>

<p>I wouldn’t classify any of the UC’s that you’re applying to as “nurturing”.</p>

7

<p>It’s not a program you need to know about. It’s whether or not you identify yourself as Hispanic when you take the PSAT. Many kids find their Hispanic background just before applying to college, and colleges take note of who identified as Hispanic earlier.</p>

8

<p>Yeah I know about the UCs, but it’s one app so I’m leaving them as a backup. It’s important to my parents that I apply to UCs. I’d probably choose Davis or SD over Cal or LA, but I could live at home and go to Cal so if I can’t find the money to move out I’ll probably do that. </p>

<p>I’ve looked into Northwestern and USC, maybe I’ll knock off Pomona and apply to those two. I know USC does half tuition scholarships for NMSF, so that may be a good option. I think I’ll take off Princeton, too. </p>

<p>Thanks for the input! </p>

<p>Also, I have been considering Georgetown EA over Harvard SCEA, but people keep telling me that as a legacy, I should apply to Harvard early. I sort of feel like I have no chance at all at Harvard though, so would it be better to just do Georgetown EA? I would do ED to Brown or Dartmouth (after visiting) but I need to be able to compare financial aid.</p>

<p>Waverly: then I should be getting it. Thanks.</p>

<p>I should add that I moved the summer between 9th and 10th. I wasn’t able to take any APs sophomore year, because my prerequisites didn’t match up, which is why my rank is sort of lowish. My counselor will attach a note explaining the situation. I also had to quit sports and work due to family circumstances, which is why I awkwardly have one year of each sport (between moving and then quoting after liking softball and planning to stick with it).</p>