Good School Matches?

<p>Prospective major: physics and astronomy
Schools that I'm interested in -
-RPI
-Cornell (reach?)
-Princeton (total reach)
-Williams (reach?)
-Swarthmore (reach?)
-Dartmouth
-Brown</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA - 3.83
School doesn't calculated weighted
Class rank - 10 out of 341 (top 3%)
SAT's:
- CR 680
- M 800
- w 710
- Tot 2190
SAT II's
- Math II 800
- Physics 800
AP's:
- Physics B
- Calculus BC
- Chemistry
- Statistics
- Spanish
- English
- Music Theory
- US History
National Honor Society 3 years
RPI Medalist</p>

<p>And then a crap ton of extracurriculars that i dont feel like writing out.</p>

<p>What are my chances for these schools, and for any others? recommendations would be awesome. Thanks.</p>

<p>Any hooks (legacy, URM, etc.)? Do you have plans to retake the SAT? Getting your SAT to 700 could pay signficant dividends. Another school to consider would be Carleton, they are strong in physics & astronomy. </p>

<p>Acceptance rates are so low at Princeton, Williams, Swat, and Brown that they are reaches for everybody. Cornell and Dartmouth are a bit easier to get into. I would assume RPI is a match. You need a couple more match/safety type schools, IMHO.</p>

<p>thanks for the response, and yes i will take the sats again on the earliest fall date. I totally agree that the 680 on CR is a drawback. any other suggestions for match/safety schools?</p>

<p>Hi, I dont know if you want to take the risk of going full pay, but if you apply ED Cornell you will very likely be admitted, as I know two people from my high school who applied with lower SATs and similar grades and were admitted (One ED, One RD).</p>

<p>Got a lot of insight on colleges as a senior, here are some match/safety schools to check out:</p>

<p>Union College, Upstate NY, strong in sciences, deemed “New Ivy”
Dickinson College, in PA, strong in astronomy, has brand new telescope
Colby College
Villanova University (a bit biased as I will be attending for business in the fall, they were very generous with aid)
Bucknell University
Lehigh University, absolutely stellar programs and student body, was admitted but not offered any $</p>

<p>RPI - low match
Cornell - high match
Princeton - high reach
Williams - reach
Swarthmore - reach (unless you are non-white; they are desperate for non-white students)
Dartmouth - high reach
Brown - low reach</p>

<p>Most of these colleges are a little out of your range with your SAT scores and GPA. I would appreciate it if you would write down some of your major ECs that you’ve spent time on and are passionate about. If they ARE good, it may improve your chances at schools like Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth. Your SAT II tests are perfect! Here are some more colleges I think you should consider. Improve your SAT to around a 2240 and you have a shot at all of these + Brown, Cornell, Williams and Swarthmore.</p>

<p>UCB
Chicago
UIUC
UCSD
UCLA</p>

<p>I personally would highly recommend pursuing Chicago and UCLA; fantastic schools with a great environment and astrophysics programs! Best of luck!</p>

<p>Chance me back? [Chance</a> the New Guy! Penn, Harvard, Chicago and More!!](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1509778-chance-new-guy-penn-harvard-chicago-more-will-chance-back.html]Chance”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1509778-chance-new-guy-penn-harvard-chicago-more-will-chance-back.html)</p>