<p>No offense, @artisticnative, but I wouldn’t be so quick to say schools are “too below” if I were you. You have a good story, but you should recognize that your GPA and ACT are low for the tippy top, most selective universities in the country. You have a hook, but you may be overestimating its impact on your application.</p>
<p>Of course, you should apply to your reaches and and see what happens! But you NEED to have matches and safeties. Be realistic. Safeties will be “below you”, by definition. You have to be good enough to have assured acceptance. For matches, look for schools where both your GPA and ACT fall in the schools 25-75% range or above. Safeties, they should both be above. A lot of schools you seem to think are safeties are actually matches. For example, Muhlenberg is a match.</p>
<p>Here are the averages for some of the schools you like and some you should consider looking into. Most of these are for enrolled students, not accepted, but if anything that will bring the scores DOWN, because the students with better GPAs and ACTs are less likely to attend if accepted. A lot of schools don’t report the average GPA, because of weighting and whatnot, so I gave the percent in their high school’s top 10%. You can try and scout down the average GPA if you’re really interested. Guidebooks like the Fiske Guide might have more info than the internet.</p>
<p>Cornell: 87% of freshmen in top 10%; ACT 30-34 composite
Northeastern: GPA avg 3.8; 30-33
Dartmouth: 90% of freshmen in top 10%; 30-34
Wellesley: 83% of freshmen in top 10%; 29-33
Williams: 88% of freshmen in top 10%; 30-34
Vassar: 66% of freshmen in top 10%; 30-33
Skidmore: 45% in top 10%; 26-30
Mount Holyoke: 57% in top 10%; 29 average
Smith: 62% in top 10%; 28-31
Muhlenberg: 3.33; 25-30
Wheaton (MA): 3.3; 25-30
Rochester: 3.8; 29-32</p>
<p>What MYOS said-
“Still, indeed, you need matches. I agree with Skidmore and Mount Holyoke. I’d add Connecticut College, very “artsy”. Macalester, very vibrant neighborhood, superb for art. Muhlenberg, another match to low match. Pitzer and Scripps in California. I second Clark and Wheaton in MA and consider them matches, too.
If you can go further away, I’d suggest checking out Hiram in OH, Goucher in MD, Earlham in IN, Guilford in NC, Simmons in Boston, Lake Forest and DePaul in Chicago, Agnes Scott in Atlanta, Pacific Lutheran in WA, plus NCF and Eckerd in FL as safeties. I don’t know how UNC-Asheville is with financial aid, but they would also be a good fit for a smart, artsy student.”</p>
<p>These are great suggestions. Basically, your “hook” could make any college possible, but the top colleges are a gamble, and so is relying on the weight your ethnicity would be considered. </p>
<p>Because of this, you should still try for your reach schools, and also apply to schools that are a match and safety for you academically- and which could be good fits for you. By doing so, you will have reduced the unpredictability of your application and are more likely to end up in a college that fits you- whichever one on your list it is. </p>
<p>Thanks so much to everyone who has answered! I am going to reply individually tomorrow I should note though that my parents don’t want me to go to school to which I cannot drive.</p>
<p>I’ve seen students like you, but ORM rather than URM, get accepted to Cornell on the strength of exceptional art portfolios. If you’re applying as an art major, you may have significant leeway in GPA and standardized test scores, assuming your portfolio is as outstanding as you seem to think it is.</p>
<p>It never hurts to apply; however, you should keep in mind that your ethnicity will not be too much of a factor in admissions because these schools read from people all around the world! Best of luck, and I really respect all of your community service endeavors. :)</p>
<p>What does “either too below or too above me” mean? This is self-perception? I don’t see mention of your rigor and you have a 3.4 and a 27. We don’t know the real extent of your artistic accomplishments and accolades. Highly competitive colleges need to know their admits can succeed. This is based on what adcoms know about the college’s level of academic work there and peer competition. That’s weighed against an applicant’s actual performance as an indication. Hooks work best when the applicant is truly prepared.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter how many tales we find of some kid who got in with lower grades. Or what some book says about admissions practices and anecdotes from years ago.</p>
<p>I do want to say that a school can be a match for you even if your admissions stats are slightly higher than the admissions stats of the average admitted applicant. For example, I wouldn’t say that since you have a 3.4, a school with a 3.1 average is automatically a safety.</p>
<p>As for psychology - I’m a believer that most good solid colleges with psychology departments also tend to have good solid psychology departments. To that end, though, I second a lot of the suggestions already made: Connecticut College, Hamilton (was one of my own suggestions), Mount Holyoke, Clark, UMass-Amherst (great psych department there).</p>
<p>I think my top suggestion for you is Ithaca College. Ithaca has a well-known, widely reputed communications program; they also have a good psychology program from what I can tell. They also accept 67% of their applicants. If you’re in love with Cornell, this allows you to be close and potentially take some classes or get up with the social life without going; I have a friend who went to Ithaca and he says that they hung out with some Cornell kids when he was there.</p>
<p>Hampshire is also an artsy/liberal place in consortium with Mount Holyoke, UMass and Amherst. They don’t consider test scores in their admissions. Hobart and William Smith Colleges is another place to look - small NYS liberal arts college, where your ACT score falls in the middle of the range. Did someone else already suggest St. Lawrence? It’s way up there/pretty rural, but still within driving distance and a great small LAC.</p>
<p>I don’t know what state you are in, but other suggestions are SUNY-Purchase and SUNY-New Paltz. Purchase, in particular, is a pretty artsy place with a school of arts and several very good arts programs - but they also have a great school of liberal arts where you can study psychology. (SUNY Binghamton has a very excellent psychology department, but your GPA is a bit lowish - ACT scores are more or less in the range, though). If you don’t mind a slightly larger university, there’s also American, which admits nearly half of applicants and where your ACT score is in the middle 50% range (just barely, but still). Your GPA is a bit lowish for Fordham but your test scores are in their range, and they also have a great psychology department.</p>
<p>@juillet IC has been on my radar for awhile I am definitely going to apply. I will likely be happy wherever I go, so I’m going to apply to a variety of colleges.</p>
<p>You say you’re looking for universities, not LACs.
Most public universities in the NE should be within reach for a 3.4/27, as long as you don’t need much financial aid.
Private universities in the NE where you should have a good shot at admissions include American University, Villanova, Fordham, Syracuse, Northeastern, Boston University, Clark University, and Drew. </p>
<p>I’m just going by your stats, which usually are the most important factor (necessary but not sufficient for the most selective schools). It’s hard for us to assess your artistic talent or how that will influence the admission committees. </p>
<p>Yes @tk21769 Thanks for taking notice. I applied EA to Northeastern and am applying to BU RD. Although I’m not a legacy, two of my uncles went to both schools.</p>
<p>Yes, but it’s important that you realize BU and Northeastern are still reaches for you. Strictly numbers wise, U has an average GPA of 3.7, and an average ACT of 30. Northeastern’s ACT range is 30-33.
It’s not to say that you won’t get in! But you need to seriously consider just what a match is, and where you’ll really find “likely” admission. </p>
<p>Each day I feel like breaking down and crying, because I don’t know where I am going to be next year. I know it will be some good school where I’ll be happy, but not knowing where bothers me. #realtalk :(( </p>
I am going to reply individually tomorrow 
I should note though that my parents don’t want me to go to school to which I cannot drive.</p>