CUNY Queens College
Syracuse University
Skidmore College
Brandeis University
Wesleyan University
SUNY Binghamton
Franklin & Marshall College
Vanderbilt University
Brown University
I feel as though a lot of the schools on this list are out of league and I don’t want to get too ahead of myself and apply to schools just to end up not being accepted by them. In regards to my application, my extra curriculars are great (this is not only my opinion) and I have above a 4.0 GPA (not exactly sure the number but unweighted it is a 3.88). However, my 1830 SAT score is a big set back. I do plan on taking the test for a second time in October but I’m still unsure.
With this in mind, should I apply to Franklin & Marshall or Hamilton (which is not on my list as of now)?
I’m afraid that you’re right about a lot of the schools on the list being too much of a reach; even on a retake your score will probably not go up enough for Brown and Vanderbilt, so you should forget about them for now, and then if something extraordinary happens with the SAT, think about putting them back on the list. Are you a URM or first-generation college student? Male/female, state of residence (guessing NY) and how much your parents can pay toward your education would be helpful to know.
Since your scores are the weak part of your profile, you may want to take a look at test-optional schools: http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional You’ve already got one, Wesleyan.
What’s the breakdown of your SAT - CR/Math/Writing? Unless your 1830 points are very unevenly distributed, it looks like you’re below the 25th percentile for both Hamilton and F&M, neither of them test-optional. Ditto Brandeis.
If you’re looking for need-based financial aid, F&M would be good to apply because they eliminated merit aid a few years ago to put everything into need-based aid and it’s very, very generous.
Wesleyan and F&M are test optional, with F&M requiring two graded papers if this option is chosen. Hamilton does require the submission of standardized testing, but its form is flexible (their “3-test” option). Since the OP has not posted supplemental score results, the viability of a Hamilton application is impossible to even estimate. By SAT alone, however, the OP is 130 points below Hamilton’s 25th percentile.
If this helps for you all to know: I am a female URM (African- American) from New York. I also have an older brother in college at the moment, and with my parents being separated, they won’t be able to pay as much for my college education. As far as other test scores I have taken 3 A.P exams so far: A.P. English Language & Composition, A.P. U.S History, & A.P. World History with a score of a 4 for all three of those exams.
A high GPA, consistent fours on your AP exams and strong extracurriculars, in combination with an ethnicity that may be under-represented, may be enough to tip the scales in your favor at even highly competitive colleges. A demonstration of scientific and quanltitative proficiency may be the additional element they would look for, so ideally you can provide that as well. Your SAT, though still important – and if you choose to submit it – will become just one of several factors for you as long as you are otherwise a strong academic candidate.
Regarding Hamilton: A small college is at its best if it can offer aspects of being more expansive, imaginative and diverse than its enrollment alone would indicate. Along these lines, Hamilton’s distinguishing characteristic relates to the curricular, architectural, spatial and, to some extent, cultural legacy of its having been two colleges. If this resonates with you, particularly if it does so singularly, than an application to Hamilton would be appropriate for you for reasons of fit, more so than for reasons of strategy.
On the run here - more later - but as a URM you’ll be eligible for expense paid diversity fly-ins at a number of schools. Here are two lists which may be completely redundant - I don’t have time to check - but Hamilton, F&M and Wesleyan - are among the schools.
was about to reply then realized that you are creating many different threads but basically asking the same question. on each but leaving out the kind of information that would allow posters to be more helpful to you. “Great EC’s” is not informative enough. I’d view great EC’s to mean some combination of winning or earning a high place in academic, artistic or athletic national or international tournaments or competitions; Publishing in peer reviewed venues; Having a patent or two; developing android or iOS apps, developing or being involved in activities that are highly unusual and highly valuable to society…well you get the picture. Someone with those types of ECs doesn’t have to sorry quite so much about slightly lower grades or scores. Advice would probably differ depending upon what you mean by “Great EC’s”.
merc81, yes Hamilton is two colleges that merged which does not seem very notable. More notable is the fact that it is an outstanding college that offers students impressive academic opportunities that are more similar to those that grad students can access at other schools. It is very unusual for a small LAC.
lc: Hamilton’s history is notable because it is distinctive and enduring. Hamilton is not simply the product of two colleges, as several others are, but the particular product of a traditional, historic men’s college and an adjacent, progressively-oriented college for women (Kirkland) that was formed under Hamilton’s auspices in the late 1960’s. On an academic level, Hamilton’s notably balanced current curriculum is partially a legacy of this innovative period in its history. On an architectural level, also as a result of this history, simply walking the campus at Hamilton can provide different experiences.
As for the resources and opportunities at Hamilton that you chose to emphasize, they are of course important as well, and what I have emphasized would be meaningless without them.