Hello, I really appreciate any suggestions you can give me! I don’t know what colleges to start looking at, but I want help.
I don’t think I will have a problem getting into schools as I have a GPA of 93 and am second in my class. I haven’t taken the ACT yet (I’m not taking the SAT) but I got a score of 29 on the mock ACT. I also have some beneficial, unusual circumstances.
In a college, I want a place that is not too expensive. I would prefer the total cost to be under $55k, but it doesn’t really matter if they have generous financial aid. I really love big cities and open-minded communities, but I would be okay to stay a little farther away for undergrad school. Location is EXTREMELY important to me though.
My interests are mainly in English, Journalism, Sociolinguistics, and Education.
I have started looking at Stanford, Columbia, and Hamilton. Can you help me with any others? Especially if you are a student in one of these areas!!
Thanks for your help!
You would need to score well above a 29 to be competitive for admission to Columbia or Stanford, unless you are a strong athletic prospect. Maybe those “beneficial, unusual circumstances” can compensate, but you should identify some attractive alternatives where the likelihood of admission is much greater. Hamilton is not in an urban location. I would suggest University of Chicago (reach), Fordham, BU, Temple, Pitt, Occidental, U of Miami, Tulane, possibly NYU (not great for financial aid, and they cost almost $70k per year now), possibly Eugene Lang/New School (near NYU, very progressive, and might offer you some merit aid), Reed, Northwestern (reach) . . . are you female? If so, you would have a slightly better chance at Barnard than at Columbia. You could also look into Wellesley and Bryn Mawr.
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I don't think I will have a problem getting into schools as I have a GPA of 93 and am second in my class. I haven't taken the ACT yet (I'm not taking the SAT) but I got a score of 29 on the mock ACT. I also have some beneficial, unusual circumstances.
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I have started looking at Stanford, Columbia, and Hamilton. Can you help me with any others? Especially if you are a student in one of these areas!!
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I don’t think you understand what stats are needed for Stanford and Columbia but a 29 is too low to be competitive.
These are the middle ACT ranges for freshmen at these three schools:
Columbia: 32-35
Stanford: 31-34
Hamilton: 30-33
For further reference, 19% of students admitted to Columbia did have ACT scores in the 27-31 range. A further 1% were below 27. These figures may not apply to the AP, but then again, they might.
(Sources: CDS, Hamilton and Stanford; USNWR plus concordance table and Columbia website, Columbia.)
Start small first and realize that you will need higher stats for those schools. Even then, it’s not a guarantee. Start at your local state school and branch out from there. Choose a SUNY as a safety (if you’re from NY) and figure out how to go from there. There’s no problem with reaching high but you need realistic schools too.