Help me define my Safety/Match/Reach schools?

College Search & Selection
1

Alright. Here’s the low down.
I go to a tiny private school with a rigorous courseload and a small senior class.
My uw GPA is 3.86/4
Class rank is 15/46 (keep in mind it’s extremely competitive)
SAT scores are around 1200/1600

Freshman year grades fluctuated from a C (Math) to A+. Not my best year.

Sophomore year: all A’s and A+'S with one B (math). All honors courses because APs are not available to sophomores and I took two mandatory CP level classes.

Junior Year: All As, with the exception of Math. I took APUSH, which I got an A in an a 4 on the exam in, and AP LIT, (got an A and a 3).

Senior Year: All As, except for (you guessed it) math. Currently taking AP US GOV, AP ENGLISH LANG, and Anatomy and Physiology HH, which is technically an AP class at my high school, it just doesn’t have an exam.

Captain of the Varsity Girls Tennis team (we won states)
In indoor track for four years
In drama for four years
Parliamentarian of NHS
Treasurer of my class
Active participant in my city legislature
In art club for three years

My parents’ income is lower middle class, I’m not entirely sure on the exact income, but we’re not purely middle class, that’s for sure. I get a lot of financial aid to go to my school.

My current list is: Allegheny College, Providence College, Hobart William-Smith, Wheaton College, Trinity College, Colgate University.

Do this schools fit me? If so, which are reach/fit/safety?

2

Safety: you are certain of admission to the school (and your major, if the school admits by major), and you are certain of being able to afford the net price after financial aid and scholarships.

Match: you are likely to be admitted and likely to to be able to afford the net price.

Reach: your chances of admission or scholarships needed to afford attending are low.

Have you run the net price calculator on each school’s web site?

3

Colgate’s score for the new SAT projects to 1310-1520:

http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/college-profiles-new-sat/

Should you feel, and you might, that Colgate wouldn’t be a good statistical match for you, St. Lawrence might be an excellent alternative.

4

If you strongly desire having a reach school on your list, one with a test optional or test flexible policy may offer a reasonable prospect (though your scores should be fine for most moderately selective schools).

5

Reach: Colgate

Low Reach/High Match: Hobart & William Smith (high match/low reach), Trinity College (high match). You’re right on the border of the middle 50% there, and in the top third of your class.

Match: Allegheny, Providence, Wheaton (MA)

Here are some suggestions for additional reaches, matches, and safeties:

Reach: Bucknell, Gettysburg College, Franklin & Marshall, Dickinson (pretty low reach, I’d say), Lehigh, Brandeis, Skidmore (would be a low reach), Bard College

Match: St. Lawrence University, Clark University (you’re right on the borderline here too - kind of like HWS and Trinity), Emerson College, Furman University, Ohio Wesleyan, Kalamazoo,

Safety: Juniata College (low match to safety-ish - you fall in the middle 50% of applicants, but the acceptance rate is 77%), Ursinus College (ditto - acceptance rate is 83%), Hendrix College (same), Goucher College, Siena College, McDaniel College, Susquehanna University.

Also perhaps the public flagship of your state, and certainly one of the regional campuses.

6

Accounting for conversions for the new SAT (if accurate), some of the above estimates may be optimistic. For example, Clark’s converted middle range appears as 1260-1410.

7

Thank you all so much! I don’t have much time left to research colleges, but I’ll definitely check some of your propositions out. Most of the colleges I plan on applying to are test optional, with the exception of Colgate (I know that for a fact). I’ve run the net price calculator on a few, but all of the schools meet at least 80 percent demonstrated need. I know Colgate is a definite reach :slight_smile: but maybe I’ll just apply to Brown for kicks and giggles. Anyway, I recently retook the SAT, so I’m hoping my scores would go up, but if they don’t, it won’t be a major issue for many of the schools.

8

Have you shown the results to your parents? Note that what the college says your “need” is may be different from what you and your parents need to afford the college, or what other colleges say your “need” is.

9

I’m planning on going over that with them this weekend now! Thanks for the tip!