I’m a current junior attending a private catholic school in Michigan.
My stats: 31 ACT 32 superscore (taking it 2 more times so I might get an extra point or two) 4.0 uw gpa 4.2 weighted good ECs as well
My interests: i plan on majoring in business (probably finance) so I will be applying to the business schools to all the colleges that have one
My list:
Super reach: Norte Dame
High Match?: Michigan (in state, my hs has a good reputation there), Villanova, Boston College, Northeastern
Match: Wake Forest, Miami OH, George Washington, Wisconsin
Safety: Indiana (I would have direct admit at Kelley), Loyola Chicago, Dayton, Michigan State
Please give your opinion on my current list and let me know what additions, subtractions, or any adjustments you think I should make to my list. Thank you
USC Wake UT OOS and BC would rank as reach/low reach. But your 4 uw is very strong - if you took the most rigorous classes. Ie nearly all ap options available at your school Ecs with leadership and commitment. Connected to your interests that connect to your goals.
If you are an urm then every school is a possible for you.
And also run cost calculators and discuss with Mom and dad or guardian
@hmt_313, based on the 13% acceptance at USC this year, I think you need to try and get that ACT up to a 33 and might still be a reach. If you’re not up to a 33, I might consider eliminating USC unless it’s a top choice. You will need to spend a good amount of time on your essays in order to get into your reaches (USC, Notre Dame, and Michigan Ross).
UT Austin is a great school but I would choose Michigan instate over UT. I would eliminate UT from your list as you won’t get merit from a public university and it’s not nearly as good as your instate public ivy. I would eliminate Wisconsin for the same reason. UT has a great business school but there are 40k students at UT. Kelley in my view would be a better choice and closer to home. Kelley will also offer you some OOS merit.
Don’t think you need more than 2 safeties. If interested in business, Kelley is a good one. You need one more safety out of the other three you listed. I’d probably go with Loyola Chicago because you’ll likely get merit there and coming from a private Catholic high school, you’ll likely get in. Also it has a decent basketball team so some school spirit…
Have you visited GW? It has no campus and no school spirit. Unless you are ok with that, I’d lose GW as well. Keep Boston College, Wake, Villanova and Northeastern.
Final list:
Notre Dame
USC
Michigan (if applying to Ross, it’s a reach for anyone)
Indiana Kelley (if not loving Indiana, you could also apply Michigan State as another safety)
Northeastern
Loyola Chicago
Boston College
Wake Forest
Villanova
Miami OH
Yeah, take the SAT & ACT as many times as possible before the application deadlines. They are not expensive, and even a small jump in score will help separate you from the pack.
Have you considered Bucknell, Miami-Florida, Pittsburgh, Iowa (great college town, excellent academics, very underrated university), Purdue, Lehigh?
Even though you want business, if you can’t get in Ross, going to Michigan & majoring in economics (followed by an MBA from a reputable university) might be a good option–you’d get a very prestigious bachelor’s at a bargain price in a fun town close to home; with enough money left over to go anywhere for the MBA.
@Nomorelurker thank you for the tips. I agree Michigan Ross over USC. Do you know how much extra work applying to Ross is vs just Michigan LSA. Also, Kelley is very high on my list so it’s nice to have it as a safe option. Would you take Michigan LSA major in econ or Kelley business?
@moooop I like how you think about the Michigan scenario with possible money left for MBA. I’ve looked at most of the schools you suggested. I haven’t looked at Miami FL. Do you know much about it?
@hmt_313, you are welcome. I am aware how much work is involved with Ross applications. S ended up not applying in part due to all the extra essays and the OOS COA. You are fortunate to have a shot at Ross with instate tuition. As far as econ as a major if not getting into Ross, that would be your call. Michigan is still a great school and many students do well with econ as a major, although I have heard that some of the Ross students look down on the econ majors, which is silly. Our tour guide at Michigan was a double major in Comp Sci and Econ and had a great consulting job lined up in NY after graduation. If you get your ACT score up some, you might be able to get as much as about $17,000 OOS merit from Indiana, being Honors and possibly another scholarship. I am not sure I would choose Indiana Kelley over Michigan econ degree. The problem with Kelley is that if you do not like business, Indiana is a far lower ranked school than Michigan whereas if you don’t get into Ross, you can major in econ or something else and still have a great education instate. If you are set on business and don’t get into Ross, you might want to consider Villanova or Wake Forest. Indiana seems like a good safety.