Help me shorten my list and pick a safety?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi everyone. I'll be applying to colleges this fall and my list of schools is too long. I also don't have a safety. Here's the list I was considering:</p>

<p>Harvard (SCEA)
UVA (EA, legacy)
UNC chapel hill (EA)
Michigan (EA)
UMD college park (EA, in state)</p>

<p>The rest would be RD:
Stanford
Yale
Princeton
Brown
Columbia
Georgetown
Notre Dame (legacy)</p>

<p>And then ones I like but don't know too much about are WUSTL, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt.</p>

<p>A little about myself: I'm African-American, low income (so I would have fee waivers), 4.0 GPA, 4.65 Weighted, IB program, 2240 SAT, 780 (lit) 710 (us history), and plenty of great ECs/leadership. I keep getting scared that all of my top choices will reject me, which is why I feel the need to pack on the match schools. I also don't have a safety since that whole list is comprised of tough schools. Anyone have a safety in mind for me, or schools to add or take off the list? Thanks.</p>

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<p>I would think UMCP would be a safety in this case. Is cost important? You could always add Alabama as a safety because you would probably get full tuition there.</p>

3

<p>@"Erin’s Dad"‌ That’s what I had thought, but this year a very qualified applicant from my school was rejected there, although he got into many top schools. But that’s just one case, maybe I can use it.</p>

<p>Tuition is not a problem. I’d have a full ride to any Ivies on account of my income, and a near full ride at well-endowed schools just from financial aid.</p>

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<p>You have one safety which is UMD. Everything else is a reach. Even though you are a URM, potentially having 13 reaches is ridiculous. Get rid of at least 5 schools. Tuition is a problem for you. You could very well get rejected by every school on this list aside from UMD. Then, what are you gonna do? You would not receive much aid from OOS publics. This list needs SERIOUS work. Include Alabama on this list replace 5 reaches with real matches. You should have at least 3 schools on your list that accept more than 35% of applicants.</p>

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<p>@AnnieBeats‌ UMD has offered a full ride scholarship to both of my siblings. They commonly do it for kids accepted to their honors college. I don’t want to jinx it, but I’ve been anticipating getting that offer too. My brother attended an OOS public and the school covered most of the tuition.</p>

<p>My main problem is that I would be extremely unhappy attending UMD. It’s so close to home and I’m trying to get away. I thought a safety should be a school you would be okay attending if all else fails. I would dread going to Alabama, also, and I don’t even think my parents would let me apply. I was thinking of Syracuse as a match/safety, but again, I wouldn’t be happy if I had to end up there.</p>

<p>Also, isn’t Michigan’s acceptance rate around 50%? I keep seeing that number on threads. </p>

<p>Do you have any ideas for match schools (if you consider Alabama and UMD safeties?)</p>

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<p>Would William and Mary be okay as a match? Acceptance rate is around 32%, and I would be happy to go there in the event that I get rejected from every single school.</p>

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<p>I actually like your list, if you can get your head around possibly going to Maryland. That is almost certainly a safety, and you’ll know early, along with your other EA schools. Of course it’s not your top pick, but having a school like that can act as motivation to get something better, and if none of those EA schools come in, you’ll have the option to add schools in December. There is no need to panic until you see the December results.</p>

<p>Since you’re in search of FA, keep all your existing schools and add a few more less reachy schools that might provide decent FA packages. Schools you might consider could be Case Western, Rochester, Miami, BU, BC, Northeastern, Tufts, GWU, Tulane, SMU, Pittsburgh, American. You’ll have to evaluate how each of those fit your particular needs. Add them as needed in December, but know that some have merit deadlines that are earlier than the RD deadlines.</p>

<p>There’s also the LAC route, many of whom would provide substantial aid, but you don’t list any so I won’t go there right now</p>

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<p>Since you are OOS, William and Mary would be a reach for you as well. Also, if you would not be happy at UMD, it shouldn’t be on your list. Only apply to schools where you would be happy attending. Many students want to get away and I would reccomend applying to the honors college at Alabama. The application opened already AND there is no essay required. So essentially, all you have to do is submit your SAT and transcript and wait for you acceptance. Think of how cool it would be to enter senior year with one college acceptance already sealed and you would go for free. Isn’t that cool?</p>

<p>Also, what is your intended major?</p>

9

<p>Let’s be realistic here: a low-income URM with your stats is going to get into most of these schools. UMD is a complete safety. If you wanted to add one more safer school, like Pitt or Alabama, maybe, that would be fine. I’m not sure, though, that I would take any of these schools off the list. You may get into most of them, but perhaps not all, and nobody can say which ones. If you have a fee waiver, the only real limitation is the hassle of filling out all those applications. In your case, I think I’d do the SCEA and EA ones, and wait before filing the RD ones. (Make sure you can apply to all of those schools EA while applying to Harvard SCEA). Thus, if you get into Harvard, you won’t have to do all of the others (although you might still want to do some of them.)</p>

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<p>@MrMom62‌ Unfortunately, all of my EA schools’ decisions come in at the very end of January, long after the RD deadline passes. However, Harvard’s comes in on December 15. If I get in, I’ll get to scrap all my safeties and matches, which will be awesome. I’m anticipating rejection though, so the early action ones will hopefully put my mind at ease until the end of March. Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll look into GWU, Tufts, Tulane, and BU.</p>

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<p>@AnnieBeats‌ that does sound good. I’ll look into it. And I’m undecided. I have interests in law, journalism, and business, so any corresponding major would work.</p>

<p>@Hunt‌ Haha thanks for the confidence! But see above about the deadline dilemma (the EA decisions come after the RD deadline). And yeah, praying that Harvard accepts me so I’ll be done with applications.</p>

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<p>I guess my (over)confidence comes from my siblings’ acceptances. They had strong applications but FAR lower stats, and got into most of the top schools on my list.</p>

<p>*I also totally forgot about UPenn.</p>

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<p>Are you going to apply to Questbridge? You seem like an ideal candidate for their college match program.</p>

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<p>@3boystogo I was going to apply to be a finalist, and get to list that achievement on my app, but I wasn’t going to go through with the match process. I’ve read a lot of stories from people who did the match process who didn’t get in anywhere, and wished that they hadn’t gone through with it. Besides, if I get in where I want <em>crosses fingers</em>, I’ll have a full-ride anyway.</p>

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<p>@Melissawilliams‌ </p>

<p>Not true! (About all the decisions coming in the end of January). UVA and UNC’s come at the end of January but UMich’s come before RD deadlines. Source? I applied last year and EA kids received their notification on December 18th (and in years past decisions have come around/before Christmas). Because of that, I didn’t have to add any other match/safety schools too my list, which was cool.</p>

<p>You have a great list, and since you’re getting fee waivers, I don’t see why you should take some off. Except Brown and Columbia have totally opposite curriculum, as a warning (open vs. core), but I guess that didn’t stop me lol. Also re: WUSTL, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt; the former two actually care about interest (and perhaps Vandy does, too). I probably wouldn’t apply to the first two, especially since you already have a great list but you should let us know more what you want in a college. No offense, but I didn’t like some of the schools suggested to you (since you already have matches/safeties), fee waivers, and this summer to write supplements, might as well reach for the stars, right?</p>

<p>How do you feel about liberal arts colleges. Women’s colleges? What do you want to major in? Would you try Greek life? How diverse do you want your school to be? Also you’re in Maryland, why not Johns Hopkins? Why not Cornell or Dartmouth?</p>

<p>Edit: Oops, so you’re interested in law/journalism/business, huh? When you say business, do you mean finance or entrepreneurship? Maybe Northwestern is fine, since their journalism program is terrific, but eh. Are you applying to the business schools of your publics? And are you applying to Wharton or Penn’s SAS?</p>

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<p>@enigmaticescape‌ Seriously?! That’s awesome! That way, if Harvard and Michigan reject me, I can quickly add safeties before the deadline. YAY</p>

<p>Thanks for your help! It’s obvious you know WAY more about these colleges than me. And it’s also obvious that I have a lot more research to do.</p>

<p>I like liberal arts colleges, I just don’t like the small student populations. I don’t like women’s colleges. I do like Greek Life. Would I have a better shot at Johns Hopkins since I’m in Maryland? My main problem is that I’m trying to get out of this area and go somewhere I haven’t been much. Cornell is alright, I may apply. I don’t like Dartmouth. Don’t like the atmosphere or the school. Diversity is important if I’m somewhere in the south/Midwest. If I’m in an urban northeast setting, it doesn’t really matter.</p>

<p>More so Finance. I’m not sure I want to go into business though, so I was iffy about applying into the business schools of these colleges. I would probably prefer Penn’s SAS over Wharton just so I have more variety in choosing my path. Would my chances of admission be higher if I applied to one over the other? And If I apply and get in, must I stay within that school?</p>

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<p>UMich does not meet need for OOS students. Qualifying for lots of aid does not mean you will get it, particularly at OOS public Us.</p>

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<p>@Melissawilliams‌</p>

<p>Oh shucks, I only know more because I was in your position last year. And since my parents are immigrants and didn’t help with the process at all and my guidance counselor retired my junior year, I was pretty much on my own when it came to doing all the financial aid/college research/etc.</p>

<p>Regarding Mich’s acceptance rate, it’s allegedly ~30%, but it’s easier for top OOS students to get in compared to UVA and UNC which accept less OOS students. I still think you have a great shot at all of them. Erin’s Dad is right about Mich not meeting aid, but I still got an all right portion when I applied, and you’re getting a fee waiver, so you may as well. </p>

<p>I had the same reasoning towards liberal arts colleges (too small). I didn’t apply to any schools in the south besides Vanderbilt (which I kind of like), because I was worried about atmosphere, but I hear Duke is still very good, and actually quite diverse, so look into that? Also some southern schools offer full merit scholarships that you have to apply for, but you’ll probably be getting full financial aid anyways, but if you’re interested, they’re Vanderbilt, WashU and Duke, I believe. Regarding Johns Hopkins, no, since it’s a private, so if you’re not feeling it, that’s fine.t</p>

<p>Also Notre Dame and Georgetown are pretty Catholic, so don’t know how you feel about that. If you’re fine with that (and well, if you are Catholic), BC is a fine match (almost safety).</p>

<p>Regarding business school, you should apply to Ross (Michigan’s) business school, since it doesn’t negatively affect your chances of getting into the main school/LSA. It’s just a drop down selection on the Common App, and they’ll consider you. Also apply to their honors college. Anyways, you have the option of declining (at Mich) Ross if you decide you don’t want it, but it’s highly esteemed. Don’t apply to Wharton then, if you’re not set on it, and statistically it’s easier to get into SAS. You basically have to stay in that school if you get in, and it’s hard to transfer to the other schools, but you can dual degree. Also applying to special programs like Huntsman (Penn) is really tough, and I wouldn’t suggest doing it.</p>

<p>–</p>

<p>End note: Harvard defers so many of their applicants, so don’t get discouraged. I have faith that you will get into Michigan, so hopefully you won’t have to pile on new matches or safeties. Also keep quiet about your college list to your peers; as I learned, people can turn jealous and bitter over such matters… And if you end up deciding you want to do finance, feel free to send me a PM, many of the bulge bracket banks have programs for URMs (including African Americans and women) for externships and internships during summer for freshmen and sophomores!</p>

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<p>@enigmaticescape‌ The OP has one safety and no matches. Just reach for the stars? That’s terrible advice in this case and essentially every case. The OP will also have to have the almost 15 supplements thoroughly edited by teachers in the fall who already have other students to worry about. </p>

<p>OP, again, I have read some books and they recommend using a ratio. For every 2 reach schools you have, you need 3 matches and 2 safety schools. I understand that affordability means a lot to you and that you would go for free at a lot of the schools you listed. HOWEVER, you need to have schools that you would likely get into, like be able to afford, and would enjoy attending. You have no school that falls within that category.</p>

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<p>@AnnieBeats‌ </p>

<p>No matches? From what I can see, UNC, UVA, and especially UMich are matches. Plus she’ll get notification from Mich before the RD deadline, and if she is deferred or rejected, that is the sign to add more safeties and matches.</p>