Help me with my College List!

College Search & Selection
1

I am a junior from Jersey and have made a rough college list. Please let me know if it is balanced and my chances at these schools! Thanks!

My stats: 4.2888 GPA, 34 ACT, 1500 SAT (don’t know if I should send this or not)

I have 10 great extracurriculars, including varsity sports, clubs, competition awards, and a job, but I won’t disclose this just for privacy reasons.

Stanford Univ
UPenn
Vanderbilt University
Cornell U
Wash U at St. Louis
Georgetown University
USC
Notre Dame
Boston College
Colby
Northeastern
Georgia Tech
Syracuse
Villanova
Rutgers

2

And your budget?

3

Academic interests?

4

Most likely will be focusing on a premed track, with something like biology as my major.

5

Also, which safeties would you add?

6

These lists can be good for browsing and additional ideas:

http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/the-experts-choice-colleges-with-great-pre-med-programs/199/

http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/colleges-to-consider-if-you-want-to-study-biology/117/

7

Why wouldn’t you send your SAT?? I’m assuming you’re going to take Subject Tests so since you’re already paying for the score report why not? A 1500 is the same as a 34.

8

I was under the impression that a 1500 was a 33, 1540 was a 34, 1570 is a 35 and 1600 is a 36. Also which safeties would you recommend on that list?

9

Well an easier admit than, say, WUStL could come from the traditional URochester or fully urbanized CWRU.

If you might be interested in a purely undergraduate-focused experience, you may want to comsider LACs beyond the single Colby.

10

All are great schools. Maybe visit a few of these schools to figure out what type of school environment suits you bet. For example, Penn is an extremely urban choice. Colby is in small town way up in Maine. Some would greatly prefer one, some the other. If you love Penn, you might love Northeastern or Case Western. If you love Colby, you might prefer Bucknell or Amherst. Not all schools on your list have to be very similar, and you might want some choice down the road, but I’m just observing that those on your list offer many different environments. Also, Vanderbilt is very southern, a very different vibe than the Boston schools. Nothing wrong with all of these on the list, but it might help you to narrow down the region a little. What about Wake Forest or William and Mary? They seem to sort of be about in the middle of your list in a lot of respects. Good luck!

11

It’s a good mix. Some of those schools are safeties for you (Syracuse, Rutgers, Villanova) and some are reaches for everyone (Stanford, UPenn) and the rest are in between. But they don’t seem to have much in common. Hard to tell what you are looking for when you have Colby, USC, Northeastern, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt on the same list.

A couple of the schools on that list will be much, much easier to get into if you apply ED - WashU and Vanderbilt in particular are known for scooping up high test score applicants in ED, but being wary of them when regular decision comes along (yield protection). Notre Dame will probably be easier if you are Catholic, and actively connected to a parish.

oh yeah, as one poster said, a 34 ACT is better than a 1500 SAT, but not that different. Only a few schools will demand to see both.

12

I would not call Villanova a safety. Their admissions can be quirky.

13

Get out and visit some and then repost and people can offer similar schools