Help narrowing down my list? (and any other advice would be wonderful)

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I’m a rising high school senior hoping to narrow down my list of colleges. 13 seems way too many for me. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

I have all As with the exception of one B+ freshman year. My SAT score is 2200, (720 CR, 750 Math, 730 Writing)
1470 CR + Math.
SAT II: 740 English Lit–I will learn scores from Spanish and US History tests soon.
My school does not offer AP courses, but I took 4 exams this year.
I’ve led a variety of charity-related activities, participated in academic/art ECs, and been on the school tennis team. I’ve also been playing the piano my whole life and plan on submitting a painting supplement. I have a job at a local restaurant.
I will not be applying for FA.

What I’m looking for in a school:
-I’m undecided about my major, but if forced to pick right this minute I’d probably double in Political Science and Spanish. I also love Art History. I’m thinking about a pre-law track.
-Preferably urban, at least not in the middle of nowhere.
-Not too tiny (though it’s hard to get smaller than my HS, so anywhere might feel big)
-East coast would be great, but I have a few outliers.
-Socially, my HS hasn’t been the best for me, and I’ve always thought that joining a sorority would be a good way to make friends. I worry that if the process is too competitive, though, I wouldn’t get any bids. For this reason, southern schools make me nervous, though I know that’s probably an unfair generalization.

This is how my GC has ranked my (too long!) list of schools, but please feel free to question any placement:
Reaches: Columbia ED (though recently I’ve been worrying that I’m wasting the ED opportunity on an impossible dream,) Georgetown, Tufts, Amherst
Matches: Barnard, Emory (GC says low match, but is that overly optimistic?) UVA OOS (w/ legacy status acceptance rate rises to 50%)
Safeties: NYU (though personally I would consider this more of a match,) Villanova, Fordham, U Richmond, American, Tulane

I’ve also been considering Penn (legacy,) Rice, and Vanderbilt, but I don’t think I should be adding reaches.

I’m Catholic and do consider that a bonus in a school, but as you can probably tell from my list it’s not a must.

Thank you if you took the time to read all of this. Sorry for the length; I didn’t want to leave out anything important.

2

You are full pay, and the sky’s the limit? Your parents have not given you a budget?

3

Hi, thanks for responding! Yes, I have discussed it with my parents, and we are full pay.

4

Sorry, forgot to tag you @Midwest67

5

You said you don’t think you should be doing more reaches. I actually completely disagree and I think you should apply to more reaches. For my case, I did lots of reaches too, but lots of match and safety as well. I ended up getting accepted to a lot of matches and all safeties. However, I got into only one reach, so I did not really have a decision to make because that school was my only reach school I got into(Vanderbilt). If i did less safety/match, maybe i could have been accepted to more reach schools. I really regret not applying to Dartmouth/Upenn/columbia

6

My two comments are: 1) if you want your legacy to count at Penn you need to apply ED – the school is clear about that. But if Penn isn’t your top choice, then I would not go ED regardless. 2) A number of your safety schools have non-binding EA programs. I’d suggest that you apply under these programs so you are sure to have the acceptances in hand by December.

7

@bfc2017 You look like an excellent student with strong GPA and test scores. Your possible majors are easy to pursue just about anywhere. Given that you are interested in politics, I would keep both DC schools on your list.

My main piece of advice is to build your list from your safeties on up. Here on CC, any school that has a below 30% acceptance rate is not a true safety, no matter what your statistics look like. Naviance data for your school can also become outdated quickly. I am not saying this to scare you, but to make sure that you have one or two true safeties that you love and would be happy to attend. After that, you can aim as low or as high as you want.

For example, I know a young woman with great credentials who got waitlisted at Fordham this year. Their apps went up from 36,000 to 44,000 for the class of 2016. It was a huge surprise.

Applying to an in-state public option is generally a good idea as a fallback. I’m assuming you’re somewhere in the mid-Atlantic?

As for shaping your list, now is the time to move beyond prestige and think seriously about what you want. Many of your schools are mid-sized, urban, and competitive, so your list seems relatively coherent to me. So start asking more specific questions: How do you deal with hot, humid weather? Not your preference? Then maybe it’s time to rethink Tulane and Rice. Don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere? Amherst is quite rural and it’s a good 2 hours to Boston. Look seriously at the departments that interest you. What courses are offered? What interests do the professors have? Etc.

As for sororities, you might check on student review sites like niche that have a section on Greek life to get an idea (probably a vague one) about how competitive they are. Also, there are many ways to make friends on campus. For example, as a practicing Catholic, for example, you could become active in a faith-based group.

8

Great advice above! I was wondering if you would like schools like Boston Univ or George Washington Univ

9

If you are open to Barnard maybe you might consider other women’s colleges. Art history makes me think of Williams and Bowdoin. Sorry – I know you are trying to narrow options, not get more suggestions!

10

I wouldn’t consider Barnard a match since their acceptance rate was 16% this year! If you’re looking for urban schools I would add BU to your list as a match, and maybe Northeastern too?

11

Wow, thank you all for your responses!! I didn’t expect to get so many.

@Bluebrry Thanks for the advice! My parents actually feel the same way, but I worry that if I submit too many applications, my essays won’t be as strong. It seems that for the very selective schools (with thousands of applicants w/ good grades) the essays are what really make a person stand out.

@happy1 Thanks for the info about Penn. I agree that applying non-restrictive EA for as many safety schools as possible would give me a lot of peace of mind.

@mamaedefamilia I really appreciate you taking the time to give me so much feedback! Thank you for the compliment. I agree that having many safeties is very important. Unfortunately, my parents consider UVA and NYU my safeties (wishful thinking, in my opinion,) so this is hard to communicate to them. You’re right that Amherst is a definite outlier. I fell into the marketing trap (the pictures are so pretty!) and one of my teachers constantly raves about it.

@citymama9 I visited GW right after my visit to Georgetown, which may have been a mistake. I loved Georgetown so much that I didn’t really like GW by comparison, but I know it’s a great school. My friend absolutely adored it there. I’ve never seen BU.

@momcinco That’s alright, I’m very happy to get any advice! Barnard is the only women’s college I have really liked so far. Bowdoin seems too cold for me, and I have a friend who said Williams is very isolated. I know what wonderful schools they are, but I think I’m more of a city girl. :slight_smile:

@extrapeppermint Yes, I know how selective Barnard has become; it’s a little scary!

Are there any schools that should definitely be crossed off the list? What about Columbia ED? Am I deluding myself?

12

I know other people have said it but from what I have hear, you should apply to 1 safety, two tops, maybe one or two matches and the rest reaches. However, make sure the safety is a school you really like.

13

@bfc2017 If Columbia is your first first choice then apply ED. You’re in the ballpark and you may regret not giving it your best shot. I would ask, though, have you visited? The environment and culture are very different from others on your list, so you want to make sure if you apply early.

I would tend to agree that you could edit your safeties and add some reaches. I would look at Brown, Princeton and U of Chicago.

Amherst seems out of place with the rest of your list, but if you’re open to LACs, I would concur that Williams has excellent art history/art studio and excellent political science. Plus they like academically strong candidates with arts backgrounds. It’s definitely not urban, though.

I believe that Boston U and Boston College would be matches (and I would agree that NYU would be a match not a safety.) Northeastern and Holy Cross safeties.

You seem to have some schools that have predominant Greek cultures and some that have none. You should think a little more about what this means for you. If Columbia is your first choice, then UVA, Vanderbilt and some of the others don’t seem to fit.

14

@momrath Thanks for the reply! I have visited Columbia twice; I did the traditional info session/tour last summer, and then I visited overnight with a friend in March, just to be sure that it was my favorite. My friend took me to her classes and to a Greek party that night. I’d be curious to know what about the culture seems especially different to you.

I will absolutely admit to having mixed feelings about sororities. I know that I don’t want to go to a school where joining one is the only way to be social. (For example, a relative of mine goes to Bucknell, and he says that there is not much to do on campus for non-Greeks.) On the other hand, though, I would like to join one if it felt natural and not overly competitive or exclusive. I liked the way the process seemed at Tufts, but it didn’t bother me that it wasn’t there at all at Georgetown.

15

@momrath

Northeastern admits have similar stats to BC and actually are somewhat above BU. Northeastern would be a match school in this case.

16

@PengsPhils Thanks so much for the input! I have received some marketing material from Northeastern, but I don’t know how I feel about the co-op.

17

@bfc2017

If you aren’t sure about co-op, BU is basically your comparable option without co-op. There’s plenty of small nuances, but overall they have a lot of similarities. Co-op isn’t for everyone - it depends on what you want to do after graduation. For your track, it could really go either way. I would say add BU as a match, somewhat verging on safety, but not quite.

You still lack some safeties IMO - what is your in-state option? Simply having one sure fire safety that you can afford is all you may need here - if you’re happy attending and can afford, that one addition could be enough to be able to be safe reaching higher. I don’t think you need to cut down - 13 apps given your stats seems reasonable.

Add one sure fire safety you’d be happy with, consider the schools mentioned here, and eliminate the match/reaches that are lowest on the totem poll until you’re still around 13 or so.

Overall, congrats on building a solid list minus the safeties - just make sure to add that!

18

Unfortunately, my parents consider UVA and NYU my safeties (wishful thinking, in my opinion,)

How do they feel about you taking a gap year and/or living at home - if you get shut out of all of those choices?

19

Jumping in here with a couple comments:

The suggestion to consider Fordham is a good one. Can you visit some of these schools?

Vandy, in particular, does not fit your concerns about socialization. Quintessential southern school, great academics, but a lot of very wealthy students and huge Greek life. Please visit before you consider here.

Might I suggest adding Dickinson to your list of considerations? Very strong in the areas you mention, relatively close to Philly and NYC, and you are a good match academically.

Good luck!

20

I agree that your list is short on safeties.

Tulane rejected a friend of my daughter’s this year outright and her stats were very similar to yours- she is also a great writer so not sure what the deal was except they probably sensed - correctly - that she was using it as a safety, which they known to do. They are going to ED next year so may be eliminating EA but if not definitely apply EA and show them the love.

American is a great safety for you and you’d get some merit aid, and maybe honors program.

Our valedictorian two years ago applied to NEU and got into the program where you must go abroad the first semester, so she declined. I live in MA and around here it is known to be easier for males than females to get into so not 100% a safety.

URichmond seems like another good match and perhaps safety. DD was WL there despite very good grades etc but yours are slightly better so you’d probably get in.

I’d say throw a guaranteed safety in there and if there is one reach that is your dream school, add that as well and your list is pretty much set.
Good luck!