Hello! It’s been a while since I last posted. Thank you for all your help earlier this year, it (along with all the lurking I did throughout the year) really helped me on forming my college list, which is as of now: Amherst, Grinnell, Vassar, Mount Holyoke, Beloit, and Whitman (along with the UCs). I am still pretty worried about not getting in these colleges so I was looking for just general feedback on my current list and suggestions for potential safety schools. I’m looking for a school that’s not too cutthroat, supportive, with strong programs for English. I am also looking for schools with good merit scholarships, but from talking with my parents I don’t think it’s necessarily paramount.
Stats-wise I’m an all A student with 6 APs (3 more with senior year) with a 1570 SAT. My ECs are a handful of school clubs, NHS, and volunteering, so nothing really impressive. Oh yeah I’m also an international student, attending a CA public school.
Kenyon and Hamilton should be considered for your core list. Kenyon’s distinctive national reputation originates partly from the strength of its renowned English department. Hamilton offers top literature and, particularly, writing programs amid generally balanced academics. Denison would offer a less selective alternative to these two. Along with the fine MHC, you might consider Barnard and Wellesley, though merit scholarship recognition may be diminished or nonexistent at these latter schools. Vassar and Amherst make sense. Bard offers excellent programs in literature, though their overall academics might be less balanced and diverse than those of the aforementioned colleges. Pitzer or another Claremont might make a good addition.
I agree that Kenyon, in particular, and Wellesley, are ones you might want to look at. Otherwise, I think your list looks pretty terrific. Great schools, and it’s very coherent, and I’d think you would be a very likely candidate at least 3 of them. And you have some UC safeties as well, it sounds like. I’m not sure about financial aid at most but think you’d be a reasonable candidate for some good merit aid. Good luck!
Whitman and Beloit are great choices that I think are probably pretty safe for you admissions-wise. Make sure you apply Early Action to Beloit, so that you’ll have an acceptance in your pocket before the winter holidays. That will really cut down on your stress as you wait to hear from the others! You might think about adding another EA school or two, just to solidify your chances of having not only an acceptance, but a merit offer, nailed down in December.
EA options in the spirit of your current list, with merit potential, could include: Knox, Lawrence, Earlham, Lewis & Clark, Bard, Dickinson, Ursinus, Rhodes, Goucher, and Clark.
I also agree with adding at least one Claremont school to your list, unless you’ve determined that the Claremonts don’t appeal for some reason. If you like Mt. Holyoke in the 5 College Consortium, then applying to Scripps makes sense. It’s more competitive for acceptance and merit than MHC, but less competitive (and with more merit $ available) than Amherst; and the 5C’s are more blended cross-registration-wise than the Amherst/MHC/etc. consortium.
Thank you so much! I’ll be looking into more of these colleges. I also wanted to ask about a few more things. I was recently advised by a family friend that, since going past my grades and scores I don’t really have much, that applying to smaller schools with a large focus on holistic admissions wouldn’t work out for me, and that I should be looking at larger, less holistic schools. Is that true? And, keeping that in mind, would the UCs suffice, or should I find more schools that fit the category?
As @Publisher says, with your EC involvement on the lighter side, your essays will be key. If you can show that you have a “rich inner life,” so to speak, then a relative disinterest in formal EC’s may not be a deal-killer; but if you give AO’s an excuse to conclude that all you do is finish your homework and watch Netflix, then that will be problematic. Show that you read a lot, engage deeply with others in your personal life… whatever is true for you.
But if you want to cover your bases with some more stat-based options, consider adding some public Honors Colleges like Barrett Honors at Arizona State. Since you’re open to Iowa as a destination, consider applying to Honors at U of Iowa, which is somewhat of a mecca for writers as the home of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
The University of Iowa offers “non-resident scholarships” for internationals graduating from a US high school. I believe that these are merit based awards.
Regarding your questions in #6, holistic review can pertain to academic components as well. That is, if your grades, course selection, essays and, Yes, test scores reflect a sincere passion for learning and exploration, then you are less common then you might perceive yourself to be. My advice would be that you first self-recognize your passions, then apply to your colleges of choice with confidence. In terms of tangible aspects, you might have geographical aspects in your favor at certain destinations. Might your profile face barriers at some ultra-selective schools? Well, Maybe, so apply to those using your best discretion. For most others schools though – even those that are “merely” highly selective – I think you’re chances would be at least fair to good.
Also, there are some phenomenal English programs at Canadian universities, which have a much simpler and more stat-based admission process… so maybe consider UBC, McGill, and/or U of Toronto, if your particular situation as a US-based international permits.
Agree with the post above regarding Canadian universities, although you need to be aware that tuition for internationals tends to be higher than for any other category of student at these schools.
Also, my understanding is that foreign graduates of Canadian universities are typically eligible for work & residence visas leading to permanent resident status (although I have not verified this in the last several years).
My Holyoke with your profile is squarely in the low match or even safety level. Beloit Vassar and Whitman are matches. Amherst is a reach for all candidates. Ucs like UCLA UCSD and UCB are low reach and the others are match/safety levels
This assumes you write an effective set of essays, have good recs and interviews if asked.
I think Goucher, Haverford and Bryn Mawr would probably also work well for you based on the colleges you listed, Goucher in particular could be considered a safety, the others are more like low matches. They’re suburban, but it’s easy to get to downtown, and all of them have good merit aid.
You should know that Beloit didn’t even fill up this year and was on the list of colleges with openings on May 1. You have a 1570 on the SAT, stellar stats and will be applying early action to get an early answer. I’d be surprised if you weren’t admitted, but even if you are waitlisted, Beloit goes through the waitlist. They are regulars on the list of colleges with openings. Whitman was on the list two years ago but not this year.
I think that you have a great list. If you need to sleep at night, apply to a place like Truman State which will give you automatic admission very early and has one of the lowest list prices of any college in America. Also University of Minnesota-Morris is a very inexpensive public liberal arts college.
You might also consider Barret’s Honors College of the University of Arizona, University of Washington Honors program which has a Great Books program, University of Pittsburgh which has a nice honors program and terrific scholarships, University of Texas Plan II Honors, etc.
I’m not sure about Goucher, but Haverford is not a “low match” with a sub-20% acceptance rate. I wouldn’t classify Bryn Mawr as a “low match” either. Furthermore, Haverford gives no merit aid, but does have great need based aid for US citizens; for internationals there is need based aid but it’s not guaranteed. You definitely have the stats to apply to all of these colleges, but know that admissions is pretty holistic and good numbers are no guarantees at certain schools.