Help Required With College List

College Search & Selection
1

Hello everybody. So this thread is like a chance me+ help wiith college list.

I have recently been selecting colleges for regular decision and been taking advice from my seniors. I tthought I should also start a thread oon CC since I have seen so often that most people give sincere advice.

So here are my stats.

Pakistani Male.
Intended Major :Economics

CIE O’ Levels 9A’s (4As and 5A’s) (A is 90th percentile and an A is 80th percentile mostly but the thresholds vary from subject to subject and year to year)
English, Math, Accounting and Business Studies A*s
Economics, Urdu, Pakistan Studies, Islamiyat and commerce A’s

CIE AS Level 3A 1B (A* grade doesnt exist at AS level (junior year))
Economics, Business, Accounting A’s
Math B (bad exam. Gutted)

High School GPA 4/4 weighted. No class ranks assigned by my school this year. But i would say im top 3/4 %
High school internal exams grades: All A’s and As during my O and A Levels. Mostly As and I think I have consistently had A*s in Economics, Business and Accounting so I think that helps Economics as my intended major even if they are internal school exams?

Predicted grades of my senior year (A2)
4A*s

4 Electives:
Leadership
Entrepreneurship
Business communication
Creative writing

SAT 1
October 1950 (600 CR 680M 670W)
November 2060 (630 CR 660M 770 W)
Superscore 2080

I feel I can get a 2150+ if I appear in January so I would llike to keep some colleges in my list that accept the january sat.

ECs
1)Flood relief campaign. Collected and donated food and clothing packets to flood affected people.
2)Secretary general of my school’s debating+Model UN society. I have been debating for 3 years. I currently coach my juniors.
3)Internship at a large NGP for 2 months that helps underprivileged societies by teaching different skills, helping train teachers to teach in schools in villages etc.
4) Internship at a bank for 2 weeks
5) Taught underprivileged children for 2 weeks in an internship with another ngo that sets up schools in areas with high poverty
6) summer school at my school. Took the electives there
7) 3 years playing tennis
8) spokesperson for a student run NGO.
9) drama competition
10) environment related event. Green walk.Tree plantation. Set up my own stall of recycled stuff.
11) soccer 3 years. Should I replace this with 9 or 10?

My commonapp essay and addtl info are 9/10. Commonapp essay is kind of academic and the addtl info is very passionate.
My counselor rec is a 10/10 no doubt. My counselor has said that the rec is amazing way too many times for it to be less than a 10/10. Two teacher recs. Economics and Math. Both 9/10 or more. Economics probably a 10/10.

Here’s my tentative Regular decision college list.

Vanderbilt
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Georgetown (Non commonapp so does not away a college slot)
Tufts
University of Rochester
Wesleyan University

Babson
Colby College
Connecitcut College
Davidson College
Wake Forest
Kenyon
Lafayette
Oberlin
Trinity
Richmond
Bucknell University
Occidental

Purdue University
Clark University
Skidmore
Gustavus Adolphus
Ithaca

I need financial aid.
Please chance me for these colleges and feel more than welcome to add or remove colleges. I’ve basically just prepared this list based on where my seniors got accepted or rejected and compared their stats with mine (so not fully confident on the list yet tbh). Please do keep in mind i want to give the january sat

Thanks so much!!!

2

Oh and I have not yet decided on my E.D 2 university. Any suggestions for that would also be amazing!
oh and
BUMP

3

With your current score, Vanderbilt, Georgetown and Tufts are likely out of reach. I wouldn’t assume you’ll go up a hundred points in January- you might, but it’s very hard to do and thus unlikely. If you need aid, get rid of Purdue- it’s a public university and thus won’t give you any. Occidental and Oberlin don’t really fit the “theme” of your other colleges- what do you like about them?

Would you consider applying test-optional to the schools that have that option (like Bowdoin)?

4

Wake Forest doesn’t give FA to int’ls. It has a few merit scholarships that are open to int’ls, but even with a 2150 in Jan, that wouldn’t be high enough.

5

Just realized that about Purdue myself as well. Removed form list.
Occidental has a strong economics program.
People from my school have gone to oberlin, and I have higher scores plus its a great school that gives financial aid.

I think sending my sat score to test optional schools like bowdoin would actually be good. So i ll probably send the scote to bowdon @Qwerty568

6

Just because it is a good school with a strong program doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right school for you.

Both Oberlin and Occidental are crunchy granola, hippie, ultraliberal schools. Nothing wrong with that, but if that’s not the kind of environment you want, you won’t have a particularly happy four years. I can’t imagine someone that would be happy at Occidental would be happy at Davidson or Wake.

7

I understand what youre saying. Makes sense. But Ive always thought that people always find like minded people in every college4 so I have not been really fretting about the type of students at a particular school.

But I’m not fond of the hippie, ultra liberal idea to be honest. Suppose I want a diverse place with amazing overall academics, a strong eco program, a very slightly liberal type of student body, strong alumni network, really good study away programs, great internship opportunities so maybe not located in a very far off place and great potential to take a hardworking student to the very top top unis for masters. What college would that be? (Keeping my scores etc in mind ofcourse)