Hi! So I’m a rising senior who has always been ahead of the game when it comes to the college process, and all of a sudden it’s time to apply and I’m absolutely lost! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to compile a short list or any schools I should consider?
Some stats:
3.8 UW, 4.7 W
34 ACT (35 superscored)
Pretty good ECs and leadership (NHS president, varsity swimming captain junior and senior, Judicial Board rep etc.)
What I know so far: I like Duke, Penn, and Georgetown a lot and am considering applying ED to Duke.
For safeties, I like St. Andrews in Scotland and UNC (I’m in state).
So that’s 5 schools and definitely doesn’t feel like enough for me. I have a problem where when I add one school, I feel like I need to add 70283 ( ex. If I apply to Brown I should probably also apply to Princeton, Columbia, Yale etc. right?) And then there are so many schools like Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Wash U that I haven’t visited but are good and maybe worth an application? I’m basically scared I’m going to apply to either 5 or 55 schools. So this is kind of a crazy post but does anyone have advice??? Thanks & sorry! Also I’m 100% wanting to do pre-med if that influences anything
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I’m 100% wanting to do pre-med if that influences anything
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then why would St Andrews be on your list as a safety? You really need to go to a US undergrad from premed.
what are your parents saying about how much they’ll pay each year?
What is your home state?
My home state is North Carolina. Money isn’t really an object for my family
You are lucky to have the fabulous UNC-CH with its amazing med school right in your own backyard. 
Since money is no object, just apply wherever you like as long as you have a couple of “for sure” safeties in your pocket.
If you’re certain that you want to go to med school, then you may want to rethink the strategy of going to a school where everyone is super strong. All undergrads weed and limit the number of A’s for the premed prereqs. You will want a high med school-worthy GPA.
Consider some good LACs, like Rhodes College.
What else do you want in a school? What is it about Duke that you like?
“If I apply to Brown I should probably also apply to Princeton, Columbia, Yale etc. right?”
No; if you like Brown then you can very easily not write an application for Princeton, Columbia, or Yale. Chances are, if you like Brown, you won’t also like Princeton, Columbia, and Yale because they all have very different vibes. Duke, Penn, and Georgetown are all good reaches, now you just need to find some matches with a similar feel. There is a lot of room between applying to 5 and 55 colleges!
Are you applying to Brown’s BS/MD program? Are you applying to any BS/MD programs? You probably should.
I highly recommend you visit Notre Dame.
Davidson College is an excellent LAC that you should consider.
Also, look at College of William & Mary; not only is it an excellent school (one of the “public Ivies”), but it has a joint degree program with St. Andrews University (although it may be limited to certain disciplines). Emory University may also be a place that you should look at.
In terms of safeties, you should think about where you would be ABSOLUTELY guaranteed admission, AND which you can afford. Since money appears to be no object, then focus on where you would ABSOLUTELY be admitted. If your high school has Naviance, it can show you where other students from your school have been admitted, and with what test score vs. GPA ranges; if your school doesn’t have Naviance, then you might go to about.com, where you can look up graphs of ACT/SAT vs. GPA that show admit/deny/deferrals for different schools: http://collegeapps.about.com/
Typically the schools that you would be looking at as “safety” schools are not ranked as highly in USNWR or Forbes; but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t very good schools where you can excel.
Here is a link to “Sweet Sixteen: Great Colleges of the South,” which may also give you some ideas: http://pulleygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Sweet16.pdf
D was admitted to William & Mary and we attended admitted student days in April. I would second gandalf78’s recommendation. You have some really good choices close to home. Davidson, Elon, Wake Forest