Help with college choices please!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone. I have talked to guidance counselors, school staff, and others, but can't really find someone who knows how to talk to me about college choices in a way I can relate to them, so I came here. I have a list of several schools I wouldn't mind going to and need some help narrowing it down to about 9 (3 reach, 3 target, 3 safety) to apply to. I would like to stay in the mid atlantic or go into the northeast/New England, but I would go to more southern states if the financial aid was right. Here is some info about myself:</p>

<p>Live in the suburbs of Philadelphia
White male (eek, i know)
Low income family (parents make less than $60,000 combined per year)
Somewhere between number 4 and 7 in class ranking (out of 300)
SAT: 700 CR, 730 Math, 720 writing (8 on essay)
SAT II: Taking them next year, probably Math 2 and US History, maybe something else.
AP's: Psych, Calc, Spanish, English, Physics, Bio, Stat, Government (no test results yet)
GPA: 103 weighted (100 scale)
EC: Bowling Team, Key Club, Student Council, National Honor Society, Film Club, Academic Decathlon, Student Newspaper
Work 2 jobs, at AirClic mobile software in quality assurance/returns and Chick Fil A.
Affiliated with Lutheran Church
Parents divorced, live with my dad
Probable Major: I really don't know, but I would like either something premed or mathematics (or even something pre law)</p>

<p>Reach schools I would like to go to (please help me qualify as never gonna get in, reach, target, or safety, feel free to suggest others):
Princeton
Brown
Harvard
Dartmouth
Boston College
Cornell
Ithaca
NYU
UPenn
UVA
Penn State
Temple
Drexel
Franklin & Marshall
Johns Hopkins
Rutgers</p>

<p>Any help that you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!</p>

<p>Pat</p>

2

<p>if you like Dartmouth or Brown but would like better weather, check out William & Mary or Davidson</p>

3

<p>I think you have a good chance of getting into one of the Ivies. If you are admitted to an Ivy, I would go the Ivy that gives you the best financial aid. Cornell is constructing a new biology building and investing hundreds of millions into Life Sciences.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely look into them.</p>

<p>And as for the Ivy aid packages, that is why I will be applying to lots of them. I talked with a rep from Brown, and he said that, with my academics and need for aid, I would get 100% need met if accepted.</p>

<p>Thanks guys!</p>