GPA: (4.0 UW / 99 Avg)
Rank: 3/310
SAT1: 2160 (700-690-770, 11 Essay) (retaking, not sure if I should also try the ACT)
SAT2: 700 Lit | 770 US History
Course Rigor: Will graduate with 8 honors classes & 7 APs.
AP Scores: (5) in APWORLD (5) in APUSH (5) in AP PSYCH (4) in AP STAT
EC’s:
Debate Team Captain (10th-12th grade)
Academic Team Captain (9th-12th grade)
Beta Club VP (10th-12th grade)
National Honor Society (11-12)
International Festival (11-12)
Senate Campaign Volunteer
HS Science Olympiad (10th-12), MS Science Olympiad Captain (9th)
Volunteer Tutor (11th-12)
Yearbook (12th)
And a few less major ECs
Hooks: Black Male
Essays/Recs: Should be good, but nothing shocking
I have state level recognition in some events/fields but nothing mindblowing.
I will likely be cutting down on this list, but it does have the schools I am interested in applying to today
SCHOOLS:
UGA (EA - In State)
Emory
Duke
Howard (EA)
Mercer
Tulane (EA)
Wake Forest
Georgetown (Restrictive EA)
William & Mary
Rice
You are a very strong candidate for ALL of those schools; you have excellent GPA, class rank, strength of class schedule, and as a black male that’s just extra (but you would be a solid candidate for any of them anyway). William & Mary is tougher for out of state students than it is for most schools, so there’s that. Rice will have a higher percentage of students in a science or engineering than the others on your list, so there’s that. Mercer has a very lopsided student body with 63% being female, so there’s that. Finally, I understand why Howard would be on your list, but it does stand out from the others as not quite as good of a school. The entrance requirements at Howard are just so low compared to what you provide. But, we all pick colleges for very personal reasons, and I completely get that.
If you were to get that SAT above 2200, with everything you bring, no college would be an unreasonable attempt for you…and that may even be the case now. As of now, you have the world by the tail. Good luck!
@stepay thank you! Howard is there because I’m still not 100% sure whether the HBCU environment is something I’d like (and it’s good for merit). You were very helpful.
@theatlantic - I have no doubt that Howard could provide a great merit scholarship for you as you would be one of their top students. Does your family make less than $125,000 per year? If so, you may be in for some VERY GOOD financial aid based on need at these schools (schools that provided 100% of financial need in 2014-2015 school year - including Duke and Rice):
Amherst College (MA)
Barnard College (NY)
Bates College (ME)
Bethany College (KS)
Boston College (MA)
Bowdoin College (ME)
Brown University (RI)
Bryn Mawr College (PA)
California Institute of Technology
Carleton College (MN)
Carroll University (WI)
Claremont McKenna College (CA)
Colby College (ME)
Colgate University (NY)
College of the Holy Cross (MA)
Columbia University (NY)
Cornell University (NY)
Dartmouth College (NH)
Davidson College (NC)
Duke University (NC)
Franklin and Marshall College (PA)
Georgetown University (DC)
Grinnell College (IA)
Hamilton College (NY)
Harvard University (MA)
Harvey Mudd College (CA)
Haverford College (PA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)
Macalester College (MN)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
Middlebury College (VT)
Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Northwestern University (IL)
Oberlin College (OH)
Occidental College (CA)
Pitzer College (CA)
Pomona College (CA)
Princeton University (NJ)
Rice University (TX)
Scripps College (CA)
Smith College (MA)
Stanford University (CA)
Swarthmore College (PA)
Thomas Aquinas College (CA)
Trinity College (CT)
Tufts University (MA)
United States Merchant Marine Academy (NY)
University of Chicago
University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill (NC)
University of Notre Dame (IN)
University of Pennsylvania
University of Richmond (VA)
University of Southern California
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University (TN)
Vassar College (NY)
Washington and Lee University (VA)
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College (MA)
Wesleyan University (CT)
Williams College (MA)
Yale University (CT)
@stepay -I’m sorry, but a list of schools which meet 100% of demonstrated need doesn’t necessarily apply to OP. No offense to OP, but I doubt he’ll get into Yale. No offense to Carroll University, but I doubt OP would want to attend there.
Some of those schools-Wesleyan, BU, and a few others-appear to fit OP’s profile quite well. Others are in the wrong range.
I think UGA seems like it would be a low match or a safety for a student with your profile, but I’m assuming you’re applying because it’s in-state. You might get some financial aid, and UGA certainly isn’t light-years below your level. At the other end of your spectrum, Duke and Georgetown are always tough schools to get into, but I think you’re in with a chance at both. Ideally that SAT score would be higher, especially for Duke, but it’s not a huge problem.
Honestly, that list looks pretty good. It’s short enough that I don’t really think you need to cut it down much-applying to more colleges than necessary is far better than erring on the side of the short list.
@notverysmart - Not sure what you mean that those schools in that list don’t apply to the OP. What do you mean? He would qualify for MANY of those schools, and with a family income of $100,000, he would get some VERY good financial aid at most of them…along the lines of full tuition at many (I know because I’m in about that income range for our family, and my daughter will be attending one of the schools on that list with VERY GOOD financial aid).
AND, while Yale is a reach for everyone, a black male with a 4.0 UW GPA with lots of AP classes and 5s on many AP tests and an SAT of 2160 with another try yet…definitely a worthy candidate. You need to explain what it is you mean here.
@theatlantic - don’t let any poster dissuade you. You likely WILL be denied at some colleges somewhere, but make no mistake, you ARE a very strong candidate at ANY college in this country. Seriously.
@stepay -What I mean is that a lot of those schools are out of OP’s range-on one end or another. As I said above, there are probably some schools, like Carroll, that are below the level of a school I’d consider a safety for him. He’d be bored out of his mind. There are also schools that would be at the high end of the spectrum for OP. In this time of grade inflation, a 4.0 doesn’t mean what it used to-most applicants to top schools have at least a 3.9. And unfortunately, there’s been AP inflation and EC inflation that have raised the bar in these areas to the extent that OP would be a below-average candidate at schools like Princeton.
This isn’t to say OP is a bad student. It seems like he’s done very well in school, and I’m sure he could handle any school in this country. But a 4.0 and his skin color will not serve as panaceas; when coupled with few AP classes (by these schools’ standards), an SAT score that’s significantly below average for the Ivy League and equivalent schools, and extracurriculars that mostly cover grades 11 and 12.
The sad fact is that there are thousands of applicants whose parents mapped out their path to the Ivy League in kindergarten, who’ve been doing 8 extracurriculars a week since grade 9, will have over 10 AP classes before they graduate, and generally will have better SAT/ACT scores coupled with a 3.9+ GPA. They may be no more capable than OP, or even less so, but this will give them a leg up in admissions. Obviously an applicant’s chances are 0% at the schools he doesn’t apply to, and OP should by all means apply to whatever school he’d like to attend. But it’s a stretch to call him a very strong candidate at any college.
I think OP’s current list looks good, and if he wants to add a few schools on the high end that can’t hurt. I also think Duke and Georgetown represent the upper limit of the schools where he has a decent chance of acceptance given his current profile, and places like Yale are lottery tickets where OP’s odds would be below-average.
Essentially, yeah, this is pretty much based on the same methodology I outline in my post, with some enhancements.
I did adjust for your race, but I do this pretty conservatively - I distinguish between “middle class URM” and “underprivileged URM” so there wasn’t that much of a bump for you (because of income and also because your HS offers a good range of courses.)
Definitely add Cornell University to your list! Cornell has an amazing program in government/politics. You’re in very good shape for the schools you are applying to.
@notverysmart - I guess you and I will have to disagree a bit. Yes there are some that would bore him, but most are top colleges that are in line with his ability. You also seem to think his SAT is too low for Ivy League schools. As no one is guaranteed admission to an Ivy, his 2160 along with 7 APs is competitive along with his 4.0 UW GPA.
So, he is in the middle 50% for every Ivy League school with his SAT, and for a couple of them, he is at or above 50% mark. When you add his 4.0 UW GPA, add a very good strength of classes (and even though some will take 10 APs, 7 is still very good), and the fact that he’s a black male…strong candidate to any of them. No guarantees to them, but he is a worthy candidate. Go outside the Ivy League to some of the other still elite colleges, and he’s got even more of a shot.