<p>Whether it’s Berkeley or UCLA that you choose to apply to (or both), just keep in mind that they’re both extremely competitive for OOSers and typically have a pretty big undergrad population.</p>
<p>That said, I think you do have a chance at the reach schools you’re applying to. Your stats and potential to grow in a more academically rigorous environment (more than 30-40 students like in your high school) scream, “Admit me!” Also, although most of the colleges you’re applying to have need-blind admissions, you’ll be an attractive candidate because of your financial status since most colleges want to provide opportunities to people like you. Just remember that the 2008-2009 application year is supposed to be one of the most competitive yet.</p>
<p>I would agree that you look at UCLA a bit more closely if Berkeley appeals to you. It does seem to fit your criteria a little more closely and it would be a touch easier to get into (although still very tight for OOS).</p>
<p>I doubt you’ll find much difference in “feel” between a school with 20K undergraduates and one with 30K but if so, then Berkeley’s 25K undergraduate count should be of concern to you, too. IMO, at some point less than 20K a school just moves from “medium” to “big” and that quality sticks to it. That is not to say there aren’t significant differences between big schools, only that these differences don’t arise from size alone.</p>
<p>If financing is concern for you then by all means leave Iowa in. Many students in other states would count themselves lucky to have such a school as a “financial safety”.</p>
<p>Palo Alto is a fine place to live, but it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, urban. If you really want to be in a city as opposed to a suburb, cross Stanford off the list.</p>
<p>You are looking at several of the top schools in the country. SATs of 640/750/640 are on the lowish side for Stanford, Penn, Chicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Rice, UVa, Vandy, Berkeley and CMU. </p>
<p>They’ll like it that you’re from rural Iowa, but I’d consider having fewer high reaches and more matches.</p>
<p>Did you possibly save your table before you started filling it in, and that you might like to share it. I think you did a nice job on it and it might be helpful for others like my S and myself who are visual.</p>
<p>Get rid of George Washington and American…you can do better than those. Drop Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, Chicago: too nerdy. Keep Iowa and Wisconsin–great safeties. Keep BC…great everything, and weather isn’t as bad as you’d think.</p>
<p>Every year deserving kids are accepted at good schools which they cannot afford - it’s heartbreaking. Have you looked into the financial aid situations at these schools? (Some of the college acceptance threads on CC have financial awards.) You have a lot of need, but out-of-state public schools aren’t the best places to find big aid packages. Among the privates, GWU and CMU are notorious for “gapping” their aid - leaving you with lots of loans. </p>
<p>I would also caution against using the ACT numbers from schools where 80% or more submit SATs. They won’t reflect the true range. Use the school’s SAT averages instead and convert them to ACTs for a more realistic view. Finally, your acceptance rates are a year out of date for Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and, I believe, BC and U of C. This was a brutal year, but you have to face that fact.</p>
<p>Keep Vanderbilt, Rice, U Iowa and Madison if you have reciprocity. Take a long, hard look at the others.</p>
<p>Familyoutdoors: Yes, I did, it’s an excel spreadsheet.</p>
<p>Barrons: Not really, I’d like to get a masters (possibly) and go on to law school (probably)</p>
<p>alGore: I’ll look into Notre Dame, but I’m afraid of it’s Catholic-ness. I’m a member of the Catholic church, but I am an agnostic. I don’t like religion-heavy schools. I’ll also check out Fordham.</p>
<p>Cardinal: Thanks for the suggestion – Though, if I can’t get into an elite-ish out-of-state school, I don’t want to spend the extra money, and instead I’d just go to U of Iowa.
Also, city to me is much different than city to a lot of you. City to me is 100k or over. (most of the people from my area think a city is 50k+) ;)</p>