So I’m a rising senior (35 ACT, 4.0 GPA) planning on applying to the following colleges:
Yale
UChicago
Brown
WashU St. Louis
Pomona
Amherst
Hopkins
State School
Another safety
Should I add a “low match” school like Boston Uni or UMichigan Ann Arbor to the list or would my current list be okay?
Thanks!
It is very important because getting in the schools you listed from Hopkins up won’t be decided on GPA and test scores. A 32 is as good as a 35.
Unless you are in state, UofM is not a “low match”.
I’d say you should add 2-3 matches in place of up to 2 of those reaches.
You don’t need them if you’d be perfectly happy at your other safeties or if you wouldn’t be willing to pay the extra money for one of those “low matches” vs. your state school.
You only need one true safety which is defined as a place you 1) can definitely get into, 2) are happy to go to and 3) that you can afford. Some people advocate 2 safeties so they are guaranteed at least some choice. You know yourself best as to whether this is something that would make you feel better or not.
Given how selective the colleges you have listed are, you need to consider whether you would be happy to attend your safety, because there is a chance that it will be your only option. If your own state college meets all your needs, then that would certainly suffice, but those are some very competitive colleges. If you like Pomona, what about Occidental? Scripps is an option if you’re female; Vassar and Grinnell are two other top-notch colleges that are a little less selective than the ones on your list. Tulane has a free application, non-binding Early Action, and you would probably qualify for a generous merit package. The same is true of Fordham. I think you should look at a few more matches/low-matches, including liberal arts colleges where you might qualify for generous scholarships.
I would certainly add a school or two between JHU and your safety schools. UM could be that school if you apply early and hear back/get accepted in December. I think everyone should apply to a rolling/EA school and be certain they get in somewhere by December.
You can add those schools, but unless money is a problem, then you should apply to as many schools as you see fit.
Depends what happens EA. I got into my top choice and decided to drop all matches/safeties from my list and only applied to whimsical reaches.
Re #8
If you got into your first choice, and it was affordable, why apply to any other school?
66% because at the time my mom wasn’t fully convinced of my choice yet.
33% because if I got into UChicago (was waitlisted, maybe if I wrote one of their essays instead of copying and pasting my school’s essay I could have gotten in) I would have thought about it pretty hard.
1% because Harvard for the lols.
Thanks guys! What if I add Case Western and Wesleyan? Or are those still too selective?
Do you actually like CWRU and Wesleyan better than the schools that you have as safeties (why didn’t you name them?)?
I do! I didn’t originally name them bc I was trying to cut down on my list, but they were on my list to begin with.
Wesleyan is too selective to be considered a match or safety – they admit only about 20% of applicants.
What would you consider a match school then? Which schools on my list would be match?
I think for students with very high scores there often isn’t much that isn’t either a safety or a match. Both my kids appied to about 6 reaches and 2 safeties. They were perfectly fine with their safeties. They also both had schools on their list that accepted them before December - which is the best sort of safety of all. Case Western looks like a match.
Brandeis and Clark are other unis you might consider. Clark has EA.
@mathmom Thanks! That was very helpful.
It is not unheard of for a kid with strong stats to be shut out of all their selective schools. You want options come April. Expect the best, plan for the worst.
U of R might work for you since I am gathering from your list you prefer smallish universities/LACs that are on the big side or part of a consortium. It is a small university, less selective than JHU, would probably offer you merit $$ and like Brown it has an open curriculum. Brandeis is another one.
Neither has EA and I do think having an EA or rolling school on your list takes a lot of pressure off and gives you a sense of whether you are in the right ballpark. If your state school has rolling that will fill the ticket. Just get your app in early. You often want to do that anyway for preferential merit $ and honors programs.
Thanks! Is U of R Rochester?