Hi, I’m a rising senior and I’m currently trying to compile my college list. I have many schools that I’m interested in, but I’m scared that I’m overshooting and applying to way too many reaches. Here is my list so far:
Early decision: Rice University
Safety: Michigan state (in-state.)
Matches: University of Michigan (in-state), Grinnell College (perhaps a higher match)
Reaches: Northwestern, University of Chicago, Pomona, WashU in st. louis, Stanford.
andd here are my stats:
unweighted GPA: 3.97 with 3 aps so far, many honors classes
(school does not do weighted gpa or ranking)
34 act w/ 9 writing
5 on apush, 4 ap chem, 4 ap english
Awards: I don’t really have any but I am relatively certain that I will be a National Merit Semifinalist as soon as they release the results because my score was way above the qualifying score for my state from past years.
Extracurriculars:
-symphony band flute section leader
-symphony orchestra flute 1st chair
-marching band section leader
-student council (11,12)
-link crew
-nhs (lol)
-middle school science olympiad event coach
-internship at a chemistry lab
-all state band 4 years
Other information:
-applying as a biochem major
-asian female
-income is around $50,000/yr
I think that I’m probably applying to too many reaches and not enough safeties ;p However, I really do like all these schools and have researched them thoroughly. How do you think my list is looking so far? Is it realistic?
Thanks!
I would suggest adding schools that reward National Merit.
And consider dropping WashU they cater to high income students.
@ClarinetDad16 yeah I was considering dropping washu as well. do you think if i dropped it, i would still have too many reach schools?
also, i thought only schools that you pick as your first choice awarded their own national merit scholarships…?
Just make sure to run the NPC for Rice. If your family’s income is straight forward (no business or rental properties, etc), then Rice should be affordable. You have good scores and stats. You need to write excellent essays.
As far as your list: Rice and all of your Reach schools are reaches because of the low acceptance rates. You might want to drop a few of these Reaches and add more schools in the Match category.
Grinnell has an acceptance rate of about 30%. Your act is at the 75%. You may very well get accepted but you might want to consider a true match school with a higher acceptance rate. Have you looked at the University of Rochester? It has about a 35% acceptance rate but it fits with some of your other schools. Rochester does meet full need. I don’t think Rochester would be a true match as the acceptance rate is competitive.
Make sure Michigan State is affordable. If not, then add a school that gives guaranteed scholarships for NMF.
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com
You can name your first choice for NMF purposes late in the decision process. Some of these awards are for full tution, but you need to make sure you can afford the room and board plus other expenses.
@txstella I did run the npc for rice, and the financial aid was amazing 
just a quick question, do you think that I have a chance there? I just visited and have started working on my essays for rice.
Also, I was considering dropping NU or UChicago; I need to think a lot about which schools I don’t mind dropping because I’ve sort of had a “crush” on many of these schools for a while and letting go of them is hard haha. If you have any suggestions related to that please tell me!
I will also consider researching Rochester and other nmf schools, thanks.
Not all universities and colleges offer scholarships to NMSF/NMF, and many that do have such scholarships only offer a a couple thousand dollars a year. Also, some universities have competitive NMSF/NMF scholarships – where you may not get one – and others have guaranteed scholarships if you are NMSF/NMF and admitted.
You need to add some financial safeties to your list by adding universities with the big scholarships that you are guaranteed to get if you are NMSF or NMF. See this list for ideas: http://thecollegematchmaker.com/52-colleges-offering-full-tuition-scholarships-national-merit-finalists/
I agree that you might want to drop a reach or two and add more matches. Rochester is good. Maybe Case Western? If you like Grinnell, maybe some other midwest LACs like Kenyon or Macalester?
I think you meet the bar to be considered for Rice. Your essays are really important. Other applicants will probably have more APs, and I saw a statistic recently about how high the SAT and ACT scores are for the incoming class. Perfect scores are not unusual at all. Are you interested in playing in the MOB? The Rice Band is a lot of fun.
I recommend adding a few true match schools that meet full need.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need
And adding a safety where you would receive a guaranteed scholarship.
You do know you have to have a qualifying SAT scores for the NMF? Take the SAT if you haven’t.
Your list is pretty on target. A couple more safeties but your stats are very strong. A couple of the school’s you are applying to care about demonstrated interest and managing their yield. As noted by others above make sure you understand net cost clearly
@txstella yeah the act worried me because i believe the 25th to 75th percentile for the incoming class was 33-35, and mine is in the middle. kfalkfal I didn’t really think it was worth taking over for one extra point though (if I could even raise my act higher…). Also I have taken the sat and my score does qualify for nmf; however, I’m choosing not to use it for college admissions because my act is a little higher.
I’ll try to add matches/a safety, but I also don’t want to add a school just for the sake of having a safety/match if I have no intention of going, yknow?
@lalalemma I’ve been looking into rochester, and I like it so far I guess. As for other lacs, what do you think about colby, macalester, and reed? Anything you know about these schools?
Also, if you were to drop one of those reaches, which would you drop? (minus rice)
I know slightly more about Macalester. It’s somewhat unique among LACs because it’s located in a pretty big city. Very liberal, friendly, somewhat quirky student body, perhaps a bit like U Chicago. People say it has a bit of an international feel. It’s one of my top choices. Colby has a different vibe, being in rural New England. Student body is probably more preppy, athletic, outdoorsy. I’ve heard people describe it as really friendly as well. I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a match as it’s very competitive.
I can’t really tell you which reach you should drop because I don’t know what your interests are. I guess just think about which ones you actually really love and feel a connection to and which ones you want to apply to more because of prestige.
My advice is a bit different from others here. Because of your lower income, the reach school are the ones which will provide the best financial aid. Run the Net Price Calculators on each of the colleges you’re considering. Make sure each is actually affordable. Pay attention to how much is covered by loans and make sure you’re comparing apples to apples with what your actual costs will be (those above tuition, fees, R&B) including travel, books, and personal expenses.
I agree that WashU could be dropped as your chances of being admitted while needing so much aid are slim. Look at the Questbridge partners to get an idea of the colleges which provide great aid for low income students. You can apply through QB if you want to keep down application costs, but most colleges will waive their application fee for lower income students. If you selected Rice as a match school through QB, it would be similar to applying ED as, if you are admitted, you are required to attend. The difference is that you can list up to 8? colleges in order of preference for the match round. You can look at QB stats to see how many QB students they admitted in the past during the match round. You may find that your chances are better through regular ED. Having visited Rice already will definitely be in your favor and you may be done after ED, but you need to prepare for regular decision as Rice is a reach.
If you can afford the application fees (most should be waived), test score sending fees, and CSS Profile fees, then I would suggest applying to several reaches. The ones associated with QB should provide great aid but always run the NPC to know what to expect (some will require Stafford loans and others may be loan free). As an ORM, it might be good to apply to some which are specifically looking for more student diversity. Some of the mid-west LACs are actively recruiting for diversity. Also look at some of the QB colleges with higher admissions rates for potential lower reaches or matches. I’m assuming that UMichigan is affordable for your family, but it’s always good to have a second safety or at least a low match if you can.
Rice doesn’t require SAT II tests with the ACT with writing, but check to see if others you’re considering do. You still have time to take a couple of them in areas of strength. Your stats are good for just about any college, it’s just that there are only so many seats to be filled at the top schools. That’s why I’d spread a wider net rather than narrowing the field too much. Admissions results are unpredictable and you don’t want to eliminate a potential option.
Just saw you added Reed. Another really nice LAC. It’s in Portland and it definitely has a Portland vibe. Lots of really quirky, activist-type kids, very liberal. It’s also very academically intense and has the highest percentage of graduates who go on to get Ph.Ds or something like that. Would be a good match.
Rice and Reed are dramatically different environments, so you might want to check out Reed a bit more if you liked Rice well enough to apply ED.
Good luck!
@lalalemma Thanks! I’m finding that I like macalester the best out of the three as well. In your opinion, do you think that reed, macalester, and colby would be match schools for me?
@SoMuch2Learn Thanks for the good advice; that was what I was thinking originally as well. I’ve ran the NPC on each of the colleges on my original list (minus Wash U which I am dropping), and all of them were affordable for my family.
Also, I have taken SAT Subject tests in Math 2 (790) and Chemistry (730) which I am not sure if I should send. Northwestern said they “strongly recommended” two tests, but I am not sure for other schools.
Are you sure I qualify for application fee waivers? I can talk to my school counselor more on this, but does a income of about $40,000 with 3 people depending on it qualify?
I think that I am probably going to add another match LAC (some that I am considering are macalester, reed, colby). However, I know that usually LACs lack in diversity, which is something that I believe is very important in a school, so I am a little hesitant.
@ColdinMinny Thanks! How are Reed and Rice different though? (besides weather lol)
sorry, Reed is a college that I’ve only heard about a couple days ago, so I can’t say I know much about it besides the basics.
@annaerhear that’s great that they’re all affordable. WashU would show as affordable too, it’s just that they admit relatively few students who need a lot of financial aid and prefer full pay students.
Your subject test scores are great and should be included. Could you ask your guidance counselor if they could be added to your transcript, or maybe they could be included in the counselor letter? That could help save the cost of sending the scores from the College Board. Check with Northwestern if that would suffice or if you need to have the official score report sent.
Regarding fee waivers, your counselor will know the guidelines. For the CSS Profile, you should automatically qualify for some and for others you’d have to ask the colleges for a waiver code.
Unfortunately it’s generally the colleges which are lacking in diversity which are trying to attract minorities. Not all LACs are lacking in diversity. You can find the percentages on QB and other college info sites.
@annaerhear Like I said before, I think Colby might be more of a low reach, but the other two would probably be matches.