<p>I'm having a really hard time making my college list--there are so many schools I am interested in and it's hard for me to gauge my chances at some of the schools that aren't obvious reaches or obvious safeties. How does my current list look given my grades, testing, ECs etc.?</p>
<p>The List:
University of Pennsylvania (ED+legacy... my dad went)
Cornell (legacy)
Skidmore
University of Vermont
Carnegie Mellon (legacy)
Boston College
American U
Johns Hopkins
Tufts
Colgate
Middlebury
Union (Schenectady)
Bucknell (legacy)
Villanova</p>
<p>Also, which schools do you think are reaches, good fits, possibilities, safeties, etc.?</p>
<p>ACT- 31 but retaking
Need to take SAT2s for a few of these, expecting around 700 on each
GPA- UW 3.83
Rank- top 3-5%
I've taken the toughest course load of anyone in my grade</p>
<p>AP English- 5
AP U.S. History- 5
AP Physics- 4</p>
<p>Some ECs and Stuff:
-I work 10 hours per week during the school year, up to 40 during the summer
-Internship at insurance company... a job followed
-Community Service Group Leader 9-12 apx. 30 hours min a semester
-Competitive Horseback Riding- 8+ hours a week
-Several elected leadership positions at school
-NHS
-Founded a creative writing club
-SADD apx. 30 hours a year
-Co-captain of school ski team</p>
<p>There's more but I think you get the point... it might not look like a lot... but I honestly do not have time for anything else. I run my club before school and after school I work for a couple of hours, ride for an hour or so, and in the winter I have ski team... plus I have tons of meetings for my leadership things and I lead community service groups whenever there's any extra time. I couldn't possibly fit anything else in. </p>
<p>So what do you think? Be honest... does it look like I need more safeties/good fits or is it okay to have a lot of reaches?</p>
<p>I know those three are huge reaches, but I’ll apply anyways because I know otherwise I’ll always wonder “what if?”. What about the other schools though? Do I have enough matches/safeties. There are a few that are obviously reaches, but I have trouble determining which schools are matches and safeties.</p>
<p>you’re basically average for most of these schools. getting in shouldn’t be a problem as long as you put some work into it. for the reach schools like UPenn, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Colgate, Tufts, Bucknell, and BC (which by the way is a wayyyyy too long list of reach schools) you’ll really have to show some dedication to something. Something to make you stand out.</p>
<p>Why does it have to be shortened though? If I am willing to invest the time and energy into the applications, I figure I should just apply if I am interested. Do you think I have enough safeties though? I don’t want UVM to be the only school I get into. Though I know if I apply to all of these schools I’m likely to receive quite a few rejection letters, I’d like to have some choice and get more than one acceptance.</p>
<p>UVM shouldnt be on your list at all. my brother got in with an 89 average and a 2000 SAT or so. no honors at all. he also got a few thousand a year from them.</p>
<p>If you can do a good job on all of the applications, go ahead and apply to all. To me, the list looks nicely balanced in terms of reaches, matches, and safeties. Try to get 750s on your SATIIs. You are a perfectly reasonable applicant to Cornell and CMU, and might as well have a go at UPenn, too.</p>
<p>Thanks… I know I’m not the most impressive applicant, but I’m hoping interest, legacy status and ED (at Penn) can help me out a bit. Luckily, I have parents and grandparents who went to a few of the schools I am interested in. So at least I have that going for me. Hopefully my essays impress a few of the schools. :)</p>