How's my list?/Chance me - Economics

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey everyone! So it's getting down to the wire and I've become increasingly aware of my lack of self-awareness. That being said, I could really use some opinions on my college list based on my interests and numbers. I will NOT be applying to all of these schools (I need to cut this list in half, if not more, which is why I need opinions), and I will NOT be applying early.</p>

<p>Schools
Boston College, Brandeis, Columbia, Dickinson, Duke, Duquesne, George Washington, UMD-Baltimore, UMA-Amherst, Montclair State, TCNJ, Northwestern, Penn, Pitt, Princeton, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams</p>

<p>Scores
-SAT I: 2150 (680cr/760m/710w), 2110 (700cr/760m/650w) - 2170 SS/1460CRM
-SAT II: M2 (740), USH (790), French (in Oct.)
-ACT: 34 Composite
-AP: Calc AB (5), USH (5), Micro (5), Macro (5)
-CWGPA: 4.483 (unofficial, by my calculations, end of junior year)
-Rank: Top 10 students</p>

<p>Activities - including this upcoming year
-Field hockey (4 years - x2 JV captain, x2 Coaches Award, Varsity member)
-Model UN (3 years - President now, VP last year, responsible for lots of fundraising)
-International Club (3 years - Coordinate food for fundraiser)
-DECA (3 years - state finalist both years in three events, several awards at regional/state levels)
-Student Leadership (2 years - mentor freshman, volunteer in school/community)
-NHS Secretary, NBHS, SHF, Business and International Studies Academy
-Part time job as bank teller
-Other volunteering done with Junior Achievement and my field hockey team
-Awards: French (9th grade), USH (11th grade)</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule - knock on wood..
Gym, AP Calc BC, AP French, AP U.S. Gov, AP Lit, AP Stats, Marketing 2</p>

<p>Other Information
-State: NJ
-Overrepresented minority
-Female
-FA Candidate
-Recs will be great, essay should be as well (if they share my humor)
-Interested in majoring in economics, and possibly IR/PoliSci</p>

<p>Thank you for reading through this. Please feel free to ask any relevant questions, make suggestions, start a conversation - whatever. I'm just trying to avoid reading for Lit :p.</p>

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<p>Economics but no UChicago?</p>

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<p>There’s quite a few schools that have excellent Econ/IR/Gov programs, but I’m not going to apply to every single one of them, because frankly my scores are not up to par for most.</p>

<p>Edit: That being said, I know I have a couple reach/high match schools listed. One I put solely for my mom’s sake and the others I feel there’s enough of a chance for me to potentially be considered for admission.</p>

4

<p>Miracles do happen!!!</p>

5

<p>hahah, not sure if you’re naturally this optimistic or are being incredibly satirical right now, but thanks regardless!</p>

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<p>Here’s what I think, hopefully it’ll be helpful!
You have several types of schools.
1° Safeties: keep 2 (3 tops)
Duquesne
UMD-Baltimore
UMA-Amherst
Montclair State
TCNJ
TCNJ is your obvious academic and financial safety.
Cross out Montclair State (too easy - a “strong candidate” is one with 1500 CR+M+W) unless you’re really afraid you won’t get in anywhere <em>and</em> are applying to their honors college. But if for some reason TCNJ became impossible, with those scores you could probably get in somewhere better than Montclair through the NACAC May 2 list.
Cross out UMD-B and UMass - both are OOS publics, meaning you won’t get any (or very little) financial aid for an education that is not in any way better (and some would argue less good) than TCNJ. Furthermore, if you’re really intent on going out of state, St Mary’s College of Maryland (Maryland’s Honors College, similar to TCNJ but with a killer sailing team) is better for your intended major.
Duquesne is not a bad choice, you’d probably get a nice FA package. Try to find another one like it if you don’t look for an extra LAC.</p>

<p>2° Large, public university that’s a match for the Honors College
Pitt - for the Honors college and the scholarships, I assume? Otherwise, Pitt and Penn State are really horrible with FA so it’d cost you A LOT of money. I’d cross Pitt out since you’re not in-state, unless you really like it more than TCNJ and are going for the Honors Program.</p>

<p>3° Liberal arts colleges
Dickinson = a match
Wesleyan = a match/low reach
Williams = a reach (for everyone!) but you’re within range
If you like LACs, you should research them and apply to one more that’s a match and one more that’s a safety. Ideally, the college will be similar to your favorite colleges in atmosphere and campus style, but easier to get into.</p>

<p>4° Private, research universities
Boston College, Brandeis, Columbia, Duke, George Washington, Northwestern, Penn, Princeton, Tufts
Well, you clearly need to cut some commeges from this section. :slight_smile:
Why GWU and not Georgetown BTW? Is it supposed to be your DC safety? (Typically AU is the DC safety :p)
Brandeis and Tufts need to stay for IR.
Then you have BC, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, Penn, and Princeton. I’d say the obvious cut would come from these.
From the list, BC seems the odd one out, unless you picked it because it’s in a big city.
Between the 5 that are left, all are about as selective and they’re all crapshoots, so if you can, visit, try to get in contact with students, etc.</p>

<p>Ideally you’d have 2 safeties, 3 matches, and as many dream schools as you can afford to apply to (but at least 3 in your case). Does that make sense?</p>

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<p>you’re a doll, really, thank you for the depth of your answer.</p>

<p>GW not Georgetown due to $$$ concerns. I’ve heard Gtown is stingy, and even if they’re not, I’m bound to get much less aid from them than GW. I’m a basket case :stuck_out_tongue: I’m going with GW over AU, and if that screws me over, so be it.</p>

<p>If BC and Brandeis are matches like I think they are, then at the moment I’m at 3 safeties, 4-5 matches, and 5-6 reaches (the latter two will definitely be cut down). I like Fairfield as a LAC safety if I choose to get rid of Duquesne. My mother wants me to apply to Princeton cause it’s like the only school she’s heard of, but I’m trying to avoid having to write another essay. Duke is off. That leaves Tufts, Penn, Columbia, and Northwestern. I have my priorities for these, so I know which one or two will be eliminated if need be.</p>

<p>thanks once again!</p>

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<p>Change one of Wesleyan and Williams for U Chicago unless you wanted to cut Chicago because you feel that you weren’t up to par as far as writing essays is concerned…</p>

<p>UMBC: Safety
Montclair State: Safety
TCNJ: Safety
Brandeis: Match
Boston College: Match
Columbia: Reach
Duke Trinity: Reach
GWU: Match
UMass Amherst: Safety
NWU: Reach
UPenn Wharton: Reach (economics is under Wharton’s jurisdiction)
UPitt: Safety
Princeton: Reach
Tufts: Reach
Wesleyan: Reach
Williams: Reach</p>

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<p>I would be applying to Penn CAS, not Wharton, for economics.</p>

<p>Thank you for your input!</p>

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<p>Why UMBC over UMCP? UMCP is 22nd in the country for graduate economics.</p>

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<p>There are ways to introduce quality differences between a graduate and an undergraduate program offered at the same university: emphasis on research vs. teaching, such as professors with poor/outstanding pedagogy vs. professors with subpar/outstanding scholarship.</p>

<p>A #22 graduate economics department will not necessarily translate to a high-quality undergraduate program…</p>

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<p>It’s not just economics, though. The school as a whole is ranked way higher and has a better campus, better prestige, etc.</p>

<p>Just wondering because UMCP is as much of a safety as UMBC for her with those stats.</p>

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<p>UMD: Safety</p>

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<p>I have taken off UMD completely. Someone else said the same thing to me, about College Park vs Baltimore. I hadn’t looked at UMDCP, and I’m assuming it’s because it didn’t show up on my list… probably because it’s a lot bigger than UMDBC. </p>

<p>My updated list: Boston College, Brandeis, Columbia, Dickinson, Fairfield, George Washington, TCNJ, Northwestern, Penn, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams</p>

<p>Georgetown, Princeton, UChicago as maybes… still need to cut my Reaches.</p>

<p>I think I need to find one or two more Match schools.</p>

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<p>Georgetown would be perfect if you want to do IR/PolSci. My dad works there and tells me that field is definitely GTown’s strongest. You’re right in D.C. so you’re around all that kinda stuff for internships. Economics is pretty good there too. Your stats are definitely above average there.</p>

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<p>Fairfield: Safety
Dickinson: Low match/Match</p>

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<p>My stats are above average for Georgetown? From what I’ve heard from most people, I have a long ways to go before I could say that.</p>

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<p>Holy Cross is a very good LAC -similar to Boston College.</p>

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<p>Do you know how the big of a religious influence there is at Holy Cross? While I have not visited, I have heard people say that it is significant at BC, which is something that I have to consider.</p>

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<p>Holy Cross is very liberal in the religious sense and very welcoming to diversityof students and ideas. Holy Cross website is pretty informative.</p>