<p>Hypothetically, if you had zero extracurriculars, a high-but-not-super-high GPA, average courseload rigor, and above-average SAT scores, what kind of colleges could you get into?</p>
<p>Just about anything except the very top, most famous private colleges/universities.</p>
<p>Well, even though this is hypothetical it kind of sounds like my situation. My GPA is not too bad, I have a pretty good ACT score, a few advanced classes, but no extracurriculars. I got into all the schools I applied to but none of them were the super famous. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is the most esteemed out of my choices. So I would agree with happymomof1.</p>
<p>What are some specific examples of the best, most academically rigorous colleges that one could get into if they fit the criteria as listed in the original post?</p>
<p>The best universities in Canada (Toronto, McGill, Dalhousie, British Columbia, Alberta, Western Ontario, Queens, McMaster). Excellent, but underrated universities in the US, like Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas, Indiana, Purdue, Iowa, VaTech, Miami (Ohio), Texas AandM, North Carolia State, Clemson, Minnesota. Also often-overlooked Catholic colleges like Fordham, Marquette, and Santa Clara. Also smallish universities and liberal arts colleges that have wonderful faculties but not quite the social cachet of the elite schools in those categories. In other words, Union College, Clark University, Kalamazoo College, St. Olaf College, Kenyon College, Occidental College, Dickinson College, Franklin and Marshall College.</p>
<p>Schmaltz, are you comparing colleges like Mcgill, Queens, U of T, UBC to places like Iowa, VaTech, Miami, Texas A and M, NC state? If you are, Im sorry but thats just not right… those Canadian universities are on the level of top privates… below HYPSM.</p>
<p>The top Canadian colleges are easier to get into than their academic peers in the US, partly because in Canada they aren’t anywhere near as prestige-obsessed as we are in some parts of the U.S. It’s no disgrace at all in Canada for the very top students to choose a university that is fairly close to home. So while you’d think that Toronto and McGill would be selecting their freshmen classes from among the cream of the Canadian crop, coast to coast, they really aren’t.</p>
<p>The OP asked for the best schools he could get in with his credentials. I stand by my list.</p>
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<p>If your SATs are far enough above average (>2100), and if you interview exceptionally well, then maybe Oxford or Cambridge. We’re probably the only country in the world whose leading universities care about extracurriculars. European schools apparently just assume most smart people do have them, and mind their own business.</p>
<p>tk21769 – you have an interesting take on average SAT being 2100 (implied by above average = >2100). Average SAT is about 1540.</p>
<p>Beyond that, OP, to answer your question, depends entirely on specifically what your gpa and SATs are. Let’s say 3.9 weighted GPA, and 2000 SAT. In that case, just look at the USNWR schools ranked from about 40-100, and find those schools whose average GPA ranges from 3.7 - 4.1, and whose 25/75 SAT average is 1800 - 2200. I would think the stats I listed would be in the middle range for MOST of the USNWR 40-100.</p>
<p>Do the same excercise with the Liberal Arts Colleges ranked about 25-75.</p>
<p>Once again, Schmaltz… you are wrong… mcgill, for example, has an entering Canadian student average of 90 %… in Canada that is an A+… considering that in Canada getting a 90 is harder than getting a 90 in the US (in US A is like a 90… in Canada it is an 80) then you can see that Mcgill is actually quite selective… in terms of acceptance rate, Mcgill is around a 40 %… so why is it relatively high compared to top US privates? Because Canadian schools select students based on which program they apply to. In life science, I would hazard a guess and say the acceptance rate is around 20 %… for general arts, it would probably be 60 %… since Canadian universities are so large, they take a lot of people for certain programs… for other selective programs such as business, life science, physics Mcgill and Queens (two most selective schools in Canada) are just as selective as places like Vandy, Notre Dame etc. Its just a different system.</p>
<p>EDIT: In fact, McMaster Health Science has an acceptance rate of around 10% which is not that far off from Harvard’s acceptance rate… The admission just works differently… and for the most part, a particular US schools would have same admission standards (with few exceptions … for example: Wharton for Penn) for all of its programs… this is not how it works in Canada… it depends on certain programs.</p>
<p>alam, I’m not saying the OP would be a shoo-in for the most competative programs…are you saying he wouldn’t have a shot at any of the programs at McGill?</p>
<p>By the way, I have a master’s degree from the U. of Toronto, so it’s not like I’m just making this stuff up from a sod hut in Mongolia.</p>