Hi CC! I’m a junior getting ready to start apps and I have visited a few schools. However, I always get this sense that I am kidding myself with an overzealous list and would like to know if you CCers think my list is realistic. I am very interested in anthropology. A few more schools will be taken off by the time apps roll around but for now, here it is, in no particular order. If you have any suggestions of schools to add, I will happily consider them.
U of Chicago
Rice U
Northeastern U*
Lehigh U*
Boston U* (interested in honors college)
U of Michigan
U of Maryland
U of Toronto (doesn’t care about ECs, I know)
U of British Columbia (see U of T)
*visited and toured
And my background (as of junior year):
GPA - Gr. 9- 3.22/3.55, Gr. 10- 3.22/3.72, Gr. 11 (so far)- 3.27/4.05
Piano - 11 years, level 10 in state exams
Clarinet- 7 years, all district, all-state, in separate choir from band
Cross country- 3 years, part of state qualifying team junior year (actually running in state meet)
Track- 3 years
Honor Roll- 1 year (GPA above 3.00, only eligible grades 11 and 12)
Volunteering at food pantry- 1 year
Work (no pay) at local historical center- starting this summer
Freshman adviser- 1 year
School tutor (helping out fellow students)- 1 year
French Honors Society- 1 year
Schoolwork- increasingly heavier every year: Gr. 9- 2 honors courses, Gr. 10- 3 honors, Gr. 11- 5 honors
J. Kyle Braid Nominee- Gr. 10
And that’s about it. I sincerely apologize if this sounds like a “chance me I have a 5.0 and am worried about getting into the local community college” type post, but your help is greatly appreciated in moving me along in this crazy process.
Look for colleges with offerings in the four major sub-areas of anthropology: cultural and social, linguistic, and biological anthropology and archaeology.
Schools with a distinct anthropology department will tend to be stronger in the field than those at which anthropology and sociology have been combined.
If your potential interests include archaeology, look for colleges with a strong geosciences department. The availability of a geoarchaeology major may be an additional indication of strength in archaeology.
Regarding U of T and UBC, do you have Canadian citizenship or permanent residence? Was either parent born in Canada? You might have noticed that the price of these will vary considerably depending upon the answer to these questions. Also be aware that it might be possible for some people to get into U of T and yet find it to be academically very difficult (you probably don’t want to be in the bottom half of the incoming class there, unless there was some non-recurring problem that put you into the bottom half).
Are you a US or Canadian student? If US, that UW GPA is pretty low for the US schools on your list. They would be reaches. Rice, UChicago and UMich are extreme reaches.
DadTwoGirls: I’m a US citizen, so I’d pay the 30k to go to U of T. Being in the bottom half probably wouldn’t be as big of a problem just because I know I’m someone who learns better when rubbing shoulders with more talented people. Is U of T feasible with a 29 ACT?
HRSMom: So apply to one? I’d stick with Rice in that case, after all its a reach for everyone, right? But other than some lowly grades ECs aren’t terrible, right?
merc 81: My interest in anthro leans towards linguistic and palaeoanthro, but either way I’d still have to learn the ropes of all 4 subfields as an undergrad. The only school that I know connects anthro to something else is Duke, but I think it’s connected to something else like gender studies, and their department is an oddball since the sciencey fields are separate from the social parts. Were there any others off the top of your head?
Just by looking at the schools on your list and not your stats, I would strongly encourage you to create a more well-rounded list before applying.
Many of the schools you list are extremely competitive, and even those that are not, such as U-Maryland, remains with an acceptance rate under 50%. Any given person off the street, even with very impressive stats, could be rejected at every one of these schools and I would not be terribly surprised.
First find out how much you (or your parents) are willing to pay for application fees. Then, spend time and make a list for yourself of a couple reach schools (which most of the schools on your list would be), several match schools (where your stats fall within their 25-75%), and a couple safety schools (where you should have no problem being accepted, and your stats are above the 75%).
And as always, after figuring out places you can get in, make sure you can figure out how to pay for them as well. Talk to your parents about budget and run net price calculators BEFORE applying.
I think your EC’s look strong, and some colleges will want you for your talents in music and running. The trick is to find out who they are. Also, I remember reading that College of Wooster in OH has a strong anthropology program. You might to check out their website.
I think the list is very reach-heavy given your GPA. Focus on finding match and safety schools that are affordable and that you would be happy to attend.
@00000001 You should learn how to find and read the Common Data Sets(CDS) for colleges. To find them, just Google “University of Maryland Common Data Set”. Choose the most recent year and go to the Admissions section (CDS-C). Then compare your scores to scores for that school. You should focus on schools where your scores comfortably lie in the middle 50% range.
The CDS will become an invaluable tool in your college search.
I am not sure. My family all took the SAT and I am not very good at translating between the two. I think that you might find university to be more challenging than high school by a larger amount than you are anticipating, and U of T particularly so if you did get in (not because U of T is any more challenging than say Chicago, but because I don’t think that you are going to get into Chicago).
I agree with others that you need to include more match and safety schools. Also, make sure that you know what your family can afford, and that you have schools on your list that are “economically safe”, meaning that you will get in and you can afford it.
You need to be nearer 30/3.5 for in state Michigan. If OOS, you would need more of a 3.9/34.
Unweighted.
Go to each college’s website and look at the stats for the prior years class. Stay above the 50% mark, bc below it are althletes, legacies, etc that can skew the stats downward making it look like you could go to Michigan with a 3.2, when in reality, unless you can replace Jabril Peppers next year, you’re out of luck.
Or does your school have Naviance? That is even better as you can see the scores of kids from your HS that did get in. Then you can see what is realistic based on specific past experience.
For U of T and UBC, your GPA is low. The good news is that they mainly consider senior year grades. If you can get your grades up to a 3.5, you should have good odds.
Certain colleges at U of T will care about your supplemental application, including extracurriculars. A 29 ACT should be fine for U of T and UBC for anthropology. The subscores have to be all at least 26. Your GPA is going to be the sticking point. U of T requires 2 SAT II/AP/IB scores.