<p>So, I was looking at my college choices:</p>
<p>Brown, Harvard, Duke, UNC Chapell Hill, UofMichigan, UPenn, JohnsHopkins, UCLA, Northwestern, Pomona.</p>
<p>And I realized I had absolutely no safety colleges.</p>
<p>I'd like to pursue either Chemistry/BiomedicalEngineering/Biology/Journalism/InternationalAffairs.</p>
<p>Haha, I know those are all over the place. Anyone have any suggestions though? I live in NC, but I want to get out of here, and I enjoy big cities. :]</p>
<p>Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, OH would be a lot safer (not sure if it’s a true safety, but easier than what you listed) - good for engineering/sciences, and in a city. </p>
<p>Hmm…University of Pittsburgh? I don’t know a ton about it, but again, they have good science programs and give out nice merit aid, I believe. There are a lot of people on CC who know a lot more about it.</p>
<p>What are your stats, specifically? A little more info might help :)</p>
<p>ASU is a true safety. If you’re even considering applying to Brown, unless you’re completely delusional, you’re guaranteed acceptance. Maybe Temple. Or Rutgers. Really, just find a not-so competitive school you know you can afford, and that you’d enjoy spending 4 years at (good vibe, architecture, location, etc.), and you’ve found your safety</p>
<p>If you truly are competitive for Harvard, Brown, Penn, Duke, JHU, etc. and you are a NC resident, then UNC-CH can be your safety. It was for both of my kids. As I recall, there is an option to get early notification so you can get a decision before it is too late to send out other applications. And IS, it is the best bargain in education. Make sure any school that you have as a safety is also a financial safety. My daughter also considered Tulane to be a safety because of the early notification and her confidence in getting merit aid from them.</p>
<p>@ CaliforniaDancer:
SAT: currently a 2100, taking it again and aiming for a 2400.
Top 10%, possibly salutorian.
By senior year I’ll have 15 APs.</p>
<p>@chsowlflax17:
Do you attened Brown? Is it included in the common app? What advice would you give to me for my application? I’m a rising junior…I’m taking 6 (possibly 7) APs next year, I’ll have 3 leadership positions by senior year (President of service club, Youth and Government speaker, and Editor of the school newspaper. Possibly the varsity lacrosse captain). Is there anything else I can do to make myself stand out?</p>
<p>@cltdad:
Would I have to apply earlier than normal to receive early notification? And when would I be informed of this?</p>
<p>There are potentially hundreds of “safeties” since your stats are good. You do possibly need to get your SAT’s up to improve your chances at the Ivies, but I have to say “aiming for 2400” sounds a bit naive. In one sense, well of course everyone is aiming for 2400, in another sense it sounds that way because only a handful achieve that in any year. And you don’t need 2400. 2250+ will get you a chance anywhere, certainly 2300+.</p>
<p>Anyway, with things wide open for you since you are clearly a tippy top student, it would be super useful to narrow things down based on personal likes/dislikes. My usual list of questions is:</p>
<p>1) Size of school
2) Location (urban, suburban, rural) OK here we already know urban or close in suburban
3) Region of the country (does it have to be within a certain distance from home, or are there some regions you just do/don’t want}
4) Weather preference (warm, medium, love snow)
5) Are sports important, either as a spectator or a participant?
6) Are Fraternities/Soroities in your future?
7) Co-ed, or is single sex OK?
8) Anything else that is of particular importance to you personally?</p>
<p>Finally, how about financial considerations? Clearly with your stats you could get merit aid at some schools, but Ivies and some of the other highest ranked schools don’t have that. What’s the story there?</p>
<p>As I say, knowing these things makes the list far more manageable. It will also be more meaningful when you have your SAT scores from after your junior year, when they are likely to be higher. Getting them over 2200 will open up a lot of merit money at a variety of schools.</p>