in need of dire College List HELP. please :)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hey, guys. sooo, i've been working on my list for a REALLY long time, & i just can't seem to cut things down. so i came here for some help (:</p>

<p>i'm a white [marked middle-eastern (i'm turkish)] girl from new jersey. i go to a very competative public school with lots of stereotypical genius asians & the like.</p>

<p>Stats:
Unweighted GPA:3.30-ish [basically, usually all Bs in my AP/honors courses (i only took my first 'regular' course this year. but i also got 2 Cs :( how much will they affect me??)]
7 APs by the end of high school
Weighted GPA:4.00-ish
ACT:30
SAT Critical Reading:640
SAT Math:690
SAT Writing:690
Combined SAT:2020
SAT II:USH-660/Biology-660 [plan to re-take]
AP Psychology:4
AP USH:4
AP Biology:3 [not indicating]</p>

<p>regarding recs, my g.c. loves me, but she's really new & young [just came in last year, lol.]
also, my bio teacher loves me & already agreed to write me one, but i got a C in her class. she knows i worked my a.ss off, so is this NOT a good strategy...?</p>

<p>ECs:
-~30 hours-teaching assistant-old 1st grade teacher [freshman year]
-~70 hours-teaching assistant-old Pre-School [freshman year]
-2 varsity letters [manager-spring/winter track :P]
-CO-founded/CO-president-volunteering club at my school [raised ~$1,200+ to date/directed several large fund-raisers] [2 years]
-~150 hours of hospital volunteering [3 years]
-future physicians of america [Secretary-1 year/member-3 years]
-member-NHS
-member-LHS
Summers:
-3-week-long CTY leadership program
-volunteered one week at a hospital in Turkey--i basically just 'observed', but i'll probably get a rec from it, anyways.
-will start volunteering at an animal shelter soon, so i'm excited for that :) maybe around 50 hours.</p>

<p>so i know my scores & grades aren't all that, so i really want to focus on my ECs, diversity, & way of independent thinking to seem more appealing & unique to colleges. i haven't started my essay, though.</p>

<p>i really want to keep it at least somewhat realistic with my reaches :\ but i want to be either in or close to a big city. well, not necessarily big, but at least semi-eventful. i'm looking into both LACs & bigger universities, &, yes, i am aware that they have different types of things to offer. it's just that i sort of see myself as a chameleon of sorts, possibily fitting into either environment.</p>

<p>tbh, i don't know much about some of these schools [i.e. the southern ones]--is it worth it for me to take a college trip down south or are those schools out of the question. do i have any shot at all at UV & UNC? are the florida schools worth it? is CMC too preppy/conservative? basically, all i have are a bunch of un-aanswered questions & a very long list, lol :&lt;/p>

<p>ALSO, i plan on majoring in psychology & then maybe medical schools from there.</p>

<p>Amherst College</p>

<p>Bates College</p>

<p>Boston University</p>

<p>Brown University</p>

<p>Case Western Reserve University </p>

<p>Claremont McKenna College</p>

<p>Davidson College</p>

<p>Emory University</p>

<p>Fordham University</p>

<p>Hampshire</p>

<p>McGill</p>

<p>Macalester</p>

<p>New York University</p>

<p>Northeastern University [mom went there]</p>

<p>Occidental</p>

<p>Oberlin College</p>

<p>Pitzer College</p>

<p>University of Delaware</p>

<p>University of Florida</p>

<p>University of Maryland, College Park</p>

<p>University of Miami</p>

<p>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</p>

<p>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</p>

<p>University of Rochester</p>

<p>University of Southern California</p>

<p>University of Virginia</p>

<p>Vassar College</p>

<p>Villanova University</p>

<p>Wesleyan University</p>

<p>thank u SO much for any advice/suggestions. seriously, suggest away :)</p>

2

<p>err…how do i move this to college search & selection? i just realized i clicked on the wrong one D:</p>

3

<p>I would take off Brown and Amherst as being too reachy.</p>

4

<p>Brown and Amherst are simply out of your reach. They need to go.</p>

5

<p>Agreed on Brown & Amherst. I’m guess you are going into Senior yr so you really do need to get a handle on your list. </p>

<p>I would focus on the schools that are in driving distance-- unless you are absolutely in love w/ one of the schools that require air travel, then go ahead and send an application to that one.</p>

<p>In the meantime focus on the maybe 6 schools that you can actually see in the next 3 months. When chosing these six your grades & SATs meet the 50% medium scores/SATs & GPA and it should have a program you’re interested in. It’s all about grades first, ECs second.</p>

<p>After you have your 6, then you add 2 reaches and 2 safeties</p>

6

<p>You have a lot of schools. Also, the colleges that you’ve selected have good diversity in their acceptance rates; however, I would try to cut down to about 15 schools. Personally, I would cut about 4 super-selective schools (Brown, Emory, Amherst, etc.) and 6 state schools. You have way too many state schools. If you’re looking for financial aid, it might be difficult to get great aid OOS. Then cut about 5 more schools that you are not thrilled about anyways. In the end your going to 1 school, not 29 or whatever your list has. Goodluck!</p>

7

<p>I think you might want to think about what type of college you want to go to… you have large state schools more known for parties and big-time athletics (read: playboy’s top party schools) such as the universities of Florida, Maryland and Miami, as well as small, more intellectual (on average) liberal arts colleges such as Amherst, Vassar, and Wesleyan. most of the LACs on your list will be very high reaches for you, but if you decide you want that type of environment, you might want to add less selective LACs. if not, cut out some LACs and leave the state schools.</p>

8

<p>thanks for all of the help so far.</p>

<p>so far, i’ve decided to take off Amherst, Bates, McGill, U Florida, UNC, U Virginia, & Villanova.</p>

<p>meaning i’m left with…</p>

<p>Boston University</p>

<p>Brown University</p>

<p>Case Western Reserve University</p>

<p>Claremont McKenna College</p>

<p>Davidson College</p>

<p>Emory University</p>

<p>Fordham University</p>

<p>Hampshire</p>

<p>Macalester</p>

<p>New York University</p>

<p>Northeastern University</p>

<p>Occidental</p>

<p>Oberlin College</p>

<p>Pitzer College</p>

<p>University of Delaware</p>

<p>University of Maryland, College Park</p>

<p>University of Miami</p>

<p>University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</p>

<p>University of Rochester</p>

<p>University of Southern California</p>

<p>Vassar College</p>

<p>Wesleyan University</p>

<p>22 schools (:</p>

<p>can any one tell me about the psychology programs at any of these schools?
& i don’t really mind ‘a party school’ as long as it’s not in your face & all that there is to do…
also, does any one know of any really nice college towns?</p>

9

<p>What is your home state? Do you need FA?</p>

10

<p>You should take Brown off of the list too unless that is a high reach you really really love</p>

11

<p>i live in NJ. & no, i don’t need FA. idk, i just can’t separate from brown just yet D:</p>

12

<p>You have a very big list.
Here’s a strategy: </p>

<p>Which of those do you think is a safety?<br>
Maybe U of Del? or Northeastern? Fordham? Case-Western?
Once you figure out which are safeties for you, maybe you can cut back to 2 safeties altogether.</p>

<p>Some of those schools have EA - I think U of Rochester, U Michigan, maybe others?
Once you know whether you’ve been accepted by an EA school, hopefully you’ll be able to knock some other schools off your list, right? </p>

<p>Some of those schools are very much not like the others. Hampshire, for instance, and Case Western. Hard to picture both on one person’s college list.</p>

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<p>yeah, i think northeastern & u-del might come off next. my mom will be sad : (</p>

<p>is it wise to apply EA to every school that has EA…?</p>

<p>i see what u mean about the different types of schools on my list, memake. but when i read about hampshire & case, i liked aspects of both schools :confused: i guess it’s time for some more college visits, heh…</p>

<p>any other suggestions? how am i looking stats-wise for my schools listed above? can anyone rank me by reach/match/safety, please?</p>

14

<p>bumpbumpbump</p>

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<p>EA: If your application will look as good on Nov. 1 as it will on Jan. 1 (in other words, if you DO NOT need to show that your grades are ‘improving’), and if your SAT I/II scores are as good as you are likely to ever have) then it makes a lot of sense to apply EA to at least a few schools.</p>

<p>So, the choice is yours: are your Sr year 1st semester grades going to be significantly better than your current average? If yes, then it might make sense to NOT apply EA. Also, you mention that you plan to retake an SAT II…will the score from that be ready by EA time?</p>

<p>Also, you might want to check on Naviance for information about how applicants from your school have fared with the schools on your list.</p>

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<p>i guess i pass on the EA then, lol.
i don’t think we use naviance…:&lt;/p>

17

<p>bump.bump.bump.</p>

18

<p>bumpppppppp.</p>

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<p>any other advice out there?!</p>

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<p>Amherst may not be the best option, especially considering that it’s not in a large city, as you want.</p>