I’m a rising senior who’s started the college admissions process. I have my own idea of which schools I’m applying to, but I’m interested in hearing others’ opinions as well with regards to which schools would be a good fit for me! Here are my stats:
Location: Major city in Canada
School: Independent, all girls’
SAT: 2360
SAT II: Math 2: 800 Lit: 760
APs: Computer Science A (5), Human Geography (5)
GPA: ~92% (86% and higher in my area is an A)
Senior classes: not yet determined, but most likely AP Calculus AB, AP Lit, AP Lang, AP Chem, AP French, and AP World History
ECs:
I’ve been involved with the Liberal Party of Canada in multiple capacities, now in a leadership role helping run a campaign in a very important riding for the October election (10-12), I’ve been involved in youth parliament provincially and in my city with important Cabinet positions (9-12), I’ve been involved with Model UN as a delegate, staff member, and as a Secretariat member of one of the largest high school conferences in Canada (9-12), I’ve interned in the office of a Member of Parliament (10-11), I’m the editor-in-chief of my school paper and spearheaded the creation of our blog (10-12), and I’m in chamber choir and performing at Carnegie Hall in February (9-12).
I’m interested in majoring in PPE (if offered) or Political Science.
I’d be interested in a urban/suburban non-denominational school with a more liberal atmosphere, amazing libraries, and preferably good choral groups (optional)! I’m open to smaller LACs, too.
Reach and match schools are welcomed. I already have a list of Canadian schools as safeties. Thanks so much
Right, I knew I was forgetting something. FA would be great, but my family is fortunate enough to be able to afford putting me through school without it.
Wellesley is obvious for PS/gov’t, but are you interested in a women’s college at this point? Geographic preference? What type of campus?
Your own list would be handy so we can see what it is you’re drawn to.
U Idaho or UPEI might satisfy your love of potatoes, but at some point, you’re going to have to decide between potatoes and politics. (Just ignore that.)
All the colleges in Washington, DC, are strong in those fields. Your stats would make Georgetown possible, George Washington probable, and American almost guaranteed (with the likelihood of a merit scholarship). I think Occidental would be likely for you, also. I don’t know how they are about merit aid for non-US students, but your stats would typically qualify you for a fairly generous award, and they are very strong in Poli. Sci. They have some unique programs available for semesters working on campaigns or at the UN. Are you prepared to pay US private tuition without aid? If so, Claremont-McKenna might be ideal for you, but they are one of the most expensive colleges in the country. I don’t know whether they guarantee to meet need for international students, but - even if they do - they price-tag could be a shocker when compared to what you’d pay for McGill, et al.
@Dunboyne anyway, the list I have right now has Yale, Columbia, Pomona, CMC, UChicago, and Berkeley/UCLA. I know these are all reaches, especially for an international student, which is why I’m interested in other opinions to help me find hidden gems, so to speak
With your stats and ECs you are a very competitive candidate for top universities in the United States. Unless your primary reason for attending a US university is “cultural” it probably doesn’t make too much sense for you to apply to US universities that are academically below the top Canadian ones. I expect that Canadian universities (such as Univ. of Toronto, UBC, and McGill) are either safeties or low matches for you. Looking at US Universities that are a notch above the Canadian match/low reach I would encourage you to apply to more reach universities than you’ve named. For example I would encourage you to broaden your list to include Penn, Harvard, John Hopkins and Washington University. Also consider Stanford. Your ECs may interest Stanford admissions. Over the past few years Stanford has become increasingly wired into the San Francisco cultural scene. I second the suggestion by woogzmama re Georgetown, but not George Washington or American. From your brief description of what you are looking for I’m less convinced about Pomona and Claremont as good choices. They are small and (in my opinion) not particularly wired into the Los Angeles scene. Have you visited? My sense is that spending a few hours in Clarement would make that quite clear. If you’re deeply interested in the Los Angeles urban scene than the University of Southern California is a much better choice than the Claremont coleges, and also a better choice than UCLA. What’s less clear is whether USC is a better choice than the top Canadian universities. From your brief description of what you are looking for I have my doubts whether any of the LACs on your list or the ones mentioned by some of the responders are a good fit for you. I would think a large private university with deep resources is the better match.
Note that the Ivies and Stanford are (all?) need blind for Canadian students.
I think she also mentioned “suburban” - Claremont definitely falls into that category. Not sure what she said in her description that should steer her away from (or towards) an LAC.
Wow @fogcity, thanks for your in depth response. I really appreciate your input. I’m actually also applying to Stanford, although I forgot to mention that. I totally agree that I may as well aim high and bank on the fact that Canadian schools are great safeties. I mostly put this out there to see if there are any schools that I’ve missed that other people think would be a good fit based on my interests.
I used to live in LA on and off, so I’m pretty familiar with the SoCal atmosphere in and around the LA area although I haven’t visited Claremont. My main motivation in applying to Pomona and CMC is that they offer a PPE major. I have a lot of friends in the Claremont schools (Pomona, CMC, Pitzer), and they all LOVE their schools, so I’m mostly basing my interest in those schools on the major and my friends’ experiences. I’m not too concerned about the size, since the schools are in a consortium, and I’m quite used to a small school feel (my high school is relatively small).
I’ve been considering UPenn (they have PPE and Philadelphia seems cool), but I still haven’t made up my mind about it. My mom really wants me to apply to Harvard and, truth be told, I probably will, just to make her happy (sound familiar?). All clichés aside, I really don’t know much about both UPenn and Harvard so who knows; maybe I’ll fall in love with them in the next few months.
Stanford is unfortunately need-aware for international students, so I have no luck there. But if I remember correctly, Yale, Columbia, and most of my other schools are need-blind.
By the way, you nailed it: my three Canadian safeties are UBC, U of T, and McGill.
@ClarinetDad16 according to the tuition calculator on their website, McGill is $8,796.01/yr for a non-Quebecois Canadian.
It’s a GREAT deal for a great school. I wouldn’t come close to complaining if I ended up there, but it’s just such a big school (like most prestigious Canadian schools) and I’m not really looking for that (although that’s definitely not the only factor pushing me towards American schools!).
