<p>I'm a junior right now, but have been actively looking at colleges for quite a while now. My current list of places I think I might like to apply to is as follows:</p>
<p>Northwestern University
Harvey Mudd
Oberlin College
Vanderbilt
Georgia Tech
SUNY- Stony Brook
Case Western Reserve
Grinnell</p>
<p>I'm looking for a college/university that has a strong Biochem/Chem department with opportunities for undergraduate research. I plan to pursue a PhD after undergrad, so acceptance rates for grad school is also important. </p>
<p>Brief stats:</p>
<p>*4.0 UW GPA
*1/43 in my class
*Looking to get a 32+ on the ACT (haven't taken either the SAT or ACT yet, still waiting for my PSAT results that should be here any day now- will post score when available)
*Will have 2 summer's worth of research by the time I apply</p>
<p>I am also looking for a place that has a truly academic feel (students that are actually interested in learning for the sake of learning). I am an introvert, so it would be nice if I could be somewhere that 1) doesn't push me out of my comfort zone OR 2) helps me become comfortable with social interactions. I know this is a difficult thing to find, so this isn't something I'm really basing my search off; however, if you know a place that an introvert has enjoyed, please note it. </p>
<hr>
<p>So, my questions:
Do I have any chance of getting accepted to the above schools with my stats?
Do you think the schools will be a good fit for me?
Anyone have any comments on experiences at these schools?
Any other schools I should look at?</p>
<p>Any replies are very much so appreciated! Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>It’s difficult to chance you if we don’t know that you’ve had THE TALK with your parents about money and arrived at a family contribution to which they can commit. So get that.</p>
<p>I like these choices for you, but they’re all reaches to matches. The ECs will be important for most of these schools (so it would be helpful to have them, particularly since class size is small), but the ACT score will be telling. For instance, VandyED this year seems to have gone more toward the 33 than the 32, which doesn’t mean people don’t get in with a 32 but it’ll be tougher to do that if you go RD. Harvey Mudd is a crapshoot for anyone, so don’t take it personally if you don’t get in with a 32 or a 35. I don’t know much about Northwestern, but it too seems to fit the high reach category. The other schools on your list are likely to be low reaches to matches, so you need a couple safeties that your family can afford and which you will attend if you don’t get into one of these others with the money you need. </p>
<p>As far as fit, these schools are either large enough or quirky enough that you will find other introverts who are trying to scratch their way into a social life. You’ve chosen well. Now practice hard for the standardized tests. Good luck.</p>
<p>All the above, plus anything NESCAC, especially Tufts and Bowdoin. U of Rochester too. The other Claremont schools, since you can move around pretty easily. If you would consider a women’s college, Barnard would give you access to Columbia, and any of the top women’s LACs would be excellent as well.</p>
<p>I agree that these are very appropriate schools for OP to be considering or to have considered, but what OP needs are some less selective schools if OP’s hopes for high standardized test scores don’t pan out. Sometimes these safeties for fit, money, and stats are the toughest to come up with.</p>
<p>If you are female, I’d suggest looking at some selective women’s colleges, such as Mount Holyoke, Smith, Wellesley and Bryn Mawr. You may find that they combine the serious academic rigor and atmosphere that you crave with a manageable social life.</p>
<p>I agree with the poster who suggested University of Chicago, too.</p>
<p>However, money can be a real issue, so please talk with your parents as soon as you can about the level of support you can expect.</p>
<p>I realize that these schools are mostly reaches. I have a safety (state university) that I am guaranteed to be accepted to (they use a formula to auto-admit, if you don’t meet that, then they actually look at your application). I really don’t want to go here (too close to home and a lot of my highschool classmates will be there- I don’t like my classmates), but I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I had to attend there.</p>
<p>as I find myself in a similar situation with my D, I’ll repeat the advice I received about her (possibly) having to go to nearby large state u where so many of her h.s. “friends” (ugh!) will be going. I was told to tell D that she’ll hardly ever have a chance to speak to said friends b/c they’ll be spread out over hundreds of acres; said friends will change as they leave their h.s. peers and have to develop new friends–and new faces! (she might actually come to like one of those people she formerly couldn’t stand; D will have so many new people and things to which to adjust that she’ll hardly have time to consider the ughs. Summary: large state u is really really much larger than your high school, and college really is what YOU make of it. You’re going to grow and change just as the ughs (probably) will. You won’t be the same person in December that you were in August. You will find your own group of friends and hangers-on and favorite teachers and they will become your world. </p>
<p>Finally, have you had the talk and what can you afford? All this other talk is of no worth if your parents can only afford the state school.</p>
<p>My parents said that we will discuss money when I get my acceptance letters and financial aid offers (which could be a bad plan…). They said that they would make sure I could go somewhere. And actually, if I get accepted to a university that meets full need (or tends to give good scholarships…) it would be considerably cheaper than my state university.</p>
<p>That isn’t a viable approach. It is ridiculous for you to be applying to schools you can’t afford. You need to know the parameters so you can apply appropriately and target merit aid if you need to rely on it vs your state U.</p>
<p>Get their financials and run Net Price Calculators for all these schools, make a list and note which guarantee to meet need and which don’t.</p>
<p>Sorry, but you really should discuss finances BEFORE you apply, unless you have no problem paying in full. You are probably eligible for merit aid at many fine schools, but not necessarily the ones you plan to apply to. This is not the time to restrict your choices because your parents don’t feel like dealing with the realistic financial picture.</p>
<p>It makes sense to have the financial talk before you send in applications. If there is a limit to what your parents are able to contribute, then you can look for a couple of safety schools that will likely grant you merit aid to get you within the ballpark. It would be terrible if every financial aid package came in too high, when with your expected stats there are schools that will give you merit.</p>
<p>Reach for the stars, but have a couple of good financial safeties in hand to make sure you are in a position to make a choice, and not forced to your last-choice school because cost wasn’t factored in early enough.</p>
<p>My main three EC’s are FFA, Technology Student Association, and National Honor Society. I have held chapter officer positions in these organizations (reporter, vice-president, president, etc…) and might run for state office this year (if I run, I’m very likely to get the position). I am accomplished in FFA, consistently getting first place at local and regional competitions. I have been scoring very well at state as well and hope to get first is year. As for my envolvement in the Technology Student Association, I have been on the 2nd place team at state in a particular competition two years in a row and also hope to take first this year. I volunteer for National Honor Society group events, as well as some volunteer work on my own. I am a freshman mentor at my school.</p>
<p>I have participated in my state’s Governor’s school program. I also already have laboratory experience at my state university and am currently looking into intern opportunities for next summer.</p>
<p>My recommendations will include an excellent narrative from the professor overseeing my previous lab work (summer 2013), and possibly the mentors I will work with next summer. I also have high school teachers that love me and have written great recommendations before (to get me into Gov School). I was able to read one recommendation and I just about cried because it was so beautiful. I normally can write well, so essays should be no problem. Granted they probably won’t be spectacular, but definitely good enough.</p>
<p>Well, the ECs won’t be any problem, it seems. You’ll be a very accomplished applicant and in the running at any of these schools and many more. Three recs I can offer, then, for what they’re worth: get the ACT to >32 if you can; get out there and visit these schools because you’re likely to get accepted to one or two of them (try to find out which ones you don’t want to go to); and come up with another safety you can afford and want to go to. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! However, that is another problem. I don’t have the money (or parental support) to run around the country visiting schools. My mom said I can visit and decide between schools after I’m accepted, which is about as bad of an idea as figuring out the financial situation after applying.</p>
<p>OP - be sure to add University of Washington - Seattle, to your list of schools to look at. Heavily funded for research, has a good chem dept., and Seattle is a cool town (that is introvert friendly). Not saying it is any better or worse than your other choices, just be sure to give them a look.</p>
<p>Can you possible do some local trips to at least get a feel for what different types of campuses are like? It won’t guarantee you’ll love a particular school, but at least you can get some feel for the size and type of school you feel most comfortable with, which can help guide your applications. Be realistic about what parts of the country you would enjoy living in as well.</p>
It is a bad plan. Your parents could run a few of the FAFSA estimators this week. They’re not perfect, but they’ll put them in the ballpark. Here’s why you need to do it now. If it turns out the expected contribution from your parents is not one they can make, then you need to shift focus. Like it or not, the schools that have been mentioned so far tend to meet financial aid but give little merit aid. They don’t need to give away extra money to entice students to enroll.</p>
<p>So if you are going to need a helping of merit money then you’ll need to focus your search on schools that give it. Generally lower tier schools that want to attract strong students like you. </p>
<p>Now I hope the EFC value is one your parents can pay, but if it isn’t then their advice of discussing money when acceptances come in may mean you have a bunch of letters from colleges you can’t afford to attend. See, only in 11th grade and you already need to make a big college decision.</p>
<p>Also post #19 has great advice. HS students seem to have lots of ideas about what colleges are like, sometimes not matching up that well with reality. Visiting colleges of various types in your region is a great idea to get a feel for what it is like to be in a rural area, an urban area, at a large school, at a small school, and so on. Many schools can arrange for a visit - take a tour, let you see a class.</p>