<p>DD is a junior and is seeking a mid-sized, academically rigorous school, with Division 1 athletics and some school spirit, in either a suburban or urban location. She is completely undecided on a major, but would lean towards economics or business if she had to decide today.</p>
<p>Her stats:</p>
<ul>
<li>4.0 unweighted GPA</li>
<li>#1 class rank</li>
<li>Most rigorous curriculum</li>
<li>35 ACT score</li>
<li>National Merit Finalist (pending)</li>
<li>Class Vice President</li>
<li>Student Council Secretary</li>
<li>Soccer Player (All-District, All-Conference, All-Tournament, Team Captain)</li>
<li>Vocal Performance (Highest possible scores at District and State performances)</li>
<li>Numerous clubs and volunteer activities</li>
<li>Strong likely letters of recommendation</li>
</ul>
<p>Here is her current list:</p>
<p>Yale (SCEA)
Michigan (in-state student, rolling admission)
Penn
Duke
Vanderbilt
USC (National Merit Finalist choice school)
Wake Forest
Villanova
Fordham</p>
<p>She would be content to attend Michigan and given her in-state status, academic standing, and plans for applying early, views it as both an academic and financial safety. (FYI - Students from her school with 28 ACT scores and 3.8 GPAs regularly get in)</p>
<p>My question is whether the rest of the list seems likely to generate at least a couple of additional acceptances that she can compare to Michigan, and whether the list seems reasonable given her stated preferences.</p>
<p>You list is pretty good but I would add a couple more safety schools. I am not from your part of the country so I don’t want to list any but I will just add that college admissions are rdiculously competitive right now. My daugher had stats similar to yours and did not get into USC. Make sure she has a few more schools that you can be sure she’ll get into and, more importantly, that she would be HAPPY attending. I have been reading so many threads about kids getting there hearts set on one school and not getting in. Even if they end up at a great school, initially they feel it’s second best. So have a good list with an equal amount of safeties and matches, with a couple reaches and visit them all to make sure she would be happy at any of them.</p>
<p>I think it’s a pretty good list, with one caveat: how interested is she in going to a highly selective school like Yale, Penn, or Duke? If she’s very interested, and these schools are financial possibilities, I would suggest adding a couple more of them (i.e., Brown, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell). While she has excellent credentials, these schools are so selective that they all reject highly qualified students each year, and you can hedge your bets (a bit) by applying to more of them. If you look at the accepted students threads here on CC, you’ll find quite a few people who got into one or two of these schools but were waitlisted or rejected at the others, and you can’t predict which ones they will get in.</p>
<p>You should also give LEHIGH a look. It’s most selective, D1 athletics, gorgeous campus, mid-sized population, plenty of school spirit, a highly ranked business and economics school and most important… she’ll love her 4 years in school.</p>
<p>I think you can be as close as anyone could be in thinking of UMich as a safety, especially if you get that rolling admit in early. My S with just a touch lower GPA/SAT was not only accepted but offered big merit money, and he was OOS, though legacy. I cannot imagine your D being turned down. I think you have a very balanced list! If you want to throw in a couple more reaches, sure, but with Mich as a “safety” I think you can’t go wrong, even if she “ends up” there.</p>
<p>Great stats and very nice list but if she’s looking to add more schools, have her look at the University of Miami. It fits all her criteria and they are very generous with merit money.</p>
<p>Unless she has a specific preference or reason for Yale I might suggest Princeton and possibly Univ of Chicago for an economics major. I am assuming Wharton at Penn, however there are specific programs at Penn, the Jerome Fisher and the Huntsman that incorporate the economics degree as well.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your replies to date. Some thoughts:</p>
<p>Hunt - She is very interested in highly selective schools and our financial situation fortunately may make them possible. I appreciate the suggestion about adding more reaches.</p>
<p>WaitingDad - Thanks for the Lehigh suggestion. I actually have a nephew who attends there yet we hadn’t looked at it as an option.</p>
<p>my-3-sons - Thanks also for the Miami suggestion.</p>
<p>MSUDad - I don’t dispute the “quirky” comment. The starting point was strong academically. Then add school spirit, an interest in warmer weather, a side interest in film (USC), a side interest in the arts (Yale), and the fact that we are Catholic (Villanova and Fordham), and the list makes a bit more sense, at least to us. :)</p>
<p>Well, she will get into USC for sure. [spoken as a USC mom whose son was a top HS student and a Trustee scholar at USC]. Be SURE she gets her application in by the DEC 1 scholarship deadline[ It doesn’t conflict with SCEA rules], in order to eligible for consideration for the Trustee’s full tuition scholarship.
I agree with the suggestion that she add Stanford to her list.</p>
<p>Her list is fine. She will have answers from U Mich and Yale in mid-December, so the nature of her search will change at that point. She should double-check to see if any applications besides the first two and USC’s need to be in before Christmas break for merit money or special programs.</p>
<p>If she likes Fordham (city, Jesuit) and Northwestern (Chicago), you might want to add DePaul (city, Jesuit, Chicago). Basically a safety for a top student like she is (unless it is overly clear to DePaul admissions that she is using it as a safety), and she’d get good merit aid. Their business programs are excellent, and I have never met a DePaul student who did not love going to DePaul. (Although I would agree that with Fordham and Wake on the list and her happy with Michigan, you really don’t need another less selective school.)</p>
<p>Congratulations! You must be very proud of your daughter.</p>
<p>…along the Catholic school route, Georgetown or Boston College?</p>
<p>If she (and you) are convinced she would be happy and challenged at Michigan, then shoot for the stars, assuming those are schools she is actually interested in and would like. Does no good to collect a fine list of acceptances, only to realize she doesn’t like the atmosphere, they are too far from home, etc. S worked with his flagship as a school which he would be happy to attend and had a shot at merit $$, and went reachy on the rest. Revised the list in December to drop three that would not beat his great EA results. While he didn’t get in everywhere, he got into two of the top schools he really wanted, as well as another excellent LAC and the flagship with merit.</p>
<p>A good friend’s son is at Darmouth for film now. We think that’s the reason he got in - he had A-, not taking toughest courses - he was the only one that got into Dartmouth ED his year. We think it’s his love of film. He just went to South Africa to make a movie during his time off from school.</p>
<p>She is a solid lock at Michigan, it’s going to be affordable (or better), and I think it’s head and shoulders a better educational environment straight up than all but three or four of her other choices (maybe fewer). So what are all those other schools doing there? Would she really choose Fordham or Villanova over Michigan? USC? Vanderbilt? I sure wouldn’t. </p>
<p>Keep one of Vandy or USC on the list in case she decides she really needs some distance from home. Drop the other matches/safeties. Add more reaches as desired, but don’t go hog wild. </p>
<p>This is really a great “problem” to have: A kid with great stats, one of the best public universities in the world as the in-state option, and the kid could see herself there. Everyone should take a break from worrying about anything until August.</p>