I have posted something similar to this before, but now I have an SAT score so I’m not missing anything too important anymore.
Objective:
GPA: 97 UW, 99 W(4.0 UW on 4 scale)
SAT: 1450/1600 new SAT(1400 old) retaking June
SAT II: 720 Bio E
Rank- 2/110
Course Rigor- 7 APs, 10 Honors throughout high school, most rigorous in my school
ECs:
FBLA-2 years- treasurer(11), president(12)- 1st at regionals, didn’t place at states
Model UN- 2 years- treasurer(12)- best delegate, 3 events per year
Tennis- 3 years- Varsity team, club team, clinics year round, #3 sometimes #2 singles on varsity team
Tennis volunteering- helping out at local clinics over this summer for our district residents(75 hrs)
Students against destructive decisions(SADD)-4 years-treasurer(11)
Engineering competition-11-12th
Recycling club- 9-12th- President(12)
Piano- seven years- private lessons
Reaches:
Georgetown
Matches:
Lehigh
Bucknell
George Washington
Pitt
Safety
Temple
My list is pretty match heavy. I’m happy with my safety since its affordable and fine for my major(business). I would like to add another reach if possible, but I’m not sure what other schools might be reasonable reaches for. With my current SAT score, is this list reasonable right now? I hope to improve it a little and take more SAT IIs, but those aren’t really important for an school on my list other than Georgetown,
I would add Notre Dame as a reach and Villanova or Richmond as a match.
I think it looks like a good list. Notre Dame isn’t for everyone, and there really isn’t any indication that the OP is Catholic (it would be even more of a reach if they aren’t). Yes, Georgetown is their top school, but many applicants there aren’t Catholic. What is your proposed major? Do the costs look okay when you run the net price calculators?
Georgetown is who’s top school?
Who says you have to be Catholic to get accepted to ND?
Notre Dame has stated that they target keeping their student body above 80% Catholic. Now it is hard to know what the applicant pool looks like – but certainly they accept more Catholic than non-Catholic students. And the fact that the OP has G’town listed as their reach is the only reason I could see that you would recommend ND as another reach for them. However, the OP really hasn’t given enough info (major in particular) to know what other reaches might make sense.
The OP wants to study business. Let him or her respond. Why are you speaking for the OP?
Where did ND state a target for Catholic students?
The OP has not stated their major in this thread. And I’m not speaking for them. I am merely pointing out that ND may not be an appropriate reach school for the OP. Also, every other school on the OP’s list is Northeast/East Coast. The Midwest may not appeal to them.
Business is clearly stated in the last paragraph.
Ah. See it. Sorry. Although still think ND may not be the best reach given location and possibility that the OP isn’t Catholic (but they might be… they haven’t been back to confirm or deny).
Maybe Emory or Carnegie Mellon as a reach. Agree that Villanova would be another good match.
@OnTheBubble @intparent I am not Catholic, but I was under the impression that Georgetown isn’t super religious so I would be fine there. I think ND might be too religious for me and maybe the same for Villanova(not too sure about this one though). I know many big Villanova fans and many of them don’t seem to know of Villanova’s religious affiliation so maybe it’s not too prevalent. Even if I were to add Villanova, isn’t their business program very selective? I thought of that more as a reach.
As far as costs are concerned, I need major financial aid, but Georgetown, Bucknell, and Lehigh have good enough aid according to NPCs. George Washington was a little bit more but doable, and Pitt is a little bit of a stretch so I was hoping for some merit. I wouldn’t need much from Pitt to be doable but something larger would be nice. That’s why I didn’t keep it as a safety. At Temple I could get some major scholarships so that’s why it’s my safety.
I did list Business as my intended major, specifically finance. I know Econ works too at top colleges, but I would prefer to study finance. For location, northeast/mid Atlantic would be ideal. I don’t care too much about urban/rural(I love things about both) but I think I would like urban or close to a city. FA/merit is really the main priority for me along with strength in finance.
@intparent Also, not sure how financially viable CMU would be as they don’t meet need in RD and their NPC just uses salary ranges so its not too accurate. For some more preferences, I would like something mid-sized, active club/intramural teams, and with good placement into internships. I also have a passion for law/politics so somewhere I could minor in it or a place without too many core requirements that could hinder my chances at taking some of those classes. I am Asian Indian male if that changes any of your opinions on whats a reach, match, etc. One or two more reach suggestions and some matches with merit possibilities would complete a nice starting list I think which can be pared down before I apply in the fall. The problem I’ve been having for reaches is that most top colleges don’t have undergrad business and many that do are OOS publics(UVA, UNC, UCB, UMich). The only other ones left are Penn and Cornell which are out of reach IMO. Cornell would be a bad fit anyways but if there’s a school like Penn but less selective that would be ideal.
What’s your percentile on the new SAT?
@OnTheBubble 97th User, 99th National. It’s the writing curve that’s killing me, if I can improve that I think I can hit at least 1500.
I’d say Villanova is a match then. Boston College would be another fantastic idea.
@OnTheBubble How religious would you say Villanova and BC are? I agree that they seem like good fits. They also both have EA which is nice so I could apply early to Georgetown, Villanova, and BC. I don’t mind religious institutions, and think some theology classes can be very interesting, I just don’t want it to be too dominant like an ND or BYU. Also BC would be a reach right, especially EA? I know BC is more selective EA which is a risk but I would love to have some acceptances early on and am willing to take that risk unless its so much more competitive EA that I don’t have a decent chance. Also, are Villanova and BC good for FA? I have heard some problems with BC in regards to home equity, but we don’t have much of that. If I add Villanova and BC, I think that’s a really nice list so far. And I know I shouldn’t focus on this too much, but is being Asian Indian an advantage at these schools? I know they aren’t underrepresented, but its around 9% and 11% for Villanova and BC respectively, so its not as high as other colleges in its tier. At the very least its not a disadvantage right?
Have you looked into Northeastern?
ND, BC and Villanova are nothing, nothing like, not even remotely like BYU.
I can’t comment on FA because I don’t know. ND has more money than God so it should be fine there.
@ShrimpBurrito No, but I’ll look into it more. I know they are well known for their co ops in engineering, but I haven’t heard much of their business school. Other than being well ranked for business, I don’t know much about it.
@OnTheBubble Maybe BYU was a bit of an extreme example, but isn’t ND still very religious, especially for someone that’s not Catholic?
I don’t believe ND is any more religious than any other modern Catholic college or university. Two theology classes are required and yes there are parietals, but ND led the effort in 1967 to basically divorce itself from the church’s educational hierarchy. Conservative Catholics do not consider ND to be a conservative Catholic school. It is not even a Cardinal Newman Society school. I bet less than half the faculty is Catholic.
Much of this is relative. So why don’t you ask on the ND forum. It is an incredibly fun school and much of what you read about the religious presence is wildly exaggerated.
UVA and UNC meet need for OOS students, but you just have to get in. That is the hard part. But if you are looking for another reach, consider them, especially if you get your scores up.