Here’s my list, somewhat in order of preference: Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Georgetown SFS, Tufts, Reed, Macalester, Air Force, Virginia Tech.
I have a 4.0 unweighted (my school doesn’t offer AP courses), 2220 SAT/33 ACT (waiting on a second set of SAT scores), Lincoln-Douglas Debate State Champion, Extemporaneous Speaking State 2nd Place, (3 years speech and debate, 1 year as a co-captain), 2x county select band, 2 years student council, 3 years Science Olympiad, 4 years varsity tennis, 3 years varsity bowling. I’m also applying for AFROTC if that makes any difference.
I’m working really hard on my essays and my recommendations will be pretty darn good (my English teacher/speech and debate coach is an incredible writer). I want to major in Political Science.
So my question is, do I have too many reaches on my list, or am I being realistic? My counselor said she was concerned after I added Harvard and Georgetown.
Your list is too top heavy. You have exceptionally strong ECs, good enough test scores (subject tests?), but your curriculum may be light compared to students who attend schools with more AP options. With the exception of Reed and maybe Virginia Tech, these schools all have admit rates below 20 percent. It was our experience last year that applying to too many reaches means your applications are not tailored enough to each school. The competition for admissions spots at schools like Stanford and Harvard is more intense than you might think
Does your school not offer APs because the overall rigor of your school is exceptionally high? If so, not having APs is okay. Your ecs are great. Schools look very favorably on speech/debate champions. But yes you are top heavy. A 33 is fabulous, but does not stand out at Harvard, Yale or Stanford. And Tufts is notoriously quirky in who they accept.
Yes, it is top heavy. Keep whatever 3 reach schools you want (you have the tippest top available-so your yield will be no doubt be affected) work on getting 3-4 legitimate match schools. And keep R and VT. Just by way of example, my middle D had pretty similar marks n scores, and was a recruited athlete and a female URM, and was only 1 out of 3 for the top schools listed.
I think the number of top schools you apply to isn’t really relevant. You can play the lottery as often as you like. What’s important is that your match schools are really matches and that you have enough of those and that your safety school is really safe. Assume you won’t get into your reaches. Are you happy with the breadth and depth of you list after that?
I think the list is top heavy and, more importantly, you left a huge gap between the rest of your schools and VATech. Although you seem well qualified, admission to the top schools on your list is not guaranteed as there are more excellent students than spots available these days. Unless you would be 100% happy to attend VATech (and maybe you are) I would add a few schools in that mid-range.
I disagree with playing a lottery on your reach schools, as I think it actually affects the qualitative outcomes. A more synergized approach, will allow you to really focus on the attributes and nuances of each school, and allow you to frame your credentials in a much more symmetrical way.
Thanks for all the input! I’ve started looking into less exclusive schools. Would replacing Harvard and Tufts with American and George Washington balance out my list somewhat? That would give me three with <20% acceptance rates, four with 30-40%, and VA Tech with 70%.
