Hopefully this is my final list:
Safeties:
George Mason University
James Madison University
Matches:
University of Virginia
College of William and Mary
Tulane University
Reaches:
Yale University
Duke University
University of Pennsylvania
Georgetown University
Vanderbilt University
And then either Princeton or Brown, I’m still deciding.
My ratio is 2:3:6; is this considered focusing too much on reach schools?
I would like to think I’ve done enough research…
Thanks!
If you’re happy with attending GMU or JMU then you are fine.
Surely you realize that without any information, you post is pointless.
@txstella In this situation the term “reach heavy” isn’t relative; these schools are reaches for everyone so including stats is pointless. I don’t need to be chances, I don’t need to post any financial aid information because that’s not my question. I simply wanted to know if the number of reach schools on my list was out of the ordinary. I was concerned if I should narrow my reaches or if my list was balanced based on the respective academic information for each school. As I mentioned I had done sufficient research, but I just wanted my research to be validated before moving on in the college application process. That being said, @“Erin’s Dad”'s answer sufficed, so thank you.
I might swap out one reach for an additional match.
Yes. Odds are high you will attend one of the safeties.
Are your sat scores 2400? and act 32
If your stats are good enough to be a lock for UofV your list is actually strategically very smart.
@HRSMom @txstella I was thinking about that but I couldn’t figure out another match to add. I’m in state for Virginia so another in state match would be U of R, but I really don’t like it there. I had CWRU because it doesn’t have an application fee, but I eliminated that too. I’m an African-American male, if that helps.
@NASA2014 No, my SAT scores are decent, though (above 2000). I’m taking the ACT this Saturday.
@puzzled123 The people at my school and in my area (central Virginia) that get accepted to UVA aren’t the best of the best, so I get the impression it’s a lot easier to get in in state. A couple of my friends got in, in state with 1700s–not recruited or anything. The in state range for UVA seems to be about 1850-1950. That’s the average score of most of my neighbors and peers that got in.
I’d apply to Tulane EA and if you don’t get in (or can’t afford it after aud) perhaps consider adding another one or two match/ safety schools. I do think you could knock off a couple of reaches.
@happy1 I was actually planing to do Tulane, JMU, and George Mason EA, so I could just get them out of the way.
Matches are hard! Agreed. A high match maybe UNC, bc of the low OOS acceptance? What do you think you want to study?
My advice on reach schools is to hone in on one which you love most and in which your stats are solidly within their middle 50%, then fully learn that school’s culture inside and out - Read the website, blogs, departmental Facebook pages, etc… meet with and talk to the college’s regional rep whenever he or she visits your state (ask him or her point blank what he/she is looking for). Visit the college, set up departmental tours, sit in on classes, attend some student events. If possible, attend a summer class or camp there.
Then put your heart and soul in to that college’s application and apply ED. Talk to your teacher recommenders and GC about the college and your specific characteristics that fit what that school’s regional rep is looking for.
My daughter drafted an application over the summer and reviewed, discussed, edited it about once week until it was due in October. Much thought and debate was put in to every single word. In my opinion, her application demonstrated a good fit. It wouldn’t have been possible (for her) to do that with multiple reach schools.
Also, I would not waste your early leverage on a SCEA school like Princeton or Yale unless you feel overwhelmingly and absolutely compelled to do so.
the best thing you can do is drop your worries about school rankings. visit as many of the schools as you can and get a feel for them.
Not a lot of information to go on here, but making the following assumptions:
SAT score around 2050
GPA (uw) > 3.80
HS class schedule included a fair amount of AP/Honors classes
Your safety and match schools seem reasonable enough.
Your reach schools, with the exception of Georgetown, are more lottery tickets than reach schools (probable acceptance chance < 15%.) Georgetown is more reasonable at 25% or so, and I’d recommend swapping out some of the Ivies for schools more in that range, if you don’t want to end up at one of your match schools (Tufts, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame is more the right range for reach schools for you.)
If my guess for your SAT is in the ballpark, my guess is you need to add about 100 points to move the needle significantly.
Assuming that you’re correct in your estimations (that your safety schools are safety schools and your matches are matches), I don’t see a problem. UVa and William & Mary are tough schools but can be matches for the competitive student, and if you’re in state that helps.
Just be sure you’d be happy with either GMU or JMU and you’re fine, no reason not to give those reaches a shot if you have a solid safety you’d be okay with.
If @NickFlynn is correct, then I agree that you should lower your sites on some of your reaches.
What criteria are you using to select these schools? I ask, because most kids I know would not like both Brown and Princeton; they kids who feel as though they have a strong “fit” at one rarely feel the same at the other.
@txstella - you have no basis to make that comment and its really obnoxious
@HRSMom I want to major in Cognitive Science or Neuroscience. I actually toured UNC last summer and didn’t like the campus; also I saw it as the UVA of North Carolina, but UVA would be easier to get into since I’m in state.
@arwarw My actual dream schools that I have thoroughly stalked all online resources (including YouTube channels, student blogs, etc.) are Duke and Yale. I’m strongly opposed to ED because I don’t want my college choice to be binding, which leaves SCEA at Yale. I’m still debating about doing that because it honestly is my first choice, but I haven’t seen a visible boost if you apply SCEA vs RD, so I feel like they won’t treat me differently.
@zobroward I think I’m visiting Princeton this summer, just to hopefully cross it off my list once and for all. As for prestige, I’m really not considering it. My list used to have like 6 Ivies on it just for prestige, but I realized which ones I actually liked and cut it down to 2-3.
@NickFlynn Yes my GPA is >3.8, but my SAT is a 2100. I’m taking the ACT this weekend, but my parents are happy with my SAT score and they won’t let me take it again. I also took subject tests this past weekend. I know my reaches are more like dream schools, but I didn’t like any of the middle reaches except Georgetown. I was interested in Emory, USC, Northwestern, and Tufts for a while but I eventually crossed all of them. Don’t get me wrong, I do want to cross off some of my high reaches but I simply don’t know how. I love them all.
@novafan1225 I would be happy going to GMU or JMU, but I would be even happier going to William and Mary or UVA. I’ll put it this way: if I don’t get into any of my reach schools, I’ll be slightly sad if I only got into my safety schools. If I didn’t get into any of my reach schools and I got into UVA or W&M, I would be so happy I could forget about my reach schools. So if my happiness is a 10 at UVA or William and Mary, it would be an 8 at my safety schools. But I still think that’s pretty good…
I’m very puzzled by your comment:
Not retaking the SAT is inconsistent with your reach college list. I think that you need to educate your parents. I’m not sure that I understand why they would care if you took it again or not. I suppose that’s your business.
Not sure why my comment is “obnoxious”. You are asking for additional information. The OP does not even state that his home state is Virginia.
I did not know if he was a Virginia resident. If not, then most of the “matches” are really “reaches”. Fortunately, it looks like he is a Virginia resident and has access to some terrific “match” and “safety” schools. If the OP is happy with the safety and match schools, then he will have a good outcome. My personal opinion is that narrowing down the reach schools (2-3) would be to his benefit because submitting applications to that many schools would be exhausting and difficult.
Adding another private university to the matches might be good to consider. Some great schools have been mentioned. Not knowing the OPs intended major, I don’t have an opinion; however, Tulane, UVA and W&M are all terrific so staying with these 3 as matches seems wise and well-thought out.