<p>I have set a list of schools that I want to apply to. My parents have set a limit on applying to ten schools. I live in VA, so it would be more affordable to go to a VA school, but it's not impossible to go out-of-state or private. I currently have a 4.0 uw GPA and a 4.3+ w GPA. I got a 2030 on my first SAT try and will be retaking it. Also, I am very involved in clubs and activities and have many officer positions. I was wondering if this list of schools is good. Does anyone have any suggestions, recommendations, or comments?</p>
<p>Reach:
University of Pennsylvania (applying ED)
Yale
Duke
Northwestern</p>
<p>Match:
William & Mary
UCLA
University of Miami
Penn State- University Park
UVA (last choice school- only applying because my parents are making me)</p>
<p>What is your parents’ budget?
UCLA would be 55k and Penn State 45k, no financial aid beside the $5,500 federal loans you’re entitled to.
Ask your parents if they would let you apply to more than 10 schools if they were commonapp and free to apply (no application fee).
You want 2 safeties so that, if push comes to shove, you actually have a choice in the Spring.
What’s wrong with UVA, it’s very similar to your other “match” choices except for W&M?
If you really like William&Mary, explore UChicago, Reed, Swarthmore, Tufts, plus all Top 25 national LACs.
If you like UMiami, look into Tulane and Emory (or Emory’s Oxford.)</p>
<p>Score is low for Ivies. Unless you can bring it up to 2250+, applying there will be kind of fruitless… Good luck though. If you like Penn State, maybe it would be worth looking at Pitt as well–different feel but similar area</p>
<p>Some out of state public universities are costly and not a lot better than your in state publics. UVA is a dream school for anyone. Sometimes the familiar schools are appealing than going out of state, but you really do have some good in state options. You also only have one safety, and that is risky- not because of admission, but will you be happy there? Adding some more in state options will give you a wider choice range no matter what the outcome is. </p>
<p>Your reaches are really reaches with your SAT which is fine as long as you are aware of it. Is money an issue? If so I’d also apply to VaTech perhaps. I’d also add a school or two between Christopher Newport and the rest that you have – perhaps one with unrestricted EA such as Tulane?</p>
<p>I think that you should drop Yale and add another safety/low match, especially if you are not able to get your M/CR up to the vicinity of 1500. You haven’t mentioned SATIIs: you really ought to have two with scores in the 750+ range for Ivies, especially if you are an unhooked student.</p>
<p>I would suggest applying to a school like Pitt, with rolling admissions, a good honors college, and some FA for top OS students (although you will probably need higher scores for that).</p>
<p>I’m also curious: why do you prefer W&M to UVa? What are you thinking about majoring in?</p>
<p>And asking your parents to run the price calculators on these schools is crucial. Neither you nor they should make any assumptions about what the results might be, and you don’t want to end up with choices that are all either unpalatable or unaffordable.</p>
<p>W & M and UVA are probably financial safeties for the VA resident. He should have an excellent shot at both, as an in-state applicant, and so he probably doesn’t need many other “match” schools. If planning to apply to Penn ED, I see no reason to include Yale, where the outlook - especially for Regular Decision - is pretty bleak. I’d replace it with another, more realistic, reach like Vanderbilt or Wash. U. in St. Louis. I think your stats would give you an excellent shot at a good scholarship offer from Tulane (especially if your SAT scores rise even modestly on a second round). Another post mentioned that Tulane has a free application, and non-binding Early Action, which makes them a very attractive option. They will notify you (including Merit Scholarship awards) by Thanksgiving, if you apply before 11/1 - or, at least that’s how it worked this past year.</p>
<p>You list is very reach heavy with current scores and so is W and M/UVA. In fact, they all seem like reaches except for Penn States (refer to Penn State bubble chart) and Christopher Newport. But you still have time to get those scores up. You will need over 2200 (closer to 2300’s) to be considered for the Ivy names, and probably 2100 for University of Miami (that’s their 75th percentile of attending freshmen). You have great grades! Check out the Common Data Set for each school you are interested in to see the scores of current freshmen. It is best to aim for the 50-75th percentile since those at the bottom usually have “hooks.” Good luck to you! Having such good grades is the hardest part and you have done well.</p>
<p>Thank you for the responses! I will definitely be looking into some of the schools that you mentioned. The main reason I don’t want to go to UVA is because I took a tour and did not really like the feel of the campus… at all! Anyways, I studied really hard for my retake of the SAT’s, so I’m hoping for an improvement. Also, I have already signed up to take the SAT Subject Tests in a couple months and will study really hard for those. Once again, thank you for the suggestions. I can’t wait to look into some of those schools.</p>