<p>I'm a high school junior who is experiencing some difficulty in choosing colleges. I am looking for assistance in choosing colleges that may be suitable safeties, matches, and reaches based on my credentials. These credentials are as follows:</p>
<p>3.70 unweighted GPA
Top quartile of class (18th of 76)
Numerous honors courses, and one AP course (calculus AB). Planned additional two AP courses for senior year (calculus BC and English)</p>
<p>Four main extra-curriculars: Personal pursuit of the Norwegian language, pursuit of the MatLab programming language, participation in the local and regional chess clubs, and Red Cross Youth Board volunteer</p>
<p>There are additional extra-curricular activities, but they are not as central to my outside-of-school life. </p>
<p>SAT scores after first sitting (1900 composite score/2400 total)
680 Math
620 Writing
600 Critical Reading</p>
<p>So, guys, what type of colleges should I try to apply to with these kinds of credentials? If you need more information, just ask.</p>
<p>1,500 four-year colleges in the U.S., and you’re a candidate for > 1,400 of them. There’s no way to answer the question without additional criteria and preferences to narrow down the list.</p>
<p>BTW, you can’t major in Law as an undergrad. I assume you mean that you’d like to eventually go to law school, but for that, you can do any undergraduate major you wish.</p>
<p>Perhaps then, gadad, you might offer some guidance as to to which tier of school I should pursue. Fourth tier, third tier, or something else? That’s what I would really like to know.</p>
<p>arcus1 - go onto the CollegeBoard website and enter a school you wish to look up. Once you are at the school, click on SAT/ACT. The number they provide is the mid 50% of students. (so 25% are above that # and 25% are below).</p>
<p>Thank you, Kajon. But such statistics are also part of the confusion for me. Take an institution like Trinity College, for example. Collegeboard reveals that my SAT scores would put me in a good position at Trinity, yet I have the worst suspicion that I am not qualified for a school of that caliber. This is the reason why I ask for your, and gadad’s, help in naming a certain tier of school that my qualifications would support.</p>
<p>Also scroll down on the main page for the school and see what students’ rank and GPA are. If all three seem to put you in a good position for that school–well, you probably are in a good position.</p>
<p>Arcus - I don’t know why you wouldn’t be a prime candidate for Trinity, especially since your SAT scores reflect your first attempt. Your grades are excellent, your M+CR SAT is at 1300 and is likely to rise well into the 13s if not higher. An example of first-tier schools (I assume you mean as calculated by US News) that would be right at that level might be the U. of Miami among major universities and Dickinson among LACs. Both are toward the end of the US News Top 50 in each category; do some SAT prep and your target range should go higher.</p>
<p>arcus1 - You can’t major in law during undergrad. Did you mean pre-law? Like gadad said, you can major in pretty much anything if you wish to go to law school. Do you have any idea regarding what kind of lawyer you may want to be? (ie., If you want to be a business lawyer, you should probably consider majoring in business.)</p>
<p>Also, what kind of students do you want to be surrounded by? Do you care about things like sports or research opportunities?</p>
<p>I think I would like to be an environmental lawyer, treefingers; although being a criminal lawyer may be interesting aw well. </p>
<p>As to the student composition at a college, I think I would enjoy being around many people representing many parts of the US and the world. If the college supports a study abroad program, all the better.</p>