Just got my SAT score back.. what places should I start looking into?

College Search & Selection
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Ignore my previous posts, I was pretty naive back then.

I just got my SAT score back and I got a 1570 with a 800 in R&W and a 770 in math. I also got an 8/8/8 on the essay. I might retake in 11th.

My gpa is a 3.7 uw and a 4.56 W (my school weights weirdly). If I continue to get the grades I currently have, my gpa by senior year will be about a 3.8 uw.

I think I can get national merit since I got a perfect score on the PSAT I got this year. Again, I’m not sure but I have my fingers crossed.

My extracurriculars, as of now, are pretty great and steady. I edit for a couple international literary magazines, am captain of multiple clubs in my school, and I founded an organization that caters to over 500 unprivileged families and 1000 individuals across my state. I also am involved in political organizations such as March for Our Lives and HSDA. I also have a novel that I’m in the process of traditionally publishing.

I’ve also already won a couple awards in my favorite field, writing. These include Scholastic, Youngarts, and other awards from the Poetry Society. I also think, with the sheer number of programs/awards I apply to, that I will get at least one more opportunity during the rest of high school. The way I see it, every ten rejections leads to one dream acceptance.

I also have a lot of interesting narratives to work upon for my essays (LGBT and religious, super passionate advocate, literature lover.) I’m a refined writer, so whatever I write about will be something at least somewhat read-able. I am white, though.

I also need a school with a Jewish community, so unfortunately a lot of LACs are out of my consideration.

I don’t know if I should just reach for the best colleges for writing even though I might be out of their consideration and I’m not even sure what schools would be considered matches and safeties for me. Cost isn’t so important and according to my EFC I can afford most schools, but I’d prefer to apply to safeties that do give a lot of merit aid and are good for writing/film.

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@wistfulwords Congratulations on your SAT score. DO NOT RETAKE! You got a perfect essay score which is very hard to get. At this level, it’s just as likely your score could go down. And don’t bother with the ACT; it is not necessary.

As for schools, budget comes first. You have some idea of EFC and affordability but make sure that your parents are on board, if you haven’t already talked with them about what they are able/willing to pay.

Many LACs have cohesive Jewish communities, so I wouldn’t dismiss them out of hand. You can email Jewish student organizations on campus to get a better sense about Jewish life at schools of interest.

Take a look at Wesleyan for your academic interests (no merit except for scholarship with link below) and Oberlin (merit; media reports of anti-Semitism on campus are out of date as far as I know). Both are very LGBTQ friendly and strong for writing.

https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/hamiltonprize.html

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As for Jewish student life, you should get the Hillel Guide to Colleges.

For screenwriting (writing for television & film), USC has an outstanding program.

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mamaedefamilia: I might have to take the ACTs because my school pays for everyone to take it but i don’t think I’ll turn it in unless I get a 36.

I’ve talked with my parents and they want me to attend the best college I can, regardless of cost. I already have academic scholarships from contests that currently equal ~10k.

I don’t know about wesleyan other than that lin manuel-miranda went, but I’ll definitely look into it.

I heard from a cousin who went that oberlin doesn’t have a big jewish community, so I don’t think I’ll apply. the only other LACs I know are vassar and barnard, which I might apply to since they both have slightly large jewish communities, but idk if those are a match for me or too far of a reach.

Publisher: The Hillel guide has a lot of ivies. I don’t think I’d get into ivies except for cornell, where I’m a legacy. I haven’t visited so I don’t know if I’ll apply.

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@wistfulwords , congrats on your accomplishments so far!

I’m currently procrastinating my finals studying and returned to this website on a whim. I got excited when I saw your post because I was looking for the exact same things for college: an involved Jewish community, a good writing studies program, and a place where I could fit in as an LGBTQ student. I wound up at Johns Hopkins. It was a transition, but I’m really happy to be here now. The school’s Writing Seminars major (and separate English major) are very impressive, and socially I like the environment.

In general, I’d say that checking the Hillel College Guide (Hillel.org) is a good place to start. Keep in mind that some info on there is inaccurate or misleading- a school may be 25% Jewish, but have no Kosher dining hall, or something like that. I’d reach out to students you know at schools, or reach out to the Hillel directly. They can put you in touch with current students, which can be very helpful.

If you want a school with an Orthodox presence (or at least some committed religious environment), check out OU-JLIC’s website (oujlic.org). The JLIC couple is typically a rabbi and his wife who create programing and are Orthodox authorities for students. At Hopkins, they interact a lot with non-Orthodox students as well.

Chabad houses are pretty common at college campuses, too. As with Hillels, I’d reach out to them directly for more info.

There’s a lot of other schools that I looked at before deciding to come here. I’m happy to talk to you more about the process if you’d like! Feel free to shoot me a message- I’ll check this site for about a week or so.

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Hillel Guide has a lot more schools than the Ivies.

Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism should be at or near the top of your list.

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As a writer, the descriptions of the literature and creative writing programs in these articles should be of interest to you:

http://contently.net/2014/11/06/resources/10-best-colleges-creative-writers/

http://flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america

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Nice! You may want to consider Brandeis for its awesome Jewish values & social justice commitment. Although your scores would get you in somewhere more selective, it checks a lot of your boxes and you might be very happy there. My lgbt high-stats kid is starting there in the fall, and I’m very pleased with that choice. There was also good $$ associated.

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Why on earth would you retake? For the sake of an extra thirty points, which could just as easily go down by another thirty points? That’s well and truly a waste of time.

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Definitely do not retake!

You have the stats to apply anywhere but I’d really encourage you to take the time to find great match and safety schools. It’s easy to list off the tippy tops but the bulk of your applications should go to schools with high acceptance rates.

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@wistfulwords How large a Jewish population do you need? For your reference:

Oberlin has about 22% Jewish student population (roughly 650 students) according to

https://www.hillel.org/college-guide/list/record/oberlin-college

It offers Jewish student housing at the Hebrew Heritage House:

https://www.oberlin.edu/johnson-house

Weekly Shabbat dinners are held on campus and are well attended.

It even has a Jewish LGBTQ group:

https://calendar.oberlin.edu/group/queer_jews_and_allies

The creative writing program is very well regarded.

Full disclosure: my kid attends, knows lots of people in the creative writing program, and has many Jewish friends.

Merit scholarships up to around 30K.

I think it could be a great place for you, as well as other options mentioned up thread.

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You have verified with your parents that they will actually pay that amount, right?

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Great SAT score! One school you might want to have a quick look at with your interest in film as well as writing would be Emerson in Boston.

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Emery University

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I agree with the above - anything above 1550/60 isn’t differentiated even at the top schools, IMO. There are much better ways to invest your time.

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@merc18: the first list seems a bit wonky (I definitely would not consider MIT a good college for writing IMHO)
I’m having trouble opening the second list.

@Lynnski: I have a friend at brandeis and I think I might consider that bc she’s also a literary person and seems pretty happy there.

@Lindagaf @momofsenior1 @RichInPitt: I’ve realized it might be quite silly to retake my SAT, especially since I’m happy with my score. I might take the ACT just to see if I can get a perfect score but there’s no point in retaking the SAT.

@washugrad: I just looked up emerson and it doesn’t give much $$ in terms of merit. I don’t think it would be the right fit for me.

@ucbalumnus: yes, I have.

@FarmerMom: I’m not entirely sure what jewish life is like at emory. I’ve heard great things about the writing program though, so I might consider it.

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@mamaedefamilia sounds like oberlin has changed since my cousin went :smiley: I might reconsider

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@Shuester wow, congrats on enrolling at hopkins!

I heard that the environment is more STEM based at hopkins, but since you’re there you probably know firsthand.
I think I’ll shoot you a message sometime soon!

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Lots of parents say that about going to the best college until they see the price tag. Can your family pay a quarter of a million dollars for your undergrad education? If not, then you probably want to work with your parents to run the net price calculators on the website of each college you are considering. If they look unaffordable, then you may want to shift your focus to schools that give s lot of merit aid.

Colleges you might consider include
Pomona (part of the 5C consortium, likely to have a larger Hillel org than some LACs), Wellesley, Brandeis, NYU. Kenyon is a writer’s paradise.

Agree with others, do not retake.

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@wistfulwords: You should see a set of large, friendly arrows at the bottom of each page that will allow you to guide your way through the second article:

http://flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america

For a short list of schools based on some of your criteria, look into Yale, Penn, JHU, Wesleyan, Vassar, Barnard, Oberlin, Kenyon.