<p>My counselor told me yesterday to have a tentative list ready of schools that interest me so she can help me further. She also said the fee waiver was no problem.</p>
<p>I’ve done some research on the women’s colleges, and I really love Smith from what I know of it. Grinnell looks amazing as well. So, I’ve come up with this list of schools, hopefully representing a great range and (from my limited knowledge and what people have told me) whether they are a reach, etc:</p>
<p>U Chicago - reach
Yale - reach
Brown - reach
Grinnell - match
Smith - low match
Macalester - safety/low match
Swarthmore - high match/reach
Amherst - reach
Carleton - match
Tufts - match</p>
<p>It looks like a good list, but add another safety. You’re a NC resident so UNC should be considered. Not to mention Chapel Hill has the Robertson scholarship. The list doesn’t have a single public school on it.</p>
<p>Your list of schools is full of excellent places, but given your stellar credentials, you would also have solid chances at the rest of the Ivy League, of which only Dartmouth (fine school, but very heavy drinking scene) might not meet your criteria and all of which are generous with need-based aid. The Penn, Columbia and Harvard campuses are much nicer than NYU, while Princeton, Cornell and Dartmouth are beautiful. </p>
<p>Smith and Holyoke are excellent schools, but an all-grils school i snot for everyone.</p>
<p>10 schools aren’t too many. You should get started as soon as possible, though, in order to make each application strong.</p>
<p>You need a true safety, though. I don’t know anything about North Carolina publics, but you need at least a couple on your list that you know you can definitely get into and can afford. The safest schools on your list so far are Smith and Macalester, and while you should get into them based on stats alone they’re both still very selective (40-45% acceptance rates, if I remember correctly).</p>
<p>^ Ditto that about Smith and Macalester. There’s apparently some “self selection” with these schools; so, they get a class with scores and rank as strong as some schools with lower admit rates. In addition, they are expensive so you have to factor in financial aid prospects.
Swarthmore is another reach, too.</p>
<p>If i were you i would add princeton, harvard, MIT, and Brown to my lists but that’s just me… i mean seriously 50+ hour weeks/great SAT’s/good gpa you would have a decent shot…</p>
<p>Just because someone can get into a very selective school does not mean that they should apply. The OP has clearly done her research well, as there are trends in her list - small, undergrad-oriented, mostly urban (Grinnell and to a lesser extent Carleton and Amherst being the exceptions). There’s no reason for the OP to apply to schools that don’t fit her criteria just because her stats give her a good shot.</p>
<p>Canary, you have a good list there. I can see the ‘fit’-intellectual, slightly quirky and individualistic, not heavily sports, greek or artsy. You’ve pegged the ‘match’, ‘reach’ etc… correctly as well. 10 is not too many-when you are applying to small liberal arts colleges where the acceptance rate is in the hundreds, not thousands, you need to apply to a few more to make sure you get in. And the in-state safety option is never a bad idea since many smart kids end up in-state for financial and familial reasons.</p>
<p>I’d add Davidson to your list unless you want to leave NC. Looks like a fit. I agree with others that you sound like any school would be lucky to have you.</p>
<p>As your list consists of LACs the only thing I would strongly recommend is that you add a safety LAC or two. Above poster added some exceptional midwestern schools such as Kalamazoo and Beloit, and Earlham might be worth a look. Your safety truly has to be a school you would be happy attending, otherwise it is not much of a safety, more of a fall back. Beloit is on the list of schools that meet full need, they also are very generous with merit. To round out your list you might consider adding an Ivy - just because you might just get in!</p>