<p>Based on my stats and interests, can you tell me any schools that would be a good match? I've already applied to the schools below (some for myself, some to appease the parents):</p>
<p>Interest: School with smaller class sizes, strong liberal arts core, strong humanities department, good pre-med program</p>
<p>TCU - accepted (possible scholarship)
SMU - accepted (possible scholarship)
Austin College - accepted with scholarship
UT Austin, Liberal Arts Honors - accepted (still waiting on Plan II)
Rice (definitely a reach school)
Tulane</p>
<p>Female, Asian
GPA (weighted): 4.55
Class rank: 9/600
Rank dropped due to health complications, was on home bound school for 6 weeks
ACT score: 33 composite
AP World History: 5
IB Spanish SL: 6
National Merit Commended</p>
<p>I'm taking all IB classes this year and will test in 5 subjects in the spring.</p>
<p>Extracurricular activities:
(I'm not allowed to do sports, doctor's orders)
Pottery
Empty Bowls volunteer - make/prepare bowls to auction off, all proceeds go to Food Bank
Quiz Team - captain
Environmental club - secretary
Amnesty International
Yearbook - editor (9th grade)
Student council - VP (9th grade)
Yoga
Crochet workshops - create scarves and hats to donate
Volunteer at soup kitchen
Congenital Heart disease awareness volunteer
Led a team of high school students to walk and raise money for Leukemia & Lymphoma society
National Honor Society
Mu Alpha Theta
Vietnamese-English interpreter for elderly citizens in neighborhood</p>
<p>Not very impressive, I know. I was looking at Reed and Swarthmore, but I'd get rejected. Any ideas/suggestions?</p>
<p>Oh, for crying out loud - you’ve been reading too much College Confidential angst! An ACT 33 is equivalent to the high 1400s on the SAT (CR+M). That’s at the 75th percentile for admitted students at Swarthmore and above the 75th % at Reed! It’s above the median for all but about a half dozen schools in the country. Your grades are excellent and your achievement despite the health issues gives you a compelling story to share. Definitely apply to Reed and Swarthmore, as well as anywhere else in the country you wish. You’ve got plenty of safety-level admits and you ought to get into Tulane with some merit aid, so you could toss another Ivy / Ivy-equivalent into the mix too.</p>
<p>Oh my. Agree, agree. Been reading far too many posts on CC, of the wrong kind.</p>
<p>If you’re already in at UT Austin (one of the finest public universities in the country), and would be reasonably happy to attend, and money is not a big issue, then why not aim high for the rest of your applications?</p>
<p>I think Reed is a very realistic reach. Swarthmore is a bit tougher, but still worth an app.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I think I will apply to Swarthmore and possibly one other top tier school of Ivy/Ivy caliber. I wasn’t able to visit Swarthmore, so do you have any advice on how to make my “Why Swat” essay pop out? Cliches to avoid or anything of that sort?</p>
<p>And I love UT Austin, but I’m still waiting to hear back from Plan II. Plus, it is pretty pricey for a state school, and my scholarship from Austin College has made AC cheaper than UT.</p>
<p>What are my chances at Rice? Stanford?
I don’t think my Rice essay was very strong; I found the prompt difficult to work with. I do, however, like my CommonApp essay. Does anyone know how they weigh those?</p>
<p>I’d say you have a good chance at the schools you are looking at, but for the schools you are questioning your chances, why not? Give it a shot.
Your stats are good, but really similar to others who are applying, so you better make sure your essay is outstanding. Find an inner voice and avoid using cliches or generic statements ( “I have been interested in _____ ever since I was a little girl and I can remember walking/talking/looking through a telescope/reading…etc”).
Emphasize but don’t over amplify the fact that health problems have really prevented you from doing activities that could’ve shown your potential. It should sound like an explanation, not an excuse.
good luck!</p>
<p>Have you looked at Scripps? It is a women’s college with a really interesting core and seems to have much of what you are looking for. Part of Claremont Colleges in Claremont CA.</p>
GL!</p>