Last Minute: Help Me!!! Are these schools a good fit?!?!

Hi!! I am finishing up my applications and I feel as though I do not really love my college list. Here’s some information:

SAT: 2080
-Math: 680
-Reading: 650
-Writing: 750

ACT: 31
-English: 32
-Math: 29
-Reading: 29
-Science: 34
-Writing: 33

I do not know GPA/Rank because my school does not give it out, but i have been on the High Honor Roll, which translates to an average of an A+.
Classes: I’ve taken all the APs my school allows- all other classes have been honors or electives in my senior year. (electives include all Shakespeare classes up to highest level, art, current events, and english classes)
-AP French
-AP Bio
-AP Calc BC
-APUSH (4)
-AP English Lang (4)
-AP World History (5)
-AP US Government

Additional Info
-White female
-tennis instructor for 3 years
-won tennis championships for high school league 2x
-summer volunteer at Children’s Hospital
-President of Model UN club
-President of National Honor Society
-interested in Biology/ Neuroscience
-loves art history and political science

  • member of Student Judicial Review Committee (my school has an honor code that we take very seriously and I am one of 7 other students who decided what t do when someone breaks the honor code)

Schools I have on my list now:

  • SUNY at Buffalo (local state school)
  • Colby
  • Colgate University
  • Cornell
  • Hamilton
  • Haverford
  • Holy Cross
  • Middlebury
  • University of Notre Dame
  • URichmond
  • URochester

Let me know if you have any suggestions that I should add to my list!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!!

Good list, look into Emory, fits into your other choices

How much can you/your parents afford? How important is receiving a merit-based scholarship, or a need-based scholarship?

What are your preferences with regard to size of school (I’m guessing from your list that you prefer to avoid very large schools)? Urban vs. suburban vs. rural environment?

Without knowing any of the answers to the questions that I posed, here are some additional suggestions:

St. Lawrence University
Lafayette College
Dickinson College
Davidson College

Cornell and Notre Dame are too much of a reach. I would pull those out. Add Villanova and/or BC.

Richmond, Rochester, Colby and Holy Cross look good.

Colgate, Middlebury, Hamilton and Haverford are reaches. Middlebury is the least likely. Maybe pull one or two of these and add Lafayette, Connecticut College or Gettsyburg.

Add St. Lawrence for sure just in case.

Northwestern University maybe?

Northwestern would be similar to Cornell and Notre Dame as a reach. I wouldn’t add it.

Your list is a good mix of safeties, match schools and reaches. But if you are not sure if you like your safeties (SUNY and Rochester), then perhaps add a safety you like better. Trinity? Hobart? St Lawrence?

Do you want to pursue Tennis in College? That might impact your selection.

I generally agree to reduce the number of reaches, and increase the number of matches.

Good luck!

I was also going to suggest Dickinson. Send them the ACT, not the SAT. They do track interest, so sign up now for mailings.

“if you are not sure if you like your safeties (SUNY and Rochester)” (#6)

By standardized scoring, URochester is not in the bottom four in the OP’s group.

(USNWR, fall 2014 entering class.)

@wisteria100 I agree that you need to recheck URoc’s stats and/or your definition of a safety. They have roughly a 35% acceptance rate and the OP’s test stats are just in their mid-range. That makes them a match at best by most folk’s standards - and a low reach for some due to their acceptance rate.

By comparison the OP’s stats for SUNY Buffalo are in their top 25% and the acceptance rate is closer to 60%. HUGE difference.

Add Kenyon and Wesleyan, especially Kenyon since your writing score is so high. I heard Kenyon and Hamilton like strong writers, Wesleyan just seems like a really good well-rounded school, but i think it would be another reach.

I know of Kenyon as a good school for writing, but do you know if they have a good science program?

Kenyon lacks a few programs, notably geosciences and conventional computer science, which might indicate they are not as strong in science as some of their peers. There is also some disparity between the CR and math scores of the student body on a statistical basis, with the average CR score being higher. These factors can be compared to your other choices.

Lafayette, Lehigh, maybe Bucknell perhaps, as a sciency-female. Gettysburg another good recommendation.

Agree ND can come off, a 31 not competitive there. Conn Coll has more women than men, so I would look for other LACs where the ratio is less tilted. St Lawrence would be a good addition.

@Midwestmomofboys most schools have more women than men…

@QuadiNorth True, many LACs have higher proportion of women than men, so, if the applicant is female, then target choices where she may be more sought after applicant. A woman applying to Sarah Lawrence or Vassar has a lower rate of acceptance than a male but, I’m guessing, the opposite is true at Rose Hulman. So for the OP who is trying to refine her list, it makes sense to use that information strategically. Another female applicant at Kenyon is not a good strategic choice, at St Lawrence, where the percentages are more balanced, it hurts the female applicant less.

@midwesrmomofboys is correct about Conn College. It is more than 60% female, so higher than avg, probably due to its heritage as an all women’s college.

True about Conn College but the acceptance rate for women is higher at 40% than men at 34% and this candidate is above average. I see the chance of rejection as rather low.

You should still apply. Let the college reject you, don’t reject yourself and then wonder if you could’ve gotten in if you applied. If you love the college, apply.