@intparent Thank you so much for your thoughtful response! My parents do care about cost, but I am lucky enough that my parents are able to afford and fund the college I chose to attend, whatever that be. However, with that being said, both my parents and I want to make sure we are getting our money’s worth. I am interested in schools in South if you have any other suggestions. Do you have any tips for me regarding my competitiveness and application for these selective schools? One more thing … I am also looking for a well-known / prestigious university. Thank you again!!
I don’t have as much knowledge of southern schools. Have you got a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges? It is s good source of info. A couple of things, though:
- You will get no discounts (merit aid) at “prestigious” colleges. So if you get into a reach, your parents need to be prepared to pay. As I said, be sure they are up for a total of almost $400K for your undergrad and MBA. Most families aren’t – even those with high incomes recognize that it might not be the best way to spend that money.
- Prestigious colleges have very low acceptance rates, and a 32 ACT will not help you stand out. Apply to whatever reach schools you want to, but make sure you have nailed down a couple of sateties you are happy to attend if you get shut out in the reaches. Work on the safeties & matches first, as you are far more likely to end up at one.
- Finally, really think about why you are going to college. A name brand/prestige school is not necessary – you can reach your goals from many, many schools. Have confidence in your academic skills – don’t be fooled into spending more for a name. After your first job, no one cares…
If cost is even somewhat of an issue, why not apply for financial aid? Most of these schools are need-blind for domestic admissions!
In your opinion, how are my chances for schools like Emory, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and WashU? @intparent
Emory is a match (ACT range 29-32,so you are in the 75th percentile). You are at the 25th percentile for Wash U and Vanderbilt, and under the 50th percentile for Northwestern, so I would say they are all reaches.
Emory does not have an engineering school. It has a 3 2 program with Georgia Tech that you apply to as a sophomore.
Someone please explain why Columbia is a better choice for OP than any other Ivy?
I really do not see U of Vermont and U of Rochester in the same category in any sense. One is a safety and by reputation party school and the other is a low target.
If you are not too sure of your intended major, but the possibilities include business (or related) and engineering, look carefully at whether those majors need to be applied to when applying to the school, or if changing into them is restricted by a secondary admission process, typically because they are filled to capacity. This is fairly common at popular state flagships, but even some private schools (e.g. Cornell, Penn, Columbia) have some restrictions on changing major. In some of these cases, direct admission to the major is not done, so you would have to compete for a spot in the major in a secondary admission process later.
Attending a school where all of your possible majors have sufficient capacity to take all interested students can avoid this kind of uncertainty.
But note that even when there are not capacity restrictions on any major, some majors require the prerequisites to be started early. Engineering majors are typical examples.
@intparent what is the difference between being in the 25th percentile and below the 50th percentile? Which is worse and which is better?
25th percentile means that you rank higher than 25% of the comparison group. 75th percentile means that you rank higher than 75% of the comparison group.
If you Google “Common Data Set” for each school on your list, you will find a document that gives a lot of admissions info on the school, including test score ranges. They typically give the 25th to 75th range. Post 28 explains that. Even if your grades are very good, test scores are what allow schools to judge across their applicant pool. Also, lower percentage students are often “hooked”
(athletes, legacies, URMs) – so they take up a lot of the lower percentiles.
Vanderbilt’s middle 50 is 32-35 though, so aren’t I in the middle 50? @intparent @ucbalumnus
Essentially the midpoint of that range is the 50th percentile. So 33.5 is the 50th percentile. 32 is the bottom of the 25-75 range – so 25% of the applicants have lower scores than a 32. You want to be at the 50% mark or better to consider a school a match, BUT schools with low overall acceptance rates still may not be a match because they get a lot of qualified applicants, and even those with good scores are often not accepted.
I am hoping to get my ACT up to atleast a 33, but worse case scenario, say I do not, with my current stats how realistic is it to get into a school like Vanderbilt or Northwestern (lets say hypothetically I ED) @intparent
No one can say. They are reaches. The usual recommendation is to apply to 2-3 reaches, 3-4 matches, and a couple of safeties. Spend more time looking for matches and safeties – you are much more likely to end up at one of them, and you will have a miserable April if you don’t take the time to really find ones you like. There is no short cut into top schools, especially for unhooked applicants. But you can get a fine education at hundreds of schools.
Agree with inparent. Buy a Fiske Guide to Colleges from Amazon. Use it well–write notes in the margins, use post-its.
If money is not a REAL consideration (as in maybe your parents would prefer in state U to private that no one has ever heard of) but are prepared to pay full boat for a Top 35 school, then I would consider doing ED or EA. EA can be done to as many state schools as you want and you will hopefully have a safety by December 15 and will just apply to places you REALLY want (assuming you do not get your ED school). As for ED, it must be someplace that you love and are willing to go over all others.
Check your school’s naviance account to see where people with your statistics have been accepted in the last couple of years. Visit based on that if you are interested in competitive schools. Some schools do have closer relationships with certain colleges, others do not so where this year’s seniors are going and last year’s will give you more information than anyone can since admissions really are regional.
Assuming your school does not have better than average relationships with top tier schools, then given that you are an unhooked applicant as far as I can tell from a populated part of the midwest (which while not as bad as being from the Northeast, is hardly like being from North Dakota.) In my experience your grades have to be above the 50% - 75% for schools and even then it is a crapshoot. An interesting essay or story will help but only if you are already solidly in the 50%.
Also, a lot of mid top tier schools track interest, so visiting is important if possible.
Yes, but at the bottom edge of that range with a 32.
32 is the 25th percentile and 35 is the 75th percentile.
Have you tried the SAT? Some students do better on the SAT than the ACT (or vice-versa).
I got into Vanderbilt with a 32 and when I applied the middle 50 was 33-35, 32-35 is from my class of accepted students.
And it was a reach for you. No one is telling the OP not to apply. But she needs a balanced list, as the odds are still against her regardless of your anecdote. Look at the Common Data Set metrics, and apply mostly to matches and safeties with a few reaches thrown in.
@ucbalumnus I took the SAT in March and am awaiting my results. They come out this Tuesday, so hopefully I did well and do not have to take anymore standardized testing!