<p>Thanks for the response ricegal. Do you think UPENN and WashU are high reaches just because of SAT or something else in my resume? How does JHU fare in the social life department? Thanks again!</p>
<p>Miscelleaneous
• I am a laid back type of guy that loves sports. I had to quit football because of a back injury so doing well in school was my top priority. I consider myself silly, cuddly, family-oriented, awesome, dumb, sarcastic, funny, and pretty darn cool. I’ve won “most attractive” for my school and enjoy doing things outside of school. I watch Rachel Ray everyday.</p>
<p>School Attributes
• professors who not only care about their studies but also their students
• overall sociable environment (no pompous nonsense that Emory offers)
• fun, enjoyable activities (imagine city life, if I’m not getting my point across)
• prestige(?) or respected programs
• ladies</p>
<p>^^^professors who are happily involved in undergraduate academics, sociable students and campus, urban campus, pretty ladies, respected programs, an applicant who likes sports…sure sounds a lot like Vanderbilt University, one and a half miles from downtown Nashville. </p>
<p>Your SAT scores are probably not at the high end of their applicant pool, but there is a lot more to you, as is obvious from your posts. Many believe they are taking a good look at Asian students, in an attempt to continue diversifying the student body.</p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>
<p>don;t worry dude
ya definitely have good shoot</p>
<p>Thanks midmo and iorifan. What SAT is good enough for me to improve my chances at the “top” notch schools like JHU, CM, WU, and UPENN? Thanks again guys.</p>
<p>PS: I decided to include Vanderbilt to my list</p>
<p>^^^I’m glad to hear you are adding Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>As for your SAT scores, check the Common Data Set information to find out where you fall in their distribution of students who were admitted and enrolled. Somewhere on cc is a thread with links to Common Data Sets. If those don’t work, google the individual schools with terms like Common Data Sets, or the office of institutional research. Most, not all, schools publish the information. (But not Wash U, I think.)</p>
<p>Or, look at the USNews&World Report site. You may have to spend $15 to get the detailed profiles. Or, try the College Board site.</p>
<p>^^^However, the rest of your profile is so strong, I don’t really recommend worrying so much about your test scores. Research the schools to help you understand what they are looking for and then write some well thought-out essays.</p>
<p>A lot of kids with really outstanding test scores still get rejected by schools they thought were a great fit. I think it is often a result of not presenting themselves in a way that says “I am what you are looking for”.</p>
<p>Midmo you are pretty darn good at boosting people’s confidence (which is awesome). There are people that still believes I’ll get rejected at the top notch schools so I keep questioning my capabilities. I am studying 5 hours a day to get those ■■■■■■■■ scores up, but I am going into test day without hoping for anything to take the pressure off.</p>
<p>I can post the topics that I’ve been thinking if you do not mind commenting on them. Thanks again, midmo.</p>
<p>Revised College List (part II):
• Cornell University (reach)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (match)
• Vanderbilt University (match)
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (match)
• Georgia Institute of Technology (safety)
• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (match)
• Johns Hopkins University (reach)
• Case Western Reserve University (safety?)
• University of Washington at St. Louis (reach)</p>
<p>Potential Additions/Replacements:
• Northwestern University [for Carnegie Mellon University]
• Rice University [for University of Washington at St. Louis]
• University of Pennslyvania [for Cornell University]</p>
<p>please feel free and oliged to comment and modify the list above. Thanks for the continuing support CC.</p>
<p>In answer to your question, WashU, UPenn are reaches for everybody, but they are high reaches for you because of your SAT scores. I would think an applicant to the engineering school would need a math SAT score over 700 and over 750 is better. Still, you always have a shot.</p>
<p>So colleges do not consider SATII Math IIC scores as an alternative means to weigh a student’s math potential? I’ve been getting 770-800 on the pratice SATs and my hours of study should push my SAT math score to 700+. Also, are you assuming that my kind of resume (ECs, GPA, etc) is common at WashU and UPenn or are you saying these schools weigh SAT scores very heavily? Thanks ricegal for your response.</p>
<p>Do colleges really consider how physically attractive a prospective student is? I saw a post about this, and I remembered people talking about this factor. I personally think it’s dumb for colleges to base (regardless of importance) students’ admittance on physical attractiveness. Any ideas?</p>
<p>Thanks temima for your helpful advice. I checked the Common Data Set for most of the “reach” schools from my list, and the colleges encourage students to be within about 660(25)-760(75) for both CR and M sections. It seems like colleges weigh SAT as a VERY important factor, which is bad news.</p>
<p>Last time I saw my friend he was pretty intelligent and he went to Colorado School of Mines a pretty good engineering school in Golden, Co. Do not set yourself on certain schools.</p>
<p>SeaHwang, re post 53: I don’t believe it. My son didn’t send any photos, and his teacher and counselor rec forms did not ask them to rate his appearance. I wouldn’t give this nonsense another thought.</p>
<p>re post 49: Please, do NOT spend five hours a day studying for the SAT I. Spend the time researching the schools–what kind of research is going on, what sort of student organizations are available, how active the university is in the community, that sort of thing–and then work hard on writing good essays. </p>
<p>Other thoughts: Rice is a good addition/substitution. I’m not sure about substituting Penn for Cornell; why are thinking about that? Northwestern is a tough admit, but may be a better fit for you than CM.</p>
<p>Wash U. engineering is currently in a bit of turmoil due to unhappiness with some of the new dean’s moves. I don’t have a feel for what that means for their program, exactly, but it might reduce interest in the undergraduate program to some extent. Someone closer to the situation may have a comment.</p>
<p>Re post 49, last line: I do not think my opinion about your essay topics would be very useful to you. I am flattered you think they might be, but I am no expert about writing these essays. I do know that all selective schools want to see some evidence that you have something to offer them; that you share the values of the school; that you would fit into the culture of the school; that you are really interested in attending because you can see yourself fitting in; that you are enthusiastic about what the school has to offer. So, be yourself, be confident, be informed, and write your essays well, and persuasively. </p>
<p>Re math and engineering schools: it is reasonable for an engineering school to expect students to be able to handle a rigorous math course. If you have a good SAT II score and a good hs course record, that is probably enough.</p>
<p>Finally, students can be happy and successful at a wide range of schools. I know this from experience; I am personally acquainted with professors at very top universities who got undergraduate degrees from public universities that are not among the highly acclaimed ones. A lot depends on your attitude, and the effort you expend taking advantage of the opportunities available to you wherever you go. Give the selective schools your best shot, but keep in mind that all is not gloom and doom if you attend one a little lower on your wish list.</p>
<p>Your initial comment was about attending a school with a "respectable’ engineering program - the ones you’ve listed are MORE than respectable: MIT, UPenn, Georgia Tech? They would be insulted to have you refer to them as “respectable.” You also mention you are low income: you should apply to PRIVATE schools (vs. large state universities) where financial aid is more likely. I agree that WPI, RPI are right fit. Also recommend IIT (Chicago), NJIT and Rowan University (NJ), and U. of Maryland Honors College.</p>
<p>Native NJ
Since we are both from New Jersey I would also add Stevens Institute of Technology on your list.</p>
<p>Should I not even think about applying to public schools based on how poor my SATs are? I am in no position to pay full tuition unless I serve in the military or apply for scholarships/financial aid. Thanks for the responses guys.</p>
<p>Pay $15 to fully access the U.S. News Premium college website, which provides comprehensive information about thousands of colleges including costs, scholarship info, and detailed information about the scores and gpas of admitted students. It will be the best $15 you ever spent.</p>
<p>Your SAT scores are not “poor.” They would provide you entrance to most private and public colleges in the country. The schools that they won’t get you into are the very small group of colleges that are among the world’s best. One needn’t go to a place like Harvard to be financially successful and a respected professional in the U.S. Most successful professionals here have not gone to Ivies, but probably have gone to state universities.</p>
<p>You need to do more research on your own to get a realistic idea of what colleges you can go to and afford. While people here have been helpful, you’ll get an even better idea about what’s possible for you if you take the time to do some basic research first, including by looking at college’s websites to see their admission info. Many colleges provide info about SATs, etc. of students in their current freshmen classes. That will tell you how you stand. Colleges also provide detailed financial aid info on their websites. Some even provide financial aid calculators which will help you estimate the financial aid you’d receive.</p>
<p>SeaWhang, you will do well. It’s great that you are interested in ROTC- that will make a lot of these schools more affordable. I think that you have a good chance at places like JHU and Vanderbilt.</p>