Looking for Good Target/Safety Schools to Apply to

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve been looking for colleges for a while and there are a lot of upper-end colleges that I’m interested in applying to, such as Princeton, U Penn, MIT, and JHU–the obvious problem there is that they’re all super hard to get into, and if all of them reject me, it wouldn’t be surprising. What are some more realistic colleges that are good for biology/biochem? So far the only backup that I’m certain I’m applying to is Rutgers. My family will likely support me wherever I decide to go as long as we can afford it, but I’ve been discouraged from going anywhere super far away like California.

SAT I: 1570 (CR/W: 770 M: 800)
Haven’t taken Subject Tests yet but will take Math II, Chem or Bio, and Physics
UW GPA: 4.15
W GPA: 4.60
Rank: 1/420-ish (School doesn’t submit rank to colleges to my knowledge)
Junior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci A, AP US History, AP Calc BC, AP Physics 1, and AP Lang. Honors Wind Ensemble and Honors Spanish IV
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Bio, AP Stats, AP Microeconomics, AP Literature, Honors Wind Ensemble

Awards/Achievements: >Won school’s science, history, English, and Spanish awards across different years (one selected for each grade)


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Probably qualified for National Merit Program (1510 PSAT)
High Honor Roll
New Jersey Governor’s School of the Sciences nominee
Several 4-H awards–Herdsmanship, Teen Leadership, Best Record Book
National Honor Society member
Spanish National Honor Society member
National Hispanic Recognition Program member

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Extracurriculars:


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New Jersey Science League
FRC Robotics Team, community service coordinator and will be programming senior year
Marching Band, planning on being alto sax section leader in senior year
Jazz Band
Homeroom Representative for Student Government
4-H Herpetology club. Teen leader and Treasurer.
This summer, I also plan on creating a website centered around freshwater angling information with informative guides (fishing is something that I spend a lot of time doing and am genuinely knowledgeable about)

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Volunteer Work:


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Aid with summer reading program at local library
Help run summer band camp for elementary school students
Tutoring for NHS and Spanish NHS
Various volunteer activities provided by NHS
Various volunteer activities provided by 4-H, including volunteering at the summer county fair
I couldn’t tell you how many hours I have off the top of my head

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Other:
State of Residence: New Jersey
Ethnicity: Multiracial–Black, White, and Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Range: 65-85,000

2

Rochester Institute of Tech?



Worcester Polytechnic Institute?



Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute?

3

This site wouldn’t be a bad source to read through if for no other reason than that it could suggest a range of schools for further research:



http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/colleges-to-consider-if-you-want-to-study-biology/117/



Having looked through the list, I’d add URochester though.

4

How is unweighted GPA > 4.0? Or does your school calculate A+ = 4.3 or some such and you have A+ grades?

Do you like Rutgers, and is it affordable (see https://financialaid.rutgers.edu/tools-and-resources/net-price-calculator/ )?

If not, consider potential safeties from automatic large scholarship schools like those listed at http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/ and http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ (but verify on school web sites, since some have changed).

5

@ucbalumnus My school counts A+ as a 4.3. I have a more or less even mix of As and A+.



Compared to other safer schools Rutgers seems pretty appealing, affordable, and is close by. A lot of my peers look down on it (even though a lot end up going there in the end!), but I’m willing to give it a fair chance.

6

For Biology and BioChemistry,
Columbia
Cornell
[url=<a href=“https://science.rpi.edu/biology/programs/undergrad%5DRPI%5B/url”>https://science.rpi.edu/biology/programs/undergrad]RPI[/url]

7

As a safer admit, Rutgers would indeed seem to be a good option.

8

How about Pitt? You have the stats for consideration for a full tuition merit award, possible full ride. Application opens in August, rolling admissions; so apply early and you will have an answer by November (or earlier).

9

I’d also suggest Tulane, with non-binding Early Notification. You would probably qualify for a hefty merit package. I was going to recommend applying rolling admissions to Pitt and Rutgers. You’ll hear from them quickly. That allows you to relax and focus on your reach colleges, once you’ve gotten into some safeties with excellent pre-med/bio programs and the probability of good scholarship offers.

10

Remember that if you need a scholarship to be able to afford a college, the reach/match/safety assessment on the college must be based on the scholarship, not admission.

Is pre-med your intention?

11

Just remember to show genuine interest at schools you deem to be your “safeties.” Many students with your stats wind up disappointed at schools they thought were sure things because the supposed “safeties” decided they’d rather admit people who are thrilled to be there and will maintain high morale even though their stats may be 100 SAT points or 3 ACT points lower than the students they wind up deferring or rejecting. In any event, congratulations on stellar achievements to date. I’m sure you will go far no matter where you select To go.

12

Rutgers is your best safety as others have said, if you’re ok considering other public schools that could be safeties, PSU, SUNY Stony Brook, UMass, could be considered.

13

You have a good shot at Rutgers honor college - a couple kids in my son’s class were admitted with a free ride. Rowan is another in state option - I think the campus will impress you and they have very generous with aid for top students.



My other suggestions were already mentioned- WPI, Pitt, U of Rochester.



Good luck!

14

Those out-of-state public schools are unlikely to be affordable to the OP without large merit scholarships. Hence, they cannot be safeties unless the large merit scholarships are automatic for the OP’s stats. Have not heard of any such at those schools, so it is best to put them in the reach category (aiming for the scholarships, not admission).

15

For colleges that pledge to meet full demonstrated need, this list can be really useful:



https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-09-19/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

16

For strength in biology, LACs will be among your top options. Consider NESCAC schools, such as Amherst, Bowdoin, Hamilton and Middlebury.

17

@Amduseus

Have you run the NPC for your schools?

All the top colleges have excellent bio departments regardless of the sports league they’re a member.

I would start by considering schools with a no-loan policy.
E.g.
Bowdoin
Amherst
Colby
Swarthmore
Davidson
Yale
Princeton
Harvard

Brown is no-loan for incomes < $100k…MIT<75K

I realize that you posted looking for suggestions for safety schools. However, if your SAT subject tests are as good as I assume they will be, it wouldn’t surprise me if you were admitted to one or more of your schools. I’d add Yale and Harvard to the list.
Columbia and Cornell are also good suggestions. Some consider Cornell too rural, but I like Ithaca, the surrounding countryside and Cayuga Lake very much.

Have you thought about Haverford or Swarthmore, which are two of the schools in the Tri-College Consortium?
If you intend to continue with your music in college http://mta.mit.edu/music/performance/festival-jazz-ensemble
The Jazz group is comprised of students from many different areas of study. They’re also astonishingly good!

18

interesting, I would have thought of a school that counts A+ as over 4.0 as a weighted GPA. The whole point of an unweighted GPA is to normalize it across other schools and most don’t give a GPA bonus for A+. In any event, it sounds like the OP would have a 4.0 if A+ wasn’t counted anyway, which is awesome.