Making a list, checking it twice...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Posting for D. Do all these schools make sense for her? Are there any obvious ones missing?</p>

<p>Her requirements: med. to large (5000-15000), Northeast (Boston being the center of the universe), NOT rural (suburban or urban is okay), good academics and good social environment (school spirit a plus). Probable major - Bio (pre-med or pre-dental possible but that is secondary to overall fit of school.)</p>

<p>Her stats in brief: rising senior at well-respected private school in Maine. Consistent GPA of approx. 94.5/100 (unweighted). All AP and Honors classes during Jr and Sr Year. No class rank - among the top but not very top of class.
ACT 31, taking again in Oct.
ECs focus on community service (local and international), music and dance. Also field hockey. President of one organization but otherwise her activities are group oriented rather than solo. I can list in detail if anyone thinks it important.</p>

<p>Reaches: Tufts (ED), Cornell CALS, BC.</p>

<p>Matches: URochester, BU, GWU</p>

<p>Safeties: Syracuse, UVM, UNH or UConn</p>

<p>She has ruled out even the bigger LACs. Doesn't like Brandeis. SATIIs were really bad so doesn't want to submit them anywhere.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

2

<p>bump. Input, anyone?</p>

3

<p>Well, unfortunately for your daughter, most of the schools on that list if not all of them require SAT IIs for admissions consideration.</p>

<p>Well, I guess your daughter needs to improve those SAT IIs or she has ZERO percent chance at those schools because she MUST submit them to be considered for admissions.</p>

<p>Sorry to be a bringer of bad news. Good luck to you and your daughter.</p>

4

<p>But if she submits the ACT, wouldn't that cover it?</p>

5

<p>^ At Tufts and most other schools, except for a few Ivy's, an ACT will cover SAT I and SAT II requirements. My stats were similar to hers, but she has a higher GPA, however, her EC's are a tiny bit lacking, but if they're unique enough, she has a good shot at Tufts (ED).</p>

6

<p>That's what I thought, Duffman. </p>

<p>How about Northeastern?</p>

7

<p>This is a list that shows whether colleges require SAT IIs and how many are needed, which ones recommend SAT IIs (meaning you BETTER TAkE THEM) and which ones will consider them.</p>

<p>This isn't guaranteed to be 100% accurate, because each school's individual programs all need different things:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

8

<p>Thanks for the ideas. I believe none of the schools on the list requires SATIIs with the ACT. She eliminated Columbia and Georgetown for that reason (and they were long-shots anyway.). She didn't like Northeastern. It is even bigger and more urban than the others. Duffman, any Tufts-specific suggestions to increase her odds there?</p>

9

<p>Actually, I know for a fact BU requires 2 SAT IIs unless you want a specific program like the arts, but of course recommended = MANDATORY</p>

<p>From BU's website:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/fresh_req.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/fresh_req.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

10

<p>Golden Bear, I appreciate the advice. But I have checked the admission information on each school's website within the last month. Cornell CALS is the only one that "recommends" SATIIs with the ACTs. And I wonder if the time spent on improving dismal scores for one school would be better spent on improving her overall resume. What about the ACT score? Is a 32 or 33 significantly better than a 31 for those schools?</p>

11

<p>In the interest of accuracy, this is from BU's page on standardized testing,</p>

<p>Freshman applicants will be required to submit the results of two SAT Subject Tests in different subject areas of their choosing. Students may submit the results of the ACT (with the writing section) in lieu of SAT Subject Tests.</p>

12

<p>Just improve the SAT IIs. 31 on ACT isn't that much better than a 32 or 33. Unless you can get the ACT up to 35-6, don't bother on improving the ACT. Just improve the SAT IIs, cause if they recommend the test, you better take it or it will significantly hurt your daughter's chances.</p>

<p>SAT IIs are not that hard to improve as the curve is generous and is only difficult once you hit 700.</p>

13

<p>I wondered about this too. Doesn't it make more sense to work on making the ACT really competitive. Not trying to make a "bad" score "not so bad". Shouldn't she just send in the ACT if the college doesn't require the subject tests?</p>

14

<p>Any more comments about the list in the original post?</p>

15

<p>Tufts and BC seem most suited. Don't apply to CALS @ Cornell unless you're from New York State.</p>

16

<p>Georgetown, GW, NYU, BU, UVA possible additions?</p>

17

<p>In terms of Tufts, you're basically going to want to show interest. </p>

<p>I.E.; Go to an info session, send in your 1st quarter grades from senior year if you're applying ED (signed by a GC), applying ED obviously, send in supplements up until right after the deadline, email the adcom you meet at info session, have a solid interview, etc. If you have any question, just PM me. :)</p>

<p>~Ben</p>

18

<p>Thanks for the replies, esp. for the suggestions on "showing interest" which were very helpful!</p>