@doschicos My counselor just keeps saying “yeah sure you’ll get in” “why not shoot for harvard?” etc etc, I’m just looking for clarification.
And mostly to narrow down my list.
@Chembiodad This is true, but Harvard’s calculator gave me more aid than my EFC requires. The bigger the endowment per person, the better the aid (generally). That’s why many Elite LACs have great aid.
@AimingTop50, yes always shot for Harvard, but no there are no guarantees. Don’t rely on Niche or any other chance me calculators. Based on your profile, I would assume top-10 uni’s and top-5 LAC’s are super reaches and then go down by 5’s for reaches, targets, and safeties.
Regarding endowments, you need to look at endowment per student as while Princeton, Yale and Harvard are the top-3, Bowdoin is the same as Dartmouth, U Penn is the same as Hamilton, and all are much higher than Brown and Columbia.
What kind of environment are you looking for: small town/rural/outdoorsy, small city/suburban, or big city/urban?
Would you prefer an open curriculum, more of a core curriculum, or a “standard” set of distribution requirements?
Do you care about the party scene, and does a big Greek scene matter?
If you’ve already said so, I apologize – but what are some things you’re interested in studying?
These will help us to find some schools that fit your preferences.
@prezbucky, agree those are the questions every student must ask before they ever look at rankings.
@prezbucky
What kind of environment are you looking for: small town/rural/outdoorsy, small city/suburban, or big city/urban?
I like the UF college-city. Tons of groceries and useful shops nearby, but great campus life because not TOO much to do outside of Gainesville. This is the reason why I would cross of Columbia. Too much to do in the city = not enough ppl on campus.
Would you prefer an open curriculum, more of a core curriculum, or a “standard” set of distribution requirements?
Open. I would be okay with a few general education requirements. For example, UF requires only 2 semesters of a language. That is pretty much ideal since I’d like to become fluent in Chinese in college.
Do you care about the party scene, and does a big Greek scene matter?
None of this matters too much. I don’t want drinking or Greek to dominate and polarize the campus, but this is not an important factor for me.
If you’ve already said so, I apologize – but what are some things you’re interested in studying?
STEM.
Originally wanted pre-med, now interested in perhaps math/chemistry double major, engineering is an option as well
@Chembiodad I think that’s a pretty accurate assessment.
Here are the schools I like in the 10-20 range. Vandy, washu, duke, notre dame, rice.
I’m willing to travel up for only the best of the best, maybe. That is what will help me pick my reach schools.
HYP and maybe Vandy, Duke, Rice.
What I’m wondering is if these southern “Ivies” give as good financial aid as the other Ivies: Upenn, Dartmouth. (I know Brown and Columbia FA aren’t as good)
I loved Duke and its surrounding town, when I visited. If that gives any insight to anyone. Have not visited Vandy, Washu, Notre Dame (and likely won’t due to costs). My parents saw rice and loved it.
Side note, I am open to majoring in business, too. I am taking Micro Macro next year and will see how it goes. That’s why I have moderate interest in Upenn and Notre dame
“Open. I would be okay with a few general education requirements. For example, UF requires only 2 semesters of a language. That is pretty much ideal since I’d like to become fluent in Chinese in college.”
Are you approaching fluency now? Because otherwise 2 semesters isn’t going to get you there.
@doschicos Sadly, not. The Chinese system is a joke in our school. You’re right. I’d probably take Chinese throughout college. (I was just citing UF’s language requirements)
Make an effort to squeeze in some time abroad. Immersion is the best way to learn. 
If you’d prefer an open curriculum, here are some schools that offer it, or something close to it:
Amherst
Brown
Grinnell
Hamilton
U of Rochester
Vassar
Those are all outstanding schools. Brown and U Rochester are in the largest cities, while Grinnell and Hamilton are in small towns. Amherst and Vassar are in between. Check their majors and course offerings to see if they offer enough STEM majors for you.
And for STEM, Washington U is probably better than Vanderbilt, for what it’s worth. Vandy, of course, has D1 sports, if that interests you.
If you would be happy at Florida, then much of the pressure is off. That is what a safety should do.
But you should, IMO, still try to build the rest of your app list – reaches and matches – according to fit variables you think are important.
Some kids probably wouldn’t be happy at H, P and Y – they are different schools in different setting, with different social scenes and academic strengths. Boston/Cambridge is the best city, according to most – more exciting than Princeton and nicer than New Haven. Harvard also has the biggest name. Yale has the best housing system, probably, and the best Humanities. And Princeton has its eating clubs and great undergrad focus. You also have to write a senior thesis at Princeton, so P arguably is the most rigorous of the three. In terms of STEM, H and P are better than Y by rep, though apparently Y is making investments in (at least) CS.
So if you might want to apply early to one of them, you should definitely figure out which you prefer based on your fit variables.
And check the other schools for fit too – you would not want to get there and realize they don’t offer your major, or the social/club scene sucks for you, or you don’t like the layout of the campus or the dorms. (etc.) And, obviously, make sure they’re affordable.
If you are only admitted to schools you really like and can afford, you are virtually guaranteed a happy admission result.
@prezbucky Yes, I’ve heard Princeton is the hardest, while Harvard is still very hard with not the best sense of community. I’d like Yale more, but Financial Aid at Harvard (and Princeton) works better in my favor because no home equity consideration. I think we need to recognize that all of these schools will have an elitist vibe, no matter what. They are all pretty much in the cold, but I would like the location of Harvard slightly more. Still, all of these issues are pretty petty. The financial aid between these 3 schools probably will not vary by more than 5k. I guess I will have to nitpick at the details to decide if I should EA to one of them or EA to the 4 others mentioned.
I still am probably going to apply to all HYP, though.
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/will-your-home-equity-hurt-financial-aid-chances/
This is very helpful.
It seems rice, vandy, and USC place quite a bit more emphasis on home equity than WASHU, which does not consider home equity at all.
I will have to ask my advisor to see if this difference in home equity treatment will result in a significantly different EFC. If it does, then that will help me cross of quite a few schools, quite possibly even Yale, then.