I just finished sophomore year and I’m starting to actively think about college and where I could reasonably be admitted. Up till now all I really looked at was dream schools and reaches, and I think it’s high time I found some matches and safeties. My main interests are physics and math; that’s probably what I’m going to major in.
I’m an Indian female in Washington; I go to a school with a decent number of ECs but a bit of a reputation for grade inflation. Both my parents went to college and my mom is a doctor, so no hooks there.
My parents are constantly complaining about how much college costs but they won’t tell me how much they earn or can afford to pay, so I have absolutely no idea what price range I’m looking at.
Stats:
-I haven’t taken the SAT yet, but I got 229 on my PSAT this year without studying. I think I could improve on this.
-GPA: 3.98 UW, 4.17 W
-I took AP World History and AB Calc as a sophomore; I’m expecting a 3 or 4 on WHAP, a sure 5 on Calc, and a 4 or 5 on Physics 1, which I also took.
-I’m expecting to take a total of 13 or 14 AP tests by the time I graduate, 4 next year and 6 or 7 senior year (this mainly because of multiple physics tests).
ECs:
-Math club 2 years so far, definitely going to continue. I’m going to be secretary/treasurer next year, and hopefully president as a senior. I’ve gotten 1st-3rd in a few team competitions at the state level
-I started the literary magazine at our school. I was treasurer this year, hopefully president next year.
I’m already looking at the colleges below but obviously they’re all reaches:
-MIT
-UC Berkeley
-Caltech (This is my dream school.)
-Stanford
-I’m also looking at the University of Washington, because it’s pretty good and I’m practically next door.
I am in desperate need of matches and safeties; do you have any suggestions? Please help me!
Thank you!
You can estimate how much your parents make by what they do. Since you’re mom’s a doctor, she must make a decent amount of money -enough to disqualify you for financial aid at many places, except for your reaches w/super aid maybe. If your parents complain about costs, they likely would prefer to not pay full price. Thus, you need to plan accordingly and look for colleges with merit aid.
Colleges w/automatic scholarships for stats: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
Colleges w/competitive/holistic scholarships: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-p1.html
My suggestions for you are try to take some more AP/honors classes to get the GPA up, which is probably something you already are going to be doing next year since you’re rising junior. Also, I think your extra curriculars are lacking a bit right now. Try to join some more clubs, do some volunteering or get a job, anything that shows you’re busy outside of school too.
Right now, you are a good fit for Washington. If you follow my suggestions and get good SAT/ACT scores, you’ll probably be a match for UC Berkeley. But for Stanford, MIT, CalTech you really have to do something extraordinary like start a business or something. Good luck!
Be aware that Berkeley gives almost no financial aid to OOS students.
Also consider USC… they have merit awards for high scoring students.
Other great California privates to consider are Harvey Mudd College and Pomona College, both part of the Claremont Consortium. You would have an edge at Harvey Mudd because they are actively recruiting highly qualified female students.
Another small college that has an outstanding physics program in a liberal arts setting is Reed College (in Portland, OR)… they have the only student-run nuclear reactor at an undergraduate school. They have very good placement into graduate schools.
Two more west coast small colleges to consider are Occidental College (in LA, CA) and Whitman College (in Walla Walla, Washington)… I think those would be low matches, and you might get some merit aid.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I’m 15, so I can’t get a job just yet - also my parents disapprove of this because it might affect my grades.
I have ~60 hours of peer tutoring, which is a school program. Does that count as volunteering? I think I’m going to have ~200 hours by the time I graduate.
I also have done choir for every year of my life except 5th, 6th, and 8th grade, when various adults wouldn’t let me. Does that show dedication or something?
I’m really shy, so I don’t usually do things outside of the norm. All my ECs are connected to school. I need to work on that…
Choir and volunteer tutoring are perfectly valid ECs and you should definitely include them. Do you do anything else? Sports? Music? Dance? Debate/Speech/Model UN/something like that? If you’re into science and math, have you thought about doing a project for Intel?
Tutoring is definitely something that counts for volunteering. Other than that you should try to do some things related to what you want to do if possible. Like I want to go into sport med so I volunteer at an orthopedic clinic. Im not sure exactly what you would do with physics, maybe try doing some science projects or research so colleges see you’re interested in the field you want.
You definitely want to look at places that offer merit scholarships. Your EC’s are a little lacking for the quality caliber of schools you are looking at. Choir, tutoring, and the two school clubs are decent but if you really are looking at the likes of MIT and Berkeley for reaches, you’ll need more. Since you are a rising junior, you still have the opportunity to boost the resume a little. Besides the tutoring, try to get involved in volunteering ANYWHERE in your community. Are you possibly involved religiously with anything?
Or quite possibly, you could get involved in different types of math/science competitions if you think you have what it takes. Maybe try to get involved in some type of science related EC outside the school.
Look into Gonzaga, Whitman, and Seattle University too.
“Choir, tutoring, and the two school clubs are decent but if you really are looking at the likes of MIT and Berkeley for reaches, you’ll need more”
Not necessarily more as in numbers, but rather in depth. Colleges would rather see 2-3 EC’s with depth of involvement rather than a list of 7 that you don’t care about. If you find other EC’s that you honestly enjoy or find some purpose on other than admissions, by all means join them. If not, it’s best to focus on improving/getting leadership positions/etc. on the ones you already have.
As suggested by lalalemma consider taking on a research technical subject. Perhaps one of your high school science/math teachers can advise you, possibly by suggesting a topic. Consider also the possibility that a researcher at the University of Washington would provide you with guidance on a possible project. Your Mom as a doctor may have contacts at a research hospital who may help you identify a possible project. Your project can have a mix of physics and math. It may require programming etc. There are many possibilities. Such an EC can take you very far at the reach colleges. I don’t think a part time job or more clubs would be of help at reach schools.
i would take UCB off your list. As an OOS public it is not a particularly good value. Math and Physics are very well done at all of the Ivies, and at a handful or two of mid-size research private universities. College course catalogs are online. Study the courses that they offernon a regular basis. Look also at the computer science programs offered by the colleges that have strong math and physics programs. It is unthinkable todayb to do either major without depth in computer science.
Finally think about what you’ll do with a math or physics degree. Is your aim to teach at a high school level? To do research at a national laboratory? To do patent law? Or … Perhaps it’s too early for you to have an answer. But it’s worth while to think that through. As you do you may be able to narrow down your college list.