Match my daughter D23 - future senator...or environmental monkeywrench gang member

Chance Me / Match Me!
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We have a plan. We have a counselor. We are still stressing, behind, and still trying to find the right balance of optimism and shock&awe tactics (ok, that’s me the parent’s perspective)…
Mostly want to make sure there’s not a great safety/match that she should consider (but happy to hear honest opinions on matches too)

US Citizen
CA
Top 30 competitive public high school in CA (according to rankings)
Female, caucasian
No specific hooks;

Intended Major(s)
Environmental Science
Policy/Law/Government

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.87
  • Weighted HS GPA *(out of 5): 4.57
    *UC Weighted & Capped GPA: 4.13
  • Class Rank: school does not rank.
  • ACT/SAT Scores: - 33

Coursework
Rigorous. Honors Chem, ~10 APs, inc. Spanish, Italian, Physics, Bio, Gov/Econ, Lang, Env. Science, APUSH, Euro Hist, Calc AB. 5s in all tests taken so far but 4 in Bio.

Awards
Science Student of the Semester (10th gr). Few other small school awards.

Extracurriculars
-Major elected position for 2500 students across the state for student political organization. 4 years working her way up the organization.
-Independently (started during Pandemic) started working local city council and city groups – directly influenced getting $300K allocated to our community to create a Climate Action Plan.;

  • Worked to get local city council member elected as an ally for env. issues.
    -interned for CA state senator
  • President of school green club, revitalized recycling program, tree planting, working on solar panels for school, multi-year engagement.
    -4 year varsity athlete, but not recruited and mostly just for fun
    -6 years of advanced choir, now at top level, with international performances and multiple awards as a choir
  • few weeks living solo in Italy for language school

Essays/LORs/Other
LORs - should be strong from English, Physics, and local citizen climate leader and state senator (probably a bit more generic)

Essays – 7 or 8/10?? Can be a great writer – currently battling stress/pressure of meeting the deadlines and a father who was a professional writer and is driving her nuts “offering to help”… :wink: Writing about the city council work, global perspective, political advocacy, etc, depending on the prompts.

Cost Constraints / Budget
EFC from FAFSA says we do not qualify for 1 penny of aid. Full cost. But we have a generous tuition benefit from work that covers 50% of tuition (not R&B) wherever she goes. Have solid savings. So, should be able to afford (with a little stretch) pretty much everything she’s looked at (ran the NPCs). Would never turn down merit aid though.

Schools
She is NOT interested in the South/South-East at all (and we have family there!). Prefers CA and west coast slightly over East Coast, but not hard over. Flexible about size (likes UC Berkeley as much as Barnard). Prefers strong academic community, leadership vibes, and easy access to great Asian food. Doesn’t care about Greek life. Loved the quad of nearly every school we visited, that classic gathering space, and probably prefers relatively easy access to a city. Couldn’t decide on an ED place so… didn’t ED anywhere (I hope we don’t regret that… Claremont McKenna, Barnard, and Princeton for a chance were the thoughts…)

Safety -
UWisconsin Madison (EA)
UC Santa Cruz
U.Washington Seattle (might be target but according to SCOIR all students from her school with similar stats have gotten accepted over 3 years)
George Washington Univ.

Targets:
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
UC San Diego (hard target)
Scripps
Pitzer
CalPoly SLO

Reach:
USC (EA)
UC Berkeley (possibly top choice; data seems to show applying to Rausser college of Nat. sciences with her UC GPA gives her a ~40% chance? H/T to CC folks)
UCLA
Claremont McKenna (interviewed, really likes it)
Georgetown (interview coming up, really into it)
Pomona
Barnard
Columbia
U.Chicago
Grinnell (interviewed)
Princeton
Johns Hopkins (legacy, but they don’t care about that unfortunately for me!)

So, if you made it this far, thanks – I’ve been browsing CC for a long time, recently posted a few things, but have learned a lot over the past year reading material.

I know all the reaches are such a lottery and am just feeling that the list is reach-heavy. On the other hand, our counselor/coach said you only need 1-2 true safeties anyway, so why not try? We have a great opportunity with the tuition benefit to open up lots of options – yet we have an amazing UC system to take advantage of. So, advice and ideas are welcome. She’s a leader, headstrong, politically engaged, brainscattered, emotionally open, sleepy-headed, and awesome and maddening. ie. like most of your kids too probably.

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If you would like to screen for further ideas based on academics, these sites would be worth a look:

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For 2022-2023 academic year UCB’s Rausser College of Natural Resources had a 20% admit rate.

https://pages.github.berkeley.edu/OPA/our-berkeley/ug-admissions.html

Also on the same link, it shows the admit rate by Fully weighted UC GPA for the College with highest rate of admits in the 4.2 to 4.599 range.

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I agree you do need 1-2 true safeties (I’d say two) - schools you’d be happy with that you can afford.

But UW is not a safety. Take that for Washington or Wisconsin - not out of state.

GWU may or may not be - depending on demonstrated interest, etc. But I would take it off your list right now and for this reason:

Loved the quad of nearly every school we visited, that classic gathering space

GW has no quad - it’s campus, like NYU and BU is - pure urban.

So I see you have UC Santa Cruz as your safety.

@Gumbymom always post this table - so based on it (UCs do no test score) - UCSC is “likely” but you need another safety. Since you’ve got large on your list, how about Oregon State as a safety and possible WUE school, SUNY ESF where you can take classes at next door Syracuse (great policy school), or Arizona (for large - with strong merit at your GPA).

As you have small schools on your list as well, how about Puget Sound which has an Environmental Policy and Decision Making program or Willamette or Lewis & Clark.

Maybe too sciency and more a target but check out Occidental.

As for Asian food, you can find it anywhere. Yep, I live in the deep south and it’s everywhere.

Good luck.

Campus 4.20+ 3.80-4.19 3.40-3.79 3.00-3.39
Berkeley 30% 11% 2% 1%
Davis 85% 55% 23% 10%
Irvine 60% 31% 14% 1%
Los Angeles 29% 6% 1% 0%
Merced 97% 98% 96% 89%
Riverside 97% 92% 62% 23%
San Diego 72% 25% 2% 0%
Santa Barbara 73% 28% 4% 1%
Santa Cruz 91% 81% 46% 9%
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@Gumbymom yes thanks – you or another posted linked to that data set earlier and I dug into it. Very useful. Given the range of GPA shown (up to 5.0), I guessed that it was weighted GPA but not capped. She’s at 4.57. If it’s capped, then she’s a bin down.

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thanks @tsbna44

Agree about GWU campus. Possibly we should swamp out with American on the list. Given her interest in government, was looking at DC schools besides Georgetown… (and I go to DC often for work so that’s a side benefit).

Need to revisit Oregon State. Actually wasn’t sure whether Oregon State or U.Oregon would be better so I guess we should research both.

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Definitely American for a campus but start start start demonstrating interest. Get on the email list. Have her do an admission session and have her open emails, play videos. it’s not an easy admit if you don’t kiss a little rear end.

I’m guessing OSU of the two Oregon for policy but check the links below.

One other curveball for safety - and while early action is passed I surmise you’d be ok - Western Washington - also WUE.

Best of luck.

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Yes I’d be a bit nervous about the current list of safeties. Oregon State is a lot cheaper than Oregon if you get WUE. Another option would be Utah which also offers WUE and is cheaper than the UCs. You have to apply before Dec 1 for merit, and find out in mid Jan.

Many CA students don’t consider it but we’re from NorCal and our liberal, atheist high stat D18 loved it there (she double majored in ballet and environmental studies), especially the outdoor lifestyle (she climbs, skis and backpacks). For politically active students it’s great having the state capitol just down the street (they have lots of internship opportunities). And some of the Honors College opportunities like the Praxis Labs (Praxis Labs – Honors College ) are really interesting. It’s also easy to get to, with a good airport.

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Deleted.

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For some reason Clark University came to mind. They give a scholarship for community service. It is one of the Colleges that Change Lives, a website I also recommend.

That’s 22 schools. Any chance it can be pared down? She has the UC system, a great benefit to living in CA.

I would be happy to help with essays. I do that for a lot of students on CC. I will PM you.

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My son had very similar interests but we live on the east coast so were easily able to visit GW and American. I would say that while American has a campus, it does NOT have a little town street with shops, restaurants, etc… That was the turn-off for my son. There is the metro that I think most students would take to get food or shop, but American is more in a neighborhood type area. He did not end up applying. He did LOVE GW however, which was surprising because it does not have a real campus. It has one small rectangular area that is grassy. He loved the city though, and he did not think he would. In the end he did not apply as we are Maryland residents, and the UMD cost was too good to pass up.

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Your D is a strong candidate, but I agree there are not any safeties here. Grinnell seems oddly placed on this list…it is remote, hard to get to from CA, what does your D like about it?

How is she doing on the essays? Her list is long, I might consider paying it down. Would definitely get dad out of the essay process if at all possible.

I hesitate to suggest more schools, if one gets added, one should come off especially if the new schools has essays. Agree about considering Oregon State, western Wash, and Clark. The first two are true safeties, which she needs.

Good luck.

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For someone interested in environmental policy and the possibility of school-year internships and involvement, I wouldn’t take GW off the list (or keep Georgetown on the list) based on whether there is a central quad. Yes, GW is an urban campus, but there is a small traditional quad with University Yard, plus the Mount Vernon campus where a lot of 1st years live with a traditional college campus feel, a 15 min campus bus ride from Foggy Bottom campus. Georgetown has the lovely yards through the Main Gate, but otherwise is a compact campus. Of course, the streets surrounding Georgetown’s campus are lovely to walk through, with shops on Wisconsin and M St.

With Barnard on the list, would the OP consider Bryn Mawr College, if traditional campus feel is a strong preference? Likely more of a match school, with gorgeous Gothic campus, plus integrated academics (and therefore, co-ed classes) with Haverford College.

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I don’t have a school to add, but I am wondering what the rationale is for using a potentially generic LOR from a state senator would be. Her political involvement is among her most impressive and self- motivated activities. It sounds like a lot of the accomplishments she was able to list were in large part due to her own efforts. It seems that adding a generally positive but not specific letter of recommendation from a politician might degrade those accomplishments.

Non-academic LORs are rarely necessary and it sounds like this one would not be additive.

As far as the list, what does Scoir say about these schools for students with her academic profile?

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re: Grinnel – honestly we had an info session locally and the AO was excellent. She liked the idea of being in Iowa for political primaries for the next presidential campaign, and the small cohort of bright students vibe was good, and they’ve been good at marketing/reaching out to her. She has no clue what it means to live in Iowa, so, we’ll see…

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I feel like Smith or Mount Holyoke would be a good addition to her list.

For a true safety I think Willamette would be a great option, since it is literally across the street from the state capitol.

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Whenever I hear people are interested in politics or policy, I always think about capitals (state or national).

Since your daughter is already doing the Cal State application for SLO, I would add Cal State – Sacramento, too.

Willamette – oldest college in the west and located in Oregon’s capital, steps away from the state capitol. It’s a liberal arts college and her potential majors seem very well-represented here. I’d call this an extremely likely admit, unless Willamette rates demonstrated importantly, but I haven’t heard that it does. Check the CDS, though.

Dickinson ¶ is better known for international studies, but it has a definite focus on sustainability and lots of majors in environmental studies, policy, poli sci, etc. The school is about a half hour’s drive from the state capitol, and more likely than not, IMO.

Evergreen State – In Washington’s capital of Olympia and she could create her own path, but one “pre-planned path” is Political Economy, Global Studies, and Environmental Justice (that’s one path…long name). I think this is definitely a fit school, but it might be a fit for your daughter. WUE available.

U. of Utah – WUE, Extremely Likely

Boise State – WUE, Extremely Likely

If she likes Wisconsin, then how about U. of Minneapolis – Twin Cities (more likely than not)? Speaking of Minnesota, what about Macalester (possible)?

Does your daughter consider Virginia the south? If not, U. of Richmond (possible) rings a lot of bells.

And lastly, has she considered Trinity (CT, possible)?

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Because of how screwed up Iowa was in 2020, it is unlikely the parties will allow Iowa to continue to be the first. The caucuses just don’t work in a modern election. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Iowa moved to a few weeks after the first primaries or other states moved up to the same time as NH, Iowa, Wisconsin, etc.

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I went to school in Boulder and had an internship at the state capitol. My friend in journalism worked a lot of campaigns and traveled to Denver a lot (about 30 miles). It was an easy commute by bus (many people live in Boulder and work in Denver, so there are a lot of buses every day).

University of Denver is about 15 minutes from downtown (light rail stops on campus and downtown). It has great politics majors, boasts of two secretaries of state as alums, hosted a presidential debate. I’d don’t think it is that well know in environmental areas (except the law school), but most schools in the west do pretty well in incorporating the environment into other subjects - business, law, design, science. But I think Boulder (and CSU) would be stronger in environmental studies.

Many schools are near big cities or state capitals. Many senators and congressmen have offices in the big cities of their states

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I am going to try to PM you. She sounds so much like my D20 who ended up at Cal.

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