I realized that I spent so much time researching about my first choice school (Stanford), I know it extremely well in comparison to other schools, and I should really have some schools on my list that are likely to accept me and that I would be as excited going to as Stanford. If anyone has any suggestions or can tell me about their experience at their college, it’d be greatly appreciated!
What I’m looking for in schools:
-Be alright with or even encouraging of exploration for majors, since I have an idea of what I want to study but am not sure yet, but engineering management/international business is a likely choice
-Engaged student body, with lots of student organizations/clubs/activities
-Looking towards Cali or northeast coast states, in or near an urban area
-Great campus, sort of with that “traditional” campus vibe
-Good study abroad program
-diverse student body
-offers internship opportunities
A bit about me:
Female, Asian, under represented state to basically anywhere, 34 ACT, SAT II World History (710), Chinese (790), IB diploma candidate, took one AP (world history, scored a 5), rank 3/715, 4.0 UW 4.2 weighted GPA (highest possible at my school), decent variety of EC but nothing extraordinary maybe except teaching in rural China for three weeks one summer, solid essays and teacher recs.
Are you looking for merit aid? Would you prefer a college with a significant population of Asian students? How do you feel about single gender colleges like Wellesley?
@siliconvalleymom yes I’ll be applying for merit aid if the need base aid isn’t great, my family can only afford about $25,000 at most per year for my tuition. I’d prefer Coed schools, doesn’t have to be majority Asians but just not like 99% Caucasian you know what I mean?
Have you looked at UC Berkeley and UCLA costs? If your family cannot afford more than $25K and you are not a California resident, both of those schools (and any UC) will be out of reach. There is no financial aid at UC for out of state students.
UC applications are expensive and they don’t use the common app, so it would I’m afraid be a waste of money and effort to apply to either. Run the Net Price Calculator at any school that interests you to figure out if you can afford it.
Rice would be a good replacement for the UCs but schools at that level cannot be considered matches. Tufts is a good suggestion too. It’s a selective school but geographic diversity may work in your favor. Look at the SuperMatch tool here to find true academic and financial matches.
@Otterma Thanks, supermatch suggested Northeastern and Boston College, which I’ll take more time to look into. Any personal experiences visiting/attending colleges you have to share?
@nw2this I think I will qualify for some, but not a lot. Only one parent works and he makes $120k+ but I do have a twin sister going to college as well.
@jql2017 , Tufts has an excellent IR program, a n excellent school of engineering, an engaged and eclectic student body, a traditional campus with easy access to Boston – pretty much everything on your list. They are not known for being super generous with merit aid (but better with need) and it is very selective (14% last year) so while you are a match, it’s not really a sure thing kind of place for anyone. I’m not sure which state you’re in, so it’s unclear whether geographic diversity would help you. Unlike Stanford, sports are not a big thing, and while Tufts has grad schools, relatively few grad students are on the Medford campus, so it feels much smaller than Stanford.
Someone suggested BC, which may be a match, but they only give merit scholarships to the top 10 or 20 applicants each year, so if you’re depending on that, I’m not sure it’s the best for you.
@gardenstategal thank you that helps a lot my home state is Hawaii, so pretty far from Massachusetts haha, and I don’t mind about the sports thing, I’m not a very big sports person
@nw2this thank you for the very comprehensive list! So far my list is:
Super Reaches: Stanford, Harvard, Penn, Columbia
Reaches: UCBerkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown
Matches: NYU, Tufts
Safeties: George Washington University, UW (maybe)
