<p>Harvey Mudd!!! It's a math/science LAC in the middle of California. Really smart kids, and the admissions rate is probably higher than is representative because the applicants are fairly "self-selecting." You would LOVE it out there! It's also part of the 5-college consortium with Scripps, Pomona, etc. so you can find some great girls too (always a plus!) and some wonderful non-science/math courses if you want. </p>
<p>It would probably be a match in terms of admission, but you're likely to be eligible for a lot of merit money. It may not have prestige in the eyes of the average person, but it's very well respected in the academic community! Really, take a look! I bet you'll LOVE it!!!</p>
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<em>cough</em>Apply to Dartmouth!<em>cough</em></p>
<p>What are you going to major in?</p>
<p>Northwestern is a match, I think, anyway.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt, Rice = safeties</p>
<p>I'm only going off of schools I applied to, and I will be an economics major.
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<p>Rice is not a safety, Taggart. And I don't think Vanderbilt is, either. Vanderbilt probably a match, and Rice a high match. Even with excellent numbers, it's still not a guaranteed admission, which is more or less what a safety school is designated for. The OP does have excellent chances, though. </p>
<p>And yes, Northwestern would be a match.</p>
<p>I don't think Vanderbilt's math and sciences really matches up to that of NU and Rice, though. Definitely also recommend Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>I think it is a solid safety for someone like you and it would be better than SUNY Binghamton for someone who is interested in dance and clarinet..no?</p>
<p>@hotascise: as you've noted, it's not a safety for everyone; however, based on numbers alone, not to mention a passionate activity, I'd say he'd probably be accepted by many of these schools without a problem, rice and vandy included. I'm not saying these schools aren't amazing or anything, but I do believe that they're quite a bit more forgiving in the admissions process. Assuming the OP doesn't mess up the essays and has solid recs, I can't imagine him not getting in, not because the schools aren't good, but because he's pretty freakin' awesome in terms of his resume.</p>
<p>Taggart, I agree that Vanderbilt is more of a sure thing than Rice is, but considering Northwestern a match but Rice a safety is a bit uneven. I would say it's more difficult to get into Rice than Northwestern, though one may easily get accepted into one and waitlisted at the other. Rice has a more thorough supplement than Northwestern does, and obviously gleans through its applicants with a couple extra short answers/essay unique to the university--Rice is looking for certain kind of people. However, I understand your point with the numbers, because at the OP's level of GPA and SAT scores Rice does tend to be more lenient on the rest of the other factors--but don't be too optimistic. </p>
<p>Sometimes a school treated as a safety, or even a match at that, actually ends up doing strange things--we saw this year, with class of 2008 in the admissions process, that a lot of schools waitlisted (and in some cases, rejected) qualified people that otherwise would've gotten in last year. Class of 2009 is even more uncertain with even more applicants thrown in the mix, and I suspect this round of college admissions to be similar to that of Class '08.</p>
<p>That was my main point. The OP has excellent chances, but they are matches at best. Would you say Duke is a safety school for him? Duke loves high scorers too, and is the most forgiving school I've seen in terms of high scores but relatively low GPA--my friend with a 34 ACT but 3.4 unweighted GPA got in (no hook, but most rigorous courseload). No, but it might very well be a match school. I would, though, not go as far as saying it's a "safety" school.</p>
<p>Just a note - Goucher may still have a cross registration program with Hopkins, making it a bit more appealing for you. The Goucher dance program is strong, and has been around for a while too. Mostly modern, of course. Also has at least some academic dance courses (or did).
You should think about the AMC12 and the AIME this year. Google 'em for more info. They are high level math competitions that you will probably enjoy and that colleges will be happy to see. You will need to register via your high school. (Basically, get your math department head to sign up the school and administer them.)</p>