My College List Needs Help

College Search & Selection
1

<p>About Me:</p>

<p>Junior in Maryland</p>

<p>Currently have a 3.9 UW GPA (4.6 W)</p>

<p>Took 1 AP last year (NSL) and I'm taking four this year (World, Lang, Calc BC, and Physics). My senior schedule isn't finalized but I will probably take classes such as AP Stat, AP Psych, AP Econ, etc.</p>

<p>I have not taken the SAT or the ACT yet (I plan on doing both) but I scored an 1850 on a practice SAT during my freshman year if that helps at all.</p>

<p>300+ Community Service Hours
Four years of varsity sports
Held a job for about two years
Looking to get an internship for the up and coming summer</p>

<p>Some of the things I'm looking for in a college:</p>

<p>Strong business school (the only MUST on this list because I would not be comfortable declaring as something else)</p>

<p>Competitive division one athletics (especially basketball)</p>

<p>Any size is fine but tiny schools (all of the schools I have looked at so far are at least 4K I think but a little smaller would be fine too I guess)</p>

<p>Warm climate. Let me rephrase that - I don't want anything colder than the weather in Maryland because it is cold enough here!</p>

<p>Air Conditioned/Carpeted dorms would be a huge plus but its not a must</p>

<p>Good athletic facilities for students to use (indoor/outdoor tennis/basketball courts, etc)</p>

<p>I want the "college campus feel" if that makes any sense. I can live in a city later in my life, but not so much on a campus.</p>

<p>A college where kids are willing to go outside and toss a football or a frisbee or go shoot some hoops spontaneously but that also has a stable work environment</p>

<p>No commuter schools</p>

<p><strong>End List</strong></p>

<p>I'm sure I left out some "requirements" and I probably put a few in I'm not so adamant about so don't be afraid to list a school if it doesn't have a few of the above qualities.</p>

<p>Anyways, here is my list of schools so far (kind of in order but not really -- with my thoughts attatched):</p>

<p>Maryland -- instate means its cheap. Would be convenient to be able to go home if I really needed something or had an emergency
USC -- Warm climate, work hard party hard mentality
Villanova -- supposedly a good campus with good dorms. Great basketball program
Virginia -- Slightly warmer than Maryland and a better business school. Awesome campus/food options. Dorms aren't so great and its more expensive.
Wake Forest -- All I know about Wake is that its a good business school and merit aid is really hard to get
Washington University in St Louis -- Awesome dorms and food. Terrible 9 foot basketball hoops. No major athletics.
Emory -- great business school. No major athletics
Georgetown -- Not sure I love the city influence in it but its close in proximity and has a good business school. good basketball program.
Georgia Tech -- Decent business school. Warmer weather and good basketball program.
Penn -- Kind of on my list just because I'm looking to go into business. I can't see myself going to Penn at all but I will probably visit anyways.</p>

<p>I feel like I need a safety or two added and maybe I missed some matches/reaches. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Maybe also some thoughts as to if I should take off any of the schools from my list. Remember when recommending a school, it HAS to have a good business program. Thanks guys :)</p>

2

<p>Tough to tell what a safety would be without some standardized scores (and forecasting two years of HS). Consider Miami U or U of Dayton.</p>

3

<p>Without scores or rank, you can’t get quality feedback.</p>

4

<p>About the scores - thats why I provided that freshman year score. What would you recommend if my scores stayed around that level? What would you recommend if I got them up to a 2000+?</p>

<p>About the ranking - my school doesn’t rank anyways so I guess I’ll never have that information.</p>

<p>About the grades - you are right. This is my hardest year so it is kind of hard to forecast what my GPA will end up at. However - I don’t expect a major change so I kind of anticipate a GPA somewhere in the range of a 3.85 to a 3.9+ by the end of this year.</p>

5

<p>bump bump bump</p>

6

<p>Looks like UNC-Chapel Hill would be perfect for you. Great academics, top-rate basketball and athletics programs, perfect college town, good weather, etc. Top 10 business school. I would definitely look into it.</p>

7

<p>UNC-CH is extremely hard to get into, especially out of state. It would be a big reach.</p>

8

<p>Thats a great suggestion Cuse - but Erin’s Dad is right. The numbers that it takes to get in from Maryland is insane.</p>

<p>Like most people, I have a bunch of matches/reaches - I’m mostly looking for a safety with a solid business program.</p>

9

<p>My first thought was Wake Forest while reading, then saw your list. :slight_smile:
Also agree that Miami-Ohio worth a look.
Maybe UGA? Not as tough to get in as UNC or UVA, but good weather and sports, decent business school.<br>
Maybe Penn State? </p>

<p>It is easy to find the reaches, but the matches and safeties (Likelies) are super important. Also, it is good that you are beginning to think about college and look around, but the most important thing you can do right now is focus on your grades and SAT/ACT. Good luck!</p>

10

<p>Thanks Travelfun - I’m going to try to get more information about Wake because I really haven’t heard much about it.</p>

<p>Could Penn State be considered a safety at all? I feel like I don’t have a single school that I could say “I am going to get into this school” which worries me a lot.</p>

<p>Don’t some schools have automatic admissions if you have a certain GPA? Maybe I should add one of those to my list? Any good/decent business schools that have automatic admission of any sort?</p>

11

<p>Wake sounds likely to be in the reach category, but you never know.</p>

<p>Honestly, though, too early to say on any… really need to wait until you have some test scores from this year as well as jr. grades… usually junior year is tough, a step up from earlier years’ work. Strong junior year grades vs. so so make a big difference. Also, an 1850 vs. 2000 is a significant difference.</p>

<p>There are some schools that admit with automatic stats, but Penn State is not one of them. However, they offer rolling admissions/early action (as does UGA) so getting apps in early is a big advantage some places. </p>

<p>I think you may a good shot at Penn State and Miami-Ohio.</p>

<p>Since you are in MD, what about James Madison U?</p>