My Final College List, any opinions?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Reach Schools</p>

<ul>
<li><p>University of Michigan Ann Arbor </p></li>
<li><p>University of Maryland College Park</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Match Schools</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Michigan State University</p></li>
<li><p>Indiana University</p></li>
<li><p>University of Massachusetts Amherst</p></li>
<li><p>Florida State University</p></li>
<li><p>Miami University</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Safety Schools</p>

<p>-Grand Valley State University</p>

<p>-Adrian College</p>

<p>-Western Michigan University</p>

<p>-Albion College</p>

<p>-Eckerd College</p>

<p>Here are my credentials:</p>

<p>GPA: 3.25 UW</p>

<p>ACT: 24 (taking again in sept. expecting 25 to 28, taking a prep course)</p>

<p>ECs:
Captain of Varsity Wrestling Team
JV Cross Country
Internship in Michigan House of Representatives
Internship with University of Michigan Dearborn Professor
100+ Volunteer Hours
Student Council</p>

<p>Awards:
Honor Roll
Leadership Award
Science Fair Honorable Mention
Varsity Wrestling Award
Varsity Letter Award</p>

<p>Honors Courses: 3 </p>

<p>State of Residency: Michigan</p>

<p>Recommendations:
University of Michigan Dearborn Professor
A State Representative</p>

<h2>1 Teacher (very good recommendation and I can get more)</h2>

<p>So this is my college list and my credentials. Are my rankings accurate? I plan to go pre med with a major in micro or cellular biology. Do you think there are some schools I should cut off or add. </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>I just saw a lot of big state schools as reaches and then a lot of small colleges as safeties. Are you sure you'd be happy at both?</p>

3

<p>I think you have too many safeties. You only need two.</p>

4

<p>I totally agree with collegehelp.</p>

5

<p>Florida State is going to be a reach for you, especially since you're out of state.</p>

6

<p>Florida State is in no way a reach for the OP, he's in the range for both ACT and GPA, and it is NOT a difficult school to gain admission to. </p>

<p>The OP will gain acceptance to FSU, in addition to Michigan State, Indiana, Miami, and UMass-Amherst. That's in addition to his "safety" schools, all of which I would eliminate from the list.</p>

<p>I agree with what was said earlier, unless you're wanting to go to any of your safety schools, and would go there over Michigan State, I would eliminate them all. They don't seem to fit at all the type of school you're looking for (as determined by looking at your "reach" and "match" schools)</p>

<p>It's a bit strange to see UMass on that list, it's not a school that gets a lot of Midwest applicants. What intrigues you about UMass? I can understand FSU - it has warm weather, it has big time sports.</p>

<p>Michigan is a pipedream. I wouldn't even classify it as a reach, i'd classify it as "not happening". You're wasting time, money, and energy applying there. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but I am being honest.</p>

<p>Maryland is a reach. If you score better on your ACT, you'll increase your chances. You need to get that score into the 27+ range to have a chance there. You won't get in with a 24. Honestly though, I wouldn't pay OOS tuition there when you're in-state at MSU.</p>

<p>Have you looked at Minnesota? They have re-structured their tuition so that OOS is in-state tuition + 2,000/semester. It's a bargain out-of-state compared to most Big Ten universities. You would be competitive for admission there, and it's inexpensive enough that if you prefer it over Michigan State, I would recommend it.</p>

7

<p>Taken straight from FSU's website:</p>

<p>Statistics for freshmen who applied to FSU for Fall 2007
---The middle 50% for the ACT was 25-28
---High School GPA for the middle 50% of incoming freshmen was 3.5-4.0</p>

<p>That puts the OP in the bottom 25%. I wouldn't say it's a huge reach but it is, nevertheless, a reach.</p>

8

<p>That's the FSU website, not what they're reporting to the Common Data Set. CDS data has to be accurate, under law. A website can be wrong in their data and nothing would be made of it.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ir.fsu.edu/Common_Data_Set/2007-08/C.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ir.fsu.edu/Common_Data_Set/2007-08/C.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<pre><code>* ACT Composite: 23 - 28
* 39% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
* 26% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
* 16% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49
* 16% had h.s. GPA between 3.0 and 3.24
* 3% had h.s. GPA between 2.5 and 2.99
</code></pre>

<p>I just advised someone to apply to FSU who had a 3.4 and an 1100 SAT and was admitted. I've seen numerous people apply with low statistics who were admitted. The US News selectivity rank puts FSU at 120, very low. It will be an admit, not a "reach" for the OP.</p>

9

<p>A2Wolves thats funny about Minnesota. I had looked into them and disregarded it because I thought it would be too expensive. As far as UMich my parents tell me if you apply there you can apply anywhere else.</p>

10

<p>So UMich is not that big deal to me.</p>

11

<p>i think you should add more reach schools...add some more top-ranked school..
u can make it!..</p>

12

<p>Nah, in fact Minnesota is by FAR the cheapest Big Ten school for OOS tuition.</p>

<p>Northwestern - $37125
Michigan - $31301*
Illinois - $26024
Indiana - $24769
Penn State - $23712*
Michigan State - $23500*
Purdue - $22224*
Wisconsin - $21438*
Ohio State - $21285*
Iowa - $19465*
Minnesota - $13885*</p>

<p>*Fall 08 rates not on college board, will likely have small increases (about 8%) in their tuition.</p>

<p>I would definitely look into it. Indiana doesn't make much sense with their tuition rates for an OOS student.</p>

<p>
[quote]
As far as UMich my parents tell me if you apply there you can apply anywhere else."

[/quote]

I don't know what exactly that means. Sure, if I apply to Harvard, I could apply anywhere else. That doesn't mean it isn't throwing money down the drain.</p>

<p>If you can get a fee waiver, go for it. If you have to pay the ~$40, don't bother.</p>

13

<p>My parents will limit the amount of colleges i apply to to 5 if i dont apply to UMich</p>

14

<p>What is your Weighted GPA?</p>

15

<p>my weighted GPA is like a 3.3</p>

16

<p>Your GPA is probably too low for UMich, but your recs/ECs/awards are great. I think you probably have a shot.</p>