My list is too long. Please help!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm a junior at a fairly average public high school in Wisconsin. Right now I plan on going into something in the health field (physician assistant, PT or pharmacy) or engineering. I want to visit some colleges this summer so I can narrow down my list even further, but I'd like to make it a bit shorter. I know that some of the stuff I'm looking at can be found by plugging info into a college search app, but I want some personal experiences/opinions, too. I'd like some advice on which schools I shouldn't even bother applying to because I wouldn't get in or because they're not a good fit for me. Thanks!</p>

<p>Colleges (I know it's very long)
University of Minnesota- Twin Cities
University of Wisconsin- Madison (instate)
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
University of Mississippi
University of Kentucky
University of Iowa
James Madison University
Pennsylvania State University (legacy)
Rutgers University New Brunswick
Syracuse University
University of Notre Dame
Purdue University
University of Michigan- Ann Arbor
University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill</p>

<p>My safeties are UW Whitewater and UW La Crosse, but I've already visited them.</p>

<p>Academics
UW GPA: 3.858
W GPA: 4.029</p>

<p>ACT: took April 12, expecting 29 or 30
PSAT: 183
SAT: will take in June</p>

<p>AP Classes
Human Geography (4)
US History (3)
English Language (taking currently)
European History (taking currently)
Biology (will take senior year)
Calculus AB (will take senior year, BC not offered)
Psychology (will take senior year)
English Literature (will take senior year)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars
Tennis (9, 10, 11)
Track & Field (10, 11)
Color Guard (9, 10, Co-Captain 11)
Pit Orchestra (9, 11)
Jazz Band (9, 10, 11)
Pep Band (9, 10, 11)
German National Honor Society (10, Treasurer 11)
National Honor Society (11)
Class Board (10, 11)
Baton Twirling (9, 10, 11)
Assistant Baton Teacher for Rec. Department (9, 10, 11)</p>

<p><em>I plan on continuing all of these activities through my senior year, along with getting a job this summer</em></p>

<p>Awards
Several state level awards for German speaking and writing
Qualified for state 2014 for my clarinet solo
State Team Member for baton
I'm attending a Women in Engineering camp at UW Madison this summer (not an award, I know)</p>

2

<p>What is your financial situation? Out of state public schools won’t be very affordable and don’t give much aid to OOS students. Good news for you, Wisconsin has reciprocity with Minnesota, so you would pay in-state tuition at U of Minnesota - Twin Cities. You should work with your parents to run the Net Price Calculators on the financial aid website of each college. Not that if your parents are divorced, own a small business, have rental real estate, or any trusts, then the NPC will likely underestimate your cost of attendance.</p>

<p>I am not sure about all the schools on your list (would have to look up the test ranges for some of them), but your stats (test scores) are low for Michigan, Notre Dame, and UNC.</p>

3

<p>Depending on your financial situation, I would suggest UMN, Wisconsin, UIUC, and PSU for any of your intended majors due to their stellar reputations as public schools, but only if finances permit you to attend and if you are actually interested in those schools.
Ole Miss has a good program for engineering with their new Center for Manufacturing (CME). If you decide to go into engineering, it is definitely a viable option. Here is a link for it:
<a href=“http://cme.ms/”>http://cme.ms/&lt;/a&gt;
I agree with the above poster regarding UMich, Notre Dame, and UNC. They may be worth applying to because of their academic strengths, but keep in mind that they are highly selective.</p>

4

<p>go to college prowler to look at student reviews on every topic for every college. It really helps you narrow down your choices</p>