So as you can tell from the title, my parents think I can get into a T20 liberal arts school, but more specifically schools like Hamilton, Vassar, Wesleyan, Carleton, etc., though I personally think my matches should be more along the lines of Kenyon, Oberlin, Reed, etc. All of the schools are on my list regardless, but just in terms of feasibility of getting in and paying for a school, CC, who’s in the right?
Intended Major: Philosophy and English
Stats:
UW GPA: 3.75
W GPA: 4.33
No SAT yet, but my practice scores have been around 1400
Awards/Internships/etc.:
Full IB Diploma Programme and IB Class Ambassador
NEHS
NCTE Achievement Award in Writing
12+ month-long internship with city representative doing research, drafting, etc.
EC’s:
Debate (more than 100 hours)
Track and XC (more than 300 hours, competing individually at conference and talking to college coaches)
50 cumulative hours of volunteering
Students Demand Action (less than 10 hours)
8 months work experience (an ice cream shop then landscaping)
Recs:
English Teacher 1: 8-9/10, she was the one who nominated me for the essay contest I won. We are pretty close and talk a lot during class and homeroom (she also an IB Coordinator at my school).
English Teacher 2: 7-8/10, I was the only one who really talked in her class and when I asked her for a recommendation she said she was expecting me to ask and would write me a good one.
City Rep: 8-9/10, I put a lot of time into the internship and the work we did ended up coming into fruition (we spent a lot of time trying to get solar installed onto the roofs of our public schools, which saved the city from having to privatize utilities).
Guidance Consoler: 6-8/10, I talk to her fairly often and we have a pretty good relationship, just not enough for me to be confident about a super good rec.
You can get in, but colleges like Hamilton or Wesleyan would be far reaches for you. However you may be a bit more competitive for Vassar, though it would still be a serious reach.
However, you are far more competitive for Kenyon, Oberlin, Reed, and similar colleges.
So your view of the colleges which would be matches is more realistic that your parents’ view. You can apply to Vassar and maybe another colleges with low acceptance rates to keep your parents happy, but make sure that they know that most of these colleges are reaches for everybody, including students with GPAs of 4.0 and SAT scores of 1600. Also make sure that the bulk of your applications are sent to colleges which are more realistic matches, as well at least one safety which you would be happy tp attend.
Can (& will) your parents pay for all of college, without you taking on any debt? do they expect you to take on debt? to get scholarships? to get financial aid?
Many of the schools you list meet 100% of demonstrated financial need - but it is according to their calculations, not your parents. So, Step 1 is to run the NPCs on the websites. The follow up is to check and see how the finances work: some of those schools have no/low loan policies- and others don’t.
Only some of those schools give ‘merit’ (non-need based) scholarships- and many of those awards aren’t very big relative to the cost of the school ($20K/year sounds great - until you realize that the CoA is ~$70K!). Do some research on that
IRL the gap between the schools on your list and on your parents list is not that big - in rankings, academics or opportunities. The differences are more in degree than in kind. There a fair few posters who may show up and point out statistical differences- and they are not wrong- but they are beside the point.
Go learn more about these, and similar colleges. Kenyon may be seen as an ‘easier’ admit than Wes- but I’ll bet somebody on CC knows a kid who was accepted to Wes and rejected by Kenyon. Because for LACs, it’s not just playing the odds: fit matters.
So go back and figure out which LACs look as thought they fit you best. Reed is not less than Hamilton - but it is very much a ‘fit’ school. Does it fit you?