Narrowing my college list even more

College Search & Selection
1

Demographics: Female, African-American, Georgia, Large public school
Hooks: interested in STEM as a black female? (is this a real hook?)
Intended major(s): Biology or Biochemistry (also considering computer science but only a little)
Academics:
ACT: 31 C (25E, 28M, 33R, 36S) (I retook it on Sept 10, hoping for a 32-33 and/or a higher English score)
SAT: N/A
SAT II: Taking Chem and Bio-M in October (will only send of above 700)
Class rank: 4/435
UW/W GPA: 4.00 UW / 4.69 W
Coursework:–10 APs throughout high school (AP Environmental Science- 4, AP Human- 4, AP World History- 2, AP Biology-5, AP Chemistry- 5, AP US History-4, AP Language- didn’t take)
Senior Year Coursework:
AP Calculus AB
AP Literature
AP Physics 1 & C
Honors Organic Chemistry /Microbiology
Veterinary internship
Band
Government

Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, Superintendent’s Award (one of the top 10 in my senior class)

Extracurriculars: Band/Marching Band (4 years), Color Guard (3 years; captain), School Ambassador (4 years; president), Research (4 years), Jackson Lab Summer Student Program (Summer 2016), Interning at a local veterinary hospital (August-present), volunteering with a local therapy dog organization (August-present)

Schools:
Columbia (ED)
UGA (EA)
GA Tech (EA)
Barnard
Boston University
UPenn
Duke
Tufts
UChicago (maybe)
Swarthmore (maybe)

I want to have my “Plan B” ready to go so that if I am deferred/rejected from Columbia on Dec. 15 I am not scrambling to meet Jan. 1 deadlines. To do this I want to narrow my college list to about 3-4 schools (in addition to the top three on the list) that I can apply to RD, because right now I have too many on the list and do not have the time or money to finish all of those apps to the best of my ability. I definitely want to try and attend a college in or near a large city (Boston, NYC, Philly, etc.) and I prefer larger schools as opposed to smaller LACs. The two in-state schools are my safeties that I am definitely applying to, but the rest of the schools on the list are not definite right now.

Which schools do you think I should keep (or even add) on my list considering my stats, interests, and preferences? Thanks!

2

You need a couple of safeties. You are reach heavy on your list.

3

If she’s happy to go to UGA or GTech she probably doesn’t need any more safeties.

4

You look great…one I would add to this list – Northeastern in Boston…their co-op program is great and their campus is a nice one.

5

For your interests, NYU would seem to be a natural fit along with Columbia and Tufts from your current choices.

6

Would you consider Wellesley? Near Boston and great STEM school with chance to take classes at MIT. Also known as generous with financial aid. Although you did not mention any financial aid considerations.

7

What’s your parents’ budget? Have you run the NPC?
Running the NPC on each of these may show you some that are unaffordable which you would then “cut”.

You say applying to these schools is expensive: Do you qualify for fee waivers (ask your guidance counselor)?

You need one more safety and 1-2 more matches.
GTech is a safety for no one - it’s a low reach due to acceptance rate, perhaps a high match due to URM+Female in STEM but do not trat it as a safety - it’s highly unpredictable.
UGA is your only “safety” - you should add one more (Spelman? UNF? College of Charleston?) And of course apply to UGA Honors.

What about USC Columbia Honors? Would be a good alternaitive, comparable to UGA Honors.

1 more point on the ACT and you have guaranteed admission to the Honors College with a full-tuition
scholarship at UAlabama Tuscaloosa.
Look into Byn Mawr - part of a college consortium near a big city, a good match.

Assuming the NPCs are affordable, I’d keep Barnard and Tufts and I’d add UPenn/Duke only if time permits in December.

8

If you prefer large schools over small liberal arts colleges, then the easiest place to trim is Barnard and Swarthmore (which is also not in a big city), which are reaches anyways. Aside from that, your list looks fine.