<p>I'm a high school junior and I recently had a meeting with my guidance counselor regarding what schools I should apply to. I was really let down because when I told them what colleges I wanted to apply to (ex: Harvard, Yale, Brown, etc.), they shot me down and said, "I won't get in." I understand where they are coming from now, but it came as a bit of a shock to me at first. This is the list they came up for me.</p>
<p>Reaches:
Boston University
Northeastern University
Syracuse University
George Washington University
Georgetown University (My dream school, I had to beg them to put this on the list.)
Barnard</p>
<p>Probables:
American University
University of Maryland
Fordham University
Hobart/William Smith Colleges</p>
<p>Safes:
Wagner College
James Madison</p>
<p>I have an 87 average (overall for 3 years of high school), and my rank in class is 15th out of 60 kids. All of my classes are honors. My PSAT scores were 63 for Critical Reading, 52 for Math, and 66 for Writing Skills (181 overall). I would like to major in Political Science. The college guidance counselor, strict as she may be, will allow me to make a few augmentations to the list she gave me providing they are reasonable changes in colleges. What I want to know is what colleges I should take off this list and which ones I should add on, keeping in mind my GPA, rank, and scores. I live on the east coast, and I would prefer colleges in Massachusetts, D.C., or New York. I'm absolutely lost!</p>
<p>P.S. This is my first time posting so sorry if this is in the wrong category!</p>
<p>That list seems just about right to me. (You’d have had to argue with me to keep Georgetown on your list, too, I’m afraid.)</p>
<p>Seems to me, your guidance counselor is a person who can be trusted.</p>
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<p>hmmm lol my guidance counselor told me the same thing but i mean if you are really interested in those schools you should still apply you never know what could happen regardless you should still have some safeties. I think your list is a good list all theses schools are good for political science.</p>
<p>“The college guidance counselor, strict as she may be, will allow me to make a few augmentations to the list she gave me providing they are reasonable changes in colleges.”</p>
<p>You can apply to any college you want to! As long as you or your parents can pay the application fee. For a GC to not let you apply to a college is wrong. Yes there are schools you may not get in to but it’s your life not hers. So if there is a college you really want to go to then you should apply regardless of whether she says it’s ok.</p>
<p>I have heard of schools that limit the number of colleges to which they’ll send a student’s transcripts, recommendations, etc., which does, in effect, mean that a student needs the guidance counselor’s OK on the list if schools he applies to. I wouldn’t like it if my kids’ school did that, but I cannot argue with the observation that each application that a high school supports costs the school something–in labor costs if nothing else.</p>
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<p>No, you have no idea. My guidance counselor is a very strict woman- she’s been doing this for like 50 years and “knows her stuff.” The fees for applying are not an issue, it’s just that my school prides itself on getting 100% students into their first choice school- what they don’t tell you is that they choose that first choice for you just so they can be sure you’ll get in and they won’t risk ruining their rep. Basically she said we can only apply to 9 colleges, that’s it.</p>
<p>I didn’t say the fees, exactly. Applicants pay their own application fees, or they get fee waivers. But schools pay employees to process all that paperwork for seniors’ college applications. And they provide computers, paper, toner, etc.</p>
<p>In fact, I bet if you asked why your school limits seniors to 9 applications, the answer wouldn’t be, “To make sure they get into their first choice.” That really sounds to me like a rationale invented, and then attributed to the school, by some parent or student who was disgruntled over having the number if applications limited. I have my doubts, but, as you say, I’m not there.</p>
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<p>At my sons public high school we pay $3 for each transcript and there is no limit to the number of transcripts we can purchase. </p>
<p>OP -If you want to apply to a school and GC says NO you need to get your parents involved. Actually they should be involved anyway.</p>