Need help with safety/reach/match for my schools

Please help me separate the schools on this list into safety/match/reach!
Anything helps!

Schools: Binghamton, NYU, Syracuse Uni, Northeastern , BostonU, AmericanU, GWU, UMassA, Penn State, SUNY Buffalo, U Rochester. Villanova, RutgersU

Information:

  • Demographics: 16 Male, Asian, New York, Public HS, second generation immigrant
    -Intended major(s): Undecided (potential: politics, finance/business, psychology)
    -ACT: Composite: 31 (retaking after studying in sept)
    -UW/W GPA: UW= 94.5 / W= 97.7 (3.7/3.88)
    -Coursework: AP: Capstone 4; Euro 4; English Lit; 5 APUSH; 3 - Some APs, College and honors.
    -Awards: Outstanding Choral Musician, National Honors, National Business, National Spanish, AP Scholar w/ Honor, (probably 2 others)
    -Extracurriculars: Art and Stock Market Clubs, choral group, Libary volunteer (not much, 20-40hrs), Chinese govt sponsored trip/camp to China (20± hrs)

Essay may address lack of ECs (medical)- Good
Teacher Recs- Great
Supplementals- Unsure as of now

Please help me separate my schools, thank you!

U Rochester- High natch
NYU- High match
Villanova- High Match
Northeastern- High Match
Boston U- Match
GWU- Match
American U- Match (Try to show interest here if you can, they take it into account heavily)
Syracuse- Low match (Borderline safety)
Penn State- Safety
Rutgers- Safety
UMass Amherst- Safety

Honestly you should narrow down this list. This is a lot of schools you’re more than likely to get into and you have no real reaches which is fine because I’m not applying to any true reaches either. With a list of schools like this, try to cut down the number of apps to 8 or 9. You’ll be glad you did.

Cant help you with the others as I’m not too familiar with SUNY schools.

I thank you so much, @blueguy99! But Im just wondering, did you take into account the fact that American and Boston are both 25-29% acceptance rate? Im worried about selectivity because its confusing… Thank you!

Cost constraints?

If the net price calculator for a college shows a net price that is too high, then you need to make the reach/match/safety assessment for that college based on getting a large enough merit scholarship, not just admission.

@ucbalumnus Cost constraint is mostly not an issue, because my family has a co-op they can sell. Please help, thank you!

They are intending to sell it to pay for your college costs?

Have you and your parents run the net price calculators to check whether assumptions about the cost of college are correct and that the sale of the co-op (assuming that that is the intention) would be sufficient?

@ucbalumnus Thank you for asking these questions. My parents have reassured me that they can pay a net price of around 40-50K. Thank you very much

Which divisions or departments are you applying to at these universities? There can be enormous variations in acceptance rates. I’d say that, for instance, NYU Stern is a reach for you, but Arts & Sciences is probably an academic match (if you can afford it). Some divisions at Penn State are much more competitive than others.

^ How will that work for NYU where it costs $70K+? Definitely run the NPCs.

@woogzmama, I have no idea how that works so far, and ive researched the individual colleges quite a bit. My major is undecided, so i dont know which divisions to choose… I would guess Arts and Sciences? Is it possible to change divisions once I find a major?

@“Erin’s Dad” Hello, I ran the NPC for NYU and got this:

Estimated total cost of attendance: $66,542

  • Estimated total grant aid: $35,230
    (Includes both merit and need based grant and scholarship aid from Federal, State, or Local Governments, or the Institution)

Estimated Net Price After Grants and Scholarships: $31,312

With a 40-50k budget, Penn State & NYU probably won’t be affordable. Northeastern’s aid isn’t great, either.

@newjerseygirl98 @“Erin’s Dad” @ucbalumnus @woogzmama

You see, i am extremely grateful for everyone’s help. However, i simply want to know my chances of getting into these schools listed so I can base my future searches on that. Money shouldnt be an issue as of now. Right now i would like to know if I can get in. That way, i can findmore colleges at a Lower Cost in my academic position.

And as for the $40-50K, that is out of the pocket without selling the co-op, and yes my parents are planning to sell it if we have to.

Thank you all for the help. But please stop worrying about the tuition. I need to know if these colleges are unrealistic (academically) in the first place so i can choose Cheaper Colleges with a Better Academic Fit.

Please understand,
-CS413

(P.S. sorry if i’ve offended anyone, if so, please respond and I shall apologize accordingly)

$40,000-50,000 each year? If so, then it seems like you are in a good position, since if even NYU’s (reputationally poor) financial aid results in a net price lower than that, many other colleges should be affordable. But run each college’s net price calculator to be sure.

But if it is $40,000-50,000 total (i.e. $10,000-12,500 per year), then your cost constraints are much more limiting.

Also, no SUNYs as low cost matches or safeties?

You can order your schools by rough selectivity and consequently be better able to partially assess your own chances by reading through “The 610 Smartest Colleges” (Business Insider).

Hi, and yes i meant 40-50K each year. And I do have two SUNYs on the list above, Binghamton and Buffalo.
Do you think my list consists of mostly matches or reaches? Thank you for the help

Agree with @woogzmama. Which department / school you are applying to will make a big difference at some of these schools including Northeastern, BU and Syracuse. Newhouse at Syracuse, for example, is very competitive.

Hi @4Gulls , the problem is that i dont know which colleges/department to enter if i have an undecided/declared major. Could you help? Thanks

It’s going to be different for each school. See links below for BU and Syracuse, for example.

http://www.bu.edu/academics/schools-colleges/

http://www.syr.edu/about/schoolsandcolleges.html

Most often, College of Arts & Sciences will be the biggest - which means more open seats. The real question you need to research /ask is How hard is to transfer within colleges? Some places just require a certain GPA and an application. Other places, harder. Sometimes the admissions criteria are slightly different depending on the college you are applying to - For example, for Business programs schools might be looking for stronger Math scores on SAT / ACT -

Personally, I think applying to Arts & Sciences might make the most sense since it’s usually the biggest college. You just need to ask admissions folks what the transfer process is between colleges and understand the deadlines and requirements.

BU, American, and UMAmherst are matches (UMA is not a safety for you at this point and certainly not if you intend to enter the engineering, computer science, or business programs). Northeastern U is a reach. I’m not familiar with the other schools.