I have a 2250 SAT (1530 out of 1600) and around a 3.3 GPA. I am a junior. I qualified for the National merit scholar program and I have leadership positions on several EC’s along with 3 years on a varsity sport. I live in a very competitive school in Connecticut. With that background (I can give more if it would help), what colleges do you think I could get into and what colleges do you think could be my reach. I already have a list, but I would love to see what others with objective opinions can tell me.
I don’t think it’s really possible for us to give you a list of which schools will accept you and which schools won’t. Your SAT is really good. Your GPA is a little on the low side. I’m sure your ECs are good, but since we don’t know the specifics we have no way of knowing how they’ll compare to other applicants. There’s a lot of randomness in college admissions. The only rule of thumb I can give you is that for almost all applicants, schools with acceptance rates under 20% are ALWAYS reaches.
It might be more helpful if you told us some schools you’re considering, and we could help you determine whether they’re matches, reaches or safeties.
What is your class rank? Your school will have a better idea of where kids with your stats get in if they are a tough grading school and colleges know it that will help. Also course rigor is important. Still it seems that your scores are out of whack with performance so colleges will want to understand why that is.
You should look at the financial aid forum, pinned at the top are some resource threads. Open them, in one is a thread with guaranteed large offers for NMF. So they would likely admit. Are you saying your are a Finalist?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-an-updated-compilation.html
ps everyone needs help here. a more descriptive title will get more people reading and answering your post who see that the title is something they may know something about. I don’t usually read generic titles except once in awhile.
Hey thank you both for your help. My school does not weight gpa or give class ranks. My strength of schedule is quite rigorous and I will finish high school with 7 APs and almost entirely honors. I am not a national merit finalist (that is not announced until around march of next year) but I am currently commended for it and they said they would write a rec to 2 schools if I told them what schools by the end of april (hence why I am on here trying to get a good ballpark). My EC’s are: debate board member, founding member of improv club, amnesty international president, 3 years varsity hockey, Secretary for student government, history club, and model United Nations.
Here are a list of schools I would like to attend: (don’t sugar coat anything if I seem deluded please tell me I would rather know now than April of next year.)
-NYU
-UW Madison
-Any UC (obviously not berkley and LA since I have no chance)
-U Washington
-U Texas
- GW
-Pepperdine - Tulane
- Northeastern
-U maryland - U Richmond
-Skidmore - lafayette
-Bucknell
-Bates
Please someone offer me a hand and would like to know how much of a stretch each of these are.
Oh and paying for school is not a big issue
–What major would you like to pursue? Any career goals?
–Do you have any preference for size? Bates has 1,800 students versus 45,000 at U Wash.
What’s your story? Besides excellent s scores, okay but not fantastic grades, standard smathering of ECs you need a narrative. Fill in the blank: he/she is the kid that…the answer should NOT be has great scores / grades/ lots of ECs…its got to be unique, something that makes you stand out. It can be quirky. Find that unique selling point and youve got a solid chance at all listed and then some.
You might find that narrative buried in one of your EC experiences. Just belonging-even starting-a club is not enough. Some of the schools on your list, including tulane, richmond and lafayette might give you lots of merit money, too.
Consider that any school with an acceptance rate of 30% or less is a reach, a school with an acceptance rate of 30 to 45% is a match, and everything else is a reach. If you need merit scholarships and these aren’t automatic for stats (such as UAlabama Honors College/Honors Dorm/Full tuition famous scholarship, which is automatic if you have a 32ACT in one sitting + 3.5 GPA.), ie., all competitive scholarships are reaches also.
You need to do your utmost to increase your GPA to 3.5. That 3.3 is going to hurt a lot, even for your flagship’s Honors College. Often, there isn’t any leeway (sometimes there is but you don’t want to risk it).
-NYU= reach
-UW Madison = match for Honors College
-Any UC (obviously not berkley and LA since I have no chance) = not “any”, but UCSC, probably UCI… sure. Throw in UCSB or UCD depending on your academic interests.
-U Washington = match, unless you’re going for CS. You have a shot at Honors College
-U Texas = skip it due to the cap on OOS students
- GW = low reach (include AU also, which is also in DC and a match)
-Pepperdine= are you deeply religious and interested in growing in your faith? - Tulane = low reach
- Northeastern = low reach
-U maryland = high match to low reach for honors college - U Richmond = reach
-Skidmore = match - lafayette =match
-Bucknell = reach
-Bates = reach
Right now, your list is very reach-heavy. You need better safeties and more matches.
I suggest looking into Pitt Honors (you have the scores) and Penn State Schreyer (once you’ve been admitted to Penn State, neither GPA nor test scores matter: selection is based on curriculum rigor, which you have, + essays + interview).
Other safeties to consider: James Madison, St Lawrence, Hobart&William Smith, Wheaton, Lake Forest, Willamette, Lewis&Clark, Drake, SDSU, Marist, Chapman; make sure to express interest starting now.
Other matches to consider: St Olaf, Rhodes, Whitman, Dickinson, Denison, Cal Poly SLO.