Need matches/safeties for my list!

<p>I have some schools that I really like (Stanford, Penn, and Georgetown), but obviously those are very difficult to get into. I was hoping to get suggestions for some schools that would be considered safeties and matches. I am very interested in International Affairs/Relations and History. I am much more a humanities person than a science or math person. Cost is not an issue. Location wise, I am more interested in either the east coast or the west coast and not the South. I could also consider midwestern cities. I am looking for cities and more populated areas. </p>

<p>GPA: 3.9 (all A's in high school, except a couple B's beginning of sophomore year, and every single honors course available and I have taken up extra classes each tri of junior year to add on to my workload. I have also taken the most rigorous possible course load). I believe that I will have the highest GPA in the class, although my school does not rank.
SAT: Math: 650 Writing: 690 Critical Reading: 730 (2070)
I will be a National Merit Commended Student.
AP's: My school does not offer AP's due to its self styled curriculum. I self studied and took Stats, US History, and Lang. I expect a 5 in all categories, maybe a 4 in one. </p>

<p>*I go to a small private school, which almost always has very competitive students who go to top schools. My school is academically competitive and has a very unique program that colleges seem to love. Traditionally, about 30% of the class with go to top schools. </p>

<p>EC's: I am student body VP. I am also on my school's Academic team and we won regionals and placed 3rd in the state this year.
One of my main interests is human rights and international (doings/relations/happenings?). I am the president of our school's Amnesty International chapter. I am also an active member of the school's Community Service Leadership Team and have won volunteer awards. I am also active on the school's Environmental Club.
Summers: Last summer I went and volunteered for a month in a West Africa human rights firm (albeit not much was accomplished). This summer I am attending Boy's State, going to Georgetown JSA to study international relations, and coming home and getting a job.
Sports: I am a cross country runner (33rd in state meet), a varsity tennis player, and a nordic skier.
I have also participated in a couple of plays as an actor. </p>

<p>State: ID
Hooks: none
Race: White
Miscellaneous Info: I spent my freshman year abroad in France with my family and went to an international school. </p>

<p>Thanks for your time!</p>

<p>Your stats are excellent, and I think you have a good shot at most top schools. I know many people who got into standford and georgetown with stats lower thanor equal to yours (ex.3.87…ACT=34), although my high school had AP, CIS, and PSEO and those students usually took those courses and did very well. I believe your success will boil down to how good your essay and possible interview is. If you apply early admission than you really have a good chance. Make sure your essay is creative and original, and you should be fine! Good luck</p>

<p>Macalester would be a match, I think, and a very nice fit for you and your international interests.
Beloit might be a safety for you. Not a super safe safety but pretty darn safe, I think. Again, a good fit for your interests.</p>

<p>You should look at Middlebury. Acceptance rate is something like 17% instead of Stanford’s 7%. A good choice for a low match/possible safety is Ursinus.</p>

<p>i’m a rising senior at a highly competitive, all-girl high school also interested in international relations and political science. i’d recommend looking at the college of william & mary (joint degree program with st. andrews in scotland!!!); uchicago; tufts; umichigan; and dickinson.</p>

<p>American University and George Washington University might be worth looking into. Both are very strong in international relations programs, and are located in DC - currently the city with the lowest unemployment rate in the nation (I believe).</p>

<p>what are american and GW’s reputations—do you know? my aunt lived in DC and made a funny face when i mentioned american…</p>

<p>Tufts, Holy Cross.</p>

<p>Thank you for all of the replies. I am looking at Middlebury and I like it, but it seems too rural and too small for me. I like the suggestion of Macalester and will look into it, but again it may be too small. I also like all of the other suggestions. Would Middlebury be a match or a reach? Same with GWU? Any other matches/safeties?</p>

<p>Take a look at Claremont McKenna, part of the Claremont consortium in southern Cal. A bit of a reach with your test scores. Tufts is another reach option. GW has a great reputation in DC - a match, I guess. American is more of a safety.</p>

<p>Look at the Common Data Set for each school you are interested in to see how you stack up against the admitted class in terms of GPA, test score and class rank.</p>

<p>Have your parents given you a budget? Talk with them about how much they can pay. Then you will know whether you need to include places that will offer you merit-based and/or need-based aid.</p>

<p>Northwestern, Chicago, WashU St. Louis, Michigan and Wisconsin. I would consider Michigan and Wisconsin to be matches and the other three to be reaches but less of reaches than the ones you listed.</p>

<p>Maryland and Indiana would probably be considered safeties.</p>

<p>Isn’t it true Stanford doesn’t take into account freshman year grades?</p>

<p>To plug my own school, Reed offers a great interdisciplinary major, International and Comparative Policy Studies (ICPS), which would allow you to concentrate on a social science of your choice and examine international relations/politics through its lens. ICPS-History sounds like a program that would suit your interests very well.</p>

<p>And Reed is in a city–Portland, to be precise :)</p>

<p>American, GW, Syracuse, William & Mary, U Richmond</p>

<p>I have heard that about Stanford, but my freshman grades are all A’s. Also, I like the suggestion for Reed. I considered Claremont but ultimately decided against it because it is way out of the city and its campus was strange. </p>

<p>I have no budget.</p>

<p>I will also look into the schools res suggested, specifically Michigan.</p>

<p>Reed is more of a reach than a match/safety. Another alternative in Portland is Lewis and Clark. American is a good suggestion and you might pull in some merit aid.</p>