Need to find tier 1-2 colleges to apply to!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So I've posted a few chance threads before for top schools, but I need a broader list...
I just got deferred from Caltech and Georgetown EA so I wanted to expand. Any suggestions on where to look would be great.</p>

<p>Applying to currently:
[ul][<em>]Harvard,
[</em>]Yale,
[<em>]Princeton,
[</em>]Johns Hopkins,
[<em>]Wash U,
[</em>]Vanderbilt,
[<em>]Tufts,
[</em>]Dartmouth,
[<em>]Amherst,
[</em>]Williams,
[<em>]Wesleyan,
[</em>]Stanford,
[<em>]Caltech,
[</em>]MIT,
[li]Northwestern[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Numbers and Numbers:</p>

<p>SAT M: 800
SAT V: 740
SAT W: 800
SAT C: 2340</p>

<p>SAT Math II: 770
SAT Chemistry: 800
SAT Literature: 720</p>

<p>Class Rank: ~1/35
Small, Private School: rarely sends anyone to Ivy's / any good schools
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White
Geography: Midwest - Ohio
GPA U: 3.95 / 4.00
GPA W: 4.31 / 5.00
*No honors past 8th or 9th grade, hence low weighted GPA
Commonapp essay: About submitting a position paper to the Ohio Congress and receiving an offer of co-sponsorship of a bill
Activity essay: About my long-held interest in photography, an exhibition I have up, and the success of sales
Recs: Should be pretty great
AP U.S. History: 4
AP Literature: 4
AP Calculus AB: 5
AP Calculus BC: 5
AP Psychology: 5
AP Chemistry: 5
AP Statistics: 5</p>

<p>Senior Coursework:
AP Environmental Science
AP Composition
AP Government
AP Physics C - Mechanics
Linear Algebra / Differential Equations
Performance Ensemble Band</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:</p>

<p>National Science Olympiad (10, 11, 12) <--- SCIENCE COMPETITION
-No officers; Founding member; Regional medalist; State medalist</p>

<p>Environmental Club (11, 12) <--- ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM CLUB
-Prepared position paper for Ohio legislature; Presented at International Conference; Founding Member</p>

<p>National Beta Club (9, 10, 11, 12) <--- SERVICE CLUB
-Treasurer, President</p>

<p>Varsity Jazz Band (9, 10, 11, 12) <--- HIGH SCHOOL'S JAZZ BAND
-First Trombone; Approx. 15 concerts/yr</p>

<p>International Thespian Society (9, 10, 11, 12) <--- DRAMA SOCIETY
-Approx. 8 productions/yr; Sound and light design and operation, Honor Bar)</p>

<p>Mock Trial team (9, 10, 11, 12) <--- MOOT COURT
-No officers; Founding member, Outstanding Attorney, Student of the year)</p>

<p>A bunch of other crap...</p>

<p>Awards and Distinctions:
National Merit Semifinalist
AP Scholar with Distinction
AIME Participant and School Winner
International Thespian Society Honor Bar Award (Highest level of distinction)
Front page article in Delaware Gazette for photography exhibition
First Degree Black Belt achieved in Taekwondo
Completion of the Suzuki method of Piano Instruction
Ohio Mathematics League Certificate of Merit for Superior Achievement (9, 10)
Griffin Scholar Award (9, 10, 11, 12; School-awarded merit-based $500 scholarship)
Bunch of Departmental Awards at School..</p>

<p>Science Olympiad awards:
TONS OF REGIONAL MEDALS
State Competition - 12th place team overall (11)
State Competition Personal Medals - 5th place Chemistry Lab (11)</p>

<p>Non-Scholastic Education:
Junior Statesmen of America Symposium, Columbus, OH
National Youth Leadership Forum on Law, Washington, D.C.
Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference, Washington, D.C.
YouthCaN Environmental Conference, New York City, NY </p>

<p>Service Activities:
Peer tutor in: Algebra II, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Statistics (Fall 2009)
Volunteer staff for Vacation Bible School, (Summers 2003-2009)
Youth Works Mission Trip, Steubenville, OH (Summer 2008)
Mission Trip, El Hogar School, Honduras, C.A. (October 2009)
Total volunteer hours throughout high school: 550</p>

2

<p>Your stats truly look great. I think you’re likely to get into at least a couple of the schools on your list.</p>

<p>Idk what to suggest, because idk what you’re interested in.
Random suggestions: Cornell? Columbia? Duke?</p>

3

<p>I’m a little surprised about the Georgetown deferral, so you might want to ask your counselor if he thinks there’s anything in your admissions file that might be problematic–maybe one of the teacher recs was not positive or something. Some private school counselors might be willing to call up Georgetown to see if there was an issue.</p>

<p>If I were you, I would add some safer schools, unless you have safeties you’re not mentioning. Even though it’s late, I might throw in an application to U Mich and consider applying to U Rochester and Lehigh.</p>

4

<p>Oh I should have mentioned that. I’m looking to go into either chemical, environmental, or biomedical engineering (not very specific, I know) so I will probably add U Mich on there because of its good engineering program. </p>

<p>And I’m kind of surprised about Gtown too…more disappointed and worried about my other colleges. I’ll ask my CC to call them up, thanks for the advice guys!</p>

5

<p>How about The Ohio State University?</p>

6

<p>I was fairly confident in being able to get into Georgetown, so I didn’t feel the need to apply to OSU.</p>

<p>Now, I’ve missed the honors program deadline and don’t really want to go non-honors.</p>

7

<p>Have someone new take a look at your essays. Make sure they capture who you are, not just what you have done. You need to sell them on your personality since your grades and scores show that you can clearly do the work.</p>

8

<p>Take a look at Harvey Mudd, part of the Claremont consortium in LA.</p>

9

<p>you may try to rework on your essays. your stats are very good and your class rank is #1. no reason you don’t get strong recs from counselor and teachers. i would say it may be due to your essays. here is the post from upenn’s board:</p>

<hr>

<h2>I attend an Ivy and assisted in the admissions office last year. The vast majority of people on this board believe that their (or their child’s) essays were excellent, but I can tell you from experience that excellent essays are very rare. I’d say around 5% of the essays are excellent. About 40 percent are terrible. The rest range from adequate to slightly above average. The applicant who truly submits a series of excellent essays receives a trememdous boost. I suspect that those accepted with an SAT below 2000 were those with truly excellent essays, and those rejected/deferred with an SAT above 2200 were those with very average essays. That’s how it worked in our office. </h2>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/826353-no-pattern-admission-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/826353-no-pattern-admission-2.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>If you’ll be needing financial aid, UMich won’t meet the need for OOS students. If money is no object, then you’re fine. :)</p>

<p>U Roch is a great suggestion.</p>

<p>What about Duke or Davidson?</p>

<p>Harvey Mudd? RPI?</p>

<p>USC (Calif) - they would likely give you a half tuition scholarship for being NM</p>

11

<p>Despite your apparently very good grades, test scores, and activities, it is a dangerous list–that is, a list that consists totally of the kind of schools that are “reaches for everyone” with the possible exception of the very selective but not as crazily so Vanderbilt and maybe Tufts and WUSTL. Assuming what you’ve said about yourself is all accurate, you may still get into Georgetown, and it is also possible that something doesn’t quite scan here, so like other posters it seems to me you really have to look at your apps again and see if there is a glaring error or omission. Your self-described credentials should get you in to some of your schools but the lack of real matches or safeties suggests a college counselor who may not have been aware of the challenges of present day admissions (or an applicant who didn’t want to hear about them). I think some of the additional school recommendations from other posters are probably helpful.</p>

12

<p>For a low match/safety consider Case Western (with good merit aid).</p>

13

<p>You need a few matches/safeties?</p>

<p>Is money no object?</p>

14

<p>I won’t qualify for any need-based aid, but I would certainly love merit-based.</p>

<p>@mattmom, I realize that my list is all reaches. But to be honest, those are the only places I would be happy going to. I am applying to 16 and aiming to get into 2-3.</p>

15

<p>"I won’t qualify for any need-based aid, but I would certainly love merit-based…</p>

<p>I realize that my list is all reaches. But to be honest, those are the only places I would be happy going to."</p>

<p>How frustrating to feel one is somehow too good for most schools yet hope for merit money, which is hard to come by even at slightly “lesser” schools and often doesn’t cover more than a fraction of the cost of attending.</p>

<p>No advice or help really needed; only the very best (known) will do. The OP probably will get in to a few schools on the original list unless the essay suggests unpalatable arrogance (or carelessness) or the recs damn with faint praise or somehow betray that this apparently very achievement-oriented applicant attends a high school that “rarely sends anyone to Ivy’s / any good schools” and thus may not be as academically powerful as the numbers suggest. </p>

<p>I know feelings can be raw when an applicant has just gotten deferred or denied, and I sympathize. But I don’t sympathize with applicants whose sense of entitlement keeps them from seeing the forest.</p>

16

<p>OP said: “But to be honest, those are the only places I would be happy going to.”</p>

<p>Give me a break.</p>

<p>There are over 3000 4 year colleges in the US and you could only be happy at those 16?</p>

<p>Where are your safety schools; you know, the ones where you have a 75% chance or better of being admitted?</p>

<p>This is “know thyself” issue: you have good stats, like many other kids, so choosing to limit yourself to only these schools - most of which give NO merit aid and most of which are a crapshoot for almost anyone applying is also saying that it’s not that important for you to go to college.</p>

<p>If it were, you would have safeties on your list. END OF LECTURE.</p>

<p>It would be a good idea to have a discussion with someone you trust about the criteria you have - other than Brand Name Prestige - for a college. Then you can use those criteria to do searches through the College Board or P***** R*** to come up with schools you have never heard of that would fit your criteria.</p>

<p>Kei</p>

17

<p>Gtown’s EA acceptance rate is unusual in that it’s no greater than the RD rate. Since you’re deferred, you’ll go into a second reading with an entirely different committee during RD, and you’ll probably be admitted by them. This is what happened to my D two years ago - she was deferred EA at Gtown, then admitted by Gtown in the spring with significant merit aid. Weird.</p>

<p>But yes, you need a safety. If Ohio State or Miami of Ohio don’t turn you on, Mom2collegekids can tell you how to apply to Alabama and be guaranteed free tuition. If you liked Amherst, Williams and Wesleyan, then you could be pretty safe at Carleton and Macalester, which are terrific schools.</p>

18

<p>I would agree that Macalester would be extremely likely, not Carleton, though.</p>

19

<p>Vanderbilt, WashU, and Johns Hopkins all give multiple full/half tuition scholarships based on merit. </p>

<p>Achievement oriented? Yes. I want to achieve things, not sit idly by. </p>

<p>And my school has no bearing on my SAT/AP scores, so that can gauge how “academically powerful” I am.</p>

<p>I seriously think you misunderstand my selection of colleges. It matches up with top college rankings, so what? It didn’t feel like a good fit at a bunch of others, ergo I’m not applying. I’m not making a selection based on pretige, and am very offended you think that.</p>

20

<p>Additionally, I will mostly like add Texas A&M on, which I feel like I have a good chance of getting in to. I’m guaranteed $30,000/year because of National Merit.</p>

<p>I’ll take a look at those other LACs too, thanks</p>