Need to narrow down my college list and add more match schools

College Search & Selection
1

Hey everyone, I’m trying to cut my college list down to around 12 colleges at the most, but I’m not entirely sure which ones I should forego applying to. I ended up having a lot of reaches on my list as well because of my parents (unrealistic) expectations for me, so I need to incorporate some more safeties and matches into my list but I don’t know where to start. I’m not sure what I want to major in yet, but I’m looking at psych, design, and social science fields right now. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Stats:

  • []Asian female from Arkansas
    [    ]Middle-class, money isn’t a huge issue
    []GPA (unweighted): 4.0
    [    ]GPA (weighted): 4.3
    []Ranked 3/~600 but high school isn’t very competitive (it’s ranked 9th in the state)
    [    ]33 ACT (E36) (M27) (R35) (S35) (Essay 9), 34 superscore with a 29 in Math
    []1420 SAT (M650) (E770) (Essay 6/7/8) – will try to retake
    [    ]14 APs (mostly 5’s)

Activites:

[ul]
[]design editor of my school’s literary magazine
[]writer of the year and 1st place design at a state arts competition
[]officer for world language club, culture club, and history club
[]member of NHS and NGHS
[li]member of the Teen Advisory Board at the public library[/li][/ul]

What I’m Looking for:

[ul]
[]mild weather
[]no religious affiliation
[li]somewhere near a decently sized city [/li][/ul]

Broad List as of now:
Reaches that parents really want me to apply to?:

[ul]
[]Stanford
[]UChicago
[]Williams
[]Carnegie Mellon
[]UC Berkeley
[]Northwestern
[li]Vanderbilt[/li][/ul]

Reaches that I’m also interested in:

[ul]
[]Yale
[]Pomona
[]Brown
[]UPenn
[li]Bowdoin[/li][/ul]

Matches:

[ul]
[]WashU
[]Boston University
[]Boston College
[]NYU
[li]UT Austin[/li][/ul]

Safeties:

[ul]
[]University of Arkansas (in-state)
[]KSU
[li]OSU[/li][/ul]

Thanks for reading

2

If you are middle class, then how is money not an issue? UT Austin, for example, isn’t going to give you any need based aid. Same story with Berkeley. Most middle class families can’t come up with $200,000+ for college. NYU gives notoriously poor aid as well. So I’d drop those 3 right away. OSU (Ohio State?) may or may not be affordable. They’ve given some good aid to OOS students in the past, but I might have heard that they are cutting back on that. It escapes me which one, but either BU or BC assumes you will tap your house equity to pay your EFC there, so that causes a lot of affordability issues. Make sure you run the net price calculator on all your schools.

Are your parents willing to pay for all those applications (don’t forget the cost to send scores and the CSS profile, too)?

You do have too many reaches. I see no evidence of the “pop” needed for Stanford or Yale. Your math score is going to be noticed at most of the others, and could hurt you. Like at UChicago. Why is Bowdoin on your list if you want to be near a city?

I’d add a few more lower ranked schools. How about Scripps, if you like Pomona?

Being honest, I’d drop all the reaches except CMU, Northwestern, and one more of your choice. Then I’d keep Wash U and whichever of the Boston schools that doesn’t use home equity in their FA equation. And I’d find 2 other matches to add (Scripps? Haverford?). I’d say you’d have a decent shot at Wellesley, too.

3

DD2 had relatively similar stats to you, and is a biology and fine arts major (she’s into realistic oil painting). She just started at Colorado College last month, and is deliriously happy. She fits right into the campus culture as a Christian, vegan, outdoorsy hipster who loves learning. Weather is beautiful - college has great relationship with Colorado College, which is a decent sized city in a beautiful area. The big draw is the “block program” which appealed to her diverse interests. Basically, you take one class at a time for 17 days straight, and then have four days off. So far, it is far exceeding her expectations, which were very high. DD1 went to Boston University, which was her first choice. BU was perfect for her - she is a sophisticated urbanite who travels all over and loves the quick access to all kinds of interesting spots. BU’s student body tends to spend a LOT of time off campus and is well integrated into the city of Boston, whereas Boston College is in a quiet suburb and is more of a traditional “enclave” spot. CC has a 15% admission rate (something like 5% for regular admission, but much higher for ED), and it’s getting lower every year. Pay close close attention to the art programs when you apply: there are very dramatic differences in the perspective and output. An extreme example: Brown vs Tufts. Brown’s fine arts program looked quite weak: it appears they depend on RISD a little too heavily to us. If she were to go to RISD, there were a TON of required courses before she could focus on her specialized interests. At Tufts, there were almost NOT required courses for their art program: you basically self-designed your program from the get go. Extremely divergent styles. We loved Tufts dual degree program - it was probably a strong second choice. We also were impressed with the quality of Santa Clara University’s art and science programs. It is a Jesuit school, but I would say it is minimally religious.

4

Are you a Junior? Your parents may not be aware that many of the schools on their reach give absolutely no merit scholarships. Therefore, as middle class you may be on the hook for upwards of $275K for four years. The absolutely best quick reference to how much merit aid is given at a variety of quality schools is this article: https://www.kiplinger.com/article/college/T014-C000-S002-how-we-rank-the-best-college-values-2018.html. The big idea is that many if not most top tier schools do not give out merit aid, and “all our students are meritous.” Make sure that you have the financial conversation early - I’d go through each school’s net price estimating calculator, couple it with the Kiplinger list, and make sure your parents have committed. There are stories all over this board of students who were crushed in their senior year because their parents didn’t realize what their share of costs would be until late in the process.

5

If you have an aversion to colder weather, this would impact your impressions of Bowdoin, Williams, Chicago, Northwestern, BC, BU, Brown, Yale, CMU and WUStL.

6

Your academic achievements are high, but ECs on the lighter side. I would make sure you could see yourself at your safeties, and they are affordable.

The schools on your list are very different in vibe, setting and size with schools of 2,000 to 50,000, suggesting further introspection is necessary.

You mention the desire for mild weather so might want to rethink many of the schools on your list. Of course mild means different things to different people, but Chicago, Brunswick, New York, Boston, Williamstown, Providence, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, do not meet many people’s definition of mild weather. All can have long, cold winters with varying levels of snowfall.

Further, Williams and bowdoin aren’t close to decent sized cities either. And no religious affiliation will remove BC from your list.

I would add more matches, and hesitate to call WashU a match. Take some time to think about the size school you want, the vibe, and geography and take another crack at building your list from the bottom up.

7

Pitzer might suit you more than Pomona.

With your weather preference aside, Vassar would be a good academic fit for you.

8

Do you think you prefer a large school? It sounds like your parents have strong opinions and are very into “name value”…would they allow you to go to a smaller or lesser known school (not that these aren’t as good, in most cases they are, but some people get really stuck on the big names and “top 20” rankings. Let us know. Also is OSU Oklahoma State or Ohio State, because Ohio is not mild weather. Also I agree WashU might be like a low reach.

9

I agree with the above posters that WashU is probably not a match; nor is UT-Austin for OOS applicants.

Also, your preference for mild weather should eliminate all schools that you have listed which are above the Mason-Dixon line.

What about Emory University in Atlanta? Tulane University in New Orleans? Rhodes College in Memphis? Furman University in Greenville, SC?

10

Regarding climate, note that the average January low temperatures for New York City, Philadelphia and Nashville all round to 26 degrees.

(Sperling’s.)

11

First, sort out the finance. Few middle class families can write a $70,000 check every year for 4 years so sit down with your parents and run the Net Price Calculator at a few schools. Many families (like mine) are stunned to realize we are full pay for schools.

Next, talk with your parents about culling their reach list down to 1-2 schools that they want you to apply to, even though the chances of rejections are just about certain. If you are not Comp Sci at CMU, that, plus Northwestern and Vandy might be reaches to keep on the list. Chicago, Stanford etc. are not. Then pick 1-2 from your own reach list. As others have said, Williams and Bowdoin are not near cities and do not have mild winters, so they can come off. Maybe U Penn or Yale stays on as a super reach. Personally, I don’t see how Wash U is a match for anyone, that is a reach. UT Austin for out of state students is a tough admit, so again, unless your school routinely sends students with your profile there, I don’t see how that is a match. Emory might be worth adding as a reach as it is warmer, close to urban life.

Match schools: Rhodes in Memphis gives merit. Centre in KY also gives merit but is not particularly near a city. Tulane is urban, may give merit, and is more low reach/match. Denison is a match, less than 30 min from Columbus, great fine arts though does not have a design major, may give merit, winters are still cold but not as brutal as further north. Closer to a safety might include University of Cincinnati has strong art and design programs, I believe, and may give merit, also has warmer temps.

12

Mt. Holyoke – match and has a sun porch in every dorm. Very homey. That might make up for some of the winter. It also offers merit. – Also a consortium school which opens several top schools to you and free transport to all schools. More rural but close to a small town. If you want to give up the sunrooms and be closer to town, try Smith. It also gives merit and need-based aid.

Bryn Mawr – A little further south. Also a consortium school which opens several top schools to you and free transport to all schools (including Haverford, Swarthmore, UPenn) Near a city.

Agnes Scott – in the south and has cross registratoin with Emory in the Atlanta area – they’d give you merit.

American U in Washington DC – checks all of your boxes.

I echo Rhodes. Also look at Hendrix – maybe it’s close enough to a city. Very nice program.

Mills – has lowered tuition, nice education in Bay Area, cross reg with Berkeley.

Southwestern University is 40 miles outside of Austin TX – they would prob give you merit. Nice school.

13

Thanks for the detailed responses everyone – I didn’t think I’d get so many, but I truly appreciate the help. This is my first time posting on this site, so I hope responding to everyone in a giant post is an okay thing to do.

In response to the general questions I’ve gotten repeatedly (sorry, I should have clarified more in my initial post):

  • OSU is Oklahoma State University
  • While I do prefer mild weather, I am okay with colder weather as long as it is a good school; I’m used to it getting to around -26 during the winter where I live. You can always put on more clothes. Snowstorms might be rough though. Hotter weather over 95 may be difficult for me though, because I have really bad skin that acts up.
  • On further introspection for more parameters to narrow the list down, I guess I’d like a suburban-urban area where cars aren’t needed to get places (can’t drive), a middle-small sized college, new(er) dorms, and colleges that offer work-study and study abroad programs

@intparent Currently I’m relying a lot on a lot of outside family who are willing to help me financially because they don’t have children of their own. Based on the responses I’ve gotten though, I get the feeling that a financial talk with my parents will be very crucial and I plan on doing that this week. I feel obligated to apply to Berkeley because it is one of the schools my parents took me to visit, but I do think I’ll be dropping the colleges you suggested. How much will my lower math scores matter for the lower acceptance rate schools if I do not plan on pursuing anything related to the STEM field? Thanks so much for the recommendations! I’ll check them out. Also, do you think any of the UC schools would be a match for me? I have family in CA, and my parents really want me to go to that area.

@shoot4moon CC sounds like a really cool school, but 'm not a super outdoorsy person because I have some severe allergies…Will think about it though, because the block program sounds very interesting. I think Boston and Tufts might end up going onto my final list. I’m a senior - a lot of my colleges choices have been based on my friends who have been accepted (Vandy, WashU, Yale, Emory, Northwestern) that have somewhat similar financial situations, but I’ll definitely go through that and talk to my parents about it.

@Mwfan1921 I think I’d be okay with staying in-state at the U of A (would probably get close to a full ride because my dad works as a professor there) and perhaps transferring for grad school. The differences in vibe/etc. account for my general indecisiveness I guess. I don’t particularly mind whether it is a big or small school because I can see the pros and work with each. As for vibe, I guess as long as the student body isn’t too stressed or preppy, I’d be okay. I’m not sure if that cancels out any of the schools on my list.

@TS0104 I’m not entirely sure. On one hand, bigger schools would allow me more chances to find niches I can fit in, but smaller schools would allow for more connection between teachers and other students. I am a naturally shy person, though, so if I were to go to a bigger school, I may be hesitant to ask anyone for help (but it may help me break out of my comfort zone) – I think if I applied to some bigger name schools, got rejected, and then went to a lesser known school, they’d be okay with it haha.

@merc81 @gandalf78 @Midwestmomofboys @Dustyfeathers Thank you so much for the recommendations!

14

Best of luck to you!

15

As soon as outside family members start contributing money for your education, it has to be reported in the next financial aid cycle and it likely reduces any financial aid you are getting based on your parent’s income. I’d be super reluctant to rely on relatives over 4 years to cover a bill like UCB’s, too (but they aren’t going to give you any aid to start with).

Why don’t you apply to CA schools that will give you aid? Scripps and Occidental, for example.

Your math score is quite low. It will still hurt you.

16

Thanks for the additional detail @solosis. I like a number of the additional suggestions so far, including Emory, Vassar, Tulane, Santa Clara, Vandy, Rhodes, Tufts, and various women’s colleges. Some reaches, some matches. Keep the schools on your initial list that fit your criteria. Perhaps look at Occidental, Wake Forest, U Richmond, College of William and Mary, too. While some of these schools listed aren’t in walking distance to town, many have shuttles, so it could be ok even tho you don’t drive. Good luck, keep us updated!

17

Emory, Rhodes, Tulane, and SMU are all in good sized, warm cities. Although these schools except for Tulane are affiliated with a religious denomination, the religious affiliation does not dominate campus life. When my daughter toured SMU, the guide joked that it was “Somewhat Methodist University.” Rhodes and SMU should be academic safeties for you, and you should get merit from both. Emory and Tulane would be matches, and you might get some merit there as well.

18

@Houston1021’s photo suggests another possibility: Rice University, in Houston, TX.

19

I was going to suggest Rice, but I thought she was looking for more matches and safeties. Rice would fit the bill for warm weather, big city, and no religious affiliation, but Rice would be another high match/reach school. My daughter is a Psych/English double major at Rice and loves it.

20

@Houston1021
@solosis
WashU, and Emory are not Matches for you, OP. And, I not sure NYU is either.