NJ Student Looking for NE Schools

<p>Well, I figured I might as well enlist the expertise of the CC members at picking out some schools to look at. First my statistics:</p>

<p>GPA:3.9(uw) (school doesn't weight)
SAT: 670M 670CR 590WR (1930) - I plan on retaking for at least a 2100, 1410 on the 1600 scale
Act: (took in June)
Class Rank: School doesn't rank.
Stats of School: Average SATs over 1320 (M+V) a Public Magnet School</p>

<p>Current List:
Reaches:
Cornell
Princeton (ED)
University of Pennsylvania</p>

<p>Matches:
The College of New Jersey
Boston College
Boston University</p>

<p>Safeties:</p>

<p>Saint Peter's College
Rutgers
Seton Hall</p>

<p>I'm interested only in schools in the Northeast.</p>

<p>Thanks. :)</p>

<p>Would help if you stated what sorts of majors you're interested. But this might help:</p>

<p>Better Safeties: Clark University, Fordham, Union College, University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire, Northeastern, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Fairfield, Providence.</p>

<p>Add to matches: Villanova, Rochester, Lafayette, Holy Cross, Trinity College, Connecticut College.</p>

<p>Are you interested in liberal arts colleges or not?</p>

<p>Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaa NJ, okay, now that that's aside, um you should pretty much be fine on your safeties. TCNJ should also be easy especially since a) it is practically in-state undergraduates (95%), b) recent media scandal will scare away applicants, c) and the fact that they are dropping their merit scholarship program will scare away competitive applicants. Okay moving on BU should be about a very nice match for you. I have three friends all going who have similar stats to you, though it can only be certain when I know your EC's and perhaps if you do a decile or quartile system since a) two of them (a guy and a girl) were in the top 10 percent and the other girl was co-class pres. Okay moving on, you know that girl who was in the top 10 percent, well she was the co-class president with the other girl, and she did EA to BC, and she actually got flat out rejected. But nonetheless, this doesn't mean anything if your going school by school, and if in fact your school is known for being more intense and all that jazz. Nonetheless, three people from my school did get into BC this year. One had a 2350 and was valedictorian, the second got a 2380 (780 math) ranked fifth and was a grand pianist, and the third was me with a 2000 ranked 3rd and a URM, so though I don't see you matching with any of these profiles, that obviously doesn't mean very much, other than you don't fit into any of these profiles. But nonetheless, this is kind of difficult considering you haven't shown EC's and possible ranking system, so all in all l would say your chances are equal to those getting in so about 25/30%. Finally your reaches, doing ED to Princeton is obviously helpful since you are pretty much doubling your chances here about 20% vs. about 10% RD. Granted however, you really haven't seperated yourself from the pack though Princeton is about 15% in-state. I know when I did RD I had three hooks, URM status, first activitiy listed as dominoes (there is more to it than that)and self-teaching AP chemistry curriculum, so those three helped me overcome obstacles. Overall, applying ED will probably get you deferred giving you about 3/5% chance. Cornell will be a little bit better, though Cornell is def more by the numbers so def try to get those up, though the average testtaker fails to improve by more than 30 pts from testtaking to testtaking. However Cornell does accepted about 25/27%, and once again when I applied I set myself apart though for Cornell I'm a little less worried. I would put your chances at about 10/15% assuming your numbers go up, your EC's are a bit above average and you have a credited school (like perhaps you go to McNair or that one school with Technology in it's name, I'm forgetting it now), finally UPenn, a school I don't know much about. My friend who was ranked fifth, well I think he had been rejected and he was pretty good all around, could have broken is musical/academic EC's however and failed to have leadership, which is perhaps where you can break off from him. I'll give you about 5/7% chance. Granted these are my opinions, which obviously don't imply fact, so I say shoot for the stars, for regardless of if you make it or not, at least you're reaching for something, and how many can say that. So good luck, and have fun senior year, it was awesome for me this year, and it should go well for you too. :)</p>

<p>Yeah...I should've mentioned what major I was interested in. I'm interested mostly in Mathematics, although of course that could change quite quickly. I'm not really opposed to liberal arts colleges; it doesn't bother me.</p>

<p>My ECs certainly would help...here goes nothing...</p>

<p>High School Youth Ministry- 9-12
Altar Serving- 9-12
4-H Archery Club- 9-10
Boy Scouts (working on eagle)- 9-12
National Honor Society- 11-12
School's Online Newspaper- 11-12
Multicultural Club- 9,11
College Confidential (not sure if this counts for anything)- 11-12
Magnet Youth Group- 10,12
Teaching myself Calculus AB this summer- 11/12 (between grades)
Robotics Club- 9,10,11</p>

<p>Leadership Positions:
TEAM (Teens Engaged in Active Ministry)- Leadership Program of HS Youth Ministry-11-12
Co-President Magnet Youth Group-12
Altar Server Leader-9-12
Co-Editor in Chief- Magnet Online Newspaper-11-12
4-H Archery Club President- 10
Patrol Leader (Boy Scouts)- 9,10</p>

<p>I think that's it....might be missing a few.</p>

<p>I will look into those safeties; only one of my safeties is really set in stone: Saint Peter's College, solely because I visited, liked it, and my grandfather went there a long time ago.</p>

<p>TCNJ dropped their merit program....that stinks; I need financial aid big time.</p>

<p>How funny I'm going to be a math major this year. Well anyway, yea I'm pretty positive TCNJ dropped their merit program b/c they lost funding so that this year will be their last year class of '10 so my two friends tell me. Also, um Boy Scouts and your TEAM is def a help. It looks like BC is going to be a little more comfortable for you, though I would only bring you reaches up like 2-5%. But do you go to Mcnair or that school with Technology in the name b/c if you do that would def be a big help, but overall it's tough to call and schools are much more a lottery than anything these days so def continue to dream big.</p>

<p>Uhh...I got to Union County Magnet High School; it's not High Technology High, but it's ranked #3 in the state for SAT scores amongst all schools (including magnets) Our school isn't as old as High Tech High, but it still has won some major awards.</p>

<p>Any more suggestions?</p>

<p>I'd add Lehigh (PA).</p>

<p>schools i would check out...</p>

<p>larger liberal arts colleges: bates, bucknell, colgate, holy cross, lafayette, wesleyan</p>

<p>additional national unis: carnegie mellon, case western, lehigh, rochester</p>

<p>I wouldn't waste your ED shot on Princeton. Sorry to be blunt, but there isn't much chance of acceptance. The Ivys are a huge reach for you. I would focus more on the Colgate/Lafayette tier. Lots of excellent schools.</p>

<p>Yeah, I know this already. Currently according to some curves I've been looking it, I have around a 10% chance of admission. Boosting my scores to where I want them to be will double my chances to 20%, although this doesn't take into account the ED boost, if any.</p>

<p>Oh, and by NE I mean Northeastern, not New England, if anyone was confused by that.</p>

<p>I think ED'ing at Penn may be better than ED'ing at Princeton, just cause Penn is openly kinder to their ED apps while Princeton claims to be neutral.</p>

<p>I really wouldn't list "college confidential" as an activity.</p>

<p>Yea, and the numbers show it, for in 2003:
Princeton ED: 2413 applied - 20% accepted
U Penn ED: 3390 applied - 33% accepted</p>

<p>Think about...</p>

<p>Richard Stockton College (NJ)
Manhattan College
Fordham University (NY)
Canisius College (NY)
Connecticut College
Rensalaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
Ithaca College (NY)
The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Temple University</p>

<p>Second the other poster who mentioned Northeastern....My son got waitlisted at BU with better stats and ECs but got into Northeastern with a nice merit (not need) scholarship.</p>

<p>If you're really serious about Princeton ED, read this thread first. The numbers can be misleading. ED is easier, but by no means is it EASY.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=125511%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=125511&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>There are a TON of quality school within the NE US that you could focus on and offer mathematics. If financial aid is v. imp. to you then use that as a factor in limiting your list.</p>

<p>Also really think about whether you want a rural or urban/suburban setting. Many of the schools already mentioned are in very different environments...so start to get a handle on that for yourself. For eg. if you don't mind the hustle & bustle of most parts of NJ (or Jersey City where St. Peter's is) you might really feel isolated if you look at a school like Bucknell.
Good luck!</p>

<p>Whoops, forgot to mention that. I much prefer a suburban environment or an "enclosed" urban environment (not like NYU).</p>

<p>I did read the Pton ED admission thread; it gave me at least some semblance of hope.</p>