So if you look at my most recent thread, I was clearly not thinking realistically. I went back through my college list and looked at other colleges that I was interested in, and made another list.
My GPA is a 3.6 UW, and my ACT is a 30 (I am taking the ACT again soon in hopes of raising my score). I’ve taken 2 Subject SAT Tests (Biology (750) and World History (720)) and I am taking the US History Subject SAT Test soon.
I also have done extracurriculars but I won’t list them right now.
So my question is, based on the information that I’ve listed, which one of these colleges are safety, match, and reach colleges??
Here is my list and with my opinion:
- Amherst College (reach)
- Boston University (match)
- Emory (reach)
- Kennesaw State (safety)
- George Washington University (??)
- GA State (safety)
- NYU (low reach)
- Rice University (reach)
- Tulane University (match?)
- UGA (safety)
- UMass Amherst (match)
- UNC at Chapel Hill (reach)
- UVA (reach)
Also I’m not sure if this is balanced enough or if I need more safety colleges…I’m only considering in-state colleges as safety ones, which are GA State and Kennesaw State, and UGA to an extent (UGA has higher requirements than GA State and Kennesaw)…so the only other safety colleges that I could add are probably Berry College (but I wouldn’t want to go there, I’ve visited the campus and I don’t like the area) or Mercer but I wouldn’t go to either of those colleges if I got accepted because I don’t like the area…what are some other safety colleges?
Community Colleges? I’m not sure either tbh, hopefully someone else will give some good advice
uga is not a safety, even instate. its hit or miss if you will be accepted. GW , depending on your passions and EC, could be a match to low reach. for instate Ga southern would be a safety.
@atl444 Not counting your three in-state safeties, which I agree are safeties for you, each of the other schools on your list (other than UMass-Amherst and GWU which are both matches) is a reach due to the highly selective admissons at those other schools (most accept under 25% or 30% of applicants) and your low ACT and gpa in my opinion. Try to find a few more matches and try to get your ACT up by 2 points.
I think your stats look really great! My opinions are pretty much the same as yours. Good Luck my friend! Chance me too http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1971228-please-chance-me-ill-chance-you-back.html#latest
Unless you are LA resident, Tulane is a low reach to reach. They do guarantee admission with a 29 (?) ACT and 3.0 (?) to graduates of a LA HS. Tulane does not have an application fee so by all means give it a shot. They also care about interest so if you are serious, spend quality time on the why Tulane essay. You are not competitive for merit aid at Tulane if that matters.
@Sportsman88 thanks for the information, I’m not a LA resident so I did not know that. My school counselor told met that Tulane would be a match, but I was doubting that, so thanks for the input. Also, can you please explain exactly what merit aid is? The financial aid stuff confuses me.
Merit aid is what you typically think of as academic scholarships. If you got your ACT up to 32, you might get some merit aid at Tulane. Their Net Price Calculator (NPC) asks for GPA and test scores in addition to financial data and then incorporates that it in to the net price which is nice. They give up to $32,000 in merit aid based on the common app and Tulane supplement. There are also limited full tuition scholarships that require a separate application.
If you could get your ACT up to a 32 which is reasonable, you would open doors to more merit aid. There is a thread specifically dedicated to scholarships for a 32. I also think a 32 would bump you more to the match category for Tulane but they are known to be unpredictable with 30’s getting in and 35’s not due to yield protection.
@Sportsman88 alright thank you so much! I’ll definitely look into that and work towards raising my ACT score.
@Sportsman88 Just for the record the current requirements for guaranteed admission for Louisiana high school applicants is a 3.6 unweighted gpa on a 4.0 scale for the core academic subjects, plus at least a 30 on the ACT (this was raised from 28 and 29 in prior years) or a 1400 Score on the new SAT. Plus the applicant must apply Early Action and have no disciplinary blemishes on their record.
Thanks. It was a 29 when my daughter applied but she had a 4.0 so I didn’t remember the GPA. That does give an idea of the minimum bar.
Also, I knew about EA but forgot to mention it. Anyone seriously interested in Tulane should apply EA. ED is available but not necessary. EA is also required for secondary scholarships.
It’s really hard to tell without your ecs, that’s basically half of the package! Assuming they are good, you are pretty much spot on (except uga). Good luck!
@Sportsman88 why should they apply EA?
EA at Tulane gives you an edge on interest and scholarships. Don’t do it if you want to apply SCEA/ED somewhere else that you prefer more.