okay, this is the final time i'll ask...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm having a really hard time trying to find out which colleges would be best for me to apply to. I have a friend who is going to Stanford this year, and he has really been pushing me to apply to some of the top-notch schools. I just don't want to waste all of the time and money on applications if I don't have a realistic chance. I've posted stats on this website before, but they keep changing...I've done a lot over the summer. Anyway- here they are...and my list of "hopeful" schools are at the bottom. Thank you for any feedback. I don't mean to be a bother and clog up the forums. </p>

<p>Also, if my stats aren't good enough to qualify for any of my reach schools, could you please recommend some other equally academically strong, but perhaps not as selective, schools?</p>

<p>I want to get the best education available to me, and I don't want to be rejected from every school I apply to.</p>

<p>okay::</p>

<p>GPA: 4.2/4.33
RANK: 4/327</p>

<p>SAT
Math: 710
Verbal: 740
Writing: 770</p>

<p>SATIIs to be taken in October.... (let's be hopeful)</p>

<p>APs
(i go to a school on academic probation for ISTEP scores, so we only offer one or two APs a year.....that sounds bad, but really it's not- it's possible for students to challenge themselves if they really try.)</p>

<p>AP Stats (2005) - 4
AP Biology (2006) - 5</p>

<p>this year...<br>
AP Physics (Independant study...we don't offer it)
AP English
AP Spanish (I have to go to a different school for this one)</p>

<p>I'm also taking a college calculus class next semester</p>

<p>...and I have some random academic awards to my name...just school awards, though. -except for the Brown University Book Award....I'm not sure how that happened. (I heard that those were for local scholars...Indiana is kind of far away from Rhode Island...but I'm not complaining.)</p>

<p>This past summer I went to Stanford University for their high school summer sesson. (it was really cool...but it definately does not help in the admissions process for Stanford.)
I took...
Nature of the Universe (Astrophysics, basically) - A
Calculus (=AP Calc A) - B+
Piano- A
Improv- Pass (those last two were just 2 easy classes I had to fufill my required 8 credit hours...although I do really love piano)</p>

<p>EC's</p>

<p>Cross-country- Captain, 4-year varsity, various awards
Swimming - Captain, 4-year varsity, various awards
Track & Field - Captain, 4-year varsity, various awards</p>

<p>(I am OKAY at all of these, but I'm definately not good enough to be like...recruited by Stanford or anything. ...maybe a smaller school.)</p>

<p>North Side Triathlon Club - Founder/president (this is still under construction...we had our first race at the begining of the summer...fundraising is taking place right now- i'm excited.)</p>

<p>I trained with the Stanford triathlon club this summer.</p>

<p>Student Council- "executive officer"
National Honors Society - secretary (because of my mad typing skills...lol)</p>

<p>I do volunteer work mainly for National Honors Society- helping out with school functions, ect. I also volunteer for the hospital sometimes.</p>

<p>My schools:
Yale, Brown, Stanford, Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Wellesley, Notre Dame</p>

<p>I want to go to these schools
a) for their diversity
b) for their academic rigor</p>

<p>...except for Notre Dame...they're not very diverse...but it's a good school close to home. (I'm a Hoosier)</p>

<p>okay</p>

<p>any ideas, guys? any suggestions of lower-tier schools?</p>

2

<p>I think that all except Notre Dame are real tip top reaches for you. Here are some suggestions for schools that are realistically not as hard to get into for someone with your stats, but are still strongly academic: University of Chicago- is noted for it's academic rigor-[it has the core as does Columbia] Vanderbilt, Carleton, Grinnell, Reed [ another core college], Michigan for starters. You need to look for schools where you are in the 75%of students for SAT scores.</p>

3

<p>It's a stupid system.</p>

<p>You could get into all of these, you could get turned down by all.</p>

<p>Is your family rich enough for you to apply ED? EA/ED strategizing shall commence!</p>

<p>I'd guess that you get into ND and W RD, B/C if you apply ED, and one of HYPS if you apply to P EA, and the other 3 RD.</p>

4

<p>Wellesley and Notre Dame are realistic, but I just have to ask why your list is a bit ecclectic.</p>

<p>If you like universities, then Wellesey is the odd person out.</p>

<p>If you like liberal schools, then Notre Dame is the goose.</p>

<p>If you like small Ivy, then Harvard is out of luck.</p>

<p>If you like LACs, also look at Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Scripps. Or, if you prefer small Ivies, look at Dartmouth. If you like large universities, then Cornell, UPenn, Northwestern may be interesting.</p>

<p>I like the medium universities like JHU, Vandy, Duke, URochester, Tufts, myself.</p>

<p>I guess what I'm trying to say is that besides academic rigor (Swat, Haverford, Grinnell, Pomona, Carleton, Oberlin, etc...surprizingly didn't make the list) and diversity (not that Notre Dame is very diverse), what kind of enviornment do you like?</p>

<p>Maybe we'll then be better able to suggest schools for you. BTW I'm not sure exactly what you mean by lower-tiered, unless you are using the USN ranking, which does not always mirror diversity or rigor. Beware.</p>

<p>Also, don't let your friend push you too much...focus on what you want by clarifying those things that mean the most to you. You have a chance at many colleges, but if there is no focus, then it might show on your apps.</p>

<p>Sorry this is long, but my parents and friends lobbied hard for a top school and it was difficult to resist. I did, but just barely.</p>

5

<p>whoah- a lot of abbreviations there... </p>

<p>"is your family rich enough"
...for 4 of those schools I am applying through a program for low-income students. It's basically like an early-action program, so I'm not allowed to apply early action anywhere else because of it.</p>

<p>thanks for your input- this is exactly what i'm feeling right now. I could be accepted, I could be rejected... </p>

<p>man, this is stressful</p>

6

<p>haha</p>

<p>you have a point there.</p>

<p>I really don't know why Harvard and Princeton are on there... Princeton is in that low-income program and Harvard.... I don't really know... That's probably a very bad thing.</p>

<p>Yale- I am definately in love with Yale. It seems really liberal, which I like- and it has a very good science research thing going on. (I hope to get into scientific research.) Also, they have like...a bazillion club sports and such that I could get into without being on varsity athletics</p>

<p>Columbia- It's in New York, what can I say</p>

<p>Brown- Very liberal, a focus on undergrads... I definately like that.</p>

<p>Stanford - I fell in love with it this summer. They have a TRIATHLON club! No one has triathlon clubs!! Plus, they're in California...California = Health... I'm kind of a health food/fitness nut. ...very science-oriented... I could go on about why I love Stanford</p>

<p>Notre Dame- good school, close to home, my family is Catholic</p>

<p>Wellesley- my mom really loves it for some reason... and I hear that women do better at all-female schools. Everything I've read denotes it as a really really good place to get an education.... Plus, I might be able to run for them.</p>

7

<p>Maybe I'm just really naive about this college thing. (yep, that's an understatement.) </p>

<p>Okay, to me....selective school = diversity</p>

<p>why? because they seem to almost be wildly competing to get representation from every part of the country</p>

<p>and, the students all HAVE to be amazing, because it is so hard to get in- they can choose from everyone- so the students that they DO choose are going to be people who you know are going to WANT to be there, and who are very involved and dedicated with what they do...</p>

<p>I realize that you can find that at any college, but it seemed to me like these would be the places to find it in majority...</p>

8

<p>It's really no wonder your friend is pressuring you to apply to the most selective colleges - you have the resume for it, for sure. Your class rank is excellent, your SAT scores are excellent, and a triple varsity sport athlete all four years of highschool? That is wow. Trust me on this.</p>

<p>But, selective admissions are a crapshoot. The best of the best have been turned down. I would suggest you pick one or two or even three Ivies you are most interested in. Wellesley and Notre Dame are excellent matches. Someone else suggested schools like University of Chicago, Northwestern, Tufts - more great matches that are also extremely prestigious but statistically not as difficult to gain entry into. </p>

<p>If you are into small LACs, try Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Colgate, Kenyon, Vassar, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Emory...</p>

<p>Good luck! You have the resume to be able to craft a list composed entirely of kids' dream schools. But apply smart and don't just apply to all the Ivies! Think about what you want to study and what you want to get out of school...every school you will consider will have great academics, because you are going to go to a great academic school with your profile. The question is just what else do you want...what specializations are you interested in...</p>

9

<p>I'm really interested in science. I don't know if I want to be premed or not- I hear that most premeds are psycho, and I don't agree with the ridiculous costs of healthcare. I really like foreign language, too... (Spanish is one of my favorite classes)... I was thinking...if I DID go into premed, I could do one of those overseas-doctor program things... which would definately be cool.</p>

<p>I met many research scientists this summer doing work with like...evolutionary biology, biochemistry.... things like that. That kind of work seems very interesting to me. I mean- it's like being a professional student! How cool is that! Learning for a living!</p>

10

<p>You can major in other areas and still take the courses needed for med school admissions. That is what I'm doing. Besides, if you major in something else, your chances at med school are greater. Several of my friends/relatives were Comparative Lit, History, Foreign Language majors, and did not have a problem getting into a med school without going pre-med.</p>

<p>As for science, Grinnell has amazing facilities, Reed has great med school placement, and most LACs have more opportunities to do research as a first and second year student (even if they are not in the department).</p>

<p>I understand Yale and Brown, given your reasons. But, my friends at Columbia rarely get outside Harlem and into the city. If you must have NY, I'd say check out Barnard (where you can take classes at all the other schools in the Columbia system), since you are kind of interested in Wellesley.</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr (another single sex school) has a reputation for women in science as well. Mt. Holyoke and Smith do too, plus you can take classes at Amherst and the other schools in the 5-college consortium. Scripps (all women), in CA, is part of the Claremont Colleges (Pomona, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd, and Claremont McKenna) where you can take courses, they are all adjacent to each other, so it's not more than a 10 minute walk to another college in the system.</p>

<p>As for Stanford, you might want to re-think why you like it, especially if it's because of a club. If you have many reasons not due to being a health nut (there's smog, congestion, and high temperatures at times nearby), then its a good choice. </p>

<p>With Notre Dame, I'd think about not including it since it is not a liberal school. Just an idea.</p>

<p>Also, with respect to financial aid, the majority of schools mentioned guarentee to meet need (all except Reed, which does give the gurentee for ED applicants and sophomores+, but otherwise meets about 97% of need), so you'll get help to attend any one of them.</p>

<p>:)</p>

11

<p>Isleboy,
There is virtually no smog in the Stanford area, it has 8000 acres so it's HARDLY congested, and the temperatures are known to be among the nicest in the US. I think you must have been talking about the schools in LA- Scripps/Pomona., etc</p>

12

<p>Might want to look at Holy Cross-top30 LAC which is SAT optional and nice location 1 hour from Boston. HC is a Jesuit school and more liberal than Notre Dame and easier to get into.</p>

13

<p>I think it's more what you compare it to.</p>

<p>Have relatives in Sunnyvale, San Jose, Palo Alto....and the several times I've been there the temps were high, at least compared to Portland and Seattle. The school itself is not congested but much of California (ie. Bay Area, and LA) has bad traffic, although BART in SF is decent for transportation. As for hazy days, there were quite a few days when I last visited, although it usually occurs in the Summer/early Fall, then goes away for the rest of the year.</p>

<p>Again, it is relative. Most of the transplanted Californians in Portland/Seattle would agree and would throw in the high cost of doing things in CA, although New York is just as bad with respect to costs.</p>

14

<p>well, i was at stanford all this summer...
and the weather was WONDERFUL</p>

<p>we had like 2 really hot days... the rest were perfect... sunny, breezy, mid to high 70s... <em>sigh</em></p>

<p>stupid midwestern humidity...</p>

15

<p>LOL...</p>

<p>Midwestern humidity can be thick....</p>

<p>went on an across country college tour with a few friends....UWisconsin had good weather (though winters are cold) and friendly people (when compared to West Coasters)...Wash U was humid and hot, but diverse and less segregated than the West Coast--kids truely mingled (been there several times). Grinnell was warm, but I was very suprized that I liked it so much, friendly students, cool campus, quirky (sort of like Carleton, but a better, lighter feel) but fun atmosphere. Yale was also a bit hot, has a beautiful campus but some of the areas around the university are sketchy--the place is special. Brown was cool and a bit ecclectic, but again, there are sketchy areas around the campus (if you stay aware it isn't bad, according to several undergrads). Barnard/Columbia, I liked a lot, since I got the flavor of city life and although it could be sketchy as well, since I expected it, it seemed less of an issue. Intense but in a good way. Carleton was a bit too quirky for me, but Macalester was better. Both felt a little dark....probably the buildings.</p>

<p>As for weather, CA is a bit on the hot side and does have bad air days (but that is compared to Seattle/Portland) so I'm a little biased, prefer the Pacific Northwest weather, or the dry hot of say northern New Mexico.</p>