Only applying to Reaches - Help!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Well, not really. I do have a safety, but it's a Canadian school so all the US schools that I'm applying to will be either a Reach or a Match. I'm thinking of going into International Relations / Economics / Political Science (haven't set my mind yet!) and here is my rather lengthy college list.</p>

<p>Yale
Princeton
Columbia
Dartmouth
Brown
UPenn
Stanford
Georgetown
Northwestern
UChicago
Johns Hopkins
Tufts
Williams
Amherst
Duke
Emory</p>

<p>My stat isn't too bad - 4.0 / 2200+ SAT / pretty good ECs
I tend to adapt myself to whatever situation, so I don't specifically have "the ideal college" and really, the campus atmosphere and all that are not a too big of a concern for me.
So could anyone cross out/put in universities that you would think are questionable/excellent? Any input will be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Just finish out the USNWR top 20/25ish.</p>

3

<p>mrclassicfreak: All of the schools in your list through Chicago are reaches for everyone. I would advise you to apply to no more than half that number, unless you feel like spending money on application fees.</p>

<p>Secondly: your proposed major(s) are about the most popular everywhere. In part, that means that you will be competing with many students for top grades in college; in part that also means that many schools are aiming to offer good programs in these subjects.</p>

<p>Third: you don’t mention finances. That should be a part of your search/application strategy from the beginning. In turn, that means that (unless you’re already independently wealthy) you need to have a serious talk with your parents about what sort of money will be available for your education.</p>

<p>Tufts, for instance, has excellent programs in these subjects but doesn’t offer merit scholarships - only need-based ones. Johns Hopkins and Emory, on the other hand, do offer merit scholarships. So do Brandeis, Claremont-McKenna and Washington U./St. Louis, for instance.</p>

<p>Finally, do check out your state U system for another safety, particularly if it offers and honors program.</p>

4

<p>Another one of these kind of threads. Ugh! Good grief. Silly, really.</p>

5

<p>Thanks dadofsam! I was actually thinking of WashU!
First of all, I DO have a safety and it’s a definite safety plus I am more than willing to go to that college if everything turns out bad.
Haha, sorry guys, but I’m pretty serious about this. And no, I did not just get my list from USNWR. I have valid reasons on why I would like to apply to these universities - I’m a Canadian and my parents are only willing to pay for the US college tuition if I go to a top-tier school. Don’t get me wrong, these colleges on my list aren’t the only good colleges in the States, but the thing is, don’t just take this as a joke only because my list looks like it’s been directly copied and pasted from USNWR. And as you see, I’m an international so the admission in the US is unbelievably fierce. I’ve been advised several times that it really doesn’t hurt to apply to more than 10 schools but in my case my list has about 16 and I need to get down to the essentials.
Trust me, I know what I’m doing.</p>

6

<p>okay. I take that at face value. Its just that I get so tired of people posting with super stats and then fishing for accolades and compliments by saying “chance me to HYP?” or “Help me, I am a confused kid with brilliant stats!” Its tiring. If these kids are that smart, they can figure out what to do on their own. I digress.</p>

<p>Canada has many fine schools: UToronto, McGill, UAlberta, UBC, etc. The point of college admissions is to find a school where you FIT. A lot of Canadians get in on athletic hooks to Ivy Schools…particularly Ice Hockey or Lacrosse or Soccer. </p>

<p>You should know (and educate your parents) that the moniker of “top school” is really a misnomer. What people often are looking for is “most prestige” or “biggest name”. Truth is, there are MANY top schools in the United States. Some are LACs and some are National Universities and some are even Masters Universities in various regions. </p>

<p>I can understand your parents concern, as they are paying the bills and thus want the biggest bang for their buck. If you intend on returning to Canada upon graduation, then I suppose that big name schools fare the best. </p>

<p>You could pick ANY school in the USNWR top 50 National University rankings..or even as low as top 80 and be at a “top University”. Ditto the LAC’s. It really depends on what you want to do, your major etc.</p>

<p>For example, if you are backstage Carnegie Hall, then theatre is your gig? Or a musician perhaps? Then it really changes…as some Conservatories are NOT associated with the big names but are absolutely superb “colleges.”</p>

<p>So tell me more about yourself, your PERSONALITY, your interests, your level of adventurism, your desire to see something different or contribute something special to the school, whether urban or rural, campus or not, athletics or not, big city or not, etc…so that we can help you narrow your search for the RIGHT school for YOU PERSONALLY. Then we can help you convince your parents its worth the price of admission.</p>

<p>You should know that the Ivy League does NOT give academic scholarships. They give financial aid to those with need. You should know that schools that are lower ranked…40-100 for example, would likely POUR on the scholarship money to you with those stats and thus they may be a better financial fit for you and your family, yet still provide a superior educational experience and job market opportunities. Again, if its theatre or performing arts it makes a big difference, so tell us what you want to do.</p>

7

<p>haha thanks a lot! You made some critical points that I wasn’t too aware of. I’m not going into Fine Arts, but I am an avid (more like obsessive :D) musician as you can probably tell from my username. I play piano competitively, but I took it off for an year for some change in my playing style and techniques. I really don’t mind whether a school is in an urban or a rural area and it’d be okay to have athletics but I really don’t mind not having that atmosphere around my school. I haven’t exactly landed on a specific major so I’d like some time in college to think about the options I have and find out what I’m truly interested in.
And Yes, money is a big issue. I was thinking of applying FA to schools that have need-blind policy but my parents are willing to pay for tuitions if I don’t get FA. I might consider applying to some schools for merits and FA, but really, my dad own a business and it’s pretty hard to predict the outlooks so it might be a good idea to have something to fall back on.
I love McGill and will be definitely applying there!</p>

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<p>That’s exactly what I thought!</p>

9

<p>don’t listen to any of these people here…i had the same stats and heard crap from everyone about not apply to that many “reaches and matches” guaranteed w/ your stats you’ll get into one…take it from someone w/ 2200+ Sat and 4.0 GPA as well…just work on your essays i applied to the top 30 schools on USNWR and got into every single one…also you can you use fee waivers to pay for all of those schools</p>

10

<p>lex: I made NO suggestion he wouldnt get in where he applied. My focus was on fit…and with the information. For those most interested in “prestige” then the big name and rankings list is obviously where you begin and likely end your search. But if prestige is not the driving factor, then a broader perspective is in line. And all the kids with 2200 SAT scores are not only at the top 25schools. They apply and attend schools MUCH further down the list for a myriad of reasons: fit and finances being the top two reasons.</p>

11

<p>If you already have a school where you would like to go and is very likely to take you, go to town with the reaches! Just don’t bite off more than you can chew. Some kids are organized and can apply to a large number of schools. Others do much, much better with a smaller number. It becomes a process of diminishing returns as they add too many colleges. Remember, you have to do all of the apps, many of which have supplements. Some of those schools have interviews they want you to have. You have to keep track of everything, and mistakes do happen. As you add more schools, more mistakes occur. And you need to keep up your grades senior year as well.</p>

12

<p>any particular reason why Cornell, Harvard, and MIT aren’t on that list? Seemed odd that they weren’t.</p>

13

<p>Instead of looking for more, I would slash down the number of colleges on your list to half of what it is right now. I recommend 9-10 max. If you like to major in something in the social sciences field, I would start by crossing off Johns Hopkins. If you really don’t have any preferences, I would pair one college with another that’s similar (such as Williams and Amherst) and pick one out of the two.</p>

14

<p>By all means, apply to all of those if you really want to! Just make sure to get it through your head that it is not unusual for people to be rejected from every single school except their safety. This is CC, and you shouldn’t expect or hope to be accepted to most of your matches/reaches like many people on here are.</p>

15

<p>Is the list in the order of preference?</p>

16

<p>I don’t have a good bead on IR but for a combination of econ and poli sci the faculty strengths of the major research universities would break down something like this:</p>

<ol>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Chicago
3 (tie). Stanford
3 (tie). Yale
3 (tie) Berkeley</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Michigan</li>
<li>UCLA</li>
</ol>

<p>According to the an article published in the March/April 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, the top undergrad IR programs are:</p>

<p>Top 20 Undergraduate Programs</p>

<ol>
<li>Harvard University</li>
<li>Princeton University</li>
<li>Stanford University </li>
<li>Georgetown University</li>
<li>Columbia University</li>
<li>Yale University</li>
<li>University of Chicago</li>
<li>University of California-Berkeley</li>
<li>Dartmouth College</li>
<li>George Washington University</li>
<li>American University</li>
<li>University of Michigan</li>
<li>Tufts University</li>
<li>Swarthmore College</li>
<li>University of California-San Diego</li>
<li>Cornell University</li>
<li>Brown University</li>
<li>Williams College</li>
<li>Duke University</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins University</li>
</ol>

<p>Combining these lists, I’d say Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, and Chicago ought to be at the top of your list, but Berkeley and Michigan definitely belong there as well. You already have Williams but don’t forget Swarthmore. Brown, Penn, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Emory are all fine schools but not quite as strong in your areas of interest as the others listed. Georgetown and Tufts are both terrific in IR, but less so in the other areas. You should also take a close look at the PPE program at Claremont-McKenna. </p>

<p>Bottom line, though, all these schools are very different from each other. You say “the campus atmosphere and all that are not too big of a concern for me,” but I think that means you really don’t know the schools well enough, and perhaps you don’t yet know yourself well enough, to be clear about your preferences. Some of these schools have a lefty/progressive student body, others are more conservative, other less politically oriented. Some have a highly intellectual atmosphere, others less so. Some are bigger party schools, others less so. It would be a sad commentary on where you are in your personal development if the ONLY thing that matters to you is prestige; I find that difficult to accept at face value.</p>

<p>Finally, if your “safety” is a school you’d be genuinely happy to attend, why not shoot for the moon on “reaches”? You may strike out completely; if so, you just go to your safety, no problem. Or you may hit the jackpot and be admitted to the school of your dreams. But first you need to do a little more sorting of your dreams to be clear on what they are, beyond simply attending a “prestigious” U.S. school.</p>

17

<p>Thanks everyone!
sexycani: No, it’s definitely not in order of preference! I just wrote them down in random order.
I think I’m going to take the advice of “shooting for the moon”, and if worst comes to worst I’ll land on a star and I’d still be happy to attend my safety. I highly doubt I’ll be able to make it to HYP, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to at least try.
So here’s my new list:
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Columbia (ED?)
Brown
Dartmouth
Stanford
UChicago
Georgetown
Williams
Tufts</p>

<p>I added in H and P and crossed out Northwestern, Emory, Duke, UPenn and Amherst. It’s really scary applying to HYPS I must say, but now the total number comes out to 11. Finally I have an entire list made up of reach schools. YAY? :stuck_out_tongue: Honestly I’d love to attend any one of these schools not just for their names, but for excellent quality of education and everything that the schools have to offer.
And one more thing. I still need to consider my school factor. I come from an average public school with almost no one applying to top US schools. We’ve had several Cornells/Northwesterns/BCs (and I think one Stanford many years back) but nothing really other than that. I’ll be the first kid in my school district’s history to apply to so many Ivies.</p>