Please help; I don't know where I stand and can't decide on target schools

College Search & Selection
1

Hi guys, sorry about a chance post but I need to submit a list of target schools this week and have no idea what they should be. I’m an international student at a really small school and am quite lost with how competent I am; please tell me your thoughts. Thank you! I am a rising senior.

STATS

  • Female from Japan
  • International applicant.
  • Applying as sociology major, maybe political science

SAT I: 1500 (R&W 750 / MATH 750) (retaking them one last time)
SAT II: 790 Math II, 650 World History, 720 on Physics (WH and Physics were supposed to be cancelled… our AP Coordinator made a mistake and scores were out for everyone after she retired. Will re-take them.)
GPA: W 4.45 / UW 3.99
Rank: Unavailable

AP’s: (we have a number limit of 3 courses each year)

  • AP World - 5
  • AP Lang - 5
  • AP Calc BC - 5
  • AP Stats - 4
  • AP Human Geography - 4

Senior Year Courses (four courses is the maximum)

  • AP CompGov
  • AP Lit
  • AP USH
  • AP Calc AB (The school told me I have to take the course for college recognition even though I have an AP score… Calc BC isn’t offered.)

Awards:

  • Principle’s award in G9 and G11 (2 students out of the whole grade)
  • Communication award in school
  • AP scholar with Honor
  • About 3 MUN awards
  • Language competition 1st place (outside of school)

Distinctions

  • Sophomore class President
  • Junior class VP
  • Senior class president

Activities/Extracurriculars briefly:

  • NHS Member
  • Founded a club that looks into communities with people with disabilities; studying their culture etc
  • Translations of a book regarding cultures of different communities
  • Leader of MUN, Mock trial club
  • Participated in a handful of MUN conferences
  • Participated in activities outside of school as a newspaper editor, writer etc
  • Visited other asian countries for volunteering purposes for 4 years
  • Taught english to an elementary school near our school for 4 years
  • Starting player of Volleyball, basketball, and soccer
  • Translated at conferences regarding disabled women’s rights
  • Internship at a lawmaking firm for 4 weeks this summer
  • Internship at China and researching about their culture in sophomore summer for 2 weeks
  • Internship at a Bio lab after freshman year for 2 weeks
  • Volunteered at the Paralympics
  • Advanced Orchestra for 4 years, selected into school combined orchestra

Recommendations:

  • AP HumanGeo / AP World Teacher - We’re really close; I’m expecting a good rec
  • AP Physics / stats Teacher - She knows I work hard
  • Counselor Rec - My counselor came to our school just this year and doesn’t know us well… a bit worried.

I generally think my ECs are strong enough but my test scores aren’t the best and I’m an asian international applicant. Please help! Thank you :slight_smile:

2

Smith, Hamilton, Bates, Pitzer, Mt. Holyoke, George Washington.

3

There are a ton of colleges of all types in all environments in the US. The very tippy-top are low odds for anyone who isn’t hooked or amazing. What preferences do you have and what can you afford to pay? Also, why not college in Japan? UK? Know other languages?

4

@pigeon001, Is the college location important? Some schools, such as Hamilton, are located in the middle of nowhere.

Source: Princeton Review

Many schools, such as Smith, are located in vibrant college towns.

http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/11/northampton_named_on_of_the_to.html

5

I know Japanese and English best, while can speak Korean and (limited) Mandarin. My family’s moving to the US the year I graduate and I don’t want to be alone in Japan. I did find a lot online about how it’s all about the “fit” in the US; I prefer a place that’s quite social/active and not too isolated or closed but class size or anything isn’t really the biggest concern. Money isn’t a concern yet either. Thank you so much for the response!

6

@merc81 I’ll definitely look those colleges up. thank you!

7

@merc81 I’ll definitely look those colleges up. thank you!

8

Congratulations on your hard work and success! Yes, there are a couple of thousand universities with campuses in the US. It would be helpful to those recommending to have some idea of your general preferences.

Would you prefer a small liberal arts college (LAC), which usually have 1800-3000 students? Would you prefer a mid-size university, say 5000-15,000 students? Would you prefer a large state university (over 15,000 students)? (My cutoffs are pretty random.)

Would you prefer to be in a large city (NYC, LA, SF, Chicago, Atlanta) or a smaller city (Cincinnati, Winston-Salem, Portland)? Or, would you prefer to be in a college town like Ann Arbor (University of Michigan), Chapel Hill (UNC), Madison (University of Wisconsin)? These often have maybe 100,000 residents, give or take, and the town is geared toward the school. Or, would you prefer a small LAC in a small town. Many great LACs, like Hamilton, Amherst, etc. are in very small towns and student life, as a result, is very campus focused.

Are smaller classes and routinely close interaction with professors especially important to you? LACs often have a professor:student ratio of 8 to 12 to 1. Larger state university have larger classes and have ratios of 14 to 20 to 1.

How important is weather? The Northeast (New England) probably has the highest density of outstanding schools that provide generous aid. It and the Upper Midwest have very cold, snowy weather. Of course, that’s fine with many students, but not everyone.

Is diversity a critical factor for you? Schools in CA and the West Coast and generally, not always, state schools in diverse states and those in urban locations tend to have more diverse communities. You will find diversity most places now, but the extent does vary quite a bit.

Is Greek life (fraternities and sororities) a plus, minus, or neutral for you? It can be an important part of the social life at a school but some schools have no Greek life at all. It can have a significant impact on social life.

Would you consider an all women’s school? A few are recommended above (Smith, Mount Holyoke) (both terrific, in different ways). I know a female student from a different country in Asia who had an incredible experience at Wellesley, also a women’s school with an especially beautiful campus. Would you be interested in that? I’ll add it does not necessarily mean never being around male students. Smith and Mount Holyoke are part of a five-school consortium (with Amherst, Hampshire, and University of Massachusetts at Amherst) where students share classes and resources. The student at Wellesley socialized at Harvard and MIT and took classes at the former.

I think if you answer these questions here you can get some more helpful responses. Good luck!

9

@crewdad @TTG Wow thank you for the great advice and insight! There absolutely is so much to consider!

Location matters. I would rather be in a place that’s not too isolated or in the middle of nowhere… city size doesn’t matter though.

I’ve been in both big and small schools and had good times at both places… I’ll say that I prefer small to middle sized colleges because I do wish for more interaction with professors. Definitely looking into Liberal Arts Colleges.

I would rather be cold than to be hot, but any kind of weather is fine for me.

It would be great if the school is diverse, but I’m a bit afraid that I would ironically rather lose the sense of diversity by sticking with only asians if the place is mostly of asians and thus perceived to be “diverse.”

I’m neutral with Greek life. I’d be happy to have the option but it’s okay if the school doesn’t have it.

An all-female school is totally fine for me as well.

Again, thank you so much. I was so lost before.

10

In terms of smaller schools, Hamilton has strong political science (or at least, my recent college graduate keeps bumping into Hamilton grads who are working in politics), is cold, has greek life which does not dominate campus. Amherst is one of the top 3 small liberal arts colleges and is highly regarded for its PPE program, and has an open curriculum (few mandatory classes) which gives the student a lot of flexibility to study different subjects. It is in a lovely part of Massachusetts, a little easier to get in and out of than Hamilton. Heading to the midwest, Denison has the Lugar program in Political Science, which focuses on US politics or international, and includes an internships component, is diverse, about 30 minutes from Columbus which makes it more accessible for travel. Macalester in Twin Cities, Minnesota (talk about cold!), is well known for its international focus, and has a diverse student body.

The mid-size university 5-15,000 undergrads, can be tough to find a good match. Some of the undergrad populations at the Ivy league schools are in that size – Columbia, Princeton for instance – but there is a large graduate student population which brings the overall size of the institution way up. Notre Dame, Northwestern, Duke, Vanderbilt, Washington University in St Louis are all mid-size universities, highly competitive for admissions as well. Only ND and Northwestern have serious winter snows and frigid temperatures, though depending on what you are used to, the milder winters in North Carolina, Missouri etc. could feel cold enough!

You might keep an open mind about professor interactions in the truly large schools – my kid went to the University of Wisconsin and, as a double major in humanities and social science, had very close relationships with his professors. There are structural ways to create opportunities for getting to know your faculty better, from taking Intro level Honors classes where the faculty leads the discussion section as well as gives the lectures etc. Apart from a few intro classes in his major, most of my kid’s classes in his major at UW were 20-40 students, and once he was in his 3rd year and beyond, many were fewer than 20 as they were research seminars. A long way of saying – I don’t think there is a substantial difference in student-faculty interaction between the mid-sized schools and the large schools, for a student who is motivated to reach out to develop relationships with faculty.

11

Your test scores are better than you think they are. Try not to worry about them too much.

What part of the country is your family moving to? Do you want to be a certain distance from them?

12

Given your posted information, I think you would do well at a large school.
Considering that you don’t really have a budget and that you are possibly entering sociology and politics, you may want to have access to multiple majors and access to internships.

Consider large schools in California (USC, UCLA, Davis-near Sacramento), Massachusetts and New York (Boston, NYU, etc.).

Absolutely agree!

13

Look through college guide books or Niche and try to visit different colleges to get a sense of what different schools are like.

14

There are lots of good suggestions here. You are a strong candidate and will do well. Some of the schools, though, are extremely competitive and must deny admission to many very qualified students. I’d suggest making sure you find some schools where you would feel more assured of admission, would be happy attending, and can afford. Schools under 20% can be difficult and unpredictable for everyone. I would think you would have a good chance at most of the schools where you’d be looking that have over a 30-40% acceptance rate. All these numbers are just approximations.

I’m not sure how familiar you are with the US admissions process. A unique feature, I think, is the early rounds of applications. Most schools have Early Action (EA), Early Decision (ED), or both. There are some exceptions but generally students can only apply ED to one school, and they must attend if accepted (just a very few exceptions, pretty much financial only). So the decision to apply ED is a huge one. Deadlines are generally mid-October to December. Students can apply to as many EA schools as they want and don’t have to attend. They can apply to one ED and also as many EA as they want.

It depends on schools, but often there is an advantage in applying early, especially ED. Schools like ED applicants because the school is their first choice and they will definitely come. Some of the most competitive schools will accept 20% or more of applicants ED and less than 10% in the regular application round. You can find the numbers for a particular school. So if you have a school you love, and it is very competitive, you might consider ED, which will be coming up in just a few months.

I love Denison; it is in a relatively small town. Same with Hamilton. Macalester is an excellent choice for international students interested in politics (very, very cold). Wellesley would be a good choice if you are considering an all women’s school. Very beautiful campus in a quaint suburban town near Boston. The woman I mentioned before had the same interests as you and got some fantastic internships. You might look at Tufts and Boston College as well. Both are in the near Boston suburbs. Tufts, especially, is strong in political science and is home to the Fletcher School, a top grad school for international affairs. It has very competitive admissions. Holy Cross in Worcester (about an hour or so by train from Boston ) is also outstanding in political science.

You might also look at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. It has about 6000 undergrads. It is usually listed with UVA, UNC, Cal, and Michigan as a top public university. Unlike those others (large state flagships), it’s basically a large LAC. Campus is beautiful, and the weather is nice. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, FBI Director James Comey, and State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki (all formerly in those positions) are William and Mary alums.

Someone mentioned Amherst, and I had mentioned the five-school consortium. That might be something for you to look at, especially Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Amherst. Smith is in Northampton, which I love as a small college town. The school and town have more of a funky, hippie vibe, and Amherst is more preppy, conservative, if one suits you more than the other. I think Mount Holyoke is more in the middle among those three schools. Amherst would be the most competitive.

15

Oh, I would add the University of Rochester. I think Tufts, William and Mary, and Rochester are fairly similar in terms of size (all 5000-6500 undergrads), academic programs, academic quality, and student body. Only the settings are different, but all are great places.

16

Whew, sorry, just wanted to add you should feel comfortable applying to more competitive schools–your record is terrific and it does not sound like you would require significant financial aid (which can be tougher for international students). I just wanted to suggest you apply to some “match” and “safety” schools as well.

17

Great Schools for Political Science/Government Majors

American U
Bates
Bard
Bowdoin
Bryn Mawr
Carleton Claremont Mckenna
Clark U
Holy Cross
Columbia
Connecticut College
Davidson
Dickinson
Drew
Franklin and Marshall
George Mason
Georgetown
Gettysburg
Gonzaga
Harvard
Kenyon
Macalester
McGill
Princeton
Scripps
Stanford
Swarthmore
Syracuse
UC Berkeley
UCLA
U Washington
Vassar
Wake Forest
Yale

Source: Princeton Review

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Did you say what majors you are looking at?

19

"STATS

  • Female from Japan
  • International applicant.
  • Applying as sociology major, maybe political science"
20

Any reason for those majors? What potential goals?