Please help me decide where to apply!!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Quick Stats:
Catholic High School in Midwest
4.0 unweighted, 4.3 weighted GPA, 35 ACT score
1st/225 class weighted rank (our school doesn't provide rank to colleges)</p>

<p>730 in SAT2 Math2 (planning to retake), 730 in SAT2 US history
5 in AP US history, 4 in AP Spanish Lang, 4 AP English Lang</p>

<p>2010-2011: AP Physics, AP Calc AB, AP US Gov, AP Engl Lit, AP Span Lit and Honors Religion</p>

<p>ECs 9-11:
3 years of HS and Traveling Club Soccer
3 years HS Track/Field
3 years of HS Speech (3x Section finalist, Junior Captain)
2 years of HS and city theater (one show won a city-wide award)
3 years of Student Council (Junior Class Pres)
1 year of Youth Group Leadership Team, Confirmation Teen Mentor, HS Student Ministry
1 year tutoring 4x week during 8th period in Learning Lab and local elementary school
Will be NHS officer
Will be NMSF</p>

<p>The schools I am still considering applying to:</p>

<p>Have visited all these and liked them! Will apply:
Duke
GT
W&L
Notre Dame</p>

<p>Midwest:
Loyola
U Chicago
Northwestern
SLU
Wash STLU</p>

<p>Northeast:
BC
Brown
Dartmouth
Harvard
Providence
Tufts
Williams
Columbia
Princeton
Penn
Villanova
Yale</p>

<p>Out of the way – Worth Visiting?
Creighton
Stanford
Emory
Rice</p>

<p>Let's start by saying I'm pretty indecisive, and I would really appreciate info or insight anyone has to helping me decide where to apply. I'm shooting to apply to 8 schools. My counselor said that safety schools weren't really necessary if I applied to more than five schools... Any thoughts on that?</p>

<p>I am looking for a school that will challenge me academically. I’m thinking about majoring in International Relations/Anthropology/Government/Spanish - something in that area. I definitely want a school with a beautiful campus, definitely no buildings in the middle of the city. I could go for any weather. I like Catholic schools, but that’s not a deal breaker. I want a schools with lots of opportunity and access to study abroad and internships. I would love a school that has a service-orientated culture. I want a place with lots to do and tons of things going on (originally I thought this meant big city, but after visiting Notre Dame I realized this wasn’t the case.) Good athletics would be nice, but also not a deal breaker. I want a school with focus on undergraduates. I think would love to have class sizes around 10-20, but my ideal schools size is 4000-8000. I know those don’t match up, so neither of those are really deal breakers either. I want schoolwork to be challenging but manageable, I would like to have a life :)</p>

<p>Also, I’m really looking for what schools in the NE I will visit this fall.
Thanks for the help!!</p>

<p>PS, if I say I want single sex dorms/floors how many schools does that eliminate</p>

2

<p>First of all, your guidance counselor is so very wrong. I can’t tell you how many of my son’s friends with stellar stats were shocked to be rejected/waitlisted from their top choices. The admissisons process can be somewhat of a crap shoot. Definitely apply to reaches, matches and SAFETIES. </p>

<p>Also, you didn’t mention if money is a factor. If so, have you estimated your EFC? If money is important, you need to apply to schools that are know for good merit/financial aid.</p>

3

<p>Matches are optional if you have no financial worries, but safety(ies) are always needed.</p>

4

<p>Okay, thanks so much. Do any of these look like match/reach with my stats?!</p>

<p>My parents are going contribute about what they are paying for high school, and I would say we are a mid-high income family. I’ve gone to Catholic school my whole life. Financial/merit aid will be important. For W&L I’m definitely thinking about applying for the Johnson full-ride program. How do you know about a school’s aid before you apply?</p>

5

<p>Check their financial aid information on their wesbite. Or you could even give the admissions office a ring!</p>

6

<p>Okay will do! Thanks!</p>

<p>Any thoughts on any of my choices being match/safety schools?</p>

7

<p>I would think that BC, Villinova, & Providence are closest to “safety” that you have on your NE list.</p>

8

<p>Thanks!
What about the other areas?
Anyone have any other opinions?</p>

9

<p>I think you’re in that “its all possible” but its not guaranteed range. Id start byt cutting down the safeties like SLU and Loyola. You’re going to get into a match school like ND and BC 100%, so why waste the applications when you could focus on reaches?</p>

10

<p>Would you be willing to list the schools into match, safety and reach? I know it gets into kind of iffy territory but I would appreciate your opinion :)</p>

11

<p>^Morgan, I’ll give it my best shot. Keep in mind that many of these schools are so competitive that even though you’re qualified for admission, admission is basically a crapshoot simply because there are so many qualified applicants.</p>

<p>Duke - reach
GT - match
W&L - match
Notre Dame - match (but has gotten very very competitive, especially from your demographic of Catholic and Midwestern female)</p>

<p>Midwest:
Loyola - safety
U Chicago - reach
Northwestern - reach
SLU - safety
Wash STLU - you’ll probably get in because you’re qualified, but they’re selective enough that you never know, so I’d call it a minor reach</p>

<p>Northeast:
BC - match
Brown - reach
Dartmouth - reach
Harvard - reach
Providence - safety/match (I’m pretty sure you’ll get in)
Tufts - match
Williams - reach
Columbia - reach
Princeton - reach
Penn - reach
Villanova - match/safety
Yale - reach</p>

<p>Out of the way – Worth Visiting?
Creighton - safety
Stanford - reach
Emory - reach(ish) - you’re qualified, but it’s still very competitive
Rice - same as Emory</p>

<p>Your list is very reach-heavy - in other words, you have a TON of reach schools. Note that this isn’t because you’re unqualified in any way - it’s just because you are choosing to apply to schools that have such a large pool of competitive applicants that admissions is a chancey game. I would make sure to apply to one or two safeties in addition to several reaches, but definitely don’t apply to all reaches (i.e. all Ivies and that’s it). I know more than a few students who did that and were shocked to be rejected or waitlisted at all of them. I don’t think that will happen to you, but it’s always good to have safety and match schools.</p>

<p>In terms of narrowing down your list, you have a very diverse mix of schools. If you learn more about them, it may be easier to narrow it down. For example - if you don’t want a school in the middle of the city, that effectively eliminates Penn, Columbia, Brown, BC, and Yale, all of which are in very urban areas (among others - I just have firsthand knowledge of these campuses since I live in New England). To be honest, I think that you could find most of the other characteristics that you listed at any of the schools on your list.</p>

<p>Hope I helped!</p>

12

<p>I’m assuming your parents are paying less than $20K per year for your schooling now. If you are in the mid/high income range, your expected financial contribution will be much more than that. You can get a guestimate of your EFC on financial aid calculators online. Most are shocked to see what their families are expected to contribute. If money is important, you will be most likely to get it from colleges know for good merit aid (Rice, Wash U, Emory, W&L) and those where your stats would put you in the top of the pack (SLU, Villanova, Creighton, Providence, Loyola). Check these schools’ websites for financial aid/scholarship info. Be aware that some schools have separate scholarship applications, and some have an earlier deadline to be considered for merit aid.</p>

<p>That said, you can narrow your list if aid is important. Also, can you think of other important deciding factors? You seems to be a bit conservative. Is it important to attend a college where the student body is on the more conservative side? If so, eliminate Columbia and Brown. Schools I might add to the list would be Vanderbilt and Davidson. Both are the size you are looking for, have good International Relations programs and are good with merit aid. There is an early deadline for merit aid at Vanderbilt…not sure about Davidson.</p>

13

<p>Not many parochial schools even charge $20k, so I’d second using some calculators. You need to know whether most of these schools are even financially feasible or you need to focus on schools offering merit aid.</p>

<p>The counselor advice is strange and bad. If the 5 are HYPCD you could be in trouble come April.</p>

14

<p>I’ll definitely look into the financial aid business. Thanks for the info on which schools have great merit aid and for suggesting schools. Thanks also reesezpiecez103 for labeling those schools for me! Now I guess my next task is limiting the reach schools and selecting just a few. I am going to take a week off school to visit some NE schools, but I’m lost as to which ones to go to. </p>

<p>I think I am probably looking for a more conservative school, but I’m not positive. What exactly defines a liberal or conservative school? And where do these schools fall on that spectrum?</p>

<p>And for the comment about city schools, I think I would love a school in the city as long as it had a distinguishable campus.</p>

15

<p>Among these schools, which ones are similar/different socially and academically? What is unique about each school? If anyone would like to make a case for their alma mater or current school I would be happy to be persuaded!</p>

16

<p>bump:):):):):):)</p>

17

<p>There are few non Christian conservative colleges, but from your list you’ll probably find Princeton, Dartmouth, Williams and BC a bit less left leaning.</p>

18

<p>Thanks :slight_smile:
What exactly are characteristics of a liberal/conservative school? I think I’m a conservative personality, but not positive.</p>