Please help me find some safety schools.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello all.</p>

<p>I live in Arizona, attend a small, college prep private school, and am in search of safety schools. My current schools of interest are: Reed College, Vassar College, Middlebury College, Skidmore College, Bard College, Lewis and Clark College, University of Washington (haha, yeah, I only like this one because I like the surronding area and it would be closer to home). Below are my stats.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.4
SAT/ACT status: took my SAT for the first time in March, recieved a horrible score. I plan to retake it, and take the ACT, and then send the better of the two. </p>

<p>Courseload:</p>

<p>9th
Geometry C+/B
Spanish II A-/A
Biology B+/A-
World History B+/A-
Computer Science PASS
Literature and Composition A/A</p>

<p>10th
Adv Algebra C+/B
Spanish III A-/A
Physics C+/B-
Art I B+/A-
Literature and Composition A/A
European History B/A-</p>

<p>11th
FST (Functions Statistics Trigonometry) B-
Spanish IV A-
Chemistry C+
Art II A-
American Literature A
US History B+</p>

<p>12th
Precalculus
AP Spanish
Creative Writing/Connections
Journalism
Adv Art
AP Brit Lit
Masterwork (a unique program my school provides in which a senior student, if he/she wishes to do so, may create a senior project of sorts. This masterwork project is an integration of a student's personal passion and an accumulation of the things he/she has an interest in academically. I will create a 150-200 page graphic novel in which I design the characters and story, draw it out, so on.)</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>President of class in freshman year
Vice President of class in sophomore year
Computer Science --> contributed to creation of school website
National Art Honor Society
Advanced Art and things
Student Recruitment Committee
Took japanese language class in sophomore year outside of class
Study abroad in Tokyo my summer before senior year
Will be taking more Japanese languages studies outside of school senior year
Have been elected as secretary of senior class</p>

<p>Race: Caucasian</p>

<p>Hook: masterwork, Japanese studies and travels, art interests, being from AZ?</p>

<p>In Need of Fin Aid?: No</p>

<p>So, my top choice schools are Reed, Vassar, and Middlebury, all of which would be very reachy schools for me. According to my college counselor, Skidmore College, Bard College, and Lewis and Clark College could work as safeties for me. Other safeties I've thought about, researched, and attained an interest in include Grinnell College, Trinity College, Connecticut College...</p>

<p>I have strong academic interests in areas such as foreign languages, literature, international studies, environmental studies, philosophy, psychology, visual arts...That's a pretty diverse list, I know, but I'm just providing as much information as I can. So, can you help me find some more safety schools that would suit my interests? I'd prefer smaller Liberal Arts colleges in the northeast, and perhaps a few in the northwest.</p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

2

<p>bump, anyobody?</p>

3

<p>Define a "horrible score". At the very least you should apply to one in state school, probably University of Arizona.</p>

4

<p>Hood college and franklin and marshall</p>

5

<p>A horrible score of about 1700...Obviously, I plan to work harder, and am aiming for scores of about 2000-2200.</p>

<p>However, I've recently been taking various ACT practice tests, preferring it over the ACT, and have been scoring initial scores of 24 and 25. With more studying and work, I'm aiming to raise these scores to around 28-30. </p>

<p>And, honestly, UofA is not an option for me. I really do not like its mammoth size. And I HATE Tucson. I want to go to college outside of Arizona.</p>

<p>Hood College looked okay, but the gender ratio is troubling. Franklin and Marshall is okay too...</p>

<p>Any other suggesstions? Especially in the NE?</p>

6

<p>You are going to need some safe matches. Some of those colleges are a reach even with a 30 ACT score.</p>

<p>You might want to eliminate University of Washington. The school is just as big as UofA in terms of the number of students and much bigger in terms of the size of the campus.</p>

<p>I'm going to University of Oregon next year. You might be interested in it as a safety. The school has about 16,000 undergrads and the campus is really nice and easy to navigate. It's a good midsized school.</p>

<p>Other schools that you might want to consider in the Northwest
Evergreen State College- really underrated academically, about 4,000 students
Western Washington University- in a beautiful town (Bellingham). The campus is very nice and the student body isn't too large ~12,000 students
Whitman College- really outstanding LAC college in Walla Walla Washington. You're going to have to bump up your test scores a lot. ~1,500 students</p>

7

<p>I second Evergreen State. It seems like a really cool scool: I know someone who goes there and LOVES it.</p>

8

<p>Dickinson in Pennsylvania, an LAC with a strong international studies orientation, might be close to a safety for you. SATs are optional, I believe.</p>

9

<p>Hood is probably a good match. Little schools that need bodies. Most top notch state schools will see the Cs on your transcripts and toss you in the reject pile. A smaller school will look beyond that AND may throw merit aid at you.</p>

10

<p>So, my top choice schools are Reed, Vassar, and Middlebury, all of which would be very reachy schools for me. According to my college counselor, Skidmore College, Bard College, and Lewis and Clark College could work as safeties for me. Other safeties I've thought about, researched, and attained an interest in include Grinnell College, Trinity College, Connecticut College...</p>

<p>I agree with several of the other posters that with your current GPA and SAT scores many of these schools are significant reaches for you, including Middlebury, Grinnell, Vassar and Bard. Each of those schools is very selective. The competition for admission at those four schools is intense. While you can play the geographical diversity card at Connecticut College, Trinity and Skidmore those schools are realistically nothing better than matches. In addition, Lewis & Clark's average GPA is 3.7 and SAT's are much higher than 1700 range.</p>

<p>I think that you need to continue your SAT review while simultaneously start looking for some actual safeties --schools where your SAT's and GPA are in the middle of the admit range. Take a look at Beloit in WI, Drew in NJ, Ursinus in PA, Goucher in MD, Willamette in OR or Clark in MA. Those schools are small, excellent liberal arts schools in your target areas that might serve as realistic "safeties".</p>

<p>You have good EC's and are obviously serious about this pursuit. I am providing this feedback to you so that you end up with several quality choices next April. Good luck.</p>

11

<p>Sending in SAT/ACT scores are optional at Bard.</p>

12

<p>Union or Hobart? Wheaton in Mass? Wells?</p>

<p>Goucher is a good call.</p>

13

<p>Just thought of St Lawrence (similar feel to Midd)
and Chapman in CA</p>

14

<p>Dickinson would NOT be a safety school with your present GPA and test scores. It would be a slight reach even if your 3.4 is UW. I feel that Trinity College and Connecticut College would also not be safety schools. You do have good EC's ---things that Dickinson, Trinity and Connecticut would like. Your location is a plus, too! If you brought your GPA and test scores up a little more, you might have a chance to get into these schools. Also---It's really important to show interest. Find out who your high school reps are for these colleges. Call or email them to see if and when they'll be visiting your school. You can get this info by calling the colleges directly---or by visiting their websites. I agree that you should add Union and Hobart to your list. Good Luck!!</p>

15

<p>You might want to look at Marist College, Quinnipiac University, Manhattanville College, Hartwick College. They may be closer to "safeties'' for you than Skidmore, Bard, Trinity. I also second Hobart and St. Lawrence, although the latter is pretty isolated</p>

16

<p>wow...List and suggestions are for the most part completely off...
You essentially have all very high reaches. Unless you completely destroy the SATs the next time, you have no chance for a lot of those.</p>

<p>None of those you listed are hooks and Arizona is a well represented state. I think you need to be more realistic and look at some statistics.</p>

17

<p>In the east, I will second Hood College and in Pennsylvania I will add Allegheny College, Westminster College, and Carnegie Mellon University.</p>

<p>Closer to home, consider...
George Fox University, OR
Willamette University, OR
Occidental College, CA
And if you reconsider a large but not a mega university campus...
Washington State University
SUNY Plattsburgh ($$ incentive for out-of-staters)</p>

18

<p>loslobos71: do you really think Marist, Quinnipiac, Manhattanville, Hartwick, and Hobart are very high reaches for the OP? I am very much spurprised at this assessment and wouldn't discourage him from thinking these are either matches or safeties. His SATs are at least in the middling range OR above for these, and his extra curriculars in my imo are prettty good.</p>

19

<p>No, actually yours was one of the better lists.</p>

<p>I meant:</p>

<p>Reed College, Vassar College, Middlebury College, Skidmore College, Bard College, University of Washington</p>

20

<p>I agree with that</p>