Please help me with my college list! (More matches/Safeties!)

College Search & Selection
1

Hi all,
I got my May SAT scores back I was pretty disappointed with my score, and I was thinking that my score isn’t high enough for the schools I’m interested in. I’m going to retake and take an ACT, but for now, I need some advice on my college list. I’ll post a little bit about myself, and what I’m looking for, and hopefully someone could suggest a couple of schools I should look into. Thanks!

SAT: 1330/1600. Essay: 6/6/6
PSAT: 1320/1520
SAT II (US History): 710
AP Scores: 5 (APUSH)
Weighted GPA: 4.4/5.0
Unweighted GPA: 3.95/4.0
Rank: 7/275

Senior classes:
AP Calculus AB
AP physics 2
AP Language
AP Spanish
AP Biology

Leadership: Secretary of biotech club, co-president of Culture Club, VP of National Honors Society
Other Extracurriculars: Green club, Science Quiz Bowl, volunteer at local science museum, summer opportunity doing cancer research at local hospital

Home State: Massachusetts

Hooks: URM (African American female), first generation college student

What I’m looking for in a college:
I think I would want to major in biology or biotechnology, so I would want a school with a good program and research opportunities. Also, I don’t want to go to a medium sized school, hopefully close to a city. And I wouldn’t want to go too far from home, and I would probably stay in the New England area, and maybe be willing to venture down into New York or Washington D.C.

Some schools I’ve been looking at:
Reach:
Tufts
Wesleyan
Brown

Match:
WPI
Holy Cross
Fordham
Providence

Safety:
Umass Amherst
Fitchburg State
Thanks for all your help!

2

I think that UMass Amherst is a good safety. Given your grades and in-state status this seems safe to me, as well as being a very good school. It is not obvious to me why you need more safeties, but if you would like another at the risk of pointing out the obvious what about UMass Lowell?

Also, did you do SAT preparation? If you did only a little bit or none then you might want to do more SAT preparation and retake.

3

Your application looks really nice! I agree your SAT is a little low but not bad at all. Your reaches, matches and safeties are spot on. Your SAT actually falls comfortably within the 25-75 percentile for Wesleyan- I really hope you get in there!

Overall I think your chances are great for your matches.

Have you looked at Rensselaer Polytechnic University?

4

You might find more colleges that meet your indicated criteria here:

http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/colleges-to-consider-if-you-want-to-study-biology/117/

Brandeis, for example, would be a match for you.

5

@DancingwithStars, considering your interest in Brown and Wes, Vassar is worth a look.
Vassar’s new science facility is stunning.

http://biology.vassar.edu/

6

I second the suggestion of Vassar. Perhaps add Northeastern.
How about Clark and UMass Lowell Honors as better safeties than Fitchburg?
Try to retake your SAT once more, after prepping methodically. (check out the silverturtle method explained in the 'test’s forum.)

7

I second Northeatern. My D toured there. Lots of focus on sciences. Looks like a match level for you

8

Northeastern, Umass Amherst, Umass Lowell.Umass Boston is strong in research.

9

And with your scores, I think you can receive scholarship full tuition and fees in Umass.

10

^What? There are no full scholarships at UMA. You can get tuition paid which is under $2000 depending on your MCAS scores.

11

Real good job on your list. If you are happy with those schools, I’d say you nailed it :slight_smile:

12

I would NOT recommend UMass Boston for an undergraduate (unless the poster meant BU).
Full tuition is just $2,000 in Massachusetts, real costs are in the fees… and higher merit is far and few between.

13

Hi everyone! Thanks for the responses! @MYOS1634 @CrewDad would you guys think that Vassar and Northeastern are reaches or matches for me? Also, what other instate safeties are there? Im eligible for a John and Abigail Adams and a Stanley z. Koplick scholarship for full tuition I believe

14

Vassar is a reach for everyone. Northeastern is a reach.
The ‘full tuition’ scholarship in Massachusetts is a misnomer - look carefully at what fees it covers.
Definitely apply to UMass Honors and Lowell Honors. Clark if you express interest would be a nice safety, apply EA/LEAP.
More matches would be Dickinson, Muhlenberg (low match), Denison, perhaps Skidmore. Those may be a better fit than Providence and Fairfield I’d you like Wes, but just fill out the Request info form for all+ run the npc and go from there.

15

@MYOS1634 interesting that you suggested Denison, as it is one of the partner colleges for the Posse scholarship that I got nominated for.
Also, does anyone have any info/reviews about the Posse partner schools, such as Bucknell, Hamilton, and Bryn Mawr?

16

You may want to clarify what appears to be a typo so that replies here will match your preferences, @DancingwithStars.

17

Bucknell, Bryn Mawr and Hamilton all have truly beautiful campuses. I would say that Hamilton and Bucknell are rural with cute, small towns, but not really near big cities. Bryn Mawr is fairly close to Philly. All 3 have great reps. I personally think you will do well in admissions. Nice gpa, good test scores, URM and first generation, relevant ECs, great class rank. If you get that SAT up a little you can reach for the stars.That would be great if you get into Posse. Good luck.

18

@DancingwithStars, If BMC is a possibility, Smith is also a Posse partner. Being from MA, I’m sure that you’re aware that Northampton and Amherst are fabulous college towns.

19

Except for not being near a big city, Hamilton sounds like a perfect fit - one of only 40 need blind and meets 100% of demonstrated schools in the country, a great STEM LAC with an amazingly diverse and welcoming community, and yes the campus is incredible. I have twin DD’s that got accepted to lots of similar schools, and in the end each decided that it was the best choice for both individually.

20

For reference, approximatively…
small= under 2,000; medium-small: 2,500-4000 <- most colleges fit in these categories
medium large= 4,000-15,000 <- lots of directionals, some Catholic colleges (private colleges that size tend to be the most expensive)
large = 15,000- 25,000 <- UDel, UVermont
very large = 25,000 + <- large flagships

‘large’ or 'small" may not be the best criterion. You may want to know average class size, faculty:student ratio, availability of scholarships, honors college quality and conditions for admission, and, most importantly, whether it’s affordable.