Please list some colleges where I would have a chance

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey, I was just wondering if anyone could help me find colleges that I could apply to next year(I’m a Junior). I know that there are a lot of subjective parts of the college admission process (like the essays), but I just want to have an idea of where I would be competitive.

SAT I: 2230/2400 and 1540/1600 (800 math, 740 reading, and 690 writing 10 essay). I also got a 221 on my PSAT so I’ll probably be at least a semifinalist (Pennsylvania)

Unweighted GPA: Based on my school its a 3.96 but I got 3 B+'s so I think that’s wrong. I tried to convert it to a normal scale and I got something like 3.833

Weighted GPA: My school has a weird system so its like 4.97. On a system based out of 5( add .5 for honors and 1 for AP), I think I have a 4.35.

Class Rank: I wasn’t looking into competitive colleges as a freshman and sophomore so my class rank was 39/558 at the beginning of the this school year. It is now 19/558 after one semester and it will likely go up.

AP Classes: Due to scheduling errors, I was not able to take AP Chemistry this year but I was able to take AP Statistics. Next year I hope to take AP Chem AB, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Micro, AP physics AB, and AP physics BC. My school has 4 classes one semester and 4 new ones the next semester. We take AB classes in the fall and BC classes in the spring. AB physics is equivalent to AP physics C mechanics and BC physics is equivalent to AP physics C electricity and magnetism.

EC’s: I know these are subjective so I will just list them.
-Robotics Club (FTC) since 10th grade. Co-Captain this year and most likely Captain next year
-Anchor Club (Community Service) no position

  • Peer Tutoring in Math since 10th grade
  • Rec soccer for 11 years
  • Habitat for Humanity (started this year)
  • Summer Job at local children’s amusement park (around 35 hrs/ week)

I’m definitely more math, science, and engineering oriented so I think I would want to major in physics or mechanical engineering. What do you think my chances would be for early decision and regular decision? I don’t have any programming experience yet. Would this be a problem for admission to some tech schools?

I want to stay in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast and penn state is my safety school. Could you please list some colleges where I would have a chance?

2

How much can you pay per year?

If you are considering top colleges, it is DISCOURAGED to graduate early. Just do all four years of HS.

I would recommend Purdue University and UMass-Amherst for low matches if you want to stay in that region.

For reaches, NU, Carleton College, WUSTL would be good choices

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@paul2752‌ My post may have been confusing. I’m a Junior now and I’ll be applying to colleges next year when I am a senior. I can pay $30000 a year at most. If I go out of state, I would have to go to a private college because they would likely give me financial aid.

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Bump

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First of all, your SAT score is very good. Also excellent that you did so well on the PSAT. I agree that you will likely be a semi-finalist. You are solidly in the 25-50% range for pretty much ANY college in the US, so you could legitimately apply to any college. The Ivies are always a reach for everyone, so do know that. You need to make some decisions:

  1. Do you want a big school or a small school?

  2. Do you care if it is D1, D2, or D3 for athletics? (some people want the big time D1 teams to root for).

  3. I think a lack of programming could be a negative. You can teach yourself though…go get a book or take an online class, and get programming!

  4. Where to apply in your target area? Ivies, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Georgia Institute of Technology, Duke, RPI. Also consider Lehigh and Lafayette.

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@stepay‌ Thanks for replying. You answered most of my questions. Do you think I would have a chance at Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, or Lehigh if I apply early decision or early action. Regular Decision?

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You have a very good shot at all of those except MIT. Carnegie Mellon and Cornell are definitely matches (depending upon your major). Lehigh is a safety for you.

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Oh really, a Cornell, an Ivy league school is a match? Low reach, maybe, but def. not match. It’s a blind shot, a bit less than other ivy leagues, though.

@TheSATsSuck‌ MIT states that EA rate and RD rate are barely different. So, you can do EA or RD.

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Bump

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@paul2752 yeah I think Cornell is a match for him. I know its a blind shot, but his (cr+m) is 100 points above Cornell’s average. I have seen plenty of kids from my school get in with lesser stats. Im not saying that he will definitely get in, but I think he stands as good a chance as most any other applicant.

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@thesatssuck - Regarding Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, or Lehigh, Lehigh is probably a safety, and the others are a bit of a crap shoot. While I think you COULD be admitted to Cornell, I disagree with the comments that it is a match for you. ALL of the Ivies are a reach for everyone. you can’t just look at SAT stats and say that someone with a worse score than you got in. They could be an athlete or have some other amazing thing about them. You are a strong candidate though.

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I am just gonna say one thing, I agree with everyone here, one tip though, (I was an ED applicant for Lehigh this year) and I watched a lot of people with scores like you not get in, while the numbers say it would be a safety/ low match for you (i agree), you cannot treat this school like a safety. Many people with great stats did that, if you end up actually applying to Lehigh please remember that they care about INTEREST, if you apply and treat them like a safety you wont get in. This applies for schools like Bucknell, and Boston University too (I had friends apply there and watched the same thing happen). Good luck with everything!

13

What would be the best for engineering: Bucknell, Cornell, Lehigh, CMU, Penn State, or Princeton? Which ones would be safety, match, or reach schools? Are there any other schools I should consider?