Please suggest some safeties!!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hi everyone! i'm a senior from nyc and i'm trying to pick some good safeties. my school limits me to applying to 8 private (unlimited public), and there are 6 top schools i'm definitely applying to because i've visited them and liked them. i'm not interested in hyp or most ivies actually (except dartmouth), but i am interested in other top schools. here are stats/other relevant info:</p>

<p>school description: one of new york's elite public high schools, admission is by test, school doesn't rank or weight averages. in fact, we don't even get our averages until the end of the summer before senior year. almost all of the students attend very selective schools after graduation.</p>

<p>sex: female
gpa: 94.3529
scores: SAT march 2009: 730 cr/680 math/800 writing (12 essay)
SAT june 2009: 800 cr/760 math/800 writing (12 essay)
ACT june 2009: 32
SAT II USH: 700
taking french/math 2c in october, expect 800 on french and 750+ on math 2c
AP French: 5</p>

<p>extracurriculars: fencing since freshman year; i train outside of school and compete in national tournaments. i can't fence for my school because you can only do one sport per season, and i play softball in the spring when girls' fencing is; softball for seven years, probably captain this season; former horseback rider and swimmer. i volunteer at a hippotherapy (horses, not hippos :D) program for disabled children, am a member of key club, one of the photo editors for the school's official newspaper, a copy editor for the arts and music magazine, contributor to the anonymous advice column (as in i write advice, not that i ask questions) and a peer french tutor.</p>

<p>senior schedule:
AP Calculus BC
AP Psychology
French V
Social Studies Internship
Advanced Logic & Composition
International Relations
Gym</p>

<p>you can take five or six courses as a senior; an internship takes the place of a class. as a junior, you have a core curriculum of math/english/social studies plus two electives, and physics takes the spot of one but it's required for graduation, so i took it last year, along with ap french.</p>

<p>any suggestions are welcomed and greatly appreciated! thank you in advance, everyone!</p>

2

<p>Great stats and ECs. </p>

<p>What types of schools interest you? Urban or rural? Large or small? Do you love any particular part of the country? Hate any? </p>

<p>Do you know what you’d like to major in?</p>

3

<p>Safeties/low matches: Fordham, Miami (Ohio), Clark U., Bucknell, Boston U., Lafayette, Dickinson, Tulane, Gettysburg, Smith, U of Vermont, U of New Hampshire, McGill.</p>

4

<p>All of Schmaltz’s are great. Others low matches to consider: Union College, American U, NYU, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Northeastern</p>

5

<p>thanks a lot, guys!
dougbetsy, good question. i realize i didn’t give you much to go on. i generally like small liberal arts colleges or universities that aren’t too big (rice-sized, for example). i like the northeast except new york. i’m not completely opposed to the middle of the country, but if i’m going to be there, i’d rather be near a big city. on the coasts, though, i prefer being in a rural area. weird, i know. i like california a lot. i’m thinking of majoring in psych, IR, or anthropology, depending on availability and how good the program is.</p>

6

<p>Rhodes is a small liberal arts college with psych, international studies, and anthropology majors (all strong) in the heart of Memphis, TN. Sounds like a match to me.</p>

7

<p>Muhlenberg and Dennison</p>

8

<p>I second Rhodes.</p>

9

<p>rhodes’ strengths are eerily perfect…</p>

10

<p>bump10char</p>

11

<p>Take a look at Bates and Colby in Maine.</p>

12

<p>i was thinking about those. do you think they’re safe for me?</p>

13

<p>If you like California, take a look at the Claremont Colleges. I think that Scripps would be a safety for you. It’s a women’s college but is literally next door and across the street from 4 other LAC’s, all co-ed, and you can take classes and even eat in the dining rooms at any of the other colleges. A friend of my d’s goes to Scripps and rides. Claremont McKenna would probably be a match for you, it’s strong in public policy. Pitzer would be either a match or a safety, not sure which.</p>

14

<p>i went there in february. i’m a big fan of pomona and i checked out claremont mckenna too. didn’t like it as much, but i kind of made friends with an admissions officer there so it might be safe-ish, i think, even though its acceptance rate is pretty low.</p>

15

<p>Put down the University of Virginia on your list!</p>

<p>We are a top 25 school nationally and the #2 public school.</p>

16

<p>UVA is not a safety for OOS.</p>

17

<p>yeah, i didn’t think so =/</p>

18

<p>I think Bates and Colby are safeties for you if you demonstrate sufficient interest-visit, interview, etc…The thing to remember is that because LACs are so small, you probably need to apply to several if you want to be really sure that you get into at least one.</p>

19

<p>I guess you don’t need financial aid?</p>

20

<p>The schools I’m 99% definitely applying to are Stanford, Pomona, Williams, Middlebury, Dartmouth, Swarthmore, McGill, UCSD, and UNC Chapel Hill. I do need financial aid; fortunately, most of them (if not all the domestics, i.e. everything but McGill) are need-blind.</p>