@samikhan What about finances, for OOS? See posts #5 and #8. And your Unweighted GPA is very useful info.
@Dunboyne - My parents tell me they will afford OOS if push comes to shove
The better known OOS publics may also be reachy for a 3.0 GPA.
The Arizona schools and Hawaii may be more likely for admission.
Cal Poly SLO is perhaps out of reach, but Cal Poly Pomona might be a good fit.
@samikhan Why do you think there is a disconnect between your very good 34 ACT and your GPA? Are there reasons involved here (personal/family/health) that you could explain on an application, persuading admissions to assess you higher than what your GPA might indicate?
Try Temple, in Philadelphia. Your weighted GPA, class rigor, and ACT score could even earn you some merit aid. They have a full College of Science & Technology, with a Physics Major and some inter-disciplinary majors, along with a School of Engineering. Pitt wouldn’t be a clear safety with your GPA, but I think your odds are pretty good based on ACT and rigor. They’re a little more selective than Temple, and so merit aid is less likely. Pittsburgh and Philly are both dynamic, fun cities.
By the way, all the colleges discussed on this thread have been public, apart from USC, although the OP initially specified private colleges. Look at the Colleges That Change Lives for ideas of slightly less selective colleges around the country. Some have excellent Science departments.
Regarding UCSB in post #16, here is their Common Data Set: http://bap.ucsb.edu/IR/Common_Data_Set/CDS_2014-2015.pdf
Check out C9-11…
ACT: you’re in great shape.
Class Rank: What is your Class Rank? You can see that 100% of their enrollees (of the 81% who submitted class rank) were in the top 10% of their HS class. Among the 19% that didn’t submit class rank, there might have been several outside the top 10% of their class, and perhaps some outside the top 25%. If you fall outside the top 25%, I’d say your odds of admission take a hit.
GPA: What is your Unweighted GPA? You can see that 83% had 3.75+. Still, if you can raise your unweighted GPA to a 3.50+ by the end of first term senior year, it’s doable, especially with your 34 ACT.
There are lots of other parameters, of course, but Class Rank and GPA are going to be two of your largest hurdles. Your essays can make a big difference, as will your course rigor.
UCSB is a reach for you, but keep it on the table. Go see your GC and get your Class Rank, Unweighted GPA, and UC GPA. You might also want to get a spreadsheet going to chart/predict your UW / W / UC GPAs.
I agree that your GPA will make some of the more competitive UCs tough. However, I think you’d be a great candidate for the College of Creative Studies at UCSB. It’s for undergrads who are ready for more graduate-level work. You should also consider Carleton since you are open to the Midwest.
Carleton will be a big reach. DD2 with the same ACT and a 4.0 (#1 in her class of 450) was waitlisted there.
@Dunboyne - To your question on why there is such a discrepancy between my ACT score and gpa - I introspect about it every minute of my day and have not been able to come up with an answer. I know in my heart that I have very in-depth knowledge of Physics and Calculus , even Chemistry but for some reason, I am unable to demonstrate this thru my grades. My teachers especially my Science teachers really like me (the reason I know this is both of them gave me very good recommendations for my Junior year summer applications) - they know and understand my passion for Science , even my GC understands that very well. I have a 5 on AP Statistics which I wrote in my Junior Year and am pretty confident of scoring 5s on all my AP tests this year.
I truly enjoy studying Science and doing research.
If by some miracle I can get into a good undergrad Physics program - I will like to turn my situation around so I am not in the same position when applying for grad school.
I will talk to my GC about my class rank and UC GPA.
I really appreciate you taking the time providing me pointers . UCSB is my absolute dream school at this point mainly because they have such a good Physics department.
@LuckyPenny711 - CCS is again my dream program - will try to write up a very good supplemental essay to show my passion for Physics.
@“Erin’s Dad” - I may be visiting Carleton and Macalester over summer. If Carleton is a reach, do you think Macasater could be a target for me.
What other private LACs could I start looking at ?
How about Brandeis and Lafayette ? Will they be target? Will they take a hollistic view to my application?
@woogzmama - Thank you for your response to my post. What other LACs should I be looking at ? You are absolutely correct in saying that this post was originally about finding the right LAC that would fit my profile. It still is about that.
I recently met an admissions counsellor from MSU who told me that he could personally give me a recommendation for their Honors College. I will surely follow-up with him on that.
@samikhan: You have sincere intellectual interests and corresponding extracurriculars. If you don’t find an excellent college that will welcome you, I’d be surprised.
@merc81 - Thank you so much. I sincerely hope so too.
Bucknell and Lehigh are not a match with that GPA although you are taking a rigorous course load. Being from CA may help you. Both of those schools also offer engineering degrees so they have everything you’d need for physics.
@merc81 - Thank you so much. I sincerely hope so too.
The University of Rochester might like to see your application. From what you have indicated so far, the school would be a good fit for you.