Reach/Match/Safety + where else should I apply?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, this is my first time posting so I apologize for anything I’m doing wrong. I’m going to be a senior in the fall and only have a super short list of colleges that I have organized into reach/match/safety. Let me know what you think and if I should change any of the sorting! I would also appreciate suggestions on other places to apply! :slight_smile:

Pipe dream: UPenn (most likely going to apply ED), Duke
Reach: Johns Hopkins, Rice, Berkeley
Match: Emory?? UCLA?? (I’m so wary of listing things as matches because you never know…)
Safety: UT Austin

I don’t have any safe schools besides UT because I don’t think they would be worth it. I know that sounds horrible but at the end of the day I would be happy going to UT if I didn’t get in anywhere else.

About Me: Asian girl, TX
Intended Major: something Biology related
SAT I: 2360 (780 CR, 780 M, 800 W) first and only time
SAT II: 800 Bio M, waiting for chem score and will take Math II and Lit in October
ACT: didn’t take yet but will probably take it in September
UW GPA: 3.98, hopefully will go up (I got a B in Algebra 2 one semester freshman yr lmao)
W GPA: 5.85 (my school does it out of 6), hopefully will go up
Rank: 16/557(p bad)
AP: Bio (5), World History (5); this year I took Chem, Stats, Calc BC, Human Geo, English Lang, and APUSH; waiting on scores and will update when I get them

Senior Courseload:
AP Physics C (might switch this to Physics 2), Organic Chemistry (a post- AP chem class offered at my school), Multivariable Calc, AP English Lit, AP Micro+Macro Econ, Ap Euro History, Scientific Research and Design Class
I’m taking AP gov online over the summer

ECs: This is where I am lacking a LOT

  • Interact Club (volunteering)
  • Science Honor Society (secretary junior year, VP next year): this takes up a lot of time actually, I do tutoring and organize events like school wide blood drives, socials, etc
  • Philosophy Club (VP next year)
  • HOSA (9-10): I quit this because as of right now I don't want to be a doctor haha
  • Volunteering: Hospital, Senior Home, Food bank, random events through Interact,
  • Medical reserve corps (set up shelters and emergency stuff, not really medical at all)
  • NHS: Did a bake sale and raised like $600 for MS research pretty much on my own
  • Science Research Internship at Baylor College of Medicine: This summer through next school year, possibly next summer. I'm working 8 hours a day, 4 days a week all summer.
  • Did track 10th grade and will probably do it next year too (this is irrelevant lol)
  • I love cooking and baking and started a food blog last summer (idk how relevant this is... it's mostly just for myself and I stopped when school started but I'm going to post more this summer)

Yeah I know my ECs are pretty lacking, but I was wondering if there was a way for the counselor to provide an explanation for this? I had a pretty severe eating disorder right before I started high school and was hospitalized for a month. I was physically and mentally very unhealthy so when high school started I was visiting therapists and my physician throughout the week, which took up a lot of time. i wasn’t allowed to participate in sports because of my obsessive exercising and I was so depressed that i really didn’t care about joining ecs or doing well in school (hence that one B). I’m much, much better now and starting end of sophomore year/beginning of junior year i finally realized that I needed to get myself together but I’m afraid it was too late. At my school it is really cliquey and difficult to join clubs if you haven’t been in them from the beginning. I really don’t want to sound like I am complaining or making excuses. I’m just wondering if there would be a way to provide this information.

Thank you so much if you read through all of this!

2

Ok I can’t edit so I’ll ask here: should I even bother applying ED to Penn? because i seriously doubt I would have any chance of getting in so I would be better off using that ED application more wisely. But it is my dream school…

3

I’m a bit rusty on my acronyms, what does ED stand for?

4

I think you have a waaaaaay better chance than you think. Go for Penn!

5

If you think Penn is your dream school, then go for it. And make sure the adcoms know!

6

I think your scores are exemplary and your ECs are not as bad as you think as long as you beef them up a bit in your application. However, a school like UCLA can be pretty selective, even for students like you. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s a reach, but I think it could be a high match. If you aren’t looking to add more safety schools, I’d apply to a few more matches, maybe on the lower side of the spectrum. Have you looked into any other UC schools? Do you have a particular location you want to go to (i.e. West Coast, East Coast, etc.)?

7

Be careful with Emory. They want to see interest. At the very least, make sure you schedule an interview with them ASAP - spots fill up and you will need one.

8

@InamoratiAnon ED stands for early decision :slight_smile: yes I was thinking UCLA would be a bit of a reach too! I definitely want to go out of state if possible, and am leaning more toward the east coast

9

@suzy100 thank you for that information! But on the Emory website it states that prospective students and applicants are unable to request interviews, unless there is another type of interview you are referring to?

10

I think you should go for ED, then! You don’t give yourself enough credit, I think you have a shot at UPenn, especially considering your drive to get into the school. I’d just emphasize that in your application. :slight_smile:

11

@holepuncher, sorry, that is new! When my daughter was looking at Emory just two years back, you had to request an interview. Good luck to you!

12

Thank you to everyone who has commented! :slight_smile:

13

I think you most likely can get admitted to UCLA. My daughter with very similar stats as yours (SAT 2370 took once, GPA 4.65/3.95) is now attending UCLA with Regents scholarship.
But be wary of UPenn as my daughter got one of her rejection from (though there is no reason for you to get rejected as you are, and my daughter were, well qualified to that school).

14

You have a very good chance to UPenn, but it might be haltered by the EC’s

15

I think you’re a stronger applicant than you think you are. Just like other top applicants who apply to top-25ish schools, it’s simply a matter of making your application pop. Your numbers are good, but to make the app special, write great essays that show your passions and (if at all prompted) how you’ll fit in at, and improve, that particular college; hand in (hopefully) strong letters of rec; and show your character in interviews (if applicable).

Yes, if UPenn is your favorite bar none, and you can afford it (run the NPC!), go ahead and apply ED. It’s obviously a highly competitive applicant pool, but ED is very likely to give you a bump.

the others:

Duke - Reach
JHU, Rice - Reach/low reach
Berkeley & UCLA OOS, Emory - Low reach/high match

For truer matches, look at schools like Wake Forest, Tulane, Lehigh, URochester, NYU, Boston U and LACs like Bates, Lafayette, Reed, Macalester, Holy Cross, Occidental, Trinity (CT), Bucknell.

UT is really an ace in the hole, but again, make sure you can afford it; it’s not really a safety if you have to take out a bunch of loans. You could look at schools like Alabama and Oklahoma – you’d get significant merit aid – as additional safeties, if necessary.

16

@prezbucky, thank you for the response, and thanks for the list of matches! I was interested in NYU and Lehigh and will do further research on the others as well

17

@RoadTriptoCollege2017 yep I so wish that I had done more. Do you think asking my counselor to explain the circumstances would help a little, or would that just seem like excuses

18

Check out Boston college as a match school as well