<p>I am going to start my Junior Year in September. Throughout my freshman and sophomore year, I researched several colleges that I am interested in. I do not intend to apply to all of the colleges that I list.
All the Ivies
Boston University
Caltech
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Drexel University
Duke University
Emory University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvey Mudd College
James Madison University
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Ohio State University - Columbus
Penn State University
Purdue University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rice University
Stanford University
Stony Brook University
Syracuse University
Texas A&M University - College Station
Tufts University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Campus
University of Rochester
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Tech
Washington University in St. Louis
I know these are a lot of colleges. I probably will apply to around 10 of these colleges. I just want to know which of these would be reaches, matches and safeties. I will put my stats on another post.</p>
<p>Aaah! Wall of text! Sorry - had to do that.</p>
<p>Can you afford all those schools? Some will cost >$50K OOS. Screen on costs first and see how many are left.</p>
<p>Suggest screening by cost and academic suitability (does it have the majors you are interested in?) to get the list down to a manageable size first.</p>
<p>Of course, no one can help you determine reach / match / safety if you do not describe your academic credentials like GPA, class rank, and test scores.</p>
<p>Holy List of Colleges</p>
<p>If this is the result of your research, then you’ve missed the point. The goal for your research is to establish criteria by which you will select the schools you want to apply to. Then you apply the criteria and come up with that list and check in with us to see how well that list matches whatever criteria you set up. No one here has the time to rank all of these schools for you.</p>
<p>Stats:
ACT: 29 (E:28; M:35; R:26; S:28; W:8) I took this at the beginning of sophomore year and I will retake it again. I will also take the SAT.
SATIIs: Biology: 670; Math Level 1: 690 (I know these scores are horrible,I was feeling sick that day and I got up at 5 am to get to the test center 90 miles away. I will take a few more SATIIs later.
APs: I took AP World, APUSH, AP Euro and AP Psych ( I expect 5s on first 2, 4s on the other 2). I will take more later on.
UW GPA: 4.00/4.00 (My school does not give a weighted GPA)
Rank: 1/63
Race: Part Asian; Part African American
Home State: KS
School Type: Small Public
Gender: Male
Parental Income: 50-75K
ECs and volunteer work:
Scholars Bowl- Captain since 9th grade
Science Olympiad- several medals
Varsity Tennis and Cross Country
Captain of Math Team
Founder and President of Math Honor Society
I tutor kids in my school in math
I help doctors at a local clinic- premed
VP of my school’s key club
President on my class
Secretary of Student Council
Will be in National Honor Society
I have a internship at the CDC in Atlanta to assist HIV researchers
I will take a gap year to teach kids math in Zimbabwe (hopefully with the help of UNICEF)
I have a strong passion for math and human service.
Hooks: URM(?), Recruited Athlete for tennis possibly</p>
<p>You should be able to determine which of these schools goes into what category on your own. Reach schools = any school where your scores are below average, or any school with probably 30% or lower acceptance rate. Match schools = any school where your scores are around the average or above. Safety schools = any school where your scores are above the average and acceptance rates are probably above 60%.</p>
<p>I think you are too early. A lot of things will change after junior year such as standardized test scores and GPA.</p>
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<p>Running the net price calculators at many of the schools will show that many of them are likely to be unaffordable on need-based financial aid. Those which do not have in-reach large-enough merit scholarships should be removed from the list (this probably means most of the out-of-state publics and those private schools that have poor need-based financial aid and whose merit scholarships (if any) would be out of reach). However, the wild card here would be if you are recruitable for a sports scholarship at an otherwise unaffordable school.</p>
<p>You’ll want to get the test scores up to have a reasonable chance at the super-selectives and more of the big merit scholarships. Fortunately, your situation of high GPA and not as high test scores is easier to improve (by studying test taking skills) than the reverse situation of not as high GPA and high test scores.</p>
<p>Your test scores are quite respectable for a sophomore. Invest in some prep books and study them.</p>
<p>If you get your ACT up to 33, you have as good a chance as anyone at most of these schools.</p>
<p>The simple fact that your parents make $50K-75K is probably not enough information to rule any schools in or out. An income in that bracket, with assets and debts typical for that bracket, would qualify for need-based aid at many selective private schools. However, the following questions are key for many students:</p>
<p>(1) what is the school’s full cost of attendance (COA)?
(2) what is your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)?
(3) how much is your family actually able (and willing) to cover (i.e., what’s your actual budget)?</p>
<p>If your budget is at least equal to a school’s COA, then you’re in luck. You can afford that school. Otherwise, you also need to ask the following questions: </p>
<p>(4) *if your EFC is at least equal to the COA (in other words, you WON’T qualify for need-based aid), but your budget cannot cover the COA, then * is the school likely to offer enough merit aid to cover the gap between your budget and the COA?
(5) *if your EFC is less than the COA (in other words, you WILL qualify for need-based aid), and your budget can cover the EFC, then * is the school likely to offer enough need-based aid to cover the gap between EFC and COA?</p>
<p>If the answer to #4 or #5 is “no”, OR if your budget cannot cover your EFC (and the COA is greater than your budget), then you cannot afford that school. To answer #4 and #5, find and download the “Common Data Set” (CDS) file for any college of interest. Section H of the CDS shows average need-based and merit aid packages, and the average percentage of need that the school covers. </p>
<p>Dozens of selective private schools claim to cover 100% of determined need. Many others claim to meet 90% or more. Michigan and UVa are the only need-blind, full-need public universities (other than the military service academies). Minnesota, on average, met 77% of demonstrated need for freshman with need in 2011-12. This is an overall average; the average might be lower for out-of-state students. </p>
<p>[Need-blind</a> admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission]Need-blind”>Need-blind admission - Wikipedia)
[Best</a> Values in Private Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges/]Best”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts)
[Best</a> Values in Public Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/]Best”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger)</p>
<p>You will be a very attractive candidate for any college listed IF you raise your ACT / SAT I scores to the 50th percentile for these schools.</p>
<p>Based on your low scores, I’d say 80 % or so of the schools in your list automatically become reaches. I am not sure if being part African-American would qualify you as an URM and compensate for that.</p>
<p>A key thing to note is that you’re not a URM. I know you may be tempted to check African American under the race list so that you benefit from affirmative action, but if you put down that you’re 100% African, then colleges will know that you were not completely telling the truth since the picture on you’re SAT I.D will not look like a black person… just a piece of advice.</p>