<p>Hey! I'm currently a junior and I'm wondering if this list of schools looks reasonable for someone with my grades, Sats, etc. All comments are greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Here's the list of schools I'm thinking of applying to:
Reach Schools - Columbia, Princeton
"Good Match" Schools- Kenyon, Wesleyan University, Lafayette, Davidson
Safety Schools- Penn State University Park</p>
<p>Ok, here are my credentials:
4.2 GPA (I've been in 4 weighted honors classes per year since freshman year. I'm not really sure how colleges treat honors-inflated GPAs.)
6th in a class of 230 or so
1450 SATI (690 math, 760 verbal) (I'm going to be taking SAT II's in June)
During senior year I will be taking AP US gov't and politics, AP Calculus, Honors English 4, Physics II, Journalism, Topics in Politics, Spanish III, band, and chorus. I'm set up for an editorship in journalism.
Also, I got a 215 PSATs this year. School counselor says that may be good enough to be a for national merit finalist, but no word on it yet.</p>
<p>Extracurricular stuff-
Band- all four years of HS
Chorus- all four years of HS (I've been accepted at District Chorus for the past two years and probably next year)
School Play- all four years of HS
Editor of school paper next year
"Drum Sergeant" in a fife and drum corps for two years and a drummer in the corps for 6. Basically, I run the drum practice, teach new drummers, and leadthe drumline at parades and competitions.
I'm also the manager and drummer in rock and roll band that regularly plays free charity gigs to benefit the local YMCA, local fire departments, local churches, etc. I don't know if that will count for anything as far as being admitted into college goes, but you never know.
I've held down a job for 3 years. The job is being a "living history interpreter" at a museum near where I live.</p>
<p>You're EC's aren't terribly great, but they're very solid. Wesleyan is pretty competetive, more so than your other matches. Would you be happy going to PSU if all other plans fall through? I think this is a major shortcoming with many cc students when putting together their prospective list</p>
<p>I think your list could be better focused on schools within your range.</p>
<p>Here is how I would rate your chances at the schools you have:</p>
<p>Princeton: Major Reach
Columbia: Reach
Davidson, Wesleyan: Match/ Reach
Kenyon, Lafayette: Safety
Penn State: Major Safety</p>
<p>I personally think you should be applying to alot more Reaches and Matches, you have a major reach and alot of safeties, not nearly enough in the middle. </p>
<p>You also are applying to very different schools, Columbia is nothing like Princeton or Davidson. </p>
<p>If I were you I would dump Princeton and add other top schools more within reach. Schools similar to your other choices (LACish top schools) at the reach level are Dartmouth and Duke (less of a LAC than Dartmouth). </p>
<p>At the match/ reach level you might like Wake Forest, Northwestern (little higher reach), Vassar, and maybe Middlebury.</p>
<p>Kenyon is a safety for someone #6 in their class with a 1450. His/ Her academic index makes it almost a sure bet. A 1450 is about 80-85 percentile there, and top 3% of class is similar. People from my high school walked in with 1300s and top 25% all the time.</p>
<p>Kenyon Freshmen Academic Profile
Average SAT: 1323
SAT I - Verbal Range (25-75%): 620-730
SAT I - Math Range (25-75%): 610-690
Average Verbal SAT: 674
ACT Composite Range (25-75%): 26-31
Average ACT: 30
Average High School GPA: 3.71
Students in top 10% of HS class: 50%
Students in top 50% of HS class: 98%
Students from Public School: 54%</p>
<p>Celebrian I know you like to defend Ohio schools, but outside of Oberlin, they arent that selective.</p>
<p>This has nothing to with ohio in this case. I honestly think it might be leaning towards safety, but it is not a sure bet. A safety school is a sure bet.</p>
<p>Yeah, its not 100% but its pretty pretty safe, not a match, maybe a safety/ match. In anycase I think zromano needs some more matches, match/ reaches.</p>
<p>I don't. If you like the schools you're applying to, no matter how elite or easy they are, and you have one true safety (financial and academically), than you have a good list.</p>
<p>You could try to aim more in the middle of the road, below princeton but above kenyon and lafayette. Schools like northwestern, washington university, tufts. These schools will give you a challenge but are more attainable than princeton or columbia. Wesleyan and Davidson are good choices. My problem is that your list is VERY ecclectic. Penn state is a huge school, complete unlike all of the liberal arts colleges on your list. What do you want to major in? Is location a factor?</p>
<p>i think princeton and columbia arent terrible reaches
If she applied to 8 dream colleges, she will most assuredly get in to at least one, if not 4 or 5 of them
Penn state is out of the question, don't go there. Consider oberlin, Cornell, Uchicago, hopkins and schools like that, before taking a major step down to Penn State.
I applied to 8 schools, and three of them were major safeties, its the biggest mistake Ive made. Heres how I would look at things, apply to 4 or 5 colleges that are in your match range (i.e your SAT and GPA fall in or near their 50th to 75th percentile) two or three colleges that are a reach (i.e. you're around 25th to 50th percentile) and just ONE that is a safety (i.e. your SAT and GPA are well above the norm for their (i.e. a school with 1000-1200 avg. SAT). Pick that ONE school as teh one safety you wouldnt mind going to.</p>
<p>You've got to have 1 real safety. I wouldn't be fast to call JHU, Oberlin, Cornell and Uchi safeties. You can apply to more reaches if you want, but keep one good safety on that list</p>
<p>Penn State is on the list because being a PA resident, tuition is relatively cheap, and if everything else falls through it's not a horrible school to go to. Basically, if for some reason I couldn't get all the financial aid I needed to attend one of those liberal arts colleges, I'd have something to fall back on. Admittedly, It's not all that great of an idea to have your safety be solely a financial safety, though, and as of yet I probably haven't done all of the research I should before I actually start filling out applications. The suggestions I've gotten help alot and thanks to everyone.</p>
<p>I agree with Thecity, I cannot even explain how many times I have seen people not apply to enough matches/ reaches then see them sulking when the envelopes start arriving. I (In my opinion a worse candidate) ended up at Columbia and my valedictorian at Haverford, only because I had the foresight to apply to enough schools, and the right mixture.</p>
<p>I don't like TheCity's list, all those schools are way to nerdy for me (personally). But Northwestern, Middlebury, Vassar, WUSTL, Tufts ( and perhaps Duke and Dartmouth as reaches) should be on your radar in my opinion.</p>
<p>I think you should apply to Cornell, maybe drop Princeton. Cornell has an excellent poly sci dept and has "the only real marching band in the Ivy League". They can always use a good drummer. University of Rochester is very strong in poly sci...a good match for you. Take a look at Colgate in NY, Tufts near Boston, U of Pennsylvania, Middlebury (VT), Johns Hopkins (Balt), Hamilton (NY), Georgetown (DC).</p>
<p>I think you did a great job with your picks. I agree with Slipper that Wesleyan and Davidson are reach/matches, but if you give those schools attention, it'll give you an enhanced chance there. By the way, two more different school personalities would be hard to pick among the top LACs. Kenyon fits neatly between the two in my opinion.</p>