<p>Im a sophomore, and despite the fact that Im on this site, Ive never really thought about which colleges in specific I plan on applying to in a year or so. I really dont know where to start honestly, so some suggestions would be great.</p>
<p>I dont really want to go into great detail about my stats (Im only a sophomore, after all), but heres a basic summary:</p>
<p>Asian female
PSAT (as of 10th grade testing): 235 (80 M / 79 CR / 76 W)
No SAT score except 7th grade
SAT IIs: Biology 740</p>
<p>Top 1% of large, public graduating class
Strong schedule (15+ APs by graduation)
Average-at-best ECs and community service (I hope to improve come junior/senior year) with emphasis on math/science and a little history
Some leadership positions but nothing spectacular</p>
<p>I want to go to school either in New England or the Californian coast, somewhere with a good atmosphere and scenery. Being near a big city is preferable. No small schools, and at least an average class size. As for majors, I havent really taken that into great consideration either. I figure itll probably come down to finance, business, or medicine. Definitely nothing humanities or language oriented.</p>
<p>as of now you're slated to be failrly successful if you keep up your gpa and get sat scores to match your psat scores. </p>
<p>you'll have a lot of options if you work on ec's. i would say do something interesting that will be unique. i'm sure you'll have plenty "token" high-acheiver ec's, you want to do something that will make you stick out.</p>
<p>once you're in the 1500/2300/4.0+ range it's all up to your ec's and essays/rec's</p>
<p>find something that you like and can become highly proficient at. every other kid applying to the top schools is going to have won science/business/whatever competitions and attended summer college, etc...</p>
<p>just think of what you would look for in a student, you just have to make yourself appeal to the admissions offices. try to put yourself in their shoes and think about how they might compare you to everyone else. being genuine is a big plus.</p>
<p>remember, where you go to college doesn't determine your future. just try to be the best person you can be and everything else will come.</p>
<p>You'll have a good chance at any school. Be aware that a lot of the top schools don't have undergrad majors in business/finance/marketing/management. Some do, most don't. All of them have economics, however. Any school would have the classes to prepare you for medical school.</p>
<p>Your're going to find that being near a big city and having a scenic location is a tough combination to find. Try Stanford, UC-Berkeley, UC-San Diego, California Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, UCLA, MIT, Tufts, Boston College, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth. Cornell and University of Pennsylvania aren't in New England but would fit your other criteria.</p>
<p>Thank you for the lists and suggestions. They were very helpful. :)</p>
<p>One thing though, I know top colleges tend to be a luck-of-the-draw kind of thing for textbook applicants like myself, so I'm really looking for match/safeties that I would be happy to end up at.</p>
<p>Scenic probably wasn't the best word to use. I'm not looking for beautiful and outdoorsy... just polished. Like, Rice is an amazing school, but I've heard a lot of criticism about the campus itself. And I really want to be within traveling distance on the weekends of a big city like NYC, sick of the suburbs and sick of the south basically.</p>
<p>Do what Clawedjird says and go to Harvard, Yale or Princeton.</p>
<p>Or, once you're named a National Merit Finalist, go to the U. of Oklahoma which will give you full tuition, room, board, et al for five years, plus a $5,000 stipend and the opportunity to keep the value of any outside scholarships you receive: Non-Resident</a> National Merit Financial Package 2007</p>
<p>I took a look, and I’m really liking Northwestern. Do you know how generous they are with scholarships for middle class families (150k-200k range)? I have two younger brothers, and my parents really aren’t willing to pull out the big bucks for anything but a brand name.</p>