<p>Argh, I feel as if I am spamming CC too much...this will be the last one for a while. I have my matches, I just need to choose a reach or two.</p>
<p>What would be 1-2 realistic reaches for me? (Or what range, at least.)</p>
<p>SAT: 800 CR 680 M 730 W (2210)
GPA: 4.0
Rank: 50/262
My schedule was not that rigorous- two honors freshman, one honor sophomore, 4 honors and an AP junior. Although, I am taking 4 APs and 2 college courses senior year.
ECs- I have them, but not much to show for it (no awards or anything.)
I will write excellent essays. I don't know about my letters of recommendation, because I cannot see them.</p>
<p>You have a great SAT - the courseload may not impress some top-tiers though.</p>
<p>You might have a chance at Tufts, Emory (possibly), Case Western, Tulane, Boston College. These are all reaches, but are good schools worth applying to.</p>
<p>Lots of options available to you. What do you want to study? What region of the country are you looking for? Do you want to attend a small or large school? Are you willing to apply EC to a reach? Do you have legacy status anywhere?</p>
<p>Why, exactly, do you feel compelled to “choose a reach or two”? If you like your matches and safeties, and you haven’t come across any place yet that you like but think might be a reach be cause you have a less than perfect Math score on your SAT, you can quit. You truly can.</p>
<p>Stop worrying about not having anything on your list that you can classify as a reach. Or, just decide that your riskiest match is a “low reach” and be done with it.</p>
<p>ED I mean, lol. Acrobaticrachel has a good list and to that I would add University of Rochester, Wake Forest, and good LACs such as Oberlin, Reed, Kenyon, Grinnell, Macalester.</p>
<p>I suppose it is partially internal. I hold myself to extremely high standards, and feel like I am being “lazy” if I don’t (especially compared to other CC-ers.) I would be fine with only applying to matches/safeties, but feel oddly guilty, like I am not trying hard enough.
Far more importantly, however, is for financial aid- the more selective and highly ranked a college is, generally, the better financial aid it provides. The only colleges I will be able to afford are ones with great aid.</p>
<p>I don’t know what I want to study. Possibly neuroscience or computer science. I’d prefer the northeast, mid-atlantic, or midwest region. I don’t have a size preference. I am a first-gen, so no legacy, and I would apply ED, but I believe the ED deadlines are usually due around November 1st, aren’t they?</p>
<p>Alright, thank you. I shall check out those colleges.</p>
<p>Why would you apply ED if you do not have a clear first choice?</p>
<p>I don’t plan to now, ucbalumnus; I was just responding to muckdogs’ question, meaning that I will consider it if I manage to find a clear fit before its ED deadline is past.</p>
<p>Why would you apply ED if you need to compare FA offers?</p>
<p>Your stats qualify you for guaranteed merit-based aid at a number of places. In some cases that would come to a true free-ride. Go to the Financial Aid Forum and track down the threads on guaranteed merit aid. Some have early cut-offs for the scholarship applications (U of Alabama and U of Alabama Hunstville for example) so you need to move now.</p>
<p>If you are female, the women’s colleges offer good need-based aid so add them to your list.</p>
<p>This is just a wrong headed approach - just putting up stats and looking for a reach. </p>
<p>What qualities are you looking for in a college (academic, social, urban, suburban, rural, big, medium, small, frats, nerdy, football, really hard, not too hard, but very prestigious)</p>
<p>What is important to YOU? </p>
<p>Once you have your metrics figured out, you can start looking to see if there are desirable schools that are difficult to get into that match your metrics.</p>
<p>um wow, I wish I had your stats. What do you want to major in? and how much financial aid are you looking for?</p>
<p>My stats are decent, but I’m otherwise fairly underwhelming; very few ECs and whatnot. I’m sure you have a lot going for you…scores are not everything. :]
I’m unsure about my major. Theoretically (if job prospects did not matter,) neuroscience, perhaps philosophy…realistically, computer science. But I am ultimately undecided.
I am looking for full need-based aid, or at least 90%+ need met.</p>
<p>Are you really asking whether or not we think it is worth your time to apply to Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford because of their super need-based aid? Or NYU because of its occasional ginormous aid packages? It is OK to apply to those places if you want to. </p>
<p>Just be certain that you do have some matches and safeties on your list that you can afford, and where you know you will be happy.</p>
<p>Er, no…in fact, I don’t intend to apply to any of the ivy league colleges. I wanted to gauge what range of schools I should be looking at as reaches- I’m having trouble differentiating between unrealistic reach/regular reach/high match, because while I have the statistics, I know I’m lacking in most other aspects compared to most students in the same range.</p>
<p>Are you asking “What is the best possible place I might be able to get into if all the stars line up right?”. Is that what you mean by “reach”?</p>
<p>Then yes, you could conceivably get into an Ivy or equally selective institution because your stats are good, and none of us who aren’t sitting on the admissions committees this winter and spring have any idea of what those committees might make of your application. They might like it a lot even though you aren’t curing cancer in your free time.</p>
<p>Since you say that money is an issue, go through the lists of colleges with great merit aid and/or need based aid, and find the ones that offer your potential major, are located in parts of the country that you like, and that appear to offer an environment that would be congenial. Then apply to a bunch of those places, and see where you get in and what the final costs to you are. Cast a wide net. Love your safety. Stop fretting about needing a reach just to need a reach.</p>
<p>The fact that you didn’t take the most challenging courses for 3 years is what is hurting your chances at the most selective schools.
Look at this list of schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need and look for ones that are a little less selective:
[Colleges</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2012/02/16/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need]Colleges”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2012/02/16/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need)</p>
<p>Also, look at these lists of Best Value colleges (Separate list for universities versus LACs) and order them by average NEED-based aid.
<a href=“Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts;
Then go down the list looking for slightly less selectives that are still generous.
Trinity College, Bates, Union, Macalester, U. Richmond, etc. might be worth investigating.</p>
<p>What does your guidance counselor suggest?</p>
<p>Agree with UCBalumnus re not applying ED in your situation w/o a clear first choice and sorry if I led you astray on that. I thought you might have had a first choice. </p>
<p>Also, agree that there is nothing mystical about a reach. The key is have you seen any schools with similar grades/scores as yours that you really like. If so, definitely apply to them and do not worry what others think. But in my view there is nothing wrong with taking a few shots at top schools and you have a very good SAT and a solid rank that put you in the running for some very good schools</p>
<p>May I ask since you got the 800 in CR and 680 in M what intrigues you about CS or neuro in particular? Do you feel like you need to do something practical or is this really what you want to do? Generally, if you find a school and a course of study you really like you are more likely to do really well and that achievement will outweigh the marketability of being in a major that you are lukewarm about and thus do not work as hard at.</p>
<p>As for the trouble distinguishing between high reaches/reaches/safeties etc, welcome to the club. Anyone on this board can just give you their best educated guess and none of us sit on any of the admissions committees where you are applying (probably, lol). So do not get too hung up on our advice, just consider it along with all of the other information available to you. You are smart enough to do the research yourself and you know what you like and dislike. </p>
<p>So with all that wind now out my my system, if you really like science and want NE, MA, or MW, here are some ideas:</p>
<p>Reaches (but not ridiculous ones): Carnegie Mellon, Michigan OOS (rank hurts you here or your shot would be better), </p>
<p>Matches: RPI (good bet for some FA), Case Western (good bet for some FA), your in-state flagship, Rose Hulman, RIT (good bet for some FA), University of Rochester (good bet for some FA), NJIT, Maryland and Illinois (both under appreciated in the sciences).</p>