Academics/Scores
STEM-oriented rigorous college prep school in the morning + public high school (both NoVa)
Rank 2 out of 561 (not a super competitive school though.)
GPA UW 4.0, W ~4.4 (the way my school does GPA, an A is an A. anything 90 or higher in an AP/DE class is 5.0. idk if that matters)
SAT 1530 780 RW / 750 M (first try, not planning to take it again though)
Took math II and chem subject tests, haven’t gotten scores yet
Courses
AP
None offered at school freshman year (when I was a freshman anyway)
Sophomore year: AP World History (3)
Junior year: AP Chemistry (likely 2-3 unfortunately), AP Comp Sci (likely 5)
Senior year (to take): AP Environmental Science
I took honors classes for all core subjects, and dual enrollment when available
Pretty much the only time I went for a less advanced class than what was available was taking honors English sophomore year instead of AP Lang.
Advanced math track, I started with Algebra 2 in 7th grade, took calc AB and BC junior year (counselor wouldn’t let us do the AP test if we were dual enrolled), and will take multivariable calc and linear algebra senior year.
ECs/activities
Accepted to summer gov school for math, science and technology (month-long summer program for advanced STEM students in Virginia) as a rising junior
FIRST Robotics grades 10-12, project manager grades 11-12 - not a world class team but we do pretty well for our size, we had like 20 people this year
Co-president of mathematical modeling team (member grades 10-12, co-pres grades 11-12) - finalist team this year for HiMCM (nationwide competition)
Scholastic bowl co-captain (member grades 10-12, co-captain grades 11-12) - undefeated district championship team the past 2 years
This summer I’m doing an internship for the DHS and going on an 88 mile trek at Philmont - Boy Scout ranch, 4 other girls + 2 adults and I are going as a Venturing Crew
I’m planning on using this summer to figure out what I’m doing for college, I probably want to study environmental science or computer science but going to a generally science-y school is important to me. Thanks for reading this, I’d love to hear any recommendations for schools I should check out - in state or out of state. so far, I’m only definitely applying to George mason (safety) and Virginia tech (safety?? match??)
You should try applying to an Ivy or big research university, just to expand out a bit. MIT is a big reach for anyone, but it may be worth a shot or Princeton. Take advantage of the College Board College Match search, which is really helpful.
Lots of E Science grads out there un or under employed. I’d do Environmental Engineering if that is the angle you are interested in.
Rather than look for a list based on your stats, why not look at schools for fit? You seem an outdoorsy type. Would access to hiking, skiing, the ocean, etc. be important to you? What about other non-academic interests.
There are lots of good schools, where access to the outdoors is less than ideal. Take Rice for example. It’s a great school, but in the middle of Houston, with poor access to outdoorsy activities.
I’ll throw one out there though. It’s the school my son chose from OOS. If you are into the ocean, like hiking and want a school that has both good CS and Environmental Engineering, and want an off the beaten path suggestion for an East Coaster, look up Cal Poly. CS is hypercompetitive (over 5000 applicants for 100 slots), but they admit on an objective algorithm. Classes are small and they don’t use TAs. It’s beautiful.
Can your family pay the Expected Family Contribution that the financial aid formulas generate?
Will you require need-based financial aid, or merit aid, or neither?
(There’s no point in suggesting schools that won’t fit your financial profile as well as your academic profile.)
@bluemaid13
I have had MIT on my mind, I’d love to go for a visit. Good to know it’s not completely outrageous to consider applying. I’ve used the Naviance tool mostly for searches, but it’s not super helpful so I’ll try CollegeBoard’s for sure!
@eyemgh
That’s certainly something to consider for environmental - I’ll check out the engineering angle, not something I had really considered before so thanks for the suggestion! Cal Poly sounds fantastic! Like you said, super competitive but I’ll check it out, if only for my own curiosity. Hope your son is doing well there
@aquapt
I’ll have to talk to my parents about financials, we would likely require some aid. I’m hoping for merit-based scholarships but, from what I’ve heard from some students a year ahead of me, it seems like that might be difficult unless I want to go to a really small school (<2,000).
@mere37 , merit isn’t just about the size of the school. There are larger, very well-regarded schools that are generous with merit; they just aren’t the pinnacle-of-competitiveness schools like MIT and Caltech. (Case Western Reserve U is just one proof-of-concept example of a larger, private research U with top-notch STEM that is quite generous with merit aid.)
Ask your parents to run their information through the Net Price Calculator for MIT https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/mit (From there you can find the NPC for the other schools on your list, but as a school that meets full documented need, MIT will give you a ballpark idea where you stand, to begin with). The crucial question here is, can you family pay the Expected Family Contribution that the NPC says you can? If so, then you are looking for schools with excellent (ideally no-loan) financial aid. You’ll want to run the NPC on every school you consider to get an idea what it will cost, as this is the formula they will follow in awarding need-based aid.
If paying your EFC isn’t realistic, then you are looking for schools that either have a lower “sticker price” or award merit aid. Get your parents to estimate what you can reasonably spend per year. People here will then be very helpful in suggesting good schools that will come in under that figure.
You’re a strong student and you will have good options in either category, but you NEED to know, ASAP, which category you are in. There’s no point falling in love with schools that aren’t a financial fit, especially when there absolutely will be schools worthy of love, that are a fit.
Why one would recommend Michigan and Wisconsin, two of the largest schools in the nation, alongside HMC, one of the smallest schools in the nation, is beyond me. A student’s experience will be radically different between those extremes.
