safeties and match help, need your expertise

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm really having trouble trying to choose my safeties and matches because I don't really get much information about US universities here. I'd appreciate any suggestions.
Here's my profile:</p>

<p>International from Costa Rica</p>

<p>possible majors: econ/math/engineering so any university with strong departements in those 3 majors would be awesome</p>

<p>I'm currently a senior at a prestigious ( in costa rica at least) private school</p>

<p>Full Ib Diploma (our college counselor literally called my curriculum, and that of a few friends, the toughest curriculum available)</p>

<p>Sat I: 800CR, 740M, 730 W ( I'm actually better at math but I 'm just not an incredible test taker)</p>

<p>Gpa: 4.13W ( ranked 3/100, but our school doesn't disclose exact rankings to colleges)</p>

<p>FA: might be nice, but not a must. </p>

<p>ECs:
-Knowledgebowl club (vice-president, team member, we got 3rd place in centralamerica last year)-2yrs (I've been there since it was created)
-Tutoring underprivileged kids- 2yrs
-German lessons- 4yrs
-Student council secretary- this year
-Volunteer at the national children's hospital- permanent volunteer 2yrs
-Electric guitar lessons- 6 yrs
-Classical guitar lessons-2 yrs
-Emo band- lead guitar and composer- not really sure anymore, must be around 4 yrs
- Various ensembles- we play stuff ranging from mozart to metallica- 2 yrs. We played this year at the school band concert, first time that they let an outside group play. We have scheduled a recital at the national university to play an adaptation of a series of mozart's works for a tribute to mozart (we're gonna play them with: 1 piano, 2 electric guitars, 2 classical guitars and a bass), then we're also gonna play a few King Crimson songs at a festival that the university's music faculty organizes. And finally I'm gonna play, along with a friend, the guitar for a musical that a senior composed. We're presenting it at the same university.
-DJ lessons- 1 yr... yeah I know haha, but its awesome. I love it, because I compose stuff on my guitar and then mix into electronic music.
- I took a Costa Rican stock exchange course along with some friends</p>

<p>I know this is really long so I appreciate it if you've gotten this far. I really need help choosing other colleges to apply to. Any reaches would also be appreciated jsut so I can have wider spectrum of colleges for application. Thanks a lot.</p>

2

<p>anyone? 10 char</p>

3

<p>These are some recommendations, though its tough for international applicants:</p>

<p>Reaches
Harvard
MIT
Cornell
UPenn
Caltech</p>

<p>Matches
Michigan
UVA
Case Western Reserve
Vanderbilt
Cal-Berkeley</p>

<p>Safeties
Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
Wisconsin-Madison</p>

4

<p>awesome man, thanks a lot. Yeah I know its quite tough for internationals but I guess I'll never know if i can get in unless i apply.</p>

5

<p>They are recommending some big schools. If you want prof's instead of TA's--some with exotic accents in their English--look at some smaller schools. The ISI guide <a href="http://www.isi.org/college_guide/choosing_right_college.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.isi.org/college_guide/choosing_right_college.html&lt;/a> is the BEST guide out there. Good luck and God bless.</p>

6

<p>You could try Cal Tech as a reach.</p>

7

<p>ok thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of cal tech a lot, I¡ll probably add it to the list. But I deifinitely need more safeties/macthes to balance it out.</p>

8

<p>Matches: Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, Rochester, Notre Dame</p>

<p>Safeties: Purdue, Iowa, Texas A&M, Colorado, Boston University</p>

9

<p>Are you hispanic? If you are, </p>

<p>Moderate/ Slight Reach
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
MIT
Caltech
Stanford</p>

<p>Slight Reach/ High Match
Penn
Duke
Columbia
Dartmouth</p>

<p>High Match
Cornell
Northwestern
Rice
Wash U</p>

<p>Match/ Safe Match
Michigan
Carnegie Mellon</p>

<p>Safety
Georgia Tech
Purdue
Wisconsin
Illinois</p>

10

<p>I am hispanic, but not an US citizen or resident so I don't qualify as an URM.</p>

11

<p>MATCH - Johns Hopkins U
MATCH - Northwestern U
MATCH - Swarthmore College</p>

<p>MATCH - REACH - Carnegie Mellon U
MATCH - REACH - Stanford U</p>

<p>SAFETY - University of Georgia
SAFETY - Michigan Technological University</p>