Hi, I currently have a lot of target/ slight reach schools that I really love. I really need to find some safety schools that are similar so I would love if I could get any recommendations! I am looking for biology/microbiology/biochem.
The top of my list right now includes (all of which are targets or target/reaches):
Johns Hopkins
Vanderbilt
University of Virginia
Emory
I’m not just into southern schools, like one of my lower end safety’s is University of Vermont and I like a lot about the school vibe wise. I also like University of Chicago, but I’d rather it not be that cold. I like small cities (like UVA and UVM) but I also like being on the outskirts of larger ones and therefore do not want to be in the middle of no where. Mid size schools are great, but I’m open to anything.
Target: William and Mary, University of Richmond, Case Western, University of Rochester, Tulane, Lehigh
Safety: Fordham, Clark
By the way, none of the schools you listed can realistically be considered targets, no matter how good your grades and scores are (except maybe UVA, but only if you’re in-state).
Where do you live? What are your stats? What can your parents afford? And… these schools are reaches… Not target/reaches… And not slight reaches. The only possible exception would be UVA… Maybe… Depending on your state of residence and stats- it may be a target school ( this does not guarantee acceptance).
Hello! Sorry for the lack of info before, was in a haste. I live in Connecticut at a very competitive school (the only reason I dubbed the schools target / reaches is based on my guidance councelor’s rec and past student stats, I’m still quite new to this and your help and knowledge is so greatly appreciated!!)
WGA: 4.4 (all APs/Honors)
School does not do unweighted GPA or class rank, but am within top 5% of class
ACT: 35
Awaiting subject test scores
Awaiting AP scores lol!
Lleadership & volunteerig (student gov, on board of: NHS, NLHS, NSHS, volunteer at elementary school and homeless shelter)
Not sure what else y’all need? Let me know, thanks again!
Does your school have Naviance? As a reference, kids at our northeast HS with very high scores and top 1-2% rank get into Emory, Hopkins and UVA but are always wait listed now at Vanderbilt. Not sure about Chicago. A few years ago kids were getting in to Vanderbilt. Despite these acceptances, I would not call these schools targets. I consider them to be reaches… but of course I don’t know your school.
Yeah, I totally agree. I was again going by what my guidance counselor had said, but I think they just try to make people optimistic. Same case here with those schools, and Vanderbilt has been weird the past few years for us ranging from 7 kids (which is a TON we have less than 200 people per grade) or just 1 get in. And yes, we have naviance
Have you talked to your parents about what they will contribute money-wise, and run the net price calculators on the various schools to see if they are financially realistic?
Safeties must be affordable for sure, as well as being certain admission (including to your major if applicable).
Here are a few ideas- not sure about your finances.
U of Pittsburgh
U of Rochester
Case Western
Tulane
Lehigh
Lafayette
Northeastern
U of Maryland
UConn
I’m pretty sure the way my family is going about it is what ever aid we can get is amazing, otherwise my parents cover loans for the rest. Obviously, the less expensive, the better, but my parents are not too harsh on the price. (I hope that did not sound entitled, I had one girl straight up tell me her parents would foot the bill even if it was 100k a year, it makes me kind of hate living in Fairfield County lol) Thanks for all the recs so far!
If I were you I would look for merit. I would also use the net price calculators to get a FA estimate. Will your parents take out $200,000 or more in loans if you don’t qualify for FA and don’t get merit?
You can calculate your unweighted GPA yourself easily.
Weighted GPA means nothing to those who do not know what the weighting method is.
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ has some big scholarship safety candidates, but check college web sites since some have changed. Note, however, that some of them use unweighted GPA. Check the college web sites on that.
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am looking for biology/microbiology/biochem.
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What is your career goal?
Borrowing a lot for undergrad is a very dangerous thing to do. If your parents can’t afford to pay a LOT each year for undergrad, then please don’t burden them with huge loan payments over a 10 year period. That would be a very selfish thing to do…and will likely backfire…because either they will realize it’s too much WHILE you’re in college and make you leave college…or they will be so burdened by that debt later on, that their lifestyle is diminished and you may end up supporting them because that debt prevented them from adequately funding their retirement.
OP, your parents are competent adults. Ask them how much they are willing to pay for college and if they are willing to borrow money for you to go, and what role the cost should play in your decision. Then listen carefully to their answer and trust their judgement. Their answer is based on their own analysis of their finance but also their VALUES. Many parents gladly borrow money for their kids’ college. Most people I know do. It’s for them to decide if that’s worth it.
There are many people here, most forcefully @mom2collegekids, who inject their own values into the discussion. She often has great ideas and does many people a valuable service. But her values and opinions about debt are no substitute for your parents in determining how much THEY are willing to pay, and whether THEY to borrow to do so.
You have tremendous statistics. My D with similar statistics used University of Wisconsin as her safety, applied in September and was admitted in October. She had her safety bagged before her EA applications were due. University of Pittsburgh is another excellent safety, has an excellent med school nearby, and often offers generous merit scholarships. It would be great if you were admitted to a safety early so you can focus on reaches and matches.
@twogirls has an excellent list, though I would say that Lehigh is most definitely not a safety because of the large role demonstrated interest plays in their decision making. Short of applying ED, which you obviously won’t do, with your stats, there is little way for you to generate believable interest so I would just skip it. I suspect Lafayette is the same way. Rochester may be a good safety, and except for being in a really cold place, it has a lot of similarities to Johns Hopkins. They admit very high stats kids and offer them merit scholarships, so an application there from an academic superstar is a credible admit because that student may be lured by the scholarships. Use them as your second safety because they they don’t let you know until March.
If you do want to go the merit route, Alabama is a sure thing. It’s not Johns Hopkins.
The very definition of “safety” is that you will be able to afford it. I am always leery of the “my parents will take care of it posts”. It’s important for everyone to have an idea of what is affordable. People can throw out names all day but if in the end it’s not affordable you are left in a lurch. What do you intend to study. Some areas of study will be more competitive than others. Wanting a degree in CS would mean that some programs that might be safeties for most majors would now become a match. Some smaller schools might be more major dependent. Most of the larger state flagships would have good programs in most disciplines. UVA is a state flagship so you obviously are OK with those. U of Alabama would have a similar sized city around it and would definitely be a safety. You might also check out U of South Carolina. Good luck.
