Hey all! I know this is just one of many among the threads of kids looking for schools, but the information out there is just so concrete and overwhelming I thought some personal opinions would help. My academic scores and stats aren’t the greatest in the world but are still pretty solid, and likewise I have a good amount of EC’s but have definitely seen more. Here’s my info:
Scores & Stats:
-Unweighted GPA: 4.0
-ACT: 32 Composite
-8 Total AP Courses (Those without scores I am taking this year): French (4), English Lit & Comp (4), Calculus AB (3), Biology (3), English Language & Comp, Statistics, Euro, Computer Science
-2 College Courses: Taking through our school’s High School Scholar’s Program (Top 10% of senior class can pick to take a course at 4 local colleges if accepted by them) - I took Economics 101 last semester and I am waiting to hear back on the availability of my selected classes this semester.
EC’s:
-Life Scout, currently working on my Eagle project, several hundred service hours logged
-Member of my community’s Environmental Advisory Council
-Varsity Baseball for 3 years, JV freshman year
-Work the lighting/sound production for school performances & as a job from time to time
-NHS & NFHS Member
-Officer of several school clubs
What I am looking for in a college:
-Size: >2,000 undergraduate (not totally necessary, but preferred)
-Location: No geographic constraints but would prefer a happy medium “college town” area rather than heavily urban or rural
-Gender: Coed
-Financial Restraints: Ignore these for now, I’d rather get a solid list going and then rule out any won’t work out.
-School Type: Happy to accept a liberal arts college or private university
-Area of Study: I’m not really dead set on any particular major, but am very environmentally and biologically inclined, so I would like to have good/interesting resources in that department. On the other hand I feel like there is a good chance my actual career will move in an entrepreneurial direction so I am interested in a good business department as well.
-Selectivity: I am definitely looking for a well-regarded school with challenging curriculum, and while I am used to a sizable workload I feel that I won’t want to be pressured to be straining myself over projects and assignments at every waking moment in college.
-Social Life: I am a very social person and find myself interacting with all types of students, so an ideal campus for me would allow me to surround myself with peers who challenge me intellectually on one end but can still party every now and again on the other.
That’s basically the jist of it. So far I have an idea of a few colleges that I might be interested in just based on college search tools like CollegeBoard’s, but I feel like I am missing out on many that I might not even consider through that and also would like some extra insight to help me zone in on a few I might like in particular. Thanks for all the help guys, you’re the best!
William and Mary; Richmond; Denison (not a business school but several business-type major, i.e. Global Commerce); University of Vermont (Burlington is a GREAT college town); Elon University (really developing as a national university, nice college town atmosphere); James Madison University (very entrepreneurial business school, very well regarded in DC area, very competitive admissions for Northern Virginia students, so well-qualified students)
If you want a medium sized school then perhaps look at Duke or Wake Forrest. Of if you aren’t as concerned about size maybe look at Northwestern? Whats your weighted GPA?
University of Michigan (if ACT can be raised some)
-great college town
-very strong biology and business related programs
-VERY intelligent student body
-VERY social student body
Workload can be brutal, so that might be something to consider. There is a very dominant “work hard, play hard” culture, which can be described better as “work REALLY hard, and play REALLY hard”. You definitely are not forced to subscribe to that, however.
Wake Forest sounds like a fit. Very demanding course work. Very strong in your areas of interest. Very social. Work hard / play hard. Great D1 sports / spirit vibe with a intimate LAC feel due to size (4800) and requirment to live on campus for 3 yrs. Big Greek life but no residential houses so not exclusive. Everyone lives in the dorms.
If you dont get into LSM, Penn allows you to specify a fallback school, in your case it would be CAS or Wharton. If you get in, then you could apply to pursue an uncoordinated dual degree in biology and business during your freshman or sophomore years.
Congrats on the improvement, obviously a strong score!
Don’t let that define you though; you are much more than a number. I know someone who did similarly as well on the ACT in a recent year (actually even better). They viewed their number as their application, and they were only accepted to one school (which was a good one, and a good fit). Still make YOU come across in your application. That will work out well for you. (I’m a modest person, but this IS good advice.)
I might just add UNC to the very good recommendations above. Obviously a terrific school, with a great social life, and really a premier college town vibe (very similar to Michigan, which we loved, but warmer weather). It would be hard to come up with a more quintessentially collegiate vibe, with such strong academics.
Maybe also Rice, which is truly spectacular in every single respect. Good luck, and enjoy the process (you really could have less reason to stress).
I would add Vanderbilt and BC to the list. Very score intensive (as a benchmark - then holistic). Congrats on the results. Great advice above. Scores are on thing but MANY students with incredible stats get rejected. I can only assume they just don’t appear to be more than a stat. Tell your story. Be interesting and interested. Be memorable.