What kind of schools in New England, Mid-Atlantic, and as far south as SC would be good match schools for a 30 ACT and competitive grades with honors, AP courses? Any suggestions? Thank you!
The 30 ACT score by itself would effectively disqualify an applicant for few schools in the entire nation. In terms of being an average, competitive applicant, though, a school like the University of Rochester would be a good place to look into with those academic achievements, particularly if you are in the top 10% of your class.
Agreed, you have not provided enough information to give any meaningful suggestions.
Try using the supermatch function to the left (under find a college).
Also:
–have the money talk with your parents.
–see if you parents have any other limitations on your college choices (ex. geography)
–consider what you want in a college in terms of size, location, sports, Greek Life or anything else you might want.
–think about your intended area of study in a college.
That ACT score is top 95% so you technically qualify for most colleges. Places like U of Rochester, Colgate, Brandeis, Tufts, Brown, BU, Hamilton, BC all come up as great matches on Naviance. Of course that doesn’t mean you will get in - that depends on all the other components of your application and a little luck too.
Disagree…a 30 ACT makes Colgate, Tufts, Brown, and Hamilton all reaches. BU, Brandeis and BC high matches.
@NEPatsGirl BU is a high match? thats my top school atm
im really just looking for suggestions based on the geographical area, nothing specific when it comes to price or size since im still figuring out what is best for me. I want to major in Business or Communications, most likely a double major or major and minor
Re #3, Hamilton currently shows a 31 for its 25th percentile ACT on its CDS. The examples named, though, do remain mostly valid as points of illustration, in that some highly selective schools such as Brown indeed show a 30 or less for this figure.
As implied in #4, however, schools with roughly accomodating statistical ranges can still be, and often are, significant reaches.
A “match” school will generally have an acceptance rate of 30% or higher.
While 30 won’t disqualify you for admittance , if you retake and score a 32 it will usually increase merit money available. SC schools you want want to consider are Clemson, Furman, Wofford, University of SC and College of Charleston .
@jjohnross, of all the schools on your list, BU is probably your best choice given a 30 ACT. I think that falls above the 50% mark. Not sure about their business/comm departments. UMassAmherst Isenberg School is ranked very high and you would be a match there.
I’m sorry, I confused your original post with a reply by amy989. I see now that those were her list of potential matches. But yes, BU and UMA are good choices in the NE area for large universities. If you are interested in smaller schools look at Bucknell, Skidmore, Holy Cross, Providence College, all potential matches (PC might be more a low match/safety I think) for an ACT30.
This is a list of school im considering in no order really. Im having trouble with what schools are matches, reaches, and safeties just because a 30 ACT places me in between on so many of their averages (some high or over, some at the lower end).
- Boston University
- Syracuse University
- Fordham University
- Rutgers University - NB (instate)
- University of Delaware
- Penn State
- Villanova
- George Washington University
- College of William and Mary
- Lehigh University
- Northeastern
Heres my stats too if you want them:
GPA: 4.58 (Weighted) something around 3.86 for unweighted, not sure though
Class rank: 51 of 530 (top 10%) (school is stopping ranks next year so this doesnt really matter)
ACT: 30 Composite (34E, 28M, 30R, 28S) 31 SUPERSCORE
Junior Year Schedule:
AP English,
AP US II,
Honors Precalc,
Physics,
Business Management,
Financial Literacy
Spanish III
Sports: Freshman Soccer, Winter Track (2 years JV), Cross Country (3 years JV)
Extracurriculars:
NHS member
Student Council (3 years) (Homeroom Representative Freshman year, leader of homeroom class) (Senator all three other years)
Newspaper Writer (3 years (Media Manager Junior year, managed schools instagram account),
Photography Club,
Pre-Medicine Club,
Team Challenge: Business Ethics Competition (3rd place in county competition)
Internship with Local Hospital, 4 hours a week for the entire summer (32 hours total)
Internship with Local Library, 2 hours a week for 5 weeks (10 hours total)
Over 60 hours of service altogether
Jobs
Works on the Jersey Shore as Beach Staff at a Private Club, 12 hours a week all summer
EXTRA: First Generation College Student, also a Twin which might affect financial aid
I’d say Northeastern and Lehigh are reaches most likely, BU, Fordham and Syracuse look like good matches for you. I’m not familiar with the other schools. What schools on your list do yo u consider an academic safety?
@NEPatsGirl i would consider Rutgers a safety since im instate, along with delaware and maybe penn state. Their averages for admitted students are more towards 27-28 range, but Im not sure if thats enough of a gap to be considered “safe”
Two things:
- I'm a fan of applying to your state flagship as a safety if you like it and stats match. That is where most people will get the most merit aid. This varies by state.
- Your math score is part of what is holding you up and I think is the easiest to bring up. A little focused study on the questions you missed should get you up to 32 on Math. That would increase your composite by one point by itself. BTW, few schools Superscore the ACT.
@Sportsman88 yeah math has always been my weakest section but Im trying the new sat in hopes of bringing it up. I only self-studied, so I was pretty happy with the results considering most kids in my school spend thousands on tutors. Thanks for the advice!
Since you are in the top 10% of your class, schools at which your ACT is even slightly above average and at which the acceptance rate is 30% or higher will generally be easy matches for you. Schools that may have different criteria for OOS students, or, as may apply to you, for their business programs, should be viewed more cautiously.
In terms of your current list, it appears to contain mostly matches.
One suggestion is practicing timed tests. That was extremely helpful for helping my son increase his score to 32.
@merc81 thanks for the insight! Im glad that most look like matches, I don’t really see the point in wasting an app on a school thats almost impossible to get into and I wouldn’t have a chance to get money from anyway.
Don’t underestimate the value of going to a math teacher at your school and asking for help. Don’t ask an open ended question. Look at what you missed on a practice test and ask, "I haven’t taken trig but there is basic trig on the ACT. Can you explain SIN, COSIN, etc.? " Bring the practice test and show the problems you missed.