Hi! I’m a senior in high school and currently feel so behind compared to everyone else in my college search. I have a 103 weighted GPA, a SAT composite of a 1500, and am in 13 extracurriculars, but I need more safety schools because I don’t believe there’s anything special enough about me for the schools on my list to want me.
Currently, I’m planning on applying to Haverford, Swarthmore, Lafayette, and Penn. I love William and Mary as well, and although that’s a little too far away I will still be applying there. These schools in my opinion all have a similar vibe of not feeling like they are in the middle of a city (Penn is in a city obviously but I don’t believe it feels that way), and all have a historical and academic vibe. I just want to find schools I have a better shot of getting into where I will still be happy.
I’m a Philadelphia native and do not want to go any farther away than DC. As of now, I’m planning in majoring in English literature or United States history. I’m considering Loyola Maryland and Delaware University as safeties (as well as Drexel, although I’m not in love with that school).
If you read through all of this, I’m so thankful. And if you have anything to offer or any advice at all, I would be so grateful. Thank you so much I hope everyone has a good day/night wherever you are 
Not sure, but I think that all of your targeted schools want 14 extracurriculars.
My point is that your original post which started this thread is ridiculous. No one is going to take an applicant seriously who posts “and am in 13 extracurriculars”. You have not shared enough well thought out preferences, likes & dislikes, current interests, achievements & any career goals.
Well, who knows, maybe someone will bite.
In the “low match” category (not quite a safety because the school is still very selective and admissions are holistic), to your list you might add Franklin & Marshall, Bucknell, or Dickinson.
Dickinson has perhaps the most similar feel of these three to Haverford and Swarthmore. Franklin & Marshall shares a workload intensity with Swat, and F&M and Bucknell are similar to Lafayette in social feel/vibe.
For a safety school that is a LAC, in addition to your university safety schools, consider Muhlenberg or Gettysburg. Or, a step even safer, try Goucher, Allegheny or Ursinus.
Drop Drexel if you don’t like it. Safeties should be colleges you would be happy to attend if you were admitted. It sounds like Drexel is not such a place for you.
I know someone at Loyola Maryland who is happy there, and they did not have anywhere close to your awesome stats but got merit aid, so it sounds like a good safety for you. You would be comfortable with their social environment, I think, if you like Haverford.
Apply to Loyola, add one more of the small colleges I named above, stick with Delaware as a public safety, and apply to the other colleges you named, and you should get into a college!
And do not sell yourself short. Be confident; your grades and scores are great, and it sounds like you have been actively involved in your high school. To get into an excellent college, you don’t have to be unbelievably unique or world-famous for your accomplishments. Just find a good way to communicate who you are through the way you describe your activities in the activities section and through your essays.
Based on OP"s limited info. Goucher, Allegheny, Ursinus & Bucknell & Lafayette do not seem like matches other than regarding acceptable travel distance from your home.
If you love the College of William & Mary, you may find Davidson College in North Carolina interesting for your intended major area of study. Apply to the University of Maryland honors college/program as a safety (as it is happy with 12 extracurriculars) .
Haverford, Penn and Swarthmore are incredibly different schools and don’t have much in common other than being in or near Philadelphia and being very competitive to get into.
Even Haverford and Swat, which have in common that they’re LAC’s, are very different places with very different cultures.
Get a better sense of what appeals to you in a school and we’ll be able to give you better advice.
There is nothing wrong with your stats and don’t sell yourself short by thinking you are not “special” enough. But you are correct, that this highly selective schools are very high reaches for everyone. I second the suggestion of Muhlenberg and Dickenson. Also, take a look at Skidmore as a match.
I went to Penn and while it does have a distinct campus, there is no getting around that it is an urban school. If that isn’t what you want, I’d take it off your list. Seems like you are picking schools based more on geography than anything else (which is your prerogative).
For full disclosure my D went to Lafayette and had a great experience. I agree with Muhlenberg and Dickinson as good other options. I would also add Franklin and Marshall to your list of schools to consider. Goucher could be a nice safety.
If it is an issue, be sure to check affordability as well.
You’re right. I’m sorry I am new to this forum I will be more specific: most of the activities which I am involved in are musically-related; I am a classically trained pianist, flautist, and vocalist, and teach guitar to other children on the side. Music is my passion and it is what I enjoy most in my life. I am president of my school’s a cappella group and president of the orchestra. I am also involved in three other choral groups (as a vocalist and pianist) and two instrumental groups (as a guitarist, pianist, and flautist). I volunteer to play the guitar and sing at a local children’s hospital for residents. A song I wrote won a Philadelphia-wide art competition in honor of Holocaust victims, and I was lucky to perform the song for dozens of Holocaust survivors at an awards show. I consider that a significant moment in defining my own character, because it showed me that my art has impact and what helps me most in life could also help other people.
I am also very passionate about diversity and making my school a welcome community for all the students who attend it. I am the leader of my school’s diversity club and attend diversity conferences regularly on the weekends. I worked with my school’s administration to organize a school-wide walk out in memory of the Parkland victims, and am currently working with them to provide adequate resources for LGBT students (as I go to a Catholic school where that is often disapproved of).
I had the highest GPA in my class for freshman and sophomore year, and was in the top 5 for my junior year. As for career goals, I’m struggling to come to terms with what I would like to do for the rest of my life. I know I love to help people. I also love using my art to help people. The career field of higher education has appealed to me because I believe teachers have the ability to change lives for the better. They are helping future generations become aware of their own society form their own intelligent thoughts and opinions to have a positive impact on the world. That is incredible to me.
As for likes and dislikes, if we’re talking academically, I am definitely a more English and History-oriented thinker (as opposed to science and math). I can’t see myself being happy science/math fields. For college likes and dislikes, I prefer colleges which feel somewhat secluded from the world around them; the reason I did not feel Drexel to be a perfect fit was because of its location in central Philadelphia. I prefer schools which are smaller in size (a reason why Delaware is not a top choice either). I am fortunate enough that money is not a primary concern.
Thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate your help and advice
Get hold of a guidebook (e.g., Fiske Guide to Colleges, The Yale Daily News Guide to Colleges.) You need some descriptive looks at the top 100 colleges and universities in the country.
Pennsylvania has so many liberal arts colleges that are less selective than Swarthmore or Haverford.
Dickinson, Bucknell, Gettysburg, Muhlenberg, Juniata, Lafayette.
In neighboring Maryland, check out St. Mary’s College of Maryland (which is public and has lower sticker prices than the private LACs, even for OOS students.)
If you’re female, than Bryn Mawr seems like an obvious addition.