Seriously need help with what colleges to pick.

College Search & Selection
1

Hi there! I am planning on applying to UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, Stanford, Columbia, U of Chicago. Are there any others that I should look into that are in my range? Really am not sure what other colleges I should apply to for safeties/matches.
I think that my extra curriculars show a very clear passion and relate to my major, and am wondering if you all think it is good enough to get into any of the schools listed!
Hooks:
URM -South American -Female

W GPA: 4.4
UW GPA: (I did not do well in freshman year, so with 9th grade, my gpa is a 3.8 but without counting 9th it is a 3.96. I am hoping that colleges will see how much I improved after that year)
UC GPA: 4.32
State: California
Languages: English and Spanish
Intended Major: Political Science/International Relations

For 11-12th grade I am doing/have done concurrent enrollment, that’s why there are only two HS courses for those years and a ton of college classes.

HS Courses:
10th:
AS English - A/A
Algebra II/Trig - A
AS Chem - B-/A (1st/2nd semester)
Spanish II - A
European History - A
Student Teacher

11th:
English (No AS version available)-A
US History- A

College Courses (11th):
(AB) Calc I - A (Counts as a full year)
(BC) Calc II - A (Counts as a full year)
Abnormal Psych - A
English 100 - A
Spanish (III) - A
Art History - A
Intro to theater - A
Business - A

Senior year schedule (Aside from standard English 4 and Gov/Econ)
College courses (12th):
Honors Intro to Political Theory
Sociology, Contemporary Social Issues
Physics I
Spanish (IV)
Statistics
Mexican-American Literature

ACT: 32 on first try no studying at all (stupid decision), very likely will get 34 on next try.

EC’s:
Internship at Facebook HQ: Human Resources - Diversity Department (Basically Facebook’s team aimed at diversifying it’s company and helping the surrounding community), strongest EC in my opinion, 1 summer for 175 hours total
President/Creator of Civil Liberties Club (11th/12th) - Club I started on CC campus aimed at raising awareness on social injustices in my community. Various events regarding Islamophobia and an LGBTQ youth panel
Youth Commisioner for the county I live in. Advocate for various policy changes in my community
Program Management Intern for Summer School (Boys and Girls Club) - 1 summer, approx 110 hours
Youth Advisor for the local teen health clinic
Feminist Club - 9th/10th grade, frequent club meetings led by me
Class Newsletter - Creator (1 year)
Job at a restaurant
Foreign Language study: Spanish. I am South American and am self taught. Traveled to Bolivia (where my parents are from) twice for language practice.

Awards (Practically nothing):
Event of the Year at my Community College: Event my club hosted raising awareness on Islamophobia
Outstanding Achievement in Alg II/Trig

2

Do you prefer large or small schools? Rural or urban? Do you need significant amounts of financial aid? Is there a geographic region you would rather stick to?

3

With a 33 or higher ACT and high class rank you might get significant merit at University of Pittsburgh.

U Richmond might also be a good choice.

4

I prefer larger schools, I dont need much financial aid, but it would be nice, of course. Income is about 200,000.

5

I think due to increases in application numbers, Pitt merit mostly starts at 34+ ACT, though it’s worth a shot.

You could get significant merit at Tulane or UMiami as well. Tulane would be a high match, UMiami a match.

A LOT of larger schools could be matches and safeties for a student with stellar stats like yourself. Miami U would be a good safety where you could get merit, and it’s a really underrated school. UAlabama would give you full tuition.

You want a larger school, but would you prefer more rah rah, possibly D1 sports (eg Alabama, Penn State) or a quieter larger school (eg SUNY Bing)

6

Reaches:
-Northeastern University
-UNC Chapel Hill
-University of Virginia

Matches:
-Boston University
-Georgia Tech
-Rochester Institute of Technology
-Syracuse University

Safeties:
-Baylor University
-Drexel University
-Ohio State University
-Temple University
-University of Florida
-University of Wisconsin

7

@ramennoobles

First of all, how is being female a hook? Anyhow, you need some awards for top schools. Competitive summer programs can be a substitute. I think the schools you listed, besides ucsd are all reaches. No offense, but nothing on your resume really stands out.

8

I think people are being kind of harsh. I think you have an excellent track record so far with good grades, test scores, and strong extracurriculars. Not every school or organizations give out awards like it is candy. I think the facebook internship and the civil liberties club is pretty unique. You have a better chance at the California schools because you are in-state and your reach schools are more competitive. If you are interested in international relations, I would also check out Tufts, Willliam & Mary, and Macalester, although I do not think they can necessarily be treated as matches or safeties

9

For IR, I would look at Georgetown as a reach.

Dickinson in PA would be a match. Trinity in San Antonio is a match, and you should get some good merit aid there as well, and they have a fairly large Spanish-speaking student population there if that is important/of interest.

Mac is a good suggestion.

Good luck.

10

With $200,000 income I think merit would be more likely to reduce cost than financial aid.

I say apply to several instate choices and some possible OOS merit choices. You won’t get it if you do not try.

Also being from South America aren’t you considered to be part of an ethnic minority? That adds diversity as a hook.