Should I add one more school to my college list?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'll try to be brief.
My list right now is as follows:</p>

<p>Upenn (crazy reach)--- ED
Boston College (reach)
Northeastern (high match)
Umass Amherst (match)
Loyola Maryland (match)
St. Joseph's (match)
Emmanuel (safety, free app)
Stevenson (safety, free app)</p>

<p>My family thinks I'm not applying to challenging enough schools. I think they just think I'm way smarter than I really am and over estimate my chances of getting into top schools. </p>

<p>I'm ranked 4/405, large public school in northeast, SAT 2080 (will retake in October), 4.3 weighted GPA, lots of APs and ECs. The strongest part of my application is the fact that I started a cancer awareness club at school after my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and I'm interning this summer with a breast cancer foundation. I'll have good essays and recs. I'm looking for colleges in large cities on the east coast that offer communications.</p>

<p>Do you think I should add one more reach school? If so, do you have any suggestions?</p>

2

<p>Forgot to mention that financial aid is a HUGE factor. My mom is unable to work due to her illness so we qualify for significant need based aid. So I’m looking for schools that will either meet close to 100% of need or offer merit scholarships that I have a chance of getting.</p>

3

<p>Upenn will give you full ride for need based financial aid if your stats are good enough to get accepted by them I think.</p>

4

<p>What are you planning on majoring in? Boston U is also a good school if you are considering Boston college.</p>

5

<p>I want to major in communications. I’ve looked at BU but for some reason wasn’t really sold on it. It also doesn’t have great aid.</p>

<p>I know that Penn would give me an amazing financial aid package. The problem is getting in…</p>

6

<p>Penn state perhaps?</p>

<p>For upenn, taking some more English sat2s plus retaking literature might help you.</p>

7

<p>So sorry to hear about your mother. For U Penn you will need subject tests and if you are willing to look at the nursing program you may get in. Very difficult to get into arts and sciences without 2200 SATs unless you are URM. I think your list is either over or under your level. For merit aid, I recommend Case Western Reserve, Northeastern in Boston, or U Mass-Amherst. Not sure which have strong communications but it may be better for you to keep your options open. Also you may wish to be in close geographic proximity to your mother. All best wishes!</p>

8

<p>For what this list is worth:</p>

<p>Top 20 Communication Programs In America</p>

<p>School</p>

<p>Undergraduate Enrollment</p>

<p>Acceptance Rate</p>

<p>Type of Institution
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</p>

<p>16,764</p>

<p>34%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
Florida International University</p>

<p>28,406</p>

<p>36%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of Florida</p>

<p>34,612</p>

<p>42%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of South Florida</p>

<p>33705</p>

<p>50%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</p>

<p>25, 467</p>

<p>50%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
The University of Texas at Austin</p>

<p>36,878</p>

<p>51%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
Florida State University</p>

<p>30,783</p>

<p>55%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities</p>

<pre><code> 32,817
</code></pre>

<p>57%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus</p>

<p>34,637</p>

<p>58%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
Ohio State University-Main Campus</p>

<p>37,411</p>

<p>59%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of Washington-Seattle Campus</p>

<p>27,488</p>

<p>65%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of Wisconsin-Madison</p>

<p>29,438</p>

<p>66%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of Massachusetts-Amherst College.</p>

<p>19,394</p>

<p>66%</p>

<p>4-year,Public
Indiana University-Bloomington</p>

<p>29,562</p>

<p>70%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</p>

<p>30,909</p>

<p>71%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
TexasA & MUniversity</p>

<p>36,367</p>

<p>72%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
MichiganStateUniversity</p>

<p>35,678</p>

<p>74%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
University of Kansas</p>

<pre><code> 20,908
</code></pre>

<p>77%</p>

<p>4-year,Public
Purdue University-Main Campus</p>

<p>32,311</p>

<p>79%</p>

<p>4-year, Public
ArizonaStateUniversity (Tempe)</p>

<p>41,256</p>

<p>92%</p>

<p>4-year, Public</p>

9

<p>thanks for all of the suggestions! I have taken subject tests but they weren’t too great. 700 in us history, 690 in math 1, and 640 in lit. I’m considering retaking lit this fall after a couple months of ap lit but I’m not sure it’s worth it.</p>

<p>and please don’t get me wrong… I’m fully aware that I have practically no chance of getting into penn. I just thought I’d give it a shot.</p>

10

<p>Besides your SAT score, you’re a competitive applicant for any college…seriously. Just study hard and shoot for at least 2200, and then Penn won’t seem so out of reach. Trust me, based on these stats, you ARE underestimating your academic ability! </p>

<p>Good luck with the application process! :)</p>

11

<p>Have you checked the net price calculators on each school, particularly the safeties, to see if they will give you enough financial aid? If not, does it have large enough merit scholarships you can get (assured for stats in the case of safeties)? A school cannot be a safety if you cannot afford it.</p>

<p>If you need affordable safeties, look here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-19.html#post16145676[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-19.html#post16145676&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>More non-safety possibilities:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-2.html#post15889078[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-2.html#post15889078&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

12

<p>Wake Forest University (Test optional)</p>

13

<p>Here’s some suggestions considering your interests…</p>

<p>-Syracuse (has fantastic school of public communications and a school of business/management if that’s more the field you want). </p>

<p>-Emerson College (located in boston; I definitely recommend this–friend of mine with stats lower than yours got an awesome scholarship/financial aid there). </p>

<p>-University of Rochester (great financial aid; needs blind) </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

14

<p>I really like your application list - it seems to be a realistic view. You appear to be one of the rare posters here on CC who honestly underestimates her chances.</p>

<p>Are you aware of application fee waivers? If you would qualify, then I would definitely suggest that you add at least one more reach school (perhaps more) to your list, as long as it is one that guarantees to meet 100% of need (even better if it does so without loans). Here is a list of schools claiming to meet full need:</p>

<p>[Universities</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need]Universities”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need)</p>

<p>Your SAT II scores are not terrible - perhaps a bit low for Penn, but you will not be rejected based solely on these. I would suggest that you focus on improving your SAT since most schools will superscore and only a couple schools on your list even consider the SAT II.</p>

15

<p>Case Western and Syracuse give a lot of aid.
Penn State might give some scholarships for those stats. </p>

<p>Apply to UNC-CH and University of Virginia. They will meet your need.</p>

16

<p>Bowdoin is also test optional</p>

17

<p>You’re applying to UPenn Early Decision. It is a reach, but not impossible give your top 1% class rank. I don’t think your list exploits that tremendous stat. </p>

<p>UMASS and Northeastern can applied to Early Action with the same common app with trivial supplements that have no additional essays. BC can also be applied to EA. </p>

<p>UMASS is a safety. Northeastern is close. BC meets full need and is a match. </p>

<p>I can’t see you at Emmanuel and the rest I don’t know enough about. </p>

<p>I think it’s wise not to stray too far from home given your mom’s illness. My mom survived 11 years with stage 4. </p>

<p>There really ought to be something in between BC and Penn. I’m thinking maybe George Washington University in DC. JetBlue flies frequently and inexpensively.</p>

18

<p>I’ve done net price calculators for pretty much all of the schools on my list and they are all manageable. I’m pretty sure I’ll get merit aid at Stevenson and Emmanuel but I guess Umass would be my financial safety because I have a full tuition scholarship to any ma state school due to my performance on state standardized testing. Also I wasn’t sure if I should apply EA to the other schools because if by any chance I do get into penn I don’t want to have wasted the money on apps (I don’t qualify for a fee waiver). Would it hurt me to apply RD to the other schools on my list just in case I do get into penn?</p>

19

<p>The first school I thought of after reading your post was Syracuse also. I know it’s not in a big city, but have you looked into it?</p>

20

<p>Also staying close to home is important because of my mom. I’d say DC is as far as I would go so that if something was wrong I could just hop on a train and come home. I’ve looked at GW but wasn’t crazy about the fact that there wasn’t much of a campus. I tend to like schools in a city but with a good amount of green space. I’ll look into University of Rochester.</p>