<p>momrath- I have been considering LACs, but I’m not sure that I could handle going to a college that has fewer students than my high school. Plus, my parents being immigrants are still apprehensive about spending so much on a college they don’t know about/heard of; it’s gonna be a hard sell but I do like the idea of things like tutorials at Williams.</p>
<p>sally/tk- I mean, I could go through every school and say why I didnt chose it:</p>
<p>MIT- too focused on hard sciences; dont feel I could get a well rounded edcuation
Stanford- Parents arent comfortable with me on the west coast
Duke- I feel I could get almost the same experience at UVA, but it’d cost a lot more a Duke
Penn- Too pre-professional. Plus, since I’m not decided about engineering, I’m not sure whether to apply to SEAS or CAS.
Caltech-See MIT
Northwestern-too fratty
JHU- too close to home, cutthroat environment, Baltimore=not good college town
WashU-See Penn
Cornell- Aside from engineering (they dont have BME), i feel the experience would be the same at UVA
Vandy-i feel the experience would be the same at UVA
Georgetown-too close to home; not sure about engineering yet and gtowns engineering is nonexistent.</p>
<p>As for BME- I’m still not sure about it; it’s an option that’s nice to have, but it isnt going to be a tipping factor. </p>
<p>But again, thanks for all the replies; they are really helping me see other perspectives.</p>
<p>tommy, I didn’t mean to sound harsh. I was just pointing out that ALL of your choices start with prestige. In my experience it is a great thing to have at least one solid option where you KNOW the school wants you and will roll out the red carpet to encourage you to attend. Since you are interested in engineering and have high stats, there are many like that that you might actually like. I think you are using some good reasoning on why some of the schools above would fit you better than others. Since you are seeking advice, I just don’t want you to suffer the fate of so many students who don’t cast a wide-enough net (as opposed to a HIGH-enough net :)) and find themselves disappointed when the offers come in…or don’t.</p>
<p>My son is at a college of 1500 kids after a high school the same size as yours. He doesn’t find it at all similar, and certainly not stifling. He loves it. For one thing, everyone is not packed into one building–they are spread out around the campus. (Because the campus is small, though, he can get to class in minutes and go back to his dorm between classes–it’s really easy to get around.) For another, more of the people will probably be more like you, whereas in high school it’s more random based on where you live. That’s why fit is SO important and why I think it is essential to visit and hopefully stay overnight after you’ve been admitted.</p>
<p>As for other colleges, if I were you I would look at the best programs for biomedical engineering, wherever they are. I know nothing about engineering so I would do research elsewhere on this site if I were you. They may be at state schools where you would also be in an honors program. You do have to like the school for reasons outside of your proposed major, since of course there is the chance you will change majors once you get there.</p>
<p>That’s exactly why these schools are great “contrarian” choices for ORMs. ORMs aren’t ORMs at many LACs. Not only that, but in my opinion they can be objectively better colleges than their research university peers (as long as you don’t want engineering or some other program they don’t have). LACs tend to offer smaller classes, total focus on undergrads, and perhaps a more intellectual atmosphere (with fewer distractions from Greek and D1 sports activities and few/no pre-professional programs).</p>
<p>As for the issue of going to a college smaller than your high school, keep in mind that the demographics and talent levels will be completely different. A typical HS of 2000 students has maybe 25 “smart kids” who might share similar interests. A typical selective LAC of 2000 students has 2000 “smart kids” from all over the country.</p>
<p>Jsut for finality, does anyone think there is a big enough difference between ED to Columbia and Harvard SCEA that would justify forgoing my top choice for a (better?) chance at my second.</p>
<p>Also, I’m trying to keep my college list manageable. How many school are “too many” to apply to? 10? 12? 15? I think that if I do go the SCEA route, I’m going to need to have more schools on my list, but I dont know where a good place to cap it is.</p>
<p>SAT <2300
No 800s on SAT IIs, 1 <750
No sports or instruments
No connections</p>
<p>Be realistic now. And what makes you think Columbia and Harvard are any less pre-professional than Penn or WashU? ED to Brown. You might have a shot</p>
<p>Pick the early reach you like the most. As long as you have a true safety you love, apply to as many matches and reaches you like and have time and money to apply to.</p>
<p>A note on purely theoretical odds: If you apply to 10 schools where you have a 50% chance of admission at each (impossible to know!), you have a 1 in 1,024 chance of being rejected by all.</p>
<p>For an estimate of odds: Because of how yields work, you may need to be in about the 67th percentile of the previous year’s entering class to have a 50% chance of admission. Check schools’ Common Data Set section C for stats.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, I’m guess you’re right. Maybe I shouldn’t apply anywhere, take a couple years of community college and try and transfer after that.</p>
<p>Yes, SAT is below 2300, but by 10 points. Is that 10 points going to make or break me? Is it worth it to go waste another $50 and a Saturday to raise my score by answering one more question correctly? Really?</p>
<p>No 800s on SAT 2, but 2 above 750 (only required to have 2 anyway so…) and one that wasn’t was a freshman year try after taking the Bio HN course.</p>
<p>How would you know I don’t play sports or an instrument? Because I didn’t write it in the original post? If you are going to insult my ECs, at least try and find an old thread where I did go in-depth of my ECs.</p>
<p>I do play sports. I have played basketball since I was 10 and still do today. I do not play for my school’s team, but I just can’t make the time commitment to do so and thus I play in a rec league with kids my age. In addition, I coach my own basketball team of 10 year olds, and we are pretty damn good.</p>
<p>So please tell me DDN, what is “realistic”? I am really interested. I am applying to top universities, and I am expecting rejections. I hope to get lucky and get some acceptances as well. Because in your opinion, Harvard and Columbia aren’t realistic it seems, so why is Brown?</p>
<p>PS: You seemed to have an SAT above 2300 and perfect SAT2s, as well as sports. Hey, maybe you play the piccolo in your free time. Good for you. How did applying early go for you?</p>
<p>vonlost: interesting analysis of numbers. Yeah, I was thinking of the approach of just casting a wide net and seeing what happens. Hopefully, I’m not the 1 in 1024!</p>
I agree with tk. You’re on the threshold of qualifying for a corollary of the definition of insanity: asking the same question over and over again and expecting a different response! :)</p>
<p>Submit as many applications as you can handle and afford. Have them ready to go, but unsent. Then, after you know your early results, you can send more or less.</p>
<p>Your grades and scores won’t keep you out of any colleges in America. What will make the difference now is the quality of your application – your essays, your recommendations, your ECs, your resumes. Most importantly how you present your abilities and interests. What you’re doing this summer. That’s what you should be concentrating on.</p>
<p>I’d definitely apply to Williams and a few other LACs. Visit if you can as this makes a big difference in acceptances and may make a big difference to your parents’ opinion too. If, after your acceptances come in, an LAC rises to the top you can work on your parents attitude then. </p>
<p>In six months time, I’m sure the path will be clear. And a year from now you can come back and tell us how it all worked out.</p>