“@epiphany I know at this point you’re just determined to prove to me that I have absolutely no shot at any of the top schools in my list, and I don’t know why you specifically feel the need to downplay my accomplishments while accentuating my weaknesses.”
Not at all. I’m determined to demythologize some of the amazing statements by some others here, most especially by adults who do have the time to read more widely and should have greater maturity, reserve, and thoughtfulness to make more considered evaluations. I’m talking about the process, not about you per se. I’m talking about lack of realism by anyone and about poor strategies.
"Perhaps I should’ve said earlier - I want to go into investment banking. And when it comes to investment banking - or venture capital, or really anything on Wall Street - all that really matters is prestige. "
Of course you do! Like every other high schooler, you have no clue what it is, but boy it sure makes the big bucks and therefore you must want to do it.
OP, post #152 adds some helpful info. IMO it is the first post in which you’ve dropped the pretense down a bit and have started to sound a bit more genuine. There is some value in that, even on Wall Street.
A few thoughts. I agree that the more flexible an applicant is, the less that “fit” is a factor. Most of us haven’t chosen our h.s., our parents, our race, our SES, etc. And we still find a way to thrive. Having said that, since prestige is such an important factor to your career goals, I hope you can find a strategy to “fit” into Villanova or your other safeties if you end up there. You can get a great education at any of the places you have already been admitted to.
Also, one of the things that sets you apart is that you had an opportunity to study abroad for a year in h.s. I don’t think you have said anything about the impact this experience had on you, but I think it is very valuable to spend time outside the US. I hope the adcoms view this experience in your favor.
I’m with @epiphany that this is not an approach to be recommended for the vast majority of college applicants out there, students for whom “fit” will make or break their ability to do well at college, or students who genuinely need to be concerned about how they and their families are going to pay for all of this. But each applicant is an n of one, and if this method gets you to the school where you need to be, I wish you all the greatest success in college and beyond.
And everyone had a good and productive time of it regardless of their high school, their parents, etc?
For those who can afford it and qualify, college should be the time to be where they belong, even if it’s for the first time. Those who can’t afford it or don’t qualify should aim as close to a fit as possible. IMO, otherwise it’s a wasted opportunity. Ymmv.
The OP has not answered any questions about whether the schools he is accepted to are affordable. On another thread he said his parents make $150K/year, but he has to apply for FA anyway. He is silent on this issue. If he is ALSO fishing for affordable and prestige, none of the 30 schools might do it. Maybe he is shotgunning because there are no schools he is likely to be admitted to, he can afford, and have the prestige he craves.
You increase your chance of buyers regret when you apply to school. Say you get into 20 of these schools. You’re much more inclined to say “wait, did I make the wrong decision” when you have 19 options available instead of applying to 10, getting into maybe 7 and having a few options available. And you’re insane if you think you sent out 40+ “good” college supplements.
"I am so indecisive that even if I visited all of those schools, I would probably be even more conflicted as to which aspect of each school I like most."---> This won't change if you apply to 5 schools or 50 schools.
IB isn't a cakewalk. Many firms have employees working 80-120 hrs per week.
IB firms are looking for HYPSP. Your GPA is too low for those schools anyway.
You obviously care about status, prestige, and reputation. So imagine the blows you will feel to your ego when you have 2-3 rejections coming in per week starting in February.
Many of these schools track interest and weight it heavily and WILL reject you if they think you are banking on getting in.
You wouldn't be able to afford any of the out of state public schools anyway. If you are OOS for any of these schools: UVA, WM, UNC, Indiana, Rutgers, Michigan, UCs, Rutgers, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND. With your income, you will get a boat load of loans. That's it. You will not get financial aid.
I recommend you getting a job. Realistically speaking, you're probably gonna get maybe 20-22 rejections. You should get a job over the summer to repay the cost of all of those rejections. You may be upper middle class, but I doubt your family was in a position to easily pay for all of that. So look for a job that will make up that $1500 difference
@CaliCash I don’t know if counselors really track that sort of thing, or at least mine didn’t. We have four guidance counselors and depending on your last name you get a certain one. At my senior appointment, my counselor asked me where I was applying early (didn’t even end up applying there), congratulated me on my successes so far, and then I was on my merry way. So, depending on the school size the counselor may not be all that involved in tracking where you applied to.
As for #6 on your list, he must of not have run a net price calculator because IU is not cheap for OOS students and the UCs definitely aren’t.
I agree that he should be carefully considering the financial aspect of this. Why even put schools on the list if they are not affordable? For us, “fit” is mostly about what we can afford! If DS doesn’t get a good offer from an oos private school, he will definitely be going to one of his financial safety schools. And thank God we have them! Does the OP have financial safeties on the big list?
@calicash I don’t think buyer’s regret will be a factor here (though it might be for just about any other applicant). OP will go to the most prestigious school he gets into, say, the one with the highest US News ranking. If the schools he gets into are roughly of equal prestige he can just flip a coin, since fit doesn’t come into it. He doesn’t even need to visit campus, and can just show up on the first day of classes.
@tola15 Well, I’m anticipating the OP has one counselor. I only have one and she looks through our Naviance accounts as if her life depended on it. If she sees you have more than 15 schools on the “Colleges I’m Applying to List”, she will steer you in another direction and urge you to remove schools. If it’s one counselor, I couldn’t imagine her not noticing that she sent 31 transcripts out for the same person. And I’m glad I made you smile!
@calicash - wait, there’s no merit money OOS for Michigan? That is a very big bummer. My DS16 was really hoping for a shot at that (he loves Engineering and Classics, has a grandmother who went to U-MI-AA, and likes the Hillel there). Is this the case at any stats level?
@MidwestDad3 True. That is correct. God forbid the OP gets into a school and the US News rankings change the following year and a school he turned down is ranked higher. Imagine that lol. Getting into Princeton and going and then whoops, Stanford is #1 in 2016. But what do you do if you get into Princeton and Williams? They are both #1
@fretfulmother - There are OOS scholarships at Michigan, but highly competitive. With high stats and strong EC and essays, there’s a shot but no guarantee. Your DS needs to apply early to be considered for some of them. Lots of threads in the U Michigan forum have more detail, or feel free to PM me. I have an OOS freshman there.
Can’t shotgunning pay for itself if you get accepted to a few of the many schools and then try to get each of them to give you the best financial aid offer?
@CaliCash I would disagree that IB firms are looking for HYPSP grads exclusively. Investment Banks have “target schools”. While those target schools certainly include HYPSP, they also include other schools such as NYU Stern, Chicago, Georgetown, Duke, MIT, UMich Ross, and Dartmouth among others.
I applied to 31 (29 if you dont count the two schools I forgot to send my transcripts to–they probably auto rejected me by now lol). Actually, if you count all the UCs as 1 school since its just one app, I applied to 21 schools. I did basically the same thing OP did.
I covered my main reaches, matches, and safeties. Then, I went into a bunch more reaches since I have the stats to even fathom such a thing. I think of it as something very worth my time because I had so much time left. At least I could try to get into the best place I can. Yes, the program’s quality at each place matters, but I feel that all the top places have decent programs in my major. I am simply expanding my opportunities.