Solely based on my stats, where do I have a shot of admission?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello. I’m currently a high school senior and I already have a list of colleges that I’m planning to apply to. I’ve also used different tools online to narrow down my choices. However, regardless of my preferences, I’d like to know from an objective standpoint the //best// colleges I might get into just based on my stats. Sorry if this seems odd, but perhaps there’s a “match” college I haven’t been considering!!

GPA: 3.81 UW, 4.90 W
ACT: 30 (35 E / 24 M / 36 R / 24 S)
AP: HG (5), WH (5), Psych (5), Euro (5), Lang (5), Seminar (5), USH (4), AH (4), Bio (3)
Rank: 17/733 (97%)

Also, I’m female and I’m fine with women’s colleges. Universities, LACs, open to any suggestions. Thank you for your help!

2

Rather than ask strangers, may I direct you to the SuperMatch tool on the left panel of this page? No one can say what is “best” but the tool allows you to specify things that are important to you.

3

I suggest when you look at schools you use a more standard GPA system than your numbers suggest you are using when you look at their profiles.

4

I’d say you’re a match for schools above a US News rank of 20 (9 for lacs).

5

@nw2this The competiveness of schools beyond the top 20 is still extreme

This OP, while certainly accomplished, to say is a match for some of those is not realistic. For instance, UMich is past the top 20. Yet this OP wouldn’t have much of a chance whatsoever , even for in state

6

@T26E4

At UMIch, OP is in the middle 50%-tile for ACT, and top 25%-tile for grades, no reason she wouldn’t have a shot.

I probably should not have used the word match - since that implies a 50% acceptance rate, but I still think a 20+ rank is a good rough answer to her question.

7

Thanks for everyone’s replies so far! I suppose making a thread wasn’t the best way to figure out which colleges to apply to. Just wondering, @VickiSoCal what would be a regular way to calculate GPA? My school counts APs as +6, Honors as +5, and Regular as +4 for an A on a 4.0 scale.

8

If the school does not state how to calculate your weighted GPA such as with the California UC’s and Cal States, just go by your UW GPA. Each school will weight classes differently.

9

In general it is more usual for AP and honors to only get a 1 point bump.

10

Your thread title is highly statistical by implication, so the answer to your question may be as well. You can place yourself by cross-referencing CDSs with an online article, “The 610 Smartest Colleges” (Business Insider). As stated on this thread, you may be OK for UMichigan (#42), but colleges above that would appear to be (either moderate or high) reaches. However, even a school from this group may be worth an application should you find it particularly appealing (and many of them are, of course).

11

With 3.81 UW, a rigorous schedule, and an ACT 30 with superb English/Reading scores, you should aim for a university or LAC with excellent writing/humanities, and emphasize your interest in the “why us” essay.
Scripps, any of the SevenSisters, Hamilton, Sewanee, Denison (look into their new nonfiction writing concentration), Kenyon, Emory/Emory Oxford, and Middlebury as reaches, and Eckerd, Knox, and Ursinus as safeties.