Some good schools for me?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I'm a rising senior in high school and am starting to finalize my college list, as many people are. I see science as a definite, primary part of my undergrad studies and business as part of my career. I like interacting with people, so whether it be in scientific entrepreneurship or something more like business consulting, that's kind of what I have in mind.</p>

<p>Currently I've got the following schools on my "To Apply To" list, but I'm really open to more suggestions. If you think my list needs more matches/low reaches and have suggestions, I'd love to hear them...especially options with good programs in the fields I mentioned above as well as merit aid. Just a note though, I can't apply to any UC schools because I don't have a full year of art/music and don't intend to take one.</p>

<p>List: UChicago (EA), MIT (EA), Rice (EA), Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Duke, UVA</p>

<p>Of course, here are my stats.</p>

<p>Objective
* SAT: 2360 (800 W/R, 760 M first sitting)
* ACT: taking this Saturday
* SAT II: Math II (800), Chemistry/Physics/US History soon
* GPA: 3.8/4.0 unweighted, 4.7/5.0 weighted
* Rank: school doesn't rank
* APs: US History (5), took Chemistry, Calc BC this spring and a few more to come next year
* IBs: Diploma Candidate, Math SL and Chemistry SL as junior; Spanish SL, History of the Americas HL, Language Arts HL, and Biology HL as senior
* Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, IB LA HL, IB Biology HL, IB History HL, IB Theory of Knowledge, IB Spanish 5
* High School Course Load: I've pretty much will have taken the hardest classes available at my school, minus AP/IB Physics HL.</p>

<p>Major Awards
* Intel ISEF 4th place in my division (2011)
* National Spanish Exam Gold Medal</p>

<p>Minor Awards
* Regional/state FBLA awards
* Regional/state National History Day awards
* Regional/state science fair awards - 1st place</p>

<p>Extracurriculars
* FBLA (President 2 years, Secretary 2 years)
* School video news broadcast (President 2 years)
* Principal flutist in local youth orchestra (Principal 2 years, member 5 years)
* National Honor Society (3 years)
* Freshman Orientation LINK Leader (2 year)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience
* Research at state university (1 year)
* Paid 2-month research internship for high school seniors, undergrads, and med students at major hospital (summer 2011)
* Marketing internship at bookstore</p>

<p>Volunteering
* ~300 hours at local hospital, as a flute mentor, odd jobs</p>

<p>Other Stuff
* School Type: Public, reputable in area, sends ~10-15 students to top-tiers and Ivies every year
* Ethnicity: Asian
* Gender: Female
* Income Bracket: ~$130k</p>

<p>Thank you! Again, if you could suggest some good safeties/matches/low reaches as well as some general input on my application, that would be great. Thank you! I really appreciate the help. :)</p>

2

<p>What is your safety? I think you’re from IL?</p>

3

<ol>
<li>Great SAT I </li>
<li>Try to get 800s on other SAT II tests: 800 look so much prettier!</li>
<li>UWGPA 3.8 is respectable but try to raise your GPA as much as you can</li>
<li>“Intel ISEF 4th place in my division” looks good</li>
</ol>

<p>“I see science as a definite, primary part of my undergrad studies and business as part of my career.”</p>

<p>I think you have good chances at top colleges because you are a STEM oriented female.</p>

<p>Chicago EA: Reach but good chance
MIT EA: Reach
Rice: I think Rice has ED not EA
Harvard, Princeton, Stanford: High Reach
Dartmouth, Columbia, Duke, JHU: Reach</p>

<p>Yale: I think they want to have more STEM people
Swarthmore, Carleton: LACs with great science programs
Cornell: I think they want more female engineers
Middlebury, Vanderbilt: Low Asian population</p>

<p>U Chicago: Essays are very important. Write something unique and show your passion for learning in “Why Chicago?” essay.</p>

4

<p>@Erin’s Dad - I’m not from IL, actually, so I’m curious as to why you got that impression. :slight_smile: My safety would be my state school, although I’m still debating whether or not to apply…since I don’t really want to stay in-state. Although I guess the point of a safety is to be a shoo-in somewhere…</p>

<p>@20more - Thanks for the tips. I had a pretty tough time (emotionally, more than anything, with a gazillion things to do and little time) this year as a junior, so I got a few Bs in weighted classes, but will be getting better grades as a senior. Do you think that Yale would be a better choice than Princeton? I didn’t get to visit either of them, but statistically, would my application have a better chance at Yale?</p>

<p>And thanks for the LAC recommendations, I was initially worried that there wouldn’t be many science opportunities at LACs since they don’t have grad programs, but I’ve been considering LACs more these days and will look into those options.</p>

5

<p>“My safety would be my state school.”
You are in at UIUC!</p>

<p>“Would my application have a better chance at Yale?”
No, I am not saying that but I got an impression (from Yale info session) that they want to build up their STEM fields.</p>

<p>Is your HS a feeder school to U Chicago?
Mine is a feeder school to U Chicago and I took a full advantage of Early Action.
I had 2380 SAT, 35 ACT, 800-800-780 SAT II and 3.96UWGPA (all As from sophomore year).
MIT EA: Deferred
U Chicago EA: Accepted</p>

6

<ol>
<li>You need to show “interests” for LACs. Visit the schools and request interviews. </li>
<li>Some schools such as Swarthmore, JHU and Rice have interview request deadlines. (Check their websites)</li>
<li>Make sure to get all As in your senior year. Mid Year Report is important!</li>
<li>There is no match school at this level. They are either safeties or reaches.</li>
</ol>

<p>Request an interview if U Chicago rep comes to your HS. Make sure to let him/her know that U Chicago is one of your top choices!</p>

7

<p>@20more</p>

<p>How much does the mid year report really matter?</p>

8

<p>“How much does the mid year report really matter?”</p>

<p>I think everything (except interview) is important at this level.</p>

9

<p>

From your postings on the IL State Mandated ACT thread. I assumed you were from IL. You must be from the Midwest.</p>

10

<p>You say you’re looking for schools that offer merit aid, but most of the schools on your list don’t…</p>

<p>Grinnell, however, does. It’s also very strong in the sciences. I think it would be a great match school for you if you don’t mind the rural setting.</p>

11

<p>You have a fair to good shot at all of these schools. I would add Carnegie Mellon to the list as a match, and maybe U Pitt as a safety, plus Pitt gives good merit aid to OOS students.</p>

12

<p>Might look at Holy Cross very good science and pre-med focused school with nice campus 1 hour from Boston. Like the Ivies, Holy Cross is need-blind for admissions.</p>

13

<p>So many comments! Thanks for all the help, everyone.</p>

<p>@20more, thanks for the specific details. Researching right now…I wouldn’t have known to schedule interviews or anything like that without your comment!</p>

<p>@Erin’s Dad, oh you’re right; CO also does the mandated ACT too. :)</p>

<p>@Ghostt, the reason I’ve asked for schools that have merit aid is because many of the schools on my list don’t have merit aid. I’ll look into Grinnell!</p>