Some Help For a Newbie

College Search & Selection
1

Hello All,

I am new posting on this website, but I have followed forums and discussions on here for awhile. I am looking for some help with my college search, as I am working on my College Application and narrowing down my list of schools… I have several reach schools that I would love to attend, but I am well aware of how much of a “crab-shoot” that Ivy and colleges akin to the Ivies are, in terms of admissions, so I am looking to add more match and/or safety schools to my list.

Here are my stats
Race: White
From a socio-economically disadvantaged part of New York (not NYC)
Rank: 2/503
Weighted GPA: 4.1267, I believe this is out of 5, however no weighted courses are offered until Junior Year
Unweighted GPA: 3.9822
ACT: 32 C, 34 Reading, 34 Science, 27 Math, 31 English, and 26 on the Writing (all 9’s) (Retaking in September to improve Math score, usually math is my best subject…)
New SAT: 1340, 680 Reading and 660 Math (Not submitting, unless all scores are required)
SAT II’s: 660 Chemistry, 660 Physics, and 700 Math II (Took them in case I need them for certain colleges, not necessarily sending)

Extracurriculars:
NHS President 1 year, member for 2 years
HOBY (Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Program) 1 year
General Electric (GE) mentorship program 1 year
Smart Scholars (Summer program, taking courses at local community college) 4 years
Volunteered with Page By Page (Summer reading program, where I go and read to underprivileged youth) approximately 100 hours over 2 summers
Varsity Soccer and Basketball 4 years
Volunteer at Grout Run (Cross Country Meet) over 25 hours across 3 years
Volunteer at High School Basketball Camp over 70 hours across 4 years

Full International Diploma Candidate, Schedule Below:
Physics (SL): 5
Math (SL): 6
Biology (HL)
English (HL)
History (HL)
Spanish (SL)
Economics (SL)
TOK
EE
Taking Calculus Senior Year as a UHS (University in High School) class

Letters of Recommendation should be solid, being written by my Biology and History teachers, both know my prowess in the classroom, but both also have helped me with personal difficulties and view me as a leader in my grade.

Essay: May sound cliche, but going to discuss my change of outlook on life after sustaining a concussion last year, that cost me half of my soccer season and all of my basketball season. Should be solid, usually have a pretty good way with words.

Intended Major: Neuroscience? Biology? Pre-Med?

Reaches:
Brown (Dream School)
Dartmouth (Loved my visit)
Duke (Amazing experience there!)
University of Chicago

Matches:
University of Rochester (Received a scholarship award, and I have been on campus for basketball tournament and loved it)

Safety?:
University of Albany
Siena College

Thanks for all your help!

2

Would you be happy to attend Albany and Siena if you didn’t get in anywhere else? Can you afford them?

3

Yes, I would – to both of those questions

4

I would add some more matches. You are right that your reaches are longshots. Not impossible but reachy. Class rank is exceptional, and where you live could be a hook if you go out of state.

ACT is definitely better than SAT.

Do you want to play sports at college? Maybe a D3 school? Consider schools maybe ranked 25 to 50 in National Universities and National Colleges. Too many to name. Remember than a 35 or 36 ACT and 4.0 is no guarantee for an Ivy/Chicago/Duke, but you are headed for a very selective school.

Big Question: how much can you afford?

5

First and foremost, thank you very much. As for sports in college, I would probably just stick to either intramural sports or potentially a club team. I will definitely take a look at the top 25 to 50 schools on those lists. And in terms of affordability, my family is lower-middle class, likely to receive decent financial aid.

6

One thing I should have mentioned is that the very top schools (Brown, Chicago, etc) usually meet ALL your needs, so are a great option for lower income families, IF you can get in. Moving down in the rankings, school usually give more merit than fin aid, but you can get merit on your academics anyhow. I personally like the smaller schools, the LACs, as they will give your application a deeper and more holistic reading. And they these tops schools (Williams, Carleton, Haverford, etc) also meet full need, and can be easier for admittance, because they are less well-known by the general public. (Bare very well-known by grad and professional schools). But whatever is the best fit for you, that’s what to go with.

7

For your interests, perhaps Bates.

8

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And in terms of affordability, my family is lower-middle class, likely to receive decent financial aid.


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You might get great aid at Albany, but you’ll likely be gapped at Siena. Qualifying for aid is different from GETTING it. MOst schools do not have much aid to give.

Run the NPC on Siena’s website and see how much they’ll expect your family to pay

9

For a selection of solid schools for pre-med, you can search for “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges with Great Pre-med Programs.”

10

Thank you all so much for your help and input! Definitely will be taking a look at your suggestions!

11

On the essay topic – I would run it by a few people you trust at home – many college admissions reps warned us about the “cliche” topics, including the sports injury which was the trigger for the student to learn about herself and your goals/values. Admissions reps warned that, while those topics can be done very well, many students wind up repeating cliches and the essays don’t stand out. (Other topics to avoid included the mission trip to a poor country).