Somewhat final list...and chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I posted all this on the old site a while ago, but my list has really changed since then...</p>

<p>white male from WA state
SAT I: 1410 (690 verbal, 720 math)
SAT II: just took math 2c, writing, us history (expecting pretty high scores)
AP: US history 4, taking all AP's offered at school
PSAT: 205 commended</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted
Class rank: 1 of 240
Senior classes: College English (AP), Hon Gov't., AP Spanish 4, Calculus, AP Physics C, Wind and Jazz Ensembles</p>

<p>ECs:
Wind Ensemble (audition band) 9-12
Jazz Ensemble (audition band) 9-12
Selected as drum major, 11-12
All-State Band, 11-12
Band Secretary, 12
Regional Honor Band, 10-12
Marching/Pep Band, 9-12
Private trumpet lessons, 6+ years
Private piano lessons, 11+ years
Tennis team (JV and Varsity) 9, 11, 12
Spanish club, 11-12
Spanish club president, 12
National Honors Society, 10-12
Honors Society President, 12
Member of church youth group, 9-12 (leadership team 11-12, worship leader 11-12)
2 two-week missions trips to Ensenada, Mexico
2 two-week missions trips to Ravalli, Montana
Selected as student ambassador to sister city in Japan
Superior performance on AMC test/qualified to take AIME</p>

<p>Here's my list: reaches- Stanford SCEA
Columbia College
Northwestern
matches-Pepperdine
Wheaton (IL)
safeties- U Washington (honors?)
St. Olaf
Westmont </p>

<p>any other suggestions? I think my list is pretty finalized though. here's what I'm looking for: size-around 2000-6000, somewhat conservative (I know a few of them aren't, but I would definitely be able to find some conservative people), near/in a big city or in southern Cali, good science/math, music, and study abroad programs.</p>

2

<p>Those "matches" are more like safeties, honestly you dont really have any matches. Add Emory, Vanderbilt, Rice for some real matches.</p>

3

<p>You have a nice list of schools and I think you've figured out your chances pretty well - Pepperdine and Wheaton are not "safeties" for anyone really but they are good matches for you. If you wouldn't object to a Catholic school, you might look at the University of San Diego. Another school that you may want to take a look at is Hope College in Mich - they have an outstanding science program. Glad to see you have St. Olaf on the list as they are excellent for math.</p>

4

<p>everything below pepperdine is really a safety for you. pepperdine's average sat is like a 1200. like slipper said, try checking out some more difficult schools such as the once he mentioned, maybe WUSTL, Georgetown and others. you are pretty much in at most of your schools</p>

5

<p>yeah, there's a huge difference between your reach(columbia)/matchy reach(northwestern) and the rest of the field</p>

6

<p>thanks for the feedback everyone. yeah, i know there's kinda a big gap, but there aren't many "match schools" that I really like, and I really like my safeties :) all the schools that have been suggested sound pretty good, but they just don't make me as excited as the others on my list...and I think I have enough schools (8) that I'm applying to. does anyone know if U of Washington's honors program would be more of a match?</p>

7

<p>no, since you're a Wa resident I still think it would be a safety</p>

<p>(BTW where in Wa are you from?? I'm from Issaquah!)</p>

8

<p>How about:</p>

<p>Macalester (liberal though)
U of Rochester
Union
Davidson
Trinity C
College of the Holy Cross
Lafayette</p>

<p>:)</p>

9

<p>I'm from Sequim, on the Olympic Peninsula.</p>

10

<p>Pepperdine probably=safety, same as many of your "matches"</p>

11

<p>It think there are alot of schools you can be excited about, for example NU and Columbia are very different places, I know since I got into both, attended Columbia for a year, and went to days on campus at NU. Give places like Vanderbilt end Emory a shot or at least look them up, you said it yourself- you can find other conservative kids anywhere- similarly you can find a good time anywhere. The core benefits of some of the top schools apply rather uniformly, I would be shocked if you couldnt find matches that you like if you look a little deeper. Then again, if going to a prestigious top school and having those benefits don't really matter then don't worry about it. I doubt that though, otherwise you wouldnt be asking the question. Also, Wheaton and Pepperdine ARE safeties for you. BTW- Georgetown might also be your cup of tea.</p>

12

<p>thanks slipper, I will look into those schools more, but I was wondering what specifcally made you think that they would be good matches for me. Would Georgetown be a match? </p>

<p>Also, I just finished my piano audition CD for Stanford yesterday and it turned out really well - does anyone know how that will affect my chances?</p>

13

<p>as long as your happy with your safties, i think your list is great, it's just that too often people would never consider actually enrolling at their safety, and then they get a big shock come april</p>

14

<p>bump-yeah I actually do really like my safeties</p>

15

<p>anyone else have any ideas?</p>

16

<p>georgetown is a match/ reach but you have a solid chance. Its more conservative than most top schools, is in DC which is an AMAZING city and has lots of music opportunities, has great study abroad programs, and is very well known with great academics, much better than your "matches" and safeties. It has the amount of students you want. It would be a mistake to not apply there. I guess what I am saying is I don't really understand why you like the schools you do, as they are so different. You really need some matches.</p>

17

<p>SAT II's-
math 2c-790
writing-800
us history-680
how does that affect chances, etc?</p>

18

<p>Will these good writing and math scores help me significantly? And is the history score considered bad for stanford or any other schools on my list?</p>

19

<p>bump......</p>

20

<p>ok...I've added 2 schools, so here's my new list:
Stanford SCEA
Columbia College
Northwestern
Johns Hopkins
Georgetown
Pepperdine
Wheaton (IL)
St. Olaf
Westmont
U Washinton (honors)</p>

<p>any comments?</p>