@merc81…I sand corrected. 
I think my general point is that in the pack of “hidden ivies” there are some that hard to get into and some that are, as you point out, stratospheric. It’s a big pack of schools some have acceptance rates of 43% while some hover in the 9% range. This year Bowdoin was 8.9%
Will my extracurriculars make me stand out, or am I totally just screwed over not having high enough grades?
Yes, Liberal Arts Colleges tend to look at many factors: grades, ACT/SAT, Extracurricular, college essay, interview. SUNY’s look mostly at grades and ACT/SAT, but it seems you probably will have several solid SUNY’s locked up. You have some excellent options ahead of you. Do yourself a favor and read “Colleges that Change Lives”. The first few chapters will help you relax and enjoy the process to some extent.
Some of the most selective schools in the country have appeared as suggestions on your thread, @historypenguin. I don’t think people who have viewed your profile in detail see you as a lost cause with respect to gaining admission to an excellent college.
As previously stated, Bowdoin, Pomona and perhaps a few others, are just as difficult to gain acceptance to as any other LAC. There will naturally be differences in average or middle-range board scores amongst them in any given year (and I wouldn’t put much stock in those differences), but on the whole, the level of difficulty in gaining admission is just as intense, and increasingly so, as the opt-mentioned A, S and W. I know this personally.
Best of luck!
Not sure how this works now; do I continue this thread or move?
I have an ACT score.
33C (I just missed 34! :neutral: )
35 English, 31 Math, 33 Reading, 34 Science
No essay score yet, but thought it went well.
Considering I did less than a week of prep (maybe 3 hours?) I’m planning on taking either July or September and aiming for a 35. Thoughts?
Retaking the ACT seems like a good idea as long as you prep more beforehand. A little studying can make a noticeable difference. Getting it up to a 34/35 would help your app.
Even with your current score, you’re a viable candidate for the top NESCAC schools (Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury) as well as other top LACs like Swat and Pomona. In order to narrow down the number of reach schools on your list, do some research and try and visit. Each of the top LACs has its distinct quirks and benefits.
Ideally, you would want to apply ED to one of your reach schools. Not everyone can identify a top choice and not everyone can commit financially, but it’s a good strategy if it’s possible.
Ohio University would be a good safety for you. You should qualify for substantial merit and they are well regarded for journalism and creative writing.
If you truly have a strong interest in creative writing, your ACT result will allow you to consider a range of highly selective colleges. Kenyon, for example, now would seem to be a match for you.
https://contently.net/2014/11/06/resources/tools/training/10-best-colleges-creative-writers/
http://flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america
99/100 probably translates into a very good GPA on a 4.0 scale so yes with higher SAT and/or ACT scores the picture changes quite a bit. You have a lot of EC activities but none of them appear to be at the state or national level. Stronger test scores changes very significantly the schools where you could be admitted
@Wje9164be weighted 99 or so, lol. Unweighted mid nineties. Additionally, unsure if I already mentioned this: I have SAT IIs but high 600s (as in 670, 680, 690)- what do I do?
It’s just a guess, but it seems you might already have a list of colleges in mind, @historypenguin. If that’s the case, you might want to mention them here or as the topic of a new thread.
Be aware that the people giving you advice here all have their pet schools, pet TYPE of schools, & pet regions of the country. If a student says she would prefer to study engineering at a large state school in the South that plays great football, there are people here who are still going to recommend Bowdoin, Middlebury, & Pomona.
You mentioned in your introductory post that you are interested in 5 subjects, NONE of which are the type of thing that that small liberal arts colleges are known for. They might offer some classes in these subjects, & have a handful of professors who deal with them, but it might not be enough if you want to really focus on one of those areas.
You mentionrd the only size of college you don’t want are super-huge ones (I"m guessing that means over about 22,000 students?). Yet some are fixated on liberal arts colleges only, ignoring medium-sized ( roughly 5,000 to 12,000 students perhaps) & and those that have about 12,000-22,000.
You said you are open to any geographic region, yet except for a few, it’s been all coastal.
With an income of $200,000, you are probably not in a position to drop $75,000 per year on a college. “Need” aid will be unlikely, so if you are going to a private college, some merit aid will be helpful. Most public colleges will be affordable, & some will be downright cheap with the sort of merit aid you would get. At some of the privates being mentioned, you will likely get little or no merit or need aid.
Your AP performance is excellent. Are you aware that the type of credit you will get for your AP scores varies greatly from college to college? Some colleges are very stingy when granting credits, while others would give you more than a year’s worth of credit, which can save you tens of thousands of $, and/or give you more opportunities to focus on the classes you are truly interested in. For someone like you (interested in a variety of subjects, not unlimited $), the amout of AP credit you will get could & should have a significant impact on your college choices.
@moooop I think that your post is a bit unfair. The fields that OP said they were interested in often times require graduate school (especially law and global studies), and LACs are good for prepping students for grad school. LACs also typically have strong English departments, which complement OP’s interest in journalism and creative writing. Additionally, OP said that they were still unsure upon their exact major/career, which is why LACs may be a good fit. And I’ve never seen anyone on here recommend Bowdoin or Pomona to a kid looking for a Southern school–that’s just hyperbole.
About need-based aid, I am in a similar income bracket as OP and am receiving decent need-based aid from a NESCAC that brings the price down to well below $75k. There is nothing unique (financially) about my situation. It can be a mistake to assume that one won’t get need-based aid, especially from a wealthier college. OP should run the NPC on different college’s websites to see what prices are like.
@moooop Primarily, I’m expecting to apply under global studies/IR or polisci. It seems to make the most sense- I can always pursue global studies as a minor. I’m taking the ACT again in July (aiming for a 35, expecting 34).
I am open to most geographic regions, but in particular, I love New England and am interested in the DC area due to what I intend to study.
My grades are very mixed: high in the subjects I intend to pursue, low in math… I might have a high seventy for junior year; it’s the highest math class for juniors but it still majorly concerns me. I don’t know yet.
I have a “list” but I’m on this website because I have no idea where I fall. Technically, I have the ACT score, good extracurriculars, class rigor, I have great teachers writing my recs, a summer internship… but I also have mixed grades, low regents exam scores, and no real hooks.
I’m definitely interested in applying to one or two ivies, but it feels futile.
Definitely Binghamton, but so much else is so undecided.
I’ve read the rankings and done the research- I know the good schools, just not for me.
Binghamton
Dartmouth or Cornell if I were to apply to any ivies
Liberal arts schools like Middlebury, Swarthmore
William and Mary
Georgetown, American, GW
Tufts
NYU
WashU? JMU? Starting to feel like I’m just throwing out names.
So… yeah. Sorry for the long post. Basically, hoping ACT can balance mediocre grades.
Thoughts?
I actually do think you are not that far from creating a desirable college list that would be appropriate for your interests.
Based on your self-assessment that your academic record might be relatively uneven compared to other aspects of your application, you might want to include schools on your list that, while academically strong overall, do not enroll an overwhelming majority of their students from the top 10% of their HS classes: consider Connecticut College, Bates, Trinity, GW, American, Pitzer.
Look into Hamilton for its World Politics major, popular D.C. term and creative writing program.
If you like Dartmouth, consider Colgate.
Research the University of Richmond, which offers strong programs in anything related to international studies.
For a safer admit, you might want to consider a school outside of your geographical area such as Denison.
Even if you switch out nearly all of the schools from the above suggestions – or simply add to them – as a group they should offer you the confidence to believe that if you create your list carefully, you can look forward to a quality acceptance at a college that will be highly suitable for you.
This resource can serve as a quick cost estimator for a range of schools of potential interest: https://myintuition.org/.
@merc81 It’s just hard because I know I have good ECs and test scores, but don’t know how an unbalanced transcript will impact things. Thank you for your suggestions though- I’ll definitely look into Hamilton
Take a look at University of Delaware. Might fit what you are looking for with the potential for merit money.
@historypenguin - My oldest D is a JMU grad who majored in international relations and now works for a prominent consulting firm in Northern VA. Great alum network in DC/NOVA paved the way for a solid internship at a Georgetown law firm and her current job. OOS tuition is very “affordable” - it was only 6K more than our state flagship (UMASS), but as you know the SUNY system bests all for affordability.
Based on our limited first hand experience with a very disappointed friend, I suggest students who have an imbalance between scores and GPA use the weaker metric to categorize their reach/match/safeties so you don’t risk being shut out of all schools in the spring.