<p>Rising senior, first generation
I need help finding safety and match schools since most of my list seems like reach schools right now.
Preferably East or West coast schools, relatively small student population (I'm thinking 10K or less)</p>
<p>2300 SAT
35 ACT
3.9 UW GPA
Competitive swimming since age 7
4 years varsity swimming
2 years varsity water polo
200+ community service hours
Senior course load: AP Lit, AP Chem, AP Calc (AB or BC not sure yet), AP Gov, AP Econ, French
AP: Chinese-5, U.S. History-5, World History-5</p>
<p>Looking at (trying to narrow this down):
Stanford
Rice
UCLA
Berkeley
Wellesley
Northwestern
Cornell
Yale
Vanderbilt
UChicago</p>
<p>Any recommendations for schools to look into would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I also play the violin and my school orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall this past year. I’ve been involved in a few clubs but nothing major. I’m looking to be team captain of my swim team but there’s no guarantee and that would also be after college apps are due. </p>
<p>My times are decent but definitely nowhere near good enough for D1. I’ve received some e-mails and have gotten some views on my beRecruited page but I’m not sure if I really want to swim or play water polo in college.</p>
<p>Stanford - reach
Rice - match
UCLA - match (this is a very large school)
Berkeley - match (another large school)
Wellesley - high match
Northwestern - reach
Cornell - reach
Yale - reach
Vanderbilt - low reach
UChicago - reach</p>
<p>If you are looking for a small school, why are Northwestern and Cornell on the list? i assume you’re instate for the CA schools. Since you seem open to all-women schools, I think you should consider Barnard. Tufts, Carnegie Mellon and U Rochester are all smaller universities. Dartmouth, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Pomona, Middlebury are all possibilities if you’re interested in liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>What are you interested in studying? Can your parents pay the full costs or do you need financial or merit aid?</p>
<p>Other than Rice and Wellesley, these schools are all larger than 10,000 students.
Major?
Do you have an estimate of your EFC and what parents will pay, as safety really includes affordability also.
With your stats in state at UCLA and Berkeley are definite matches.
Lesser UC’s should be safeties?
Without some idea of your interests and finances it’s hard because your stats make you an easy admit at most schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions @2collegewego!
I’m not sure about LACs right now but I’ll definitely look into them.</p>
<p>If possible, I would prefer a smaller school but that’s not my top priority right now. I’m open to schools of pretty much any size at this point, which explains my current list.</p>
<p>I’m a California resident.
From what I can tell, it looks like I’ll be looking at merit and/or financial aid.
I don’t know what I want to study yet. I have been considering engineering or pre-law but that’s still up in the air. All I can definitively say is that I’m not looking into anything English related though I am interested in some of the humanities.</p>
<p>Pre-law does not require any specific major, just a high GPA and LSAT score to get into a highly ranked law school for good law job prospects (graduates of lower ranked law schools are having a tough time in the job market). Remember also that law school is expensive. Law school after an engineering degree may be helpful if your goal is patent or intellectual property law.</p>
<p>Note, however, that doing pre-law from engineering means that you will have much of your schedule filled with requirements for your major, which leaves less schedule space to cherry-pick easy-A courses that is a typical pre-law (and pre-med) game.</p>
<p>Look at the various other UCs for safety candidates, and check the net price calculators on all schools (UCs and others) to get financial aid estimates.</p>
<p>Note that UCs may have varying levels of admissions selectivity by division or major, with engineering majors usually being more selective if it matters (though it varies by campus).</p>
<p>Ok, if you will need financial aid or merit money, you should take that into consideration before you decide your list. Ask your parents how much they can pay each year. Then sit down with one of them and google the Net Price Calculator of each school to see what the school estimates your parents can pay. If your parents are not divorced and don’t run their own business, it should be a pretty good estimate. If your parents can pay what the schools estimate, you are in good shape to apply to that school. Many of the country’s most prestigious schools meet full financial need but that’s based on what they think families can pay, which may be more than your parents can pay. If the schools’ estimates are too high, you may need to target instate public schools and merit scholarships. There is a list of schools on the financial aid board of schools that are generous with merit cholarships. (Most merit comes from the schools themselves.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the financial aid information @2collegewego.
I’ll be looking into those things with my parents to see what options I’ll have. Also, thanks @jtmoney for bringing EFC to my attention.
Even though I’m not sure how much my family will be able to afford right now, I’d like to continue looking into schools (researching them before finalizing my app list).</p>
<p>Any other recommendations for match and safeties? I know Wellesley is on my list but I’m not that interested in LAC’s given the lack of engineering. Aside from that, I’m open to pretty much anything. Recommendations for safeties and matches on the East Coast would be especially appreciated (I think my parents would prefer Massachusetts or New York but I’m fine with anything). Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Hey. I’m an international student from Australia with an SAT 2050 though I’m planning to retake it. I’m pretty sure I want to major in Biochemistry, maybe with a Classics minor. What schools would be good safeties?
I’m an international table tennis player, grade 8 violinist, diploma grade pianist, above average grades, some community service.</p>
<p>Just wanna get a rough idea seeing as I’m not too familiar with the schools :)</p>
<p>Engineering and interest in Humanities = Harvey Mudd. Your stats would make it a match, but it’s so selective that it’s a reach for everyone. Perhaps Scripps as a match, since you could take classes at Harvey Mudd but it’s a bit easier to get into.
For Prelaw, seeing how you’re first gen, an outstanding match for you would be Hamilton (their president is first gen and many faculty, and they look for first gen applicants).</p>
<p>Definately keep looking…but regarding the EFC and cost of attendance…each school has a calculator on their website…it is easy peasy and takes mere minutes with your parents gross income total (50k, 75k, 175k whatever)…this is VITAL because getting in is only half the battle. Take 30 minutes and at least run an instate public and a private so you have a gross ballpark.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the recommendations and financial aid advice, everyone!
I’m working with my parents in regards to the money aspects but I want to keep looking at schools.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking at schools with chemical engineering so any additional suggestions would be great. Also, I was wondering if anyone knows of a school with a decent chemical engineering program that also has strong humanities. I want to have a backup plan in case engineering doesn’t turn out to be the right thing for me.</p>