<p>I'm having a hard time finding safeties that I would even consider going to.</p>
<p>Here's my list so far:
reaches- penn, cornell, mit
matches- tufts, uva (oos), villanova
safeties- uconn, manhattan, udel, binghamton?, umass amherst?</p>
<p>My ideal school is between 5k and 10k undergrads with an involved student body (school spirit, not a commuter campus, etc), strong engineering department but also has liberal arts programs, typical suburban campus with grass (not like columbia etc where its just the city), proximity to a city is desirable but not be all end all. Warmer weather is a plus but i'm looking to stay no more than 5-7 hours by car from ct. uva is probably the farthest i'll look at.</p>
<p>My stats are good, nowhere near harvard potential, but i know i'm all set with reaches & matches. my main concern is that all of my safeties are huge, industrial campuses without much individual attention for undergraduates. UDel is probably the most attractive one to me right now if that helps</p>
<p>SAT: 1440/2180 (740 math, 700 cr, 740 writing)
SATII: Chem- 710, ushistory- 740, math II- 670
5 on APUSH, 4 on AP Chem</p>
<p>class rank: about 10/12 out of 450. my school doesn't rank, this is an approximation from a bargraph</p>
<p>UVA is definetly a reach from OOS. State schools now are highly competitive and typically only take 25-30% from OOS...everyone wants UVA, even IS. We have lived in VA and are moving back to VA in August, UVA is seen as IVY for IS kids...very comparable to UNC Chapel Hill, these are the same kids and they also apply to places like Duke.</p>
<p>You might be a match if your ECs are outstanding...i.e. salutorian, NHS position, student council, sports, band , community volunteer, etc. Colleges look at the whole package, so if you have great ECs than you are going to be closer to a match...Good luck</p>
<p>According to US News Tufts has a 27% acceptance rate, and UVA has a 37%</p>
<p>Remember the only way to be accepted is to apply</p>
<p>yeah i consider my ECs to be pretty strong: i'm a varsity track and xc runner and will be captain of track next year, girl scout, captain of a rec basketball team, played soccer in hs for two years, community service through girl scouts, secretary of NHS. </p>
<p>im only looking to apply to 7-8 schools, so i figure i'd like to aim high and apply to a few im sure to get in</p>
<p>I think that you have a reasonable list with good safeties, though I agree with those assessing Tufts and UVA. Virginia Tech and Fordham might be good choices for you. THe engineering program at Fordham is very competitive, however, being a 3/2 program, so you may want to ask about its entry stats as they may not be in line with its overall admissions. As a female interested in the field, you do have some advantages. Also, Rensselaer is a school to check out.</p>
<p>Well...if you're looking for a warmer climate, the only schools on that list that fulfill that are UVA and UDel.</p>
<p>I'm not an adcom...but I think UDel would be well within your reach. Are you instate for any of these schools (UConn?) if so, UConn would also be reasonable.</p>
<p>I personally think UVA and Tufts are reaches but agree with others...can't get accepted if you don't apply.</p>
<p>Also a lot of these schools are larger than what you say you are looking for...UMass, UVA, UConn and UDel are large flagship universities.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Villanova, have you considered Lafayette or Lehigh? Not near large cities but both good schools.</p>
<p>Your class rank, GPA and standardized test scores are quite nice, as are your EC's. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>How about Lehigh or Lafayette as matchy-safeties? Or perhaps Bucknell. I think they all have engineering, and they are definitely all known for school spirit. Though I wouldn't call them dead certs, I'd be surprised if you didn't get into one.</p>
<p>You have a definite advantage as a girl applying for engineering. </p>
<p>Maybe University of Rochester? It's not downtown but close to the city; weather would definitely be an issue, but it's no worse than Cornell, I don't think. It might be a match-safety.</p>
<p>WPI would be a safety, as would Case Western (though that's perhaps too far and too urban and perhaps not enough spirit?) </p>
<p>Does Binghamton even have an engineering program? I think the SUNY best known for engineering is Buffalo. </p>
<p>Other possibilities, in addition to those mentioned by others, might be Syracuse (lots of spirit) and Rutgers (though size is an issue here).</p>
<p>I don't understand why you haven't chosen safer schools that are more inline with your criteria. There are a lot of universities in your size range that will be safer or safe/match for you. Some have rolling admission/non-binding EA and/or "streamlined" apps with quick turnaround so that you could have a safety in hand early in the game.</p>
<p>Some ideas: Tulane (depending on which Engineering major(s) you want), Santa Clara University, Trinity (CT), Lehigh, Bucknell, Miami of Ohio, Fairfield (CT), Rice (maybe more of a match-reach, but your stats are quite strong)</p>
<p>You may want to look at Smith College for its engineering program. Smaller than you've mentioned, but has cross-registration with UMass Amherst.</p>
<p>Honestly your extracurriculars arent that strong. You arent nationally recognized in any activity, you havent posted anything about the possibility of athletic recruitment.</p>
<p>There are 50,000+ high school athletes in the country. Being captain is decent leadership but it doesnt really show anything unique. NHS is a joke, girl scouts shows more of a time comittment than a talent. </p>
<p>If I were you I wouldnt apply to more than 2 or 3 reach schools, that is, unless you SAT score increases to about 1500 + range or you take ACT and get 34+. I read a book by a former Duke admission officer, and the first type of student she said was disadvantaged was the BWRK (bright well rounded kid).</p>
<p>You fit that profile but need more. That said I think you will definitely get into all the safeties mentioned above. Good luck.</p>
<p>Being brutally honest, it does not hurt to apply to any number of reach schools as long as you have at least one school that is sure to take you that you like. With a number of likely schools on your list, you are fine to apply whereever.</p>
<p>You haven't mentioned money but Case Western is usually good about merit; need may be quite loan-heavy but if you need merit, Case is a good option.</p>
<p>Lehigh sounds like it's a bit more in line with what you would like.</p>
<p>I normally don't comment on these kinds of threads, but unless you get "Tufts syndromed", you already have one stone, cold lock on your list as a match--Villanova, where the average SAT score is 200 points below you.</p>