Suggestions for schools and managing expectations for the slightly above average student

College Search & Selection
1

Hello!
I am a rising senior (female) from a very good public school in Connecticut. I began the process in the winter of my junior year and thought I had it all planned out, but now I am really struggling to come up with a realistic list of schools. I’m paranoid about rejection, so this whole process is definitely not one suited for me haha!

I know that I would thrive in a smaller school setting where there is a strong sense of community, and I don’t want an urban campus. I actually prefer rural locations, just because I love nature. I’ve looked at almost all of the NESCAC schools, but obviously they are all very competitive.

My stats are as follows:
2060 old SAT: 720 CR, 620 M (yikes), 720 writing (single sitting)
1390 new SAT: 710 verbal (subscore of 36 in both parts) and 680 Math (33.5). Basically a 1330/1600 on old test scale
UW GPA: isn’t released to students, but approximating it as 3.7.-3.8,
W GPA: 4.4
All A’s and A+'s this year
AP Euro=4 (10th grade)
AP Lang and AP US (4’s or 5’s projected),
self studied for AP Gov. (probably a 4)
Good EC’s, high point is that I founded a community garden that provides food to the less fortunate and have managed it for my entire high school career

I am a very strong writer and reader, so Liberal Arts Colleges are probably the best for me. I will be taking AP Calc AB, AP Bio, and AP Lit next year. In conclusion, i’m a good student, but not ‘exceptional’, especially on College Confidential. I am very concerned about the disparity in my CR and M SAT scores, and in addition, I stopped taking Latin after my sophomore year (I really struggled and didn’t want to take it as a college course, in retrospect I regret this decision). So on my transcript I have Latin 3 Honors, but technically only 2 years of it in high school (side note-will this kill me for LAC’s?!)

Basically, I’m having difficulty gauging what types of schools are realistic matches for me.
So far, I’m looking at:
St. Lawrence University
Hamilton College
UConn
UVM
Syracuse
Villanova
Lehigh
Kenyon
Colgate

Am I being realistic? Does anyone have any suggestions, schools that I may have overlooked, etc.? Thank you so much!

2

As I was reading through, I thought SLU, so that inclusion appears to be a good one.

Based on your stated preferences, SLU, Kenyon and Hamilton would appear to be your core choices. Of these, you would be likely to get into SLU. The other two may be realistic reaches. However, the range of admissions difficultly represented by this group is quite wide (and is a factor of which you seem to already be aware). In this sense, SLU does not overlap academically with Kenyon or, particularly, Hamilton.

Colby, which is statistically less selective for female applicants (in comparison to males), may be another realistic reach.

Denison would be only moderately selective in relation to your profile, and might be a college you’d prefer to a couple on your list.

A few of your other choices would not be challenging admits for you (e.g., UConn, UVM), so those are entirely realistic.

Colleges do often have guidelines for years of language (not necessarily Latin, of course) they’d like you to have completed (usually while actually in HS). However, this single factor would be unlikely to present an absolute barrier for you.

3

You need to get over that paranoia for rejection. There is a good chance you Will be rejected. Go with the schools that show you the love. Good recommendations by @merc81

4

SLU is a great choice, and a terrific school. Denison is another one to look at – perhaps with your experience in the community garden, you would enjoy the Homestead at Denison – a small student community which runs a small farm (as far as I understand).

5

Mount Holyoke, Holy Cross, Marist College

6

Thank you very much for all of the advice! I found it really helpful, and I looked into Denison and it seems like a great school, definitely a better fit (at least at first glance) than Villanova. I really like SLU, Hamilton, Kenyon, and Lehigh right now and hopefully everything works out!

7

How about Richmond, Gettysburg, Bucknell or Richmond? American U is a very nice school if you are okay with
a semi suburban location in
DC.

8

Also, Franklin & Marshall or Washington & Lee?

9

Completely honest, I think you need to apply to more reach schools! or like high matches because tbh I think you could easily get into the majority of those schools

10

My GC recommended Gettysburg, but at first I was a little ignorant and dismissed it because of it being named after a Civil War battle (even though I’m a history nerd and would probably be in heaven). I will definitely look at that further, as I realized I was being a little narrow minded. I feel like Bucknell would be a slight reach for me, so I want to limit the number of those, it’s a great school though!. I need to do the Penn. circuit and tour them all, including Franklin &Marshall. Thank you for the continued advice @londondad
@collegeguru2017 that’s what a lot of my family and friends (they’re slightly biased and think I deserve the world haha) say as well. My issue is that while I’m a strong student, most schools with less than 30% acceptance rates are reaches for any student who is not HYPSM just because I feel like they attract a lot of the same levels of students, so I may not stand out in a crowd as much. Thank you for the encouragement!

11

I’m using UConn, UVM, and Syracuse as my safeties, and I don’t think I will apply to Villanova anymore and I’m not sold on Colgate. Any thoughts on schools like Dickinson? Is Davidson a high match, realistic reach?

12

I would think Davidson is a high match but I think it is for sure realistic!! You can apply to more schools like that! I can help you with suggestions if you want! What about UNC Chapel Hill?

13

What about some women’s colleges like Smith and Mount Holyoke? They are test optional.

14

you need to visit some of these schools to see which ones feel right to you. Also most of this list wants demonstrated interested so it would be good for you travel there.
Plan a pennsylvania swing and you really should
do Denison, Kenyon, College of Wooster - you could probably skip Oberlin if needed

15

What are you looking to study? Colorodo College may be a good fit because they are constantly surrounded by nature being in the neck of the mountains and have the block program

16

@shawnspencer English, Political Science, History, or economics. Colorado College seems like a good fit, but my parents are hesitant about me going so far away in a state where we don’t have any family or friends. They’re block program sounds very interesting though.

@swampdraggin Agreed. I’ve visited St. Lawerence, Hamilton, Colby, Colgate and definitely like the smaller campus, but each one is different. While one seems appealing on the internet or in paper, the vibe of the school is something that must be experienced first hand. Thank you for the advice!

@collegeguru2017 thanks for the feedback! I’d love more suggestions if possible! UNC-Chapel Hill would be a huge reach for me because I’m OOS, plus its a little larger than I’d like.

@pdubs97 I’m a little hesitant about all-girls colleges. What I like about those two is that they are in the consortium, but I’m afraid of the social scene. Although it’s a little superficial, I’d like to have opportunities to date in college, and I feel as if it would be hard to meet guys at an all-girls school, but I could be wrong. Does anyone have any insight on the social scene of those schools?

17

How about some of these schools: Davidson, Elon University (NOT a reach), Wake Forest, Emory University, Skidmore, Vassar (a very good high match/ match for you!!!), and Union

18

You could also look into Lafayette,
Connecticut College, Holy Cross and Bates.

19

I’m surprised no one mentioned affordability. Can your family afford the full sticker price of these colleges? If not, you should scrutinize the merit scholarship opportunities at various schools. Separate application needed? Automatic awards or highly competitive or somewhere inbetween? etc.

20

Syracuse is a safety? So you can afford it (based on the Net Price Calculator)?