Hi, I’m a senior in Philadelphia and I plan to apply to a good handful of schools. I’d like to add one final school to my list, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be “in my reach.” I figured I could liven up the application experience a tad by adding in a school that I know will most likely reject me. Would anyone have suggestions for a relatively selective school near Philly? To be clear, Penn and CMU are absolutely out of the question… even though I live 10 minutes from Penn. Oh well.
To give you an idea of where I feel I fall on the qualification spectrum, the schools to which I currently plan on applying are as follows (in no particular order):
TCNJ
UDel
Ursinus
West Chester
Villanova
St. Joe’s
Temple
Drexel
Lafayette
I’ve already identified Villanova as a reach, for reference.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
If villanova is a reach then I say give yourself a break and skip the application to Harvard or wherever. Only apply to schools that you want to go to that are within the realm of reasonable possible acceptance and where you would fit in. Best of luck to you. You have lots of good schools on your list. Or maybe pick Case Western with no application fee and no essay 
@naviance I would not in a million years apply to that school or any others of similar prestige, lol. And Case Western is really far, believe it or not. it takes about 5 hours just to get from my area to the Ohio border by car. By and large, I’m looking for PA and NJ options. Thanks for the luck!
Dickinson, Haverford? Bryn Mawr if female?
@doschicos I might just throw in Haverford for the heck of it. It’s 20 minutes from my house. In the unlikely event that I get in, jeez… it’d be the simplest commute. Will consider! Very much a male, by the way heh
Well, home cooked meals are always a welcomed break!
if villanova is a reach so is TCNJ depending on major.
If Villanova is a reach is Haverford realistic?
@Proudpatriot Well, the OP is looking for a “wild card”, right?
I’m all for reachy schools @doschicos but the Haverford application is not really a “why not” kind of application. If Villanova, with 25 percentile ACT score of 29 is a reach and Penn and CMU are “out of the question” I just don’t see Haverford as a realistic reach for the OP. Why have him waste his time?
I’m a student at La Salle. It’s pretty similar to St. Joe’s, but usually gives better aid. Check us out!
@Aida Lehigh might just be it. Bucknell seems great but it’s pretty far. Thanks for the suggestions.
@stones3 Are you sure about that? Villanova’s general admission statistics seem quite a bit more strict than tcnj’s… Could you name some of these especially selective majors?
@Proudpatriot I’m not considering Penn because it’s exponentially harder to get into than even Haverford and thus even less worth my time. Like, it’s Penn. I’m considering Villanova a reach because of my GPA. My SAT is on par with their 50th percentile score, and a 31 on my prospective ACT (which is attainable for me based on recent practice) would place me in the 75th. I’m just brainstorming, you know?
@newjerseygirl98 For sure! Will definitely suss it out.
@MurphyBrown Can’t thank you enough for going out of your way to list so many schools. I have unfortunately ruled Penn, Pitt, and Bucknell out due to distance. F&M seems nice as well as Lehigh. I’d probably choose Lehigh from the two.
It looks like all the potential choices have been addressed. I appreciate it, everyone! Now, back to ACT prep.
I never mentioned Penn in my post. Penn is probably not realistic if Villanova is a reach.
My son has already prepared his Haverford application. It was a ton of work. It isn’t the sort of application to file if you are just taking a flyer on a school that you really don’t want to attend. You have to write about the Honor Code and about why you want to go there. It takes a bit of research to even begin writing the application. I am being a mom and trying to save you unecessary work.
If 31 is your prospective ACT score what is your actual ACT score?
The middle 50% at Haverford is 31-34. 96% of admitted students are in top 10% of their class.
The middle 50% at Villanova is 29-32 and 55% of admitted students are in top 10% of their class.
Without your actual GPA/test scores it is really hard to guess whether either of them is a realistic reach for you. I am in favor of applying to reach schools but not to ones that are unrealistic. I am sure there is a perfect school for you. If you give us a better idea of your actual GPA/scores and activities we might be able to help you more. The parents on CC are a pretty fantastic bunch!
@Proudpatriot
“If Villanova, with 25 percentile ACT score of 29 is a reach and Penn and CMU are “out of the question” I just don’t see Haverford as a realistic reach for the OP.”
^ Does that ring a bell…?
I was explaining to you my reasoning on the disparity between Penn and Haverford in terms of selectivity. Obviously, Penn isn’t realistic. Are you under the impression that I’m oblivious to that school’s expectations? I’m not… I have no desire to apply and I never expressed one.
If it takes an extraordinary amount of effort just to submit an application to Haverford, then I’ll happily forget about it. Thanks for filling me in beforehand. Can’t exactly relate to the “being a mom” thing as my mother has no comprehension of anything remotely related to college. My application would probably only delay the satisfaction the adcom will likely receive from your son’s. Realistically, I will attend Temple or West Chester to minimize debt. Fun!
I’m quite cognizant of Villanova’s admission statistics. I say “prospective ACT” because I have yet to take one. My SAT score is 1950, which I’m sure is relatively unimpressive to parents who frequent CC - and may even warrant “the belt” and two weeks without the cell phone for poor D1 or S2 - and I would agree with those sentiments. I underperformed and am hoping to rectify that by scoring between 30 and 32 on the ACT.
I have partaken in a negligible amount of extracurricular activity, largely in part to psychological hindrances that prevented me from doing so (I repeated my junior year and incurred an abysmal GPA due to these issues and made it the topic of my personal essay, which I think will make for a fairly captivating read). I don’t expect many colleges on my original post’s list to be very big sticklers for those sorts of criteria, with the possible exceptions of Villanova and Lafayette.
As much as I know you meant the “perfect school” remark in good spirit, I can’t help but take it with myriad grains of salt. There are way too many colleges in this country to count on attending the school that most closely aligns with my preferences. I verrrry much doubt my ideal institution would give me the light of day, for multiple reasons, one aforementioned in the form of a four-digit number (note that it doesn’t begin with a 2?). I apologize for being so analytical of what I’m sure was meant to be a thoughtful gesture, but, with how limited my options are and how bitter my situation has made me over the years, it’s difficult for me not to resort to refutation.