<p>I'm a black senior @ a nationally ranked school in NYS, trying to figure out where I might apply this year and would really appreciate some suggestions. Here are my stats:</p>
<p>SAT: 800CR, 660M, 660W
SATII: 700Bio, 800FRw/L, 750Lit
APs: 5 Euro, 5USH, 4CalcAB
GPA: 4.0W, ~3.8UW
Rank: ~3/122</p>
<p>ECS:
Model UN (VP and commitee chair)-3 years
Clarinet (private lessons)-9 years
High School Concert Band (2nd chair)-3 years
High School Wind Ensemble(3rd chair)-3 years
Marching Band (1st "chair")-2years
Environmenal Club-3 years<br>
Literary Magazine (editor and contributor)-4 years
Amnesty International-4 years<br>
GSA (VP)-4 years<br>
French Club (Co-founder)-3 years<br>
Volunteer ESL tutor @ local refugee center-2 years<br>
Tutor (all subjects) at high school-1 year
Stamp and Coin collector-10 years
Conlang (language construction)-2 years</p>
<p>Bridge Student w/ Hamilton College 2 years (2 semesters-German, 1 semester-Linguistics)
People to People Student Ambassador</p>
<p>Awards:
National French Contest (10th National-level 4)
National Merit Commended/National Achievement Semifinalist
NYSMAA Solo Festival (clarinet) (96/100 for level 6)
2 Poems to be published (in outside magazine) in December</p>
<p>Classes this year:
AP English Lang.
AP Chemistry
AP French Lit.
AP Gov't: US
Health
Language and Sociolinguistics (@Hamilton)
a German Lit course (@Hamilton next semester)</p>
<p>I'm interested in majoring in French, linguistics, or anthropology.
(Sorry for such a long-winded post)</p>
<p>I'm not sure if you can major in Anthropology as an undergrad but you could go to any very good liberal arts school with the intention of continuing on to a Masters degree. Oberlin might work well (you could keep up with your clarinet that way).</p>
<p>With your rank, SAT scores, and URM status (it's true! being black will help you get into college...milk it for all it's worth ;)), I think you have a great shot at some very selective universities. I suggest taking the SAT I again and trying to boost your scores into the 700s (writing at least should be easy for you!). If you can do this, I think you have a good shot at Ivy and Ivy-level schools. </p>
<p>Anyway, 1 or 2 Ivies to shoot for is good, and also if you are interested in selective LACs like Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Emory, Bates, Vassar...those are all good matches for you and excellent options. Also think about some of the better, more selective state schools like University of Michigan and University of Virginia.</p>
<p>And of course you can probably find a few safeties to suit your interests as well. I don't know if you're interested in historically black colleges, but they give GREAT merit aid, make excellent connections, and will be looking for as strong a candidate as yourself. I have a friend that got full tuition, board and then some at Morehouse College in Antlanta, where despite being a player, he's loving it (it's all male, so I don't know if you're a girl or guy, but...haha). On the other hand if you're a girl, all-female schools like Bryn Mawr, etc. will also give you $$$ and are looking for diversity.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt and Emory aren't LACs</p>
<p>^That's true.</p>
<p>I always think of them like that for some reason b/c of the size/atmosphere and emphasis on undergrad (same with Wake Forest, W&M...).</p>
<p>Oh, I'm a girl by the way</p>
<p>You have better than average chances of getting into virtually any college in the country including Ivies and top LACs.</p>
<p>What you need to figure out is what kind of college experience you want, what part of the country/type of environment (urban, rural, diverse, etc.) and what kind of $ you need (check the financial aid calculator on CC's home page). Then, make sure you apply to safety (including financial safeties --places where you know you'll be accepted, can afford, and would enjoy) and match schools as well as reach colleges (Keep in mind that places like Ivies and Duke are reaches for everyone).</p>
<p>You have to do a lot of thinking about these things, and you need to read college's web sites, etc. The U.S. has a couple of thousand colleges, the majority of which would be thrilled to have you. Consequently, you need to do the research to find out which ones would suit your needs. Random strangers can't answer that for you.</p>
<p>Most colleges have majors in French, linguistics and anthro, so that doesn't narrow your field that much except for eliminating places like engineering and tech-oriented colleges.</p>
<p>I'd like to suggest a few of these colleges & smaller universities:</p>
<p>WashU
Bryn Mawr
Macalester
Barnard
Carleton
Oberlin
Smith
Davidson
Grinnell
Mt. Holyoke
Middlebury
Scripps
Agnes Scott
Colgate
Vassar
Wesleyan U
Dartmouth
Princeton
Brown
Johns Hopkins
Tufts</p>