I’m in a similar situation as you (having big dreams and wanting to get away out of state for college. I guess all you can do is apply, because then you can’t have regrets for not applying. You’re GPA is a tad bit low (I’m in the same boat, as I posted on my thread), but everything seems excellent. Good luck!
@XA1234 thanks for the chance!
All matches except Yale harvard Cornell and brown. Please chance back
Thanks! @mailator already did!
Vanderbilt: high match / low reach
UPenn: reach
WUSTL: high match/ low reach
Tulane (only possible with merit aid): low match, idk about merit
Brown: reach
Rice: low reach
Cornell: low reach
Yale (just for kicks): high reach
Harvard (see above): high reach
Auburn legacy (safety): low match/safety
Emory (qualify for Emory Scholars?): match, idk about scholars
Dartmouth: low reach
Georgetown: low reach/ high match
Middlebury: match/low match.
From looking through these responses, I don’t think you’re getting very good advice. No one can tell you which of these schools you’ll get into. You could get into Harvard and rejected from Auburn. Look up the stats for each school, along with acceptance rates, and figure out probabilities. Talk to your guidance counselor and check out what schools kids with similar stats were accepted to.
Ain’t gonna happen.
The OP’s list is far too dominated by elite institutions, which is actually an ideal way to stay in Alabama and attend Auburn.
Last year, an Alabama high school senior, here on CC, applied all of the Ivies plus Stanford and was TOTALLY shut out. His stats were as good or better than those of OP. He ended up at Tuscaloosa.
Lesson: apply to some excellent, but not elite, colleges outside of Alabama. Tulane is a good step in that direction, but even it can be picky. Why not look at Centre College, Furman University, Wofford College, or Rhodes College? Ohio Wesleyan University is known to give outstanding merit aid. College of Wooster, also. All excellent liberal arts colleges. If you want a larger school, then maybe Boston University is worth a look.
@theanaconda @arcadia @ NROTCgrad
Thanks all, I’ll make sure to diversify my list.
Your Math ACT is a little low (but your other scores are STELLAR) and your GPA isn’t exactly a 4.0, but seeing as you’re valedictorian (congrats!) you probably won’t have to worry too much about your grades. Besides that, your EC’s are unique and very interesting!
Vanderbilt: High Match
UPenn: Reach
WUSTL: High Match
Tulane (only possible with merit aid): don’t know it well
Brown: High Match/Low Reach (Brown is probably the crapshootiest of all the Ivies, but your interesting ec’s probably make you a good candidate for them!)
Rice: High match? Idk enough about Rice
Cornell: Low reach
Yale (just for kicks): High Reach (just like for everyone else, lol)
Harvard (see above): again, lol
Auburn legacy (safety): Yes, safety for sure. You’ll have no problem at all getting in.
Emory (qualify for Emory Scholars?): Match, not sure about Scholars
Dartmouth: Low reach/ reach
Georgetown: Match/High match
Middlebury: don’t know it well
Vanderbilt: Match
Upenn: Reach
Rice: Low Reach
Brown: Reach
Dartmouth:Reach
Cornell: Reach
Yale: High Reach
Harvard: High Reach
Not too familiar with the others!
What can you afford?
@gearmom I qualify for a fair amount of financial aid and can afford most any of the schools listed, although scholarships would be nice as I plan to I to graduate school.
- I plan to go to graduate school. Sorry
Vanderbilt - Low Reach
UPenn - Reach
WUSTL - Don’t know
Tulane (only possible with merit aid) - Not sure
Brown - Reach
Rice - Low Reach
Cornell - Low Reach
Yale (just for kicks) - Reach
Harvard (see above) - Reach
Auburn legacy (safety)
Emory (qualify for Emory Scholars?) - Match
Dartmouth - Reach
Georgetown - Match
Middlebury - Match
Vanderbilt - reach
UPenn - reach
WUSTL - reach
Tulane (only possible with merit aid) - match
Brown - reach
Rice - low reach
Cornell - low reach
Yale (just for kicks) - high reach
Harvard (see above) - high reach
Auburn legacy (safety) - you’ll get in easily
Emory (qualify for Emory Scholars?) - match
Dartmouth - low reach
Georgetown - low reach
Middlebury - no idea…
Hi. For those of you that aren’t famililar with WUSTL (Washington University in St. Louis).
WashU is about 15 minutes from St. Louis international airport and about 10 minutes from all sorts of shopping (Galleria, Trader Joes, Container Store, Super Target, etc), restaurants (Cheesecake factory, the famous Pappy’s BBQ, etc.) and near lots of other activities such as the Cardinal’s Baseball team. It is also about two blocks from the Loop which is a vibrant street where the kids hang out and where the off campus Loft apartments are located (which is brand new this year).
It is a Top 20 US News Ranking school – Ranked 14th as National Universities as of 2015. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/washington-university-st-louis-2520
Wash U was ranked the 9th for having the top average CR & Math SAT scores of 1485.
Top 100 SAT Scores Ranking: Which Colleges Have the Brightest Kids? http://www.forbes.com/sites/schifrin/2014/08/04/top-100-sat-scores-ranking-which-colleges-have-the-brightest-kids/ (1. Cal Tech 1545, 2. Univ. of Chicago 1515, 3. Harvard and Princeton 1505, 5. Yale and MIT 1500 7. Vandy 1490, 8. Olin College of Engineering 1489, and 9. Wash U 1485)
WashU was ranked #13 out of the top 25 Best Employers in America per Forbes. Google was 1st. That means the employees and professors are happy which is good! http://www.forbes.com/best-employers/#tab:rank_page:2
Princeton Review has mentioned that Wash U ranked the top 20 for:
- Best-Run College
- The Students Love these Colleges
- Happiest Students
- Best College Dorms (they are usually in first place)
- Best Quality of Life
- Best Campus Food
The campus is stunningly beautiful. I would say it is very similar to University of Notre Dame, Rice University, Southern Methodist University (SMU), and Tulane University – beautiful campus setting.
WashU dorms are really nice. They have air conditioning which can be a big deal (for example ND doesn’t have air conditioning). Every bed has a Tempur-Pedic mattress and the modern dorms have private bathrooms in your suite. For example, my D sophomore dorm consists of 4 singles for 4 students and it has two full private bathrooms. They also have the bathrooms cleaned twice a week.
Dining – On campus there are over 28 places to eat including a public restaurant called Ibby’s that serves steaks which is in the meal plan. https://diningservices.wustl.edu/where-to-eat/
WashU has a highly collaborative culture which is really nice. The students aren’t highly competitive or cut throat like some other colleges are.
They also offer a PEP program where you can freeze any amount of tuition, room and board at current rates for all four years and it is payable up to 10 years. It is based on simple interest, no fees, no closing costs, and it can be prepaid at anytime. Wash U’s staff, administration and financial aid office are very friendly and helpful.
Good luck with your college application process!
Vanderbilt - Far Reach
UPenn - Far Reach
WUSTL - Far Reach
Tulane (only possible with merit aid) - Safety/Match
Brown - Far Reach
Rice - Far Reach
Cornell - Far Reach
Yale (just for kicks) - Far Reach
Harvard (see above) - Far Reach
Auburn legacy (safety) - Safety
Emory (qualify for Emory Scholars?) - Match
Dartmouth - Far Reach
Georgetown - Match
Middlebury - Match
You may need another safety school. Most of these schools are a far reach because of the huge competition - they cannot accept everyone. The fact that you need FA will make it harder too. So it is very important to apply to safety schools.
By the way, your GPA is fine. You are valedictorian! Some students have low GPA’s and that is not an issue. They look at ranking. That’s the key!
@Hertzog : how did the great escape turn out ?