Thoughts on my current list

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Ok so I'm a white 11th grade male from a very prestigiuos new england private school that suffers greatly from grade deflation. That said, my gpa is right around a 3, however with an upswing in the last year. </p>

<p>Extracurriculars
I am a three sport athlete. I'll graduate with at least 5 varsity letters, possibly 6.
I take an active role in the school's model UN program, serving on the executive committee this year as a junior.
I have been a tourguide for my school since my 8th grade year.
I have sung in both my school's glee club and chorus since my freshman year.</p>

<p>Summers
The summer after my freshman year, I took a college course at William and Mary, at a program they have there for high schoolers. I also served as a CIT at a YMCA camp in upstate new york.
The summer after my sophomore year, I served as a counselor at this same YMCA camp. I also worked at an archaeological dig during some of my time off.
This summer, I plan to once again be a counselor at the same camp. </p>

<p>Testing
SAT: Just got my scores today, one sitting: 800 W 740 CR 730 M to combine for a 2270.
PSAT: scored a 205 the fall of my junior year.
AP's: I got a 4 on statistics last spring, and this spring I'll be taking the English AP. my school doesnt offer many ap's at all, and ive taken the ones that are available to me. </p>

<p>As of now, my school list, in no particular order, is:
UVA, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Boston College, Villanova, William and Mary, Richmond, UNC</p>

<p>I also plan on visiting Vanderbilt, and Duke in the coming months.</p>

<p>I'm just looking for general thoughts on my list, and maybe some ideas as to additions I should make.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your help</p>

2

<p>Well, your stat is great, I think you can try better schools.</p>

3

<p>considering my deflated gpa from my school, i thought the level of schools i was applying to was a solid one for me.</p>

4

<p>Most colleges will take into account the high school itself and how competitive it is. So don’t worry too much about it. Talk to admissions reps about it and see what they say. </p>

<p>But I agree, if you want to, you can apply to more “prestigious” schools. :)</p>

<p>Do you know what you want to major in? Or at least a field (ie. Sciences, maths, ec)?
Big school or small?
Well rounded or specializing in one or two things (pretty much)?
Urban, suburban, rural?
Sports scene?</p>

5

<p>id like to be at a mid to large school. nothing crazy in the 20,000’s but anywhere between about 4,000 and 15,000 is fine by me. i dont want to be in the middle of the city, and suburban would be the number one choice for me, but id be very fine with rural as well. a division one sports program is really important to me. id really like to be able to bea fan at at least d1 basketball games, and preferably football games as well. im really not entirely sure as far as a major goes, but if i had to say, id put buisiness/economics as my front runner. hopefully all this helps</p>

6

<p>anybody else? thoughts additions? just looking for any thoughts really</p>

7

<p>Honestly, I’d say you could go for more reaches depending on how well known your high school is. There are some prep schools where the GC pretty much is buddy-buddy with the admission officers who will be familiar with its grade deflation. Are you planning to be a recruited athlete in college (considering that you play multiple varsity sports)?</p>

8

<p>Great list of schools. Although UVirginia/UNorth Carolina are the outliers in terms of size, peer group, setting, focus. If these schools become your favorites, look at Maryland and Penn State, Cornell as well</p>

9

<p>You might consider Northwestern.
If you like Duke, consider applying early decision.</p>

10

<p>ill address things one at a time. ill definately take a look at adding some reaches, so far in the process ive mostly been focusing on schools that could be qualified as matches. I’m planning on visiting some of the schools in the New England area throughout the spring, so maybe I can find some that I like enough that could be though of as reaches.</p>

<p>yes UNC and UVA are a bit larger than the rest. That’s actually why among the schools no my list, UNC is near the bottom. UVA however seemed a lot less large than UNC. it just had a smaller feel to it when i visited.</p>

<p>i visited northwestern when i visited notre dame. im considering it, but i didnt LOVE it, so I may add it to the list in due time. If i fall in like DUke a lot when i see it, I’ll defniately consider ED</p>

11

<p>What about Georgetown? I think it is in DC though. Or Cornell and Michigan (though Mich would probably be too big).</p>

12

<p>i saw georgetown in 9th grade, when i was there for a model un conference. i liked it well enough, so that does seem another reasonable suggestion.</p>

<p>as far as cornell goes. if im going to go to a northeast ivy with bad weather in a rural area, it would be dartmouth. i have a bit of a family connection there, so its one that im also thinking about. as far as michigan goes, its too big for me. i think i would get lost in it all</p>

13

<p>not to continually bump this or anything, but any further thoughts?</p>

14

<p>You could and should add Emory. It’s similar to the other places you mentioned.</p>

15

<p>my only issue with emory is that id like to have a good sports scene at whatever school i go to, and that is lacking at emory.</p>

16

<p>true true. They don’t have a football team but they DO have intramurals and <em>some</em> spirit. Would you consider anywhere on the West Coast?</p>

17

<p>i havent really had a chance to visit any west coast schools yet, but its definately an area of the country id be interested in.</p>

18

<p>OK cool… it might be kind of big but maybe the University of Washington?</p>

19

<p>when ive thought west coast schools, ive usually thought places like usc more than washington.</p>

20

<p>class rank is an important factor</p>