<p>ok some basic stats
rank: definetely top 2%, might be #1, don't really know for sure, about 150 in the class
gpa: 3.9, 4.3 weighted, these are estimates..
sat: 1520 (760 m+760 cr)/ 2230 total
hardest schedule,about 10 total ap's/de classes by graduation</p>
<p>2 varsity sports, other minor ec's, some awards, 1 state-level award, volunteering, etc.- am getting a job for THIS fall, dont know if that affects anything??</p>
<p>ok so onto the list
reaches :
georgetown (ea)
duke
brown
upenn</p>
<p>matches/a few slight reaches maybe?:
uva (instate)
unc (ea)
Emory (emory scholars so kindof ea)
Tufts
Boston College(ea)
Lehigh
Northwestern
USC (starting to think not...)</p>
<p>safeties: (lookin to get major money from)
George Mason (ea)
Boston University
Northeastern
UGA (idk)</p>
<p>ok so what do u think? anything not categorized correctly (match vs reach..)? more safeties? money is def an issue and i'm fairly sure i can get quite a lot of fin aid, but i would love to get scholarhips too just in case, u know, so should i look into more safeties instead where i will be above the avg students there? </p>
<p>also, i sort of need to cut this list down because i cant pay all these app fees, plus its quite a long list...thanks!</p>
<p>You'll probably get into every single match you have listed. If I were you I would cut the matches bigtime (do you really need Lehigh, BC, USC, and UNC if you're pretty much 100% in at UVA anyway???) Instead maybe add more reaches better than UVA, if you like Brown, Duke, Penn, and Gtown you might also like Dartmouth and Princeton for example. Then add Rice and WUstl, both schools that give merit aid.</p>
<p>reaches :
georgetown (ea)
duke
brown
upenn</p>
<p>matches/a few slight reaches maybe?:
uva (instate)
unc (ea)
Emory (emory scholars so kindof ea)
Tufts
Boston College(ea)
Lehigh
Northwestern
USC (starting to think not...)</p>
<p>safeties: (lookin to get major money from)
George Mason (ea)
Boston University
Northeastern</p>
<p>jPod - isnt that the point of a safety???? overqualified....hmmm just a thought..</p>
<p>slipper, thanks, i have considered princeton, but i didn't think i had a decent enough shot to justify the app fee... and i thought maybe more matches would give me more options when comparing fin aid? i've also considered wustl, but for some reason, no clue why, i dont like it...however, i will look into dartmouth and rice, thanks!</p>
<p>oh yes, also, the one thing i hate about uva is the location - its far too close to home for my liking. thats why i threw in more matches also...</p>
<p>While UVA is close, truthfully its such an opportunity to have it in-state and in the end it will be a financial steal. I think if you end up going there, you'll be so enveloped in campus life you won't even realize its so close to home. I would keep the matches you really like and maybe lose a couple. I think Dartmouth and Rice are great schools to look into.</p>
<p>Might want to look at some Patriot League Schools like Holy Cross and Colgate-both strong academics and very good alumni networks both stronger than BC and BU.</p>
<p>What's the big deal with this alumni network crap? It doesnt matter if you go to HC, Colgate, BU or BC. Theyre all great schools and employers will know that.</p>
<p>ok but i am actually interested in attending BU, especially if i can get a trustee scholarship or something along those lines, although that will be a tough one...
one thing i dont really like about dartmouth is location. i dont know if it was clear with my list but i prefer more urban or at least big college town for the social aspect. i realize i do have a few exceptions tho, and i havent personally visited dartmouth so maybe someone can comment on that? how is the surrounding community?? the same for holy cross and colgate, i dont really know much about those either.</p>
<p>alumni networks--wouldn't bc and bu's be stronger since they are bigger schools?? thus, more alumni, right?</p>
<p>More alumni doesn't matter - its how active those alumni are. Big time sports and a smaller sized unergrad student body makes for more active alumni who love fellow grads. Also, if the school is an elite school it will have more alumni in high places.</p>
<p>Thats not to say BC and BU don't have stronger alumni networks - its just that bigger isn't (always) better.</p>
<p>i get your point thethoughtprocess, but i would say BC has bigger sports than say holy cross and colgate...</p>
<p>intended major - I have no idea. i'm really rather open at this point, which is why I prefer a school where I have tons of options open to explore. I am leaning towards business though.</p>
<p>Its not just about sports. What I loved about Dartmouth (Princeton is similar in this respect) is sports were pretty much irrelevant but the loyatly was due to a mutual love of the school. There was a TON of spirit at Dartmouth, barely any of it having to do with sports. But I do agree that the alumni networks at smaller schools are often much stronger.</p>
<p>Lights out, if you want to keep your options open I suggest not attending a place like BU, where people are very into "programs" and unless you choose early on its hard to move into another area. The great thing about the Ivies (and Duke, Stanford, MIT, etc) is you can major in practically anything and still get a top job or go into grad school in any area. I was an anthro major and I worked at an elite consulting firm and got my MBA at a top 5 program as the youngest in my class. At the top schools I just feel you are allowed to "think bigger." </p>
<p>As for BU having alot to do, I lived right on the BU campus after I graduated from college and had many BU friends. The issue with urban schools is they really do lack in community, you practically need a retinal scan to enter a dorm and there isn't much "student owned" space so there aren't house parties and the like. You just end up going into the city alot, which is great for some but I personally feel you have all your life for that. I actually went to Columbia and transferred to Dartmouth, and Dartmouth had literally ten times the activity of Columbia in terms of social life. Certain campuses (Duke, Dartmouth, Penn, Brown) compensate for the lack of being in top cities by having very active and dynamic campus experiences. Honestly the biggest and best weekend at Columbia my first year would have been the least active weekend at Dartmouth. I would say that Dartmouth has one of the best and most active social experiences among the top 15 schools.</p>
<p>You might be the type of person who likes an urban experience, but beware there is a downside and that some of the schools in non-urban areas can actually be the most fun. This is also why the alumni networks at these types of schools are just so much stronger, there is much more to talk about. A BU student hardly cares about other BU students, let alone the alumni caring about other alumni.</p>
<p>wow, thanks for the detailed response slipper. i know what you mean by urban campuses, which is one of the reasons i eliminated nyu and columbia from my list, even though they originially seemed to be where i wanted to go. to me, the ideal place would be like harvard. it has a central campus, (though i have no idea about campus life) but there is a great community feets away (Cambridge) and an amazing city a few stops away(Boston). what other schools have this set-up???</p>
<p>To be honest, I haven't visited any other colleges aside from UVA, so I am not entirely sure what the real 'campus feel' on any of the colleges on my list are, just what i have read, etc. so i really appreciate your input on the dartmouth vs BU thing. I am thinking perhaps BC would have more of a campus life along with a urban life since it is more in the suburbs of Boston? I also know Penn is in Philadelphia but has a campus feel like Harvard going on so I think it would be nice for me, from what i know, but I have a feeling it will be the toughest for me to get into since I would most likely be applying to wharton... </p>
<p>haha and just a side note i love college sports, so its a plus if a school i'm cnsidering does too.</p>
<p>lights_out, based on what you've said in this thread I encourage you to look closely at UGA, specifically the honors program. Like Harvard, it's located in a relatively small community (Athens) but is only an hour away from a big city (Atlanta). The Terry School of Business has excellent business programs with a strong alumni base throughout the Southeast as well as top programs in real estate and risk management. Other strong majors include the life sciences and public and international affairs as well as journalism. We also play a little football, too. </p>
<p>Lest you be concerned about academics, the UGA honors program features a ton of amazing opportunities in every field and has one of the best scholarships, the Foundation Fellowship, that you'll find in the nation. If you're interested in more details about UGA, PM me. </p>
<p>On a more general note, don't be afraid to go somewhere like UVA or UNC if you're concerned about money for grad school or later. State universities get a lot of flak on this website, but the ones you're looking at will give you a fine education and open up opportunities that are nonexistent at the higher-ranked private schools. You can "think big" at both ivy leagues and state universities, you just need to make sure you find a solid honors program (which UNC and UGA both have) that will help you do that. </p>
<p>As far as reaches, matches, and safeties go, you might want to apply to enough safeties to ensure that you'll get a big scholarship at at least one institution. It's tempting to apply to a lot of reaches, so think very carefully about where you apply and try to whittle it down to a few specific reasons. Don't just apply to, say, Penn for instance just because it has Wharton- make sure you know what kinds of programs they offer within Wharton, what happens if you don't get into Wharton, what the city of Philly is like, what the students are like, etc. I only applied to two "reaches", and was really glad when I ended up saving a bundle in terms of time and application fees while my friends were frantically applying to as many Ivies as possible.</p>
<p>Although your stats are good, WashU is a "match" for very few people. Since their freshman class yield was 100 students larger than expected this year, their acceptance rate for next year will probably be in the 15-16% range. Hardly a match for almost anyone. You certainly have a goot shot and I would recomend that you apply for as many scholarships as possible. You have a good shot at them and you also show more interest by applying. But in the end, it could go either way for both admission and scholarships.</p>