Ok so I’m looking over my college application list and realized…I may have applied to too many reaches. Ruh Roh. Can someone skim below and tell me that they agree or something? Obviously it’s too late now but I feel like I need feedback from someone who’s not a very optimistic parent so I can start getting back into a world called Reality. Thank you in advance!!
Note–I actually don’t like many of these schools, but I felt really bad because my parents wanted me to apply, so I went ahead and applied to a crap ton of schools. I’ve starred the ones I actually care about and double starred where I expect to get into.
Colleges:
Yale
Macalester**
Tufts*
USC
Vanderbilt
Harvard
Brown*
JHU
UT (academic safety–I got in!! Yay!!)**
UTD (financial safety)**
Case Western**
Georgetown
Rice*
Wash St Louis
Emory**
Okay, here are my stats:
TX resident, zip code has average upper class income, Asian female
1590 SAT, 35 ACT, 790 Math II, 760 Bio M & Chem
4.0 GPA, Rank top ten/around 480
P and Co founder of psych&phil club (one club), VP of Social Studies and Science Honor Society (two clubs)
NMSF, AP National Scholar, part of 2 nonprofits (tutoring and mental health) 300+ hours of clinical service, 300+ hours of research
Recs–my teachers like me but write generic recs for everyone lol
Honestly speaking, I know this sounds really bad, but I lowkey thought USC and Georgetown were kinda low matches (as in I was kinda expecting to get in), and I’m trying really hard to get rid of that thought. So now my number of reaches increased…how do I prepare for rejection letters?
Edit: Man this post is a mess. I’ll add to it by saying that Illogical Me expects to get into at least one reach, just because. Honestly how do I throw away all of my perceptions lol
You are in at UT and UT-D, there is not need to worry about the others, you are going to college. I suspect you will get in to Case. But yeah, that is a mighty list of lottery schools ya got going there!
@labegg@doschicos thanks for replying, I really needed to hear this!! I think it helps that I really only care about half the schools on my list, although I’m human and the rejection itself will probably be a whammy for me, especially since there will be so many. Once I finish applying, I’m hoping that separation will give me a break I need to distance myself from this. Although now I have to apply for scholarships (sigh).
I’d say you will likely get into Mac, Tufts, USC, Case, Emory, and WashU IF you showed interest (most of those care if you did, they want some reasonable expectation that you might attend if they accept you). And that is assuming your essays are solid, recommendations good, etc.
@intparent woopsies I haven’t visited any school outside my state (TX) because my parents are uber busy and I gotta babysit my bros. Wait does that mean I can’t expect to get into Mac/Emory/Case?
You’ve got great stats on paper. Why would you waste a 1590 & 4.0 by not applying to what you’re considering reaches. Honestly, you have a competitive profile for Yale, Harvard, Brown, JHU, etc.
And before some one says these schools are reaches for everyone, that’s not true. Yes, the acceptance rate is not in your favor, but having stellar test scores and solid ECs immediately puts you above the competition.
“And before some one says these schools are reaches for everyone, that’s not true. Yes, the acceptance rate is not in your favor, but having stellar test scores and solid ECs immediately puts you above the competition.”
Still a reach. Acceptance rates are in the single digits. The OP has wonderful stats but appears to be unhooked. Many, many applicants share stellar scores and solid ECs. Not trying to be a negative Nancy, just being realistic. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
As long as at least one of the schools that already admitted you is affordable, and you are either directly admitted to your major or it is not highly difficult or competitive to enter after enrolling, then you need not worry about being shut out.
@lollypip - For schools like Tufts and Wash U, demonstrated interest is very important. Schools don’t necessarily expect you to travel from Texas to visit, but at the very least you should have tried to have an alumni interview locally and/or been in communication with your local rep via email.
The bottom line is that schools are protective of their yield. They want to know that they aren’t just your safety school. Do a search on “Tufts Syndrome” for more information about this.
Given your stats, I think you stand a good shot at many of those schools, particularly Case Western, Macalester, Emory, USC, Vandy, Tufts, and Wash U. But they’re gonna want to see “demonstrated interest.”
Your EC and generic recs might make the ivys a bit of a stretch. Then again, they’re reaches for everybody.
How were your essays? Did you apply for any merit scholarships?
@doschicos Yes overall acceptance rate is in the single digits, but segmented acceptance rates are very different.
Brown, for example posts detailed information to back this up – they accept 20% of valedictorians that apply, and also 20% of students who score an 800 on one of the SAT sections. If you got a perfect score on the ACT, your acceptance rate is a whopping 28%, and OPs 1590 is going to have a very similar effect.
Admission officers are often looking for a reason to reject a candidate, and someone with a 4.0, 1590, 35, and multiple leadership roles does not present many opportunities to the Adcom that will lead to a rejection.
Demonstrated interest is much more than a campus visit. It’s how your match shows in your app, including how you write/what you write about. After all, if you are interested, you know the college well enough to get the pieces right.
“Admission officers are often looking for a reason to reject a candidate, and someone with a 4.0, 1590, 35, and multiple leadership roles does not present many opportunities to the Adcom that will lead to a rejection.”
Think again. You’re presenting a full app, not just stats and some leadership roles. Nothing says a top performer gets the app right. Believe me. Anyone can flub.
OP, you’re covered, with the Texas admits. No one can predict the rest of it.
No problem, but what point exactly did I help you prove? The fact that 20% is now a single digit number?
Admissions is not a blind lottery. There are plenty of valedictorians at both ends of the spectrum – those that have nothing on their resume other than being first in their class to those that are simply overqualified (e.g., valedictorian of Exeter). The former are lacking serious extracurricular achievement and the latter will, likely, not matriculate at Brown.
A “reach” implies that a student’s stats are subpar for the school that they are applying to whereas a “target” means they fit the criteria of what the school is looking for. That doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to get in, but that they hit all the right boxes.
Given the information provided, I fail to see how such schools are a reach for this profile.
@lookingforward Yes I agree, but people are asking for an opinion given the stats they present. None of us know what’s going in their essays, recs, etc. – I’m not arguing that fact. Merely the fact that the term “reach” is loosely used here.
@LoveTheBard@lookingforward Hmm well I’ve asked my Tufts rep a couple questions through email and I’ve signed up for an interview, does that count as demonstrated interest? I also focused my Why Tufts not on listing their seminars and etc, but on their student body and how I’d fit into their “quirkiness.”
Also, I’m not sure if this is too late, but I’m planning on visiting WUSTL. Should I go even if I already turned in my app?
I love CC world where the phrase like a “your acceptance rate is a whopping 28%” seems normal
Actually, no: it implies that the student’s chances of acceptance are low. There are many thousands of students who are turned down every year by the tippy-tops whose stats are in the top 25% of admitted students - and who had credible ECs / essays / LoRs. There are simply too many of those students for the number of desks available, so they are in fact reaches for anybody without a serious hook. Doesn’t mean it won’t happen, just means it’s a reach.
There are only three lotttery-esque reaches on the list - Yale, Harvard, Brown. Vanderbilt, Georgetown, JHU,Tufts and Rice are next, but those schools will love your 1590/35/4.0. They may not say it publicly but they’ll love them. Rest are matches or safeties. Getting into UT is also a good sign, assuming you were an auto admit with top-7% rank.
You’re an excellent applicant. Good luck!
“Still a reach. Acceptance rates are in the single digits. The OP has wonderful stats but appears to be unhooked. Many, many applicants share stellar scores and solid ECs. Not trying to be a negative Nancy, just being realistic. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”
It would depend on the high school’s Naviance charts. Given the hs is in Texas, if 50% of the applicants get in with the OP’s stats to Rice, it’s not a reach and would be a match. Happens in California a lot, a particular HS has a good track record with a UC, if a student applies with a 4.0/1500 from there to say Berkeley, the acceptance rate is 50%, maybe more. That’s not a reach.
