<p>Tulane is on her radar, as is Emory. I am not sure she can get into Tufts with her scores.</p>
<p>She could apply to Tulane, Michigan and Wisconsin early and if she gets into any of them and would happily attend (& financially, it’s no problem), then she could apply to super reaches. If she doesn’t get in, you’ll have time to readjust her list, provided that she’s researched and visited schools at different tiers. All those schools are EA/rolling, so that would still allow her to apply ED somewhere if she desired. For tufts, if her scores don’t improve, her best shot would probably be an ED app. They just get so many amazing applicants with the whole package.</p>
<p>I think both Emory and tufts have ED2 as well.</p>
<p>Wisconsin IS a match school. The kids I know who go there love it.</p>
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<p>Edge and artsy with a literary/artistic bent…Bard.</p>
<p>Edgy and artsy with a political bent…Oberlin. </p>
<p>Both are closely related enough a visit to each campus and chat with graduates is recommended. </p>
<p>wisconsin is an amazing school with many well regarded depts. my S applied there early and while it wasn’t among his top choices bc of the weather, it took the edge off the rest of his process bc he knew he was in at a school with amazing academic opportunity. And she might qualify for the honors college, which my son thought was a huge plus.</p>
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<p>Yep…that’s right. UW is where a lot of students with her stats go. And where some with her stats and better are waitlisted. </p>
<p>It’s a whole new world of admissions out there, like it or not. Tufts, Vanderbilt, and Emory, for example, are not “sure bets” for anyone. Based on a clearheaded analysis of the situation, a student I know who has the equivalent of 2250SAT, 3.9/4.8 GPA, and leadership ECs has decided that all of those schools should be considered “reach” schools—worth applying to, but no assurance (or even likelihood) of acceptance. Luckily, that student does not have the peer-pressure that the OP’s D has to keep her list limited to predetermined set of elite institutions. She and others like her are the students who would be among the daughter’s classmates at a school like Elon or BU…or UW. While going to a less elite university may be a blow to the ego, my guess is that a student like the OP’s D would likely have no trouble finding challenging classes, intellectual equals, and even like-minded “peeps” at schools that are perceived as being beneath the ambitions of a top-caliber student at her high school.</p>
<p>I think we’re doing our kids a disservice when we approach 2015 admission realities with preconceived notions of what is and is not an appropriate consideration set. My guess is that the OP’s D may not be only one at her school who may need to adjust expectations somewhat. </p>
<p>I don’t understand why everyone is pushing the LAC’s so much, since this girl has said she doesn’t want a small school. That seems to me like a double whammy for discontent, being at a school she doesn’t consider prestigious enough and being at the kind of school she didn’t want to attend anyhow. Surely there are enough large U’s for this student to look at. </p>
<p>And if it’s a state U, there will be high achievers like her who may be there for financial reasons. One of my daughter’s friends just turned down an Ivy for state U. Too expensive. It may not have crossed the OP’s daughter’s mind that she will find Ivy admits at state schools since I doubt it is an issue at a wealthy elite school, but it certainly is a big consideration for many people.</p>
<p>Thanks. Can anyone suggest other large universities that are like University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin? Doesn’t have to be a public college, though.</p>
<p>Mathyone- we’re pushing LAC’s because the best way to “find your peeps” is to attend a college which is thick with them. For sure this kid could find her intellectual peers at any Big 10 University. But it would take more work than at a place like Mt Holyoke or Smith. </p>
<p>Perhaps a visit to a small college will reinforce this student’s desire to attend a big U. Terrific. But if the only datapoint is what she’s heard from her friends…</p>
<p>Tufts is definitely going to be a reach - but they really care about fit. If she likes it and can make a case for herself she might get lucky. If you look at the admissions results on CC they reject a lot of top scorers for more interesting kids. My son’s math scores were in their bottom 25% and his grades were not as good as your daughter’s though they were excellent in some areas. They have some quirky essay questions and they take the “Why Tufts?” question seriously. My son actually wrote a funny answer to that, but he was selling himself as someone with a sense of humor.</p>
<p>Brandeis is definitely a tad easier to get into. I really, really liked it, the guy who gave us the tour was an African-American inner city NYC kid who really gave a good impression. Unfortunately we visited on a day when it was desserted and my son was into traditional looking campuses and axed it.</p>
<p>I think people in the NE don’t realize that flagship U’s in just about any of the midwestern states are often first-choice colleges for the top students from competitive suburban high schools that are probably not all that different from the one described in the OP (e.g., Stevenson or New Trier in suburban Chicago). From D’s large suburban high school, top 5% students regularly go to UIUC, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota, etc. </p>
<p>My son’s good friend’s sister in the same situation. GOt accepted to SUNYs, some safeties and three schools added to list at last minute, GW, BU and Syracuse. Did not get into Tulane, Emory, Tufts, NYU, Villanova, Barnard, Wake Forest, Lehigh and some others. Also got into Fordham, Fairfield, not BC even with legacy. She applied to about 20 schools, first a set of 12 and then added a bunch. when deferred for Tulane, Villanova and BC from EA. That was their wake up call.’’</p>
<p>Your DD will be in good company, OP. Though there is a lot of talk about the top schools, it’s a tough go to get accepted. As said before, even another 100 points is not guarantee for getting into some of these schools. I’ll be going through the same danged thing with you next year. </p>
<p>Your high school sounds like one of those powerhouses where the vast majority of students attend four-year colleges, and the average students would be standouts anywhere else. There should be no shame for your daughter to attend a college that those in the fiftieth percentile attend. She is likely to qualify for merit aid or honors programs, and her AP classes could enable her to pursue an ambitious double-major or joint-degree program. From the vantage-point of middle-age, I can say that an open mind and an open heart are the most valuable foundations for happiness in life. Comparing oneself against others, favorably or negatively, is a guarantee for heartbreak and bitterness. She will excel, wherever she is, and she will get into a very good college. I think Barnard sounds like a very strong target for her: I went there, and it is hardly an isolated, all-female environment. The campus is right across the street from the main Columbia campus, and most classes are co-ed. The same goes for Scripps, if she wanted to look on the West Coast. It is a small, women’s college, but the 5-college Claremont Consortium has 5000 undergraduates, and the campuses are all contiguous. The colleges all have reciprocal dining privileges, joint social and athletic activities, and opportunities to take many classes outside the home college. </p>
<p>By the way, my town has a highly-rated public high school, and a number of the top-ranked students go to Lehigh each year. </p>
<p>Why isn’t anyone guiding this student to her <em>own</em> state flagship? Is there snob appeal in spending more money for someone else’s flagship?</p>
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<p>Thank you</p>
<p>Still curious if the OP’s D has visited any schools yet. Some kid’s think they know what type of school they want /don’t want, but when they visit a particular type of school realize it’s not what they want. I think she should go look at a few different types of schools before she starts ruling any particular type out or making her list of schools to apply to. </p>
<p>Yes, she has visited many schools.</p>
<p>Thanks, so I guess she knows she wants big/urban then. </p>