<p>Taking all the AP courses available (4), scheduled for 3 SAT Subject tests. These are my junior year grades, and only took SAT once in October and ACT once in February. My goal is to go to law school and eventually go into politics. My majors will likely be economics/politics. I work part-time in a law firm, founded the current events club and co-chair, play varsity volleyball, co-editor of school magazine, won gavel in crisis committee of Model UN competition, participate in mock trial, co-chair community clothing drive, volunteer with underprivileged kids, taken a course in Multilateralism at GW last summer and this summer shadowing someone on a campaign, interning at EEOC, and taking a course on leadership in economics at Cornell through the Foundation for Teaching Economics. Other extracurriculars as well. My list is long and I am unclear on what is and is not a reach, target and safety school for me. Examples include Georgetown, GWU, Brown, Brandeis, Wesleyan, U Penn, U Rochester, Haverford, Tufts, BU, Oberlin, UNC. On various sites, they rate some of these schools as a reach for me and on others they say they are a solid fit. I would welcome help in understanding which are reach, which are solid targets (with a good chance of admission), and which could be true safeties, or if my mix is completely off base. Thanks in advance. </p>
<p>Your GPA is a lot stronger than your SAT. That SAT score is probably going to limit where you’re able to go. Brown, Wesleyan, Georgetown, Haverford, and U penn are all reaches, with Wesleyan and Haverford on the ‘lower’ side. Given the strength of your extra-curriculars, I’d say that you should be in at Oberlin, though I wouldn’t quite consider it a safety. Low match, maybe. </p>
<p>Tufts and Brandeis are matches, and GWU, UNC, and BU are safeties. </p>
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<p>The OP’s ACT score is stronger than SAT. There’s no reason for the SAT to limit him/her-- just send the ACT scores.</p>
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<p>These designations seem <em>very</em> optimistic to me. I don’t know much about these particular schools, but I do know that unless the OP is in state or a recruited athlete, there is no way UNC is a safety. The out of state acceptance rate is something like 18% iirc… it is a “reach for everyone.”</p>
<p>^ Agreed. OP, from what I remember of those college’s admission rates I think most are reaches, even though your stats are strong. A safety is a school you would be happy attending, you are assured of getting in, and your family can afford. If the affordability is an issue go to the Financial Aid forum and look at the sticky threads for full tuition scholarships. You would qualify for some.</p>
<p>Wow, I was thinking my designations might have been a bit too pessimistic. I suppose you’re right, though. </p>
<p>Is the 3.88 weighted or unweighted? My son’s first sets of SATs and ACTs were lower than yours (SATs were comparable), but his scores went up to 2060/31 on second attempts. His unweighted GPA was just over 3.3, but he attends a respected private school, and his weighted GPA was close to a 4.0. He has many of your interests: student government officer, Model UN, JSA/debating, etc. He plans to major in Poli.Sci./Government, with an eye toward law school down the road. He did not apply to any DC schools, which surprised me, but G’town would have been an extreme reach. If you want a notion of how someone with similar qualifications to yours did, here is the breakdown - Accepted: Tulane (no aid); Pitzer (no aid); Occidental ($12.5k); Whitman ($7.5k); UC San Diego (out-of-state, no aid); UC Davis (same as UCSD); Willamette ($19k); Eckerd ($19k); Guilford ($15k); New College of FL ($15k). Wait-lists: Reed, University of Washington. Rejected: UNC-Chapel Hill; UC Berkeley; Claremont-McKenna. If your 3.88 is unweighted, and you bring your SATs up a notch, you should be at least as competitive as he was. I know that people with marginally higher stats than his got nice scholarships from Tulane, for instance, and that he was not statistically out of reach for Claremont-McKenna (they love “leadership” credentials). Are you committed to Northeast? </p>
<p>Maybe Fordham as a “match,” and Temple as a safety? </p>
<p>See point 1 of <a href=“Before you ask which colleges to apply to, please consider - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1621234-before-you-ask-which-colleges-to-apply-to-please-consider.html</a> . You need to figure out your cost constraints in order to find safeties that you can certainly afford to attend. Be aware that law school is expensive, so minimizing debt and saving money in undergraduate is a good idea.</p>
<p>Thanks everone. We hope to be able to pay for the majority of his expenses from savings. Merit aid would be great, but we know it is a stretch. Will the colleges really penalize him for his SAT scores, which are admittedly lower than his ACT? His guidance counselor advised against retaking the SAT and either sticking with the ACT score or taking the ACT again. </p>
<p>Forget the SAT. Just submit the ACT score and he doesn’t even need to retake. If you’re full pay (with potential merit), that opens more doors for him.</p>
<p>Here are some merit scholarship shopping lists:
<a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<p>Please use separate user names for students and parents. The OP is in first person and the update in third.</p>
<p>If you don’t submit that lower SAT score, I don’t think any of the schools on this list are out of the question. Unlikely, perhaps, but if the GPA is unweighted your stats should put you in range for a lot of these schools. Maybe consider adding Clark University as a safety? It has a similar liberal-hippy environment to Wesleyan and Brown, with lower admissions standards. </p>