<p>I'm a junior at a selective private Catholic school in NJ. I'm trying to determine what my safeties/matches/reaches are from my current list of colleges, and if you have any suggestions for other schools...</p>
<p>SATs: best in one sitting- 2100 (710CR/680M/710W)
best mixed- 2130 (740CR/680M/710W)
SAT IIs- took BioE freshman year (650) taking USH and Lit soon
GPA: 3.7</p>
<p>4 years Varsity XC, captain
4 years Varsity Swimming, captain
2 years JV Softball, 1 year Varsity
Year round swimming, 21+ hours p/w 9 years (until junior year), not interested in swimming in college</p>
<p>Schools: </p>
<p>W&L
U Richmond
Bucknell
Colgate
Lehigh
Muhlenberg
Dickinson
Villanova
Loyola MD
Hamilton
Union
Lafayette</p>
<p>also do I have a chance at merit aid at any of them (esp Muhlenberg etc)?
Thanks</p>
<p>For comparison, your stats are very similar to my son's. This spring he was waitlisted at Hamilton and Lehigh and denied at Colgate. A two sport (nonrecurited) varisty athlete, also from NJ, with solid but average ECs outside of sports. I think the competition at the smaller LACS is intense, and being a female from NJ you will have your work cut out for you. They say next year will be even tougher, with an even larger applicant poool.</p>
<p>I think his best mix was around 1410/2120. He was also National Merit commended scholar, two year peer leader, officer in NHS, state level DECA winner, etc. Travel soccer at a v. high level for 9 years (captain for 4). 100+ hours of community service. On the other hand, I think his schedule was considered light--more honors classes than APs, only 4 total APs, etc. He even took study halls to lighten his load during sports seasons--in retrospect a bad idea though it certainly kept things more sane at the time. Lehigh also gets a lot of applicants from his HS; that is something to consider when you are picking colleges that we didn't think enough about. I see of lot of folks calling those schools matches for kids with his stats--we certainly thought they were. We were wrong. There is a huge mass of kids with stats in this range all applying to the same northeastern LACs, and I think half of them are from NJ. I would urge you to include more schools outside the NE to improve your odds for the match/reach schools on your list.</p>
<p>This board seems very willing to share success stories and bragging rights but I think there are a lot of kids who have less desirable outcomes and you don't hear their stories often enough.</p>
<p>I would say W&L and Colgate would be, at least, slight reaches (maybe 30-40% chance) with Hamilton, Bucknell, Lehigh 50-70% chance with the others fairly likely. What kind of rank does a 3.7 translate to? That could be top 1% or top 30% from what I've seen.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments jrzzmom, I really appreciate a different perspective. I'd like to try to stay somewhat close to home and with the criteria I have (small LAC, suburban preferably, not crazy liberal, etc) it's hard to find different colleges that not many kids from NJ would be applying to</p>
<p>My school doesn't rank because it'd be ridiculous... there are only 50 girls per grade (all-girls school) and I believe the average SAT score is around 1360+</p>
<p>If you apply to that original list plus maybe some of Middlebury, Holy Cross, Skidmore, Trinity, Connecticut College, Colby, Bates you should definitely be accepted into a school you'll be pleased with.</p>
<p>I would suggest that Heavenwood's list is overly optimistic--for example, Lafayette looks more like a match to me than a safety. For the Class of 2009, the mid 50% range on SATs ends at 700V and 730M, but you aren't an URM, recruited athlete, legacy or wielding a phenomenal hook and you are from an over-represented geographic area. The overall acceptance rate for '09 was only 37%, and apparently they are overenrolled for '10, so they may be more cautious next year. Many of the schools on your list have seen serious increases in # and strength of applications over the last two years and published stats for the Class of 2009 are not necessarily where the Class of 2011 will be. But if you can settle on at least two "sure bets" early--schools you would be honestly happy to attend and are truly sure to get into, even factoring in some possible escalation in selectivity, you can be a little more creative with the rest of the list. Those "sure bet" schools may be the hardest to identify, but in terms of risk management, they are the most important schools on your list. Which schools might fit that bill depends on things you haven't shared, like possible majors and whether merit aid is a necessity.</p>
<p>jrzzmom, i know youre only trying to help; but you seem overly pessimistic. sapphire, i was accepted to W&L for next year with only a 2070, 30 ACT and 3.7 UW GPA. I had no special hooks, only average EC's (except Eagle Scout). What pushed me in were my essays and interview. your stats are more than enough yo get you admission to the schools listed; w&l and colgate are the most selective on that list and you are matches to both. good luck.</p>
<p>Washington and Lee really focuses in on the character of the applicant more than the other schools on your list. The school, which is conservative, is run on an honor system, so they look to bring in people that they feel they can trust. I would consider it a high match/slight reach unless you have done some great community service or if your personal essays are fantastic.</p>