@RandyErika: You could be correct then San Diego State becomes the outlier on the list since OP is obviously focusing on East coast schools.
@Gumbymom It was the one in Maryland and the San Diego State is actually San Diego state Union University. Which means both schools in my school are much reasonable?
If money is there, University of SanDiego, a catholic school, is a nice choice.
Thank you for the correction regarding these schools. Being a CA resident you get hung up on the CA schools. Like I stated above, plenty of schools between Ivy League and community college so best of luck and work hard Junior year.
Assuming affordability your new list looks much more realistic. See how you do in classes and if you can bring up your standardized test scores during the next year before finalizing your application list.
“Im currently a sophomore”
Do you mean that you will be a sophomore in September, or do you mean that you are just finishing your sophomore year of high school?
You have a rather long list of ECs. I would suggest that you focus on a few ECs that you like and that you care about.
Also, you should try to pull up your unweighted GPA as much as you can between now and the end of your junior year. Make a strong effort to stay ahead in all of you courses this coming year.
You need to think about what you actually want in a university. Do you want a big school or a small school? Would you rather be in a big city, small city, or small town? You should visit a few schools near you, including a least one or two big ones and one or two small ones.
Also, try to write in grammatically correct English with correct spelling, even when you are only posting a question or a comment on College Confidential.
I am not saying you have no chance of getting into any given school. I’m giving you the very same advice I do anyone who is eyeing the most selective schools in this country. The very fact that they are selective makes them long shots for anyone. But more so to some people than others. As a rule, your chances are much enhanced with the highest, grades, rigor in courses and test scores. Other factors can mitigate this, and none of us can assess you fully in a holistic way.
So you want to apply to those schools, understand that they are reach schools. And also the easiest schools to list. You can grab those names of lists and rankings in minutes. How about putting some real work into the college search and find schools without this name recognition, that suits you well , that you can afford and that will take you most certainly. These schools exist, and they are not just your community colleges either. Though if you are in MD, your community college is well set up for feeding seamlessly into the later years of getting a bachelors degree.
Wait, so it’s Ivy or “community college or lower tier school”??
Nothing but Ivy is good enough for you? Everything else is settling? I would suggest that you take a deep breath and take a look at some of the 3,000+ pretty amazing non-Ivy League schools in this nation.
What we’re saying is that NO ONE has good odds of getting into the Ivy League schools.
Where are the “non-reach” schools on your list??? By definition, a “reach” is a school you don’t expect to get accepted to. Where are the schools where you DO stand a decent chance of acceptance? And where are your safeties, the schools you’ll be happy to attend, and where you’re pretty certain you’ll be accepted?
A good start on your list would be tackling the money issue. If you need financial aid or merit money, a lot of it, there is no sense in applying to schools that don’t or won’t give it to you. San Diego State is a good example. The chances of getting money from them other than Federal entitlements is about zilch for OOSers. Unless you have some strong tie to that school, it isn’t a good use of time and money to apply there.
Now University of San Diego is a whole other story It is a private Catholic school. Though it does not give a lot of financial aid, merit money, doesn’t tend to meet need, if you appeal to them, there is a chance there. Mount St Mary, the same. McDaniel in MD also a good contender.
The question comes down to whether your parents are willing and able to cover the cost of college with no limits, like the $70k+ schools, or what they will pay for you. Then, how much you qualify in financial aid. Just because they say they can’t afford it, doesn’t give you financial aid. It’s done by formula. Then there is merit money. Some schools simply give zero scholarships. None of the Ivy’s do. If your family is deemed able to pay by their formulas , you get no aid and they don’t give merit money.
Don’t assume anything from what your parents say. Many parents are tripped up by their assumptions. If you have a no custodial parent, some schools want that. financial info. Schools not interested in most prior debts or stories of unaffordabilty. If parents won’t give the info, kid doesn’t get the money. Pretty much hard and fast rules with very few exceptions