The SAT may not measure intelligence, but it is a major determinant of whether or not you are qualified for elite schools.
Really? Holy Cross, Union, Dickinson etc are MEDIOCRE? Most of their students have stats higher or the same as yours. Suggesting that they are “beneath” you is highly insulting, and suggests that YES, you do have an attitude problem. If you want to succeed, your attitude and way of defining success need to change first.
@collegesearchhh there is a difference between not accepting mediocrity and being a downright snob. It’s true that the SAT does not measure your intelligence or your future, but neither does the ranking of the college you go to. The schools others have been suggesting would offer you a fantastic education, but if you are too ignorant and hung up on rankings to see that, then it is you who will miss out.
@collegesearchhh you should apply to all of the new england snoot colleges. All of them. Because your chance of getting in to any of them (BC etc.) is pretty “mediocre.” But maybe you’ll win the lottery, who knows.
You should consider test optional schools. Hamilton jumps to mind-preppy, New England, well known.
Here’s a link to the Fair Test of test optional colleges:
http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional
Here is a link to another Fair Test page that cross-references the USNWR 2015 rankings:
http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf
You’ll see that the top five options are all in New England.
Ignore @Qwerty568. He’s exaggerating. Top 30 without a 2000+ is doable. Would you consider Colgate?
Mediocre means not up to my standards.Every person in my family has gone to schools that are ranked in the top 30 colleges in the U.S…I have standards and don’t want to go to a college that is not pretogious because I have lots of pressure and I have worked extremely hard to get a good GPA …
Hmmn, while a very strong GPA, frankly its not exceptional, certainly for someone who wants to play the prestige card…in short, need you need to increase your test score by a good 200-250 to gain admission to some of the more name value institutions you seek.
I wonder what you feel you are offering the schools you are interested in. They have no shortage of qualified applicants, so why would they accept you simply because you feel entitled?
Some of you people are being so rude.I didn’t mean to offend people but you are being so unhelpful and unnessarily rude.
No, I am not exaggerating. Unless you have a hook (sports, connections or URM) it isn’t happening. Calicash, I remember that you got into Northwestern with a sub 2000 score. Congrats. However, I remember that you also had a hook. That changes things.
OP, people are being incredibly helpful on this thread. They are listing lots of schools that fit your criteria (aside from top 30) that you could reasonably be accepted to. You are the one being rude here- you are shooting down people’s honest advice by claiming that you are entitled to a better school and calling some wonderful liberal arts schools “mediocre” because they aren’t in the top 30. Rank is not everything. Accept that Harvard is not a realistic choice and reevaluate your options.
No, @collegesearchhh, you are the one who’s being rude. It’s completely obnoxious and frankly just very ignorant to refer to schools outside of the top thirty as “mediocre” and “not up to your standards.” You are suggesting that you deserve to go to a top school because all of your family did, and you seem to think you’ve worked much harder than other applicants even though your GPA and test scores are lower than most of them. You can’t expect people to respond positively to that kind of behavior.
I think the OP does, in fact, have a huge hook, and that is cash. If FA is not an issue (as you state), then apply to each of the schools you are interested in and I bet you’ll get in once they see you can afford all four years. Your GPA is high and while not top, it’s good enough, depending on your high school, which you said is competitive. Try Middlebury, Bowdoin, Bennington, and other preppy-type schools and let’s see what happens. In fact, apply to the colleges that fit your interests and to which your high school alumni have matriculated. You’ll have the last word. Best of luck and keep your chin up.
Schools like Middlebury and Bowdoin have plenty of high stat applicants that are full pay. Being full pay cannot be considered a hook at these schools or at schools of similar caliber, let alone a “huge hook”. Unless your family is making a SIZABLE donation above and beyond tuition, don’t count on it helping.
Re: #31 - @SeattleTW. There is enough money around New England and the Northeast for that not to be a major hook in an applicant who would not enhance diversity in any way. Your observation might resonate with less-selective liberal arts colleges, but I know plenty of full-pay kids who have been turned down by the colleges in question. I’m not sure Bennington is what the OP is seeking; she seems to want a very conventional sort of college. There’s no harm in applying to Bowdoin or Wesleyan, but I think that they are huge reaches for her. Her application will look too similar to thousands of kids with good grades whose test scores put other highly-selective colleges out of reach, and nothing will stand out.
If terms like “pretogious” and “mediocracy” indicate the OP’s academic qualifications, I think this thread has become futile.
@SeattleTW Being full pay is not a hook. You would be surprised how many kids in the Boston area alone are full pay. Furthermore, many of the “prestigious” universities OP is looking for are need blind. Anecdotally, it didn’t help me whatsoever in the college process, even at need aware schools, and I scored a full three hundred points higher on the SAT and had a slightly better (3.9 UW) GPA.
@woogzmama There is nothing wrong with using the words prestigious and mediocre. I am more concerned about the fact that you spelled prestigious wrong.
At this point, I want to ask a moderator the close this thread. We are clearly not getting through to OP, who has begun to be hostile and ride towards the people trying to help her. I think this discussion has run its course.
Another thread indicates that OP is presently a h.s. sophomore. So some comments that may come across as dismissive actually may just be due to inexperience. I’d commend OP for starting to ask questions now.
My suggestions for OP are these: Do additional prep for the SAT in order to improve your score. Take the ACT as well, because many students do better on it (but be strategic if you will be applying to schools that will request all of your scores). Concentrate on the ECs that you are passionate about, and take them as far as you absolutely can.
By all means apply to your NE prestige schools–Bates, Colby, Holy Cross, Smith, etc. If you write terrific essays and have amazing rec letters you very well might get in, as @CaliCash above suggests, especially if your scores and GPA come up a bit. But if your scores remain as currently stated, you might not get in, as @Querty568 suggests.
So have a rock solid back-up plan. This will require more work, but may end up being incredibly rewarding in the end. Find a group of schools just below the prestige radar, outside of New England. Visit them, talk to profs and other students, and attend classes. I’ll suggest 3 that we visited: Denison, Union and Sewanee. None of these is mediocre in any way whatsoever. You will find many valedictorians at each of these schools, and many with 34, 35 or 36 ACT scores. The academics are superb. Sewanee, for example, had 3 Fulbright scholars from its senior class of around 400 students this year. They have had a total of 26 Rhodes scholars, almost unheard of for a school that size. These schools have superb teaching, excellent facilities, and wonderful research & internship opportunities. The difference is that because they aren’t in quite so high of demand as your Colbys and Bowdoins, they accept students of a slightly broader range of abilities. Don’t mistake that for mediocrity.
As for regionalism, if you cut out all schools in the south from consideration, for example, you miss out on Duke and Emory which are world class research institutions. You miss out on great LACs like Davidson, Centre and Rhodes that have national student bodies. Your search is just beginning, so you should want it to be inclusive rather than exclusive.
Your impulse this summer may be to visit the high reach schools first. But you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor to look a little more broadly. I might start by venturing 30 minutes outside of New England to have a look at Union, a really terrific college that has been around since 1795.
Just because a school is not top 30 does not mean it is mediocre. Frankly, it’s irrational to assume that everyone at a school that is not top 30 is mediocre. There are wonderful state schools. Providence College is a great school-it’s not top thirty, but it’s well respected in New England and fits all of your criteria. You’d probably get in-I’d doubt you’d get merit though, because your stats aren’t far past what they’ve been seeing in recent years.
Check your attitude. Apply to top thirties, but have a safety.