Hi everyone,
I am a senior in high school and I need a little help with the college selection process. Most of the colleges I am interested in attending are highly selective (UChicago, UPenn, Haverford, Swarthmore) so I want to find some good schools where I would have a decent chance of getting in and that also give good financial aid.
Here’s some information about me:
I am a midwestern white girl with a passion for math and science. I want to major in chemistry. My UW GPA is 3.97. I have taken lots of AP and dual enrollment classes, mainly advanced math and science. My ACT score was 34. I have not taken the SAT, but a plan to take the Math 2 and Chemistry subject tests this October.
I am the captain of the varsity tennis team, I’m on the math team, and I have a part time job.
I took Spanish in 9th and 10th grade. I didn’t take it last year because i hated it. I had some medical issues that caused my parents to make me cut down on my course load, so spanish was the first to go. I plan to take spanish 4 this year to increase my chances of getting into more selective colleges.
My safety school is the U of M Twin Cities, but I am not excited about going there as it is very close to home. My ideal school would be in a big city, or near enough to one.
Any suggestions are appreciated!
Since you like Swarthmore, consider Haverford (still selective but slightly less so than Swat) and Bryn Mawr. Both are in the same Quaker Consortium as Swat with similar vibes.
Check out Bates, not too far from Portland, ME which is a vibrant, smaller city. Colorado College is also in a city.
Mount Holyoke is well worth looking at. Strong sciences, beautiful campus, diverse community, and likely would give good merit for your stats.
Macalester, Reed, Occidental
Financial aid in the sense of need based, or merit? If the former then for “need blind” colleges, such as Penn, you can determine what it is likely to be. Have you done that? Look at https://www.edvisors.com/plan-for-college/college-admissions/need-blind-admissions/ There are several colleges “need blind”, “near a city” with strong academics on the list. Some are less selective than Penn or Chicago.
Take a look at Smith if you would consider an all women’s college - generous financial aid. Johns Hopkins is another that comes to mind when I see U Chicago and STEM. And take a look at Harvey Mudd and Caltech - both highly selective, but being female and midwestern helps a bit - but check the financial aid situation.
You may want to consider Reed. It is in Portland, which is not a big city, but better than what most LACs can offer. Getting to Seattle is not really a big deal.
Reed is very strong in the sciences (highest number, not just %, of PhDs produced in the physical sciences every year among all liberal arts colleges), offers generous financial aid (is listed in PR’s ‘20 best financial aid’ colleges), and has an atmosphere similar to two of the colleges you listed, although the college is different in many ways as well. All that said, it’s definitely not for everyone, but your chances are probably very good!