<p>I am a rising senior this summer (Class of 2011) and i just got my scores back from the SAT. I have looked at colleges a little, but I'm not sure how well I would fit or what I should be looking for. I got a 2200 with an 800 on the math section. i am Editor-In-Chief of my school's newspaper and am involved in technical theatre and am a Thespian at my school. I have held various positions from light board operator to stage manager and assistant director. My unweighted GPA is 3.86 but I am an IB student.</p>
<p>With a 2200, 3.8+ gpa, and an 800 in math you are eligible for any college in the world, although your SAT score might hurt you slightly at HYP. What was your critical reading score?</p>
<p>As a biased note, apply to Columbia. We can always use more tech people. :)</p>
<p>My critical reading was 740, which leaves writing at 660. I’m going to take it again to try to get that one up more because I think I’m capable of more than that. I don’t really want to go to HYP. I don’t think I’m the right kind of person for schools like that.</p>
<p>With scores like yours, I would say that most “top tier” places aren’t guaranteed but any school is an option. So you shouldn’t think so much (read: at all) about “can I get in” when you’re looking at schools, 'cause you have a shot anywhere. If you feel that you’re firmly not an HYP type of person, you might start with LACs. Some of the most well-respected ones that I know of are Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, and Reed, but there are infinitely more. Or if you want a BIG state school, look at Berkley and UCLA, University of Texas, University of Michigan. Or of course there’s Stanford, which, being on the west coast, has a more west-coast feel than the east coast ivies. Among other non-ivy big research universities there are places like Johns Hopkins, University of Chicago, Duke, Cornell (kidding), etc. There are schools in the south like Rice, Emory, and Vanderbilt. I can’t really tell you where to start looking. But my advice would be don’t consider selectivity as a factor except to guess at the general academic aptitude/competitiveness/atmosphere of the schools you’re looking at. Hope that helps!</p>
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<p>nice jab at cornell ;)</p>
<p>@OP: is there a particular reason you don’t think you’re an HYP kind of person? if it’s because of size and that you prefer a small LAC or a large public school, then i can understand that; i just hope it’s not because of some misdirected stereotype of those schools … each of them is amazing in their own way (except harvard - sincerely, yalie of 2014 
). but on a more serious note, if a certain stereotype is preventing you from applying i think people would be willing to perhaps change your views a bit :)</p>
<p>To give you an idea of where I think I am I’ll tell you what is on my list right now.
-Northwestern
-Northeastern
-Dartmouth
-Syracuse
-Pomona
-Harvey Mudd</p>
<p>I am interested in computer science, engineering, and journalism as possible majors. Generally I want a school that is mid-sized, but I wouldn’t object too much to a large or small one.</p>
<p>Bump 10char</p>
<p>Washington University in St. Louis, Rice, and Vanderbilt are possibilities. Is money an important factor? What area of the country to you prefer or do you care?</p>
<p>So far money is not an issue. We will deal with that when it comes. it may influence the final decision but we are not concerned at the moment. I don’t have much of a preference as to location, but I would like to be somewhere that is close to somewhere. Not out in the middle of nowhere or in a state that doesn’t have much going on.</p>
<p>You seem very much like me, so I’ll give you advice others have given me.</p>
<p>Can your family afford to pay 50k+ on college? If not, DON’T discount money as an issue. I realized recently that my family can afford 30k, but is unlikely to receive more than a few thousand in financial aid from most colleges.</p>
<p>What are your PSAT scores? Are they good enough for NM? If so, you can find many good schools for matches/safeties that will offer you strong merit aid.</p>
<p>Do you prefer a college close to a city?</p>
<p>I scored a 207 on the PSAT. So far I have been told that I am a commended scholar but nothing further.</p>
<p>Your other thread said that you’re from Oregon, which had a 2010 cutoff of 213, so you probably won’t qualify. You really should talk to your parents now about what they can afford, run the EFC Calculator ([EFC</a> Calculator: How Much Money for College Will You Be Expected to Contribute?](<a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_welcome.jsp]EFC”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_welcome.jsp)) to find out how much colleges will expect you to pay. If you can afford 50k/year, great. If not, that’s fine, just make sure you have good financial matches on your list.</p>
<p>Some colleges that I liked for Engineering/Computer Science:
-Carnegie Mellon
-CalTech/MIT
-Brown
-Macalester</p>
<p>You can also look at some of the smaller technical schools as matches and/or safeties, places like Rochester Tech, RHIT, WPI, RPI, etc.</p>
<p>If you have an interest in both engineering and journalism you will have difficulty finding a school that’s really good at both. Northwestern, for example, requires you to apply to the school of engineering and it might be hard to take journalism classes. Syracuse has great journalism, but is not so great in engineering or CS. You might take a look at UPenn. They have a more generic engineering program that could be combined with another major.</p>
<p>Yeah I am a little concerned by that fact. Does anyone know anywhere that lets you take classes across programs?</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>Have you thought about WPI or RPI? Both are pretty good and have a lot to offer. I looked into WPi more and know that it has a small campus but there’s always something to do.</p>
<p>One shcool you might check out is UNC at Chapel Hill, which has programs in both engineering (computer, biomedical and materials) and a strong journalism program. Its a tough admit for out of state students, but they love OOS kids with high stats and you have them. Plus they are generally good for fin aid and offer some very generous scholarships.</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>Many of the liberal arts schools let you take classes across programs, but I think you have to consider that to get an engineering degree that will be top-notch you won’t have much room for other courses. Hard to double major with engineering. The exception will be a generic type engineering degree such as the engineering studies degree offered by Lafayette. It won’t really prepare you for an engineering career, but will give you rigorous coursework and a good look at the different kinds of engineering. You can use the degree for working in marketing at a tech company or as the basis for further study.</p>