3.8 UW GPA
4.5 W GPA
33 ACT
Rigorous Course schedule
9 AP Classes Scores: 4 5’s and 5 4’s.
EC’s:
NHS (2 years)
Spanish Club (2 years)
Ski and snowboard club (active participant)
Student Senate (senator- 1 year pres-1 year)
Model UN (2 years)
Astronomy Club (2 years)
Provided tutoring for students every week (2 years)
Internship at a local manufacturing business. Our school has a program where the students essentially run the business and try to come up with efficient ideas for the business for the summer. (1 summer)
Probably something that I’m forgetting, but I know that I have mediocre ECs
150 hours of volunteering at various places in the community
100 hours of volunteering inside school
Letters of recommendation will be decent, however I don’t know what to expect. My essays will be great.
Question: What types of schools could I expect to get into with these stats for an ECONOMICS/BUSINESS MAJOR
Preferences: Sub-Urban-Urban, Medium to large size
Also, somewhere in the mid-west or northeast would fit me.
Reaches: Georgetown, Notre Dame, Michigan; High Matches: George Washington, BU, Villanova, Northeastern; Matches: Pitt, U of Miami, Drexel, American, Miami of Ohio; Safe: Temple, DePaul.
@woogzmama I have a question, would it be realistic to apply to Northwestern, Columbia, UChicago or UPenn for my reaches, Michigan (I live in Michigan), Villanova, and BU as a target. And some other schools as safeties (I’d have to research more). I obviously wouldn’t apply to all of these schools.
Run the Supermatch engine on the left side of this page.
I would say Penn-Wharton is probably out of reach, and Columbia would be a major stretch for you. I might revise that if you retake the ACT, and try the SAT, next fall and hit one or the other out of the park. Otherwise, I suspect they’re bridges too far. If you want to try, I recommend choosing one of those super-reaches for ED, just to indicate your enthusiasm for it. A 33 is an excellent score, but it is nothing special for the colleges you mentioned. Students get in with your stats, but more get rejected. Student Senate presidency enhances your application, but I still see those colleges as big reaches. Penn Arts & Sciences might be possible, but Wharton is viciously selective, and I don’t see the “rock-star” resume that they seek in admissions
@woogzmama So you’re saying that even if I have a great score on the act, you would advise me to take the SAT as well? Is this because it will help my chances? I know most Colleges don’t care if you’ve only taken one or the other.
Please, please, please do not take one anonymous, unaccountable individual’s instructions on how to pursue your college quest. If you are most comfortable with the ACT, stick with it. Some people like having both tests available, even if they choose to only submit one set of scores. If you are in the sort of borderline admissions territory that you appear to be, the additional information could help. Your lowest section on one test could be your highest on the other. That’s just the perspective of one Internet stranger. Your ACT score (33) is good. It translates to about a 2180 three-test SAT score or a 1450 two-test score. If you feel you are done with testing, then that’s a valid decision. If you have taken practice tests and determined the ACT is better for you, then that’s a valid decision. I merely suggested the SAT in case your results might be slightly different. My younger son had a 3-test score of 2060 on the SAT, and a 31 composite on the ACT. Those are very comparable composite scores, but his strongest SAT was Math (730), whereas his ACT Math score was only 29. He scored a 35 and a 33 on the English and Writing segments of the ACT (I forget which was which), while his Writing SAT was only 620. Having both sets allowed him to demonstrate his breadth of ability.
@Dylan197
Your ACT is the 99% percentile and in the top 25% of applicants for Michigan and you are instate. Michigan is essentially a safety. Maybe apply to State as a super safety. University of Rochester has a top Economics program and is a highly respected school. I would add Cornell and Brown.
Focus on more reaches so statistically you get in a couple, Ivy and Non-Ivy.
You have no reason to apply to Temple, Drexel, American, GW or DePaul.
@woogzmama this applicant has a very good chance for Columbia, no worse than anyone else applying. His ACT is very high in the middle 50%. It will be hard like it is for everyone but no worse. He could very well be in the top 35% of applicants. Excellent grades and 9 AP classes with 4s and 5s.
Your ACT is perfect in the 99th percentile there is no reason to retake it or take the SAT. All top 20 colleges recognize a 33+ as a top score so theres no reason to aim higher unless you REALLY want to aim for a 36 (which is really just a waste of effort and time unless you feel confident and up for it with minimal prep). NU and UChicago are good reaches for you with good econ/business. Columbia and UPenn aren’t out of your range either. Your safeties/matches seem decent. When deciding to apply you should narrow down schools to the optimal atmosphere and location you want first. You have good enough test scores and grades to put you at least around the middle 50 percent or higher for all these schools so really if you do well essays you’ll get in a few of the top ones you apply too. Good luck!
^ You shouldn’t make sweeping statements like that. A 33 is below the 25%ile for Cal Tech and is at the 25%ile for MIT.
I agree with post #10. Penn rejected plenty of students with ACT 33. People my daughter knew in high school were rejected from Cal Poly SLO with ACT 34. Last year on CC one ACT 35 was rejected from USC and is enrolling at Santa Clara University. There are a lot more students with ACT higher than 33.
What is your approximate EFC? How much can you actually afford per year? Those are two critical stats that you left out.
@Dunboyne Most of the Colleges that I’m looking at provide close to 100% need based FA. But if the College didn’t do that, then I’d be looking at much cheaper Colleges. My family could only contribute say 5-10 a year at most.
It would be hard for you to find a mid-sized+ school of comparable quality to U Michigan where you’re likely to receive enough merit aid to make up for less than 100% need-based aid. So it sounds like a 100% need-met school is a must, and even that might not be enough, depending on each school’s EFC.
As for which ones to target, how many apps can you realistically throw out there? Are you positive that you can afford U Mich?
@Dunboyne Yes, I am positive that I will be able to afford UMich due to the fact that I am a resident which makes it oodles cheaper than if I were to be a non-res. I can probably throw out maybe 5-10 apps, depends on the price. i.e. I wouldn’t be able to do that if they were all 90$.
I apologize, by the way, for missing the fact that the OP is a Michigan resident. I would have placed UM as much likelier had I observed that.
@woogzmama so do you still think penn is out of the question for an econ major (setting wharton off to the side) even when applying ed.
“Your ACT is the 99% percentile and in the top 25% of applicants for Michigan and you are instate. Michigan is essentially a safety.”
Michigan is no longer a safety, even for instate students who have less than a 3.85 gpa.
Brown, Notre Dame (business), Tufts, Georgetown (business/econ), Johns Hopkins, Wesleyan U, Macalester, Boston College (business/econ), U Rochester, Northeastern (business), U Richmond (business).
Wesleyan, Macalester, and Richmond are smaller, but give them a chance.
Run the Net Price Calculators, eliminate the unaffordable, see what you’re left with. Think about adding higher reaches after you deal with these, or else the tendency will be to get too reachy from the start. You have a 3.8 UW and decent ECs, so don’t get carried away. There’s enough “reach” in this group, but I fear that some of these will prove unaffordable, so you’ll probably end up wanting to add one or two wealthy higher reaches.
Check out U Alabama, too, for its automatic full-tuition. U Michigan, and don’t forget to add another safer in-state school.