<p>I was a stupid sod that only cared enough to maintain a 3.0 GPA my freshman/sophmore years, but it is currently at around a 3.65 weighted </p>
<p>SATs
720 Reading
640 Writing
610 Math</p>
<p>[No ACTs yet]</p>
<p>I took it again the 6th and expect better scores (but who can be sure of those things)</p>
<p>I have considerably good ECs,
Model UN (president 2 years)
Academic (quiz) bowl captain (2 years, brought team to nationals)
Mock Trial
Eagle Scout
Boy's State
History bowl
Volunteer @ local historical society
[Student Government
Stock Market Club
Engineering Club
Chess Club]</p>
<p>The bracketed activities I did for less than 3 years, either because the clubs stopped, other things got in the way, or another factor</p>
<p>Decent strength of schedule with 8 APs (four tests taken, three "5"s and one "4") the rest save one or two were honors classes, as well as the PLTW engineering program</p>
<p>I have received exceptional recommendation letters and can handle myself well in an interview</p>
<p>I play no sports, and am a white male. </p>
<p>Size and location are irrelevant, what do you think are some of the best places I could get into, be it a reach or otherwise. </p>
<p>Don’t look for colleges based on “prestige” or “best places”. That is a recipe for an unhappy four years. Figure out what you want to study, and what some of your personal preferences are. Geography? College size? What extracurriculars do you want to participate in? Then get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and mark colleges that look interesting to you. Try to find some safeties where you are sure to get in, matches that look like you are around or a bit above the 50% point in test scores, and a few reaches. Run the net price calculators to see what you can afford. Visit if you have time (you don’t say what year you are). Then apply.</p>
<p>A scattershot request for the highest rank school you might get admitted to isn’t an intelligent way to make a college decision. Using your own phrase, it is the “stupid sod” way to go about your search…</p>
<p>Please don’t think collegeconfidential is the only way I’m doing this search, I’m taking many factors into consideration and have talked to many sources, this is just a little search through the wisdom of the crowd to find a few colleges that I might have not otherwise considered, and aren’t considerably over my capabilities. </p>
<p>“best” is, I suppose, intentionally left to be subjective, although I suppose “notability” would not be a bad supplement (although not by any means what I’m just going for"</p>
<p>I’ve already considered a few local schools, among them University of Maryland, the Naval Academy (I have a few connections there), George Washington, georgetown, etc. </p>
<p>Size and location are not big issues, and my view for what I want to do in the future is flexible enough that I want to see all my college options, but I do want a college big enough that I don’t have to explain to people where I went every time I say its name. </p>
<p>Really just wondering where I fall, as I don’t want to undershoot (or overshoot) where I apply to.</p>
<p>Is the only reason you want to go to a larger school is so you can tell people where you went and so they can say “I’ve heard of that place,”?</p>
<p>Surely you have to have some preferences regarding extraneous conditions of the college. Do not worry about ‘undershooting’ where you go. There are plenty of great schools that aren’t necessarily selective or expensive. Do you prefer colder weather, warmer, do you want to attend a smaller LAC or a large university? Then we can work from there. Each type of college has varying arrays of “prestige” if that really matters to you, but the information you’ve given so far will yield far too broad of a list. One could spend the time to list out 250+ colleges where you’d have a shot at, but I don’t think anyone is going to go through that.</p>
<p>Do you have any financial need? This is the most limiting factor - since no matter how smart you are, how involved you are, it doesn’t matter if it’s not affordable. </p>
<p>Do you know your unweighted GPA? </p>
<p>Also, what do you intend to major in? Even more important than the “prestige” is a good program for your intended area of study.</p>
<p>How much will your parents spend per year? </p>
<p>Have you had your parents run the NPC’s on various schools’ websites?</p>
<p>How did you raise two years of a 3.0 GPA to a 3.6 after one year (junior year)? Will your transcript with frosh thru junior year give that 3.6 weighted GPA?</p>
<p>Your M+CR is a 1330…equivalent to an ACT 30. it’s good, but not good enough for the top schools. The W score is far less relevant…schools hardly consider it.</p>
<p>Your GPA and rank are going to be an issue. I’m not sure how you were able to increase your GPA so much after only one year of grades. I’m guessing that you took most/all AP courses, got A’s, and the weighting had a big impact? Even so, it seems that your GPA would still be lower…like 3.4 or so. </p>
<p>MUCH is going to depend on how much your parents will pay. Even if you were to qualify for a lot of aid, the schools that give the best need-based aid aren’t going to accept you because of grades/rank/etc.</p>
<p>If name recognition is important to you AND your family has the cash…then you should probably look to the Big Ten schools. All are strong academically and have very good brand recognition throughout the country. As an OOS student, all but U MN and U Nebraska will set you back more than $30,000 per year with some being more than $40,000 per year.</p>
<p>You would get a nice scholarship to U Nebraska making it probably less than $20,000 per year.</p>
<p>You will not be an academic superstar at any Big Ten university even the lower ranked ones as each school will have 1000’s of students with better grades and scores than you.</p>
<p>Some are out of reach with your grades/scores.</p>
<p>It’s a fair question, if you are doing other research. But understand that many folks out there won’t know the school “name,” even if it’s a top 20. That’s a matter of just the luck of what they are familiar with.</p>
<p>The issue is that we can’t tell what your strengths are. For some kids with your stats, the picture the applicants create in the CA and supps can show direction, motivation and commitment- ie, probable success at that college, in both academics and other engagements. You haven’t told us what “shows” this, for you. It’s not just participating in activities (or even the title,) but the responsibilities you took on and your impact and how it all wraps up. The application is your chance to make a self-presentation-- but it’s a balance between what they like to see and what you can show you offer. You have to uncover what it is they seek. </p>
<p>And, as mentioned, you’re going to need to look at schools’ freshman stats, see where you place in the top quartile or close. “It’s not all about stats,” but that’s a good way to gauge the competition. The sort of schools you’d like can afford to cherry pick. I get that you’re speculating, but much of all this is about them, not what a student would like.</p>
<p>If you’ve got the interest, drive, and discipline, and can get the appointment, you probably won’t do better for a school with your stats than the Naval Academy. It all depends on whether or not you want to make that commitment.</p>
<p>Playing no sports is a big void for an academy nomination. I don’t know of anyone in the four years I attended who wasn’t an athlete in some sport.</p>