What Other Schools Should I Consider?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello!

I am a rising sophomore in high school who is starting to think about college. I was wondering what colleges I should be considering based on my interest and academic performance so far.

Unweighted GPA: 3.88 (mediocre, I know)
Weighted GPA: 3.92
Core course grades: (A-, A-, A, A+, A)
I have not taken the ACT or PSAT yet. If it matters, I typically perform well above average on standardized tests.
High Honor Roll student two semesters in a row.
Academic Interests: Neuroscience, psychology, biology
Extracurriculars: Volleyball, squash, theater crew, tri-head of black student affinity (I’m very passionate about diversity work)
Colleges I’m interested in: Northeastern University, Brown University, Northwestern University, and NYU in order of preference. I really, really like Northeastern though.

However, all of these are reaches. If there are any other schools in the midwest or northeast area I should be considering, I would love to hear about them. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! :slight_smile:

2

My D got into Northeastern as a Neuroscience major 2 years ago (switched majors afterwards). She absolutely loves it there and she’s headed to Europe on one of her co-ops in a couple of weeks.

Are you only thinking about private schools? Any other parameters?

3

I’m glad to hear that! Nope, I’m not just thinking about private schools. Some other parameters would be a great science department and a solid reputation, although the second one isn’t that important.

4

It is way too early to think about specific colleges (especially the hyper-competitive ones). You just even have one full year’s GPA and you have no standardized testing. You also need to recognize that HS should be an experience in and of itself – a time of learning and growth and not just a 4 year college application prep experience.

It is good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC until your junior year – your time can be more productively spent elsewhere…

For now you should focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study for standardized tests.
–Continue your involvement in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoying spending time with your family and friends.

When the time comes (junior year) asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend. You need to expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.

5

It might help forum members what classes you have taken so far. Your weighted GPA seems kind of low compared to your unweighted GPA

6

@Nicki20 , OP has only completed freshman year. A lot of schools don’t offer many GPA-bumped classes to freshmen. It’s very normal at this stage for weighed and unweighted GPA to be similar. OP has plenty of time to accumulate GPA weighting.

@AzolesRale , there’s just not that much to go on here. You’re off to a fine start, but where you can aim in terms of competitiveness depends on how things go over the next two years with GPA, test scores, etc. On the financial side, it will be important to determine whether you can pay the Expected Family Contribution that the financial aid formulas will generate based on your family’s finances (in which case you will be looking for schools with good financial aid that will meet full need) or whether you’ll be looking for schools that will give you merit scholarships. Then there are your preferences as far as college size, social scene, extracurriculars, diversity, geography…

Academically, hundreds of schools have good undergraduate bio and psych programs, and neuroscience isn’t that rare either. So, your interests help a little to narrow it down, but not all that much.

At this point, honestly, I think your best bet is to look into the public university options in your own state. Figure out where you’d want to go if you did stay in state, and what kind of qualifications you’d need to get in. That will help to establish a baseline, which is what you need at this stage. Then you’ll have plenty of time to figure out what other schools - private and/or OOS public - may (or may not!) improve upon that baseline while still being realistic, both financially and admissions-wise.

If you want to say what state you’re from, I’m sure people will have thoughts and information about the public colleges and universities there.

(Northeastern is a great school for the right student; it’s just early to get your heart set on any one school. NU has some terrific programs and wonderful attributes, but at the same time there are reasons why more than 80% of the students who get in decide against attending. For many it doesn’t add up cost-wise. For others it’s too pre-professional. And it has gotten so competitive that many students who are accepted are also accepted to super-elite schools that they prefer. Whether you’ll land in that sweet spot of students who can get in, can afford it, and prefer it to their other options… only time will tell!)

7

The Ohio State University. U Mich, Penn State most Big 10 schools are good. William & Mary. Duke UNC

8

Thank you for the advice! I know it seems like I’m over-planning quite a bit, but my goal right now is really to start figuring out what I like. I figured that coming up with a very basic, preliminary list of colleges I like couldn’t hurt, especially while there’s no pressure to have anything done. I completely recognize this could change at literally any moment. I actually really like my high school and I’m trying to make sure I’m staying in the moment. However, since it’s the summer I wanted to spend a few days doing some research. I know there’s no rush so I’m trying to take things slow. I hope this makes my mindset clearer!

9

I’ve taken:
Honors Geometry
Environmental Lab Science
Spanish 1
Foundations of Western Civilization
English 9
Ceramics 1 & 2
Problem Solving Through Programming.

To the best of my knowledge, my school only weighs AP classes differently, and only with a 0.5 boost. I think it’s out of 4.33 or something, but I’m not sure. I hope this helps!

10

There are thousands of colleges in the USA , to start exploring them and narowing the field, you almost can’t start too soon.

Start by visiting as many colleges as you can. That will help u appreciate the key variables: price, financial aid, academic majors, academic quality, admissions difficulty, weather, Greek life, sports, urban/suburban/small town, size of campus, etc.

11

Have you visited any college campuses for events or athletics? You may want to ask your parents to swing by a couple of types of colleges so that you can start narrowing down your list. If you can figure out that you don’t like rural campuses or don’t like city campuses or if you want a big university or a small LAC, you’re in a better position to start forming a list.

Tell us why you like the colleges you like. Is it because you’ve heard of them or you know someone who goes there? Is there a particular aspect of the curriculum or the ambiance?

12

@aquapt Thank you so much for the detailed response! That makes a lot of sense. I’m in NYC, so I’d be looking at public schools there. You’re right, I shouldn’t get too attached to any schools yet. I’m just a bit of an over-planner. My school also encourages students to start planning for college in sophomore year. I’ll start looking with this advice in mind.

13

@lemonlulu Great, thank you! I’ll check out the Big Ten.

14

@moooop That’s what I was thinking! I’m hoping to tour a college or two before school starts. I tried a few virtual tours, but they’re just not the same. Thank you!

15

Most of the Big 10 schools are state universities, and you would pay out of state tuition there. So they’d be quite expensive.

16

@ninakatarina Unfortunately, I have not gone to any college events yet. I attend a boarding school so I know my current preferences for campuses (urban or suburban, near a city, on the small side, modern, etc.) which is pretty helpful! I like the colleges I listed because of their missions (Brown is all about intellectual curiosity and exploration while Northeastern is about career-readiness and real-world experiences. I like both and I’m leaning away from Northwestern because of what I’ve read about their treatment of black students), campuses (so beautiful!), course offerings, and programs (Open Curriculum for Brown, Honors and Ujima Global Leaders Program for Northeastern). Thank you for the advice!

17

And I recently took a practice PSAT blind and got a 1340, if that’s helpful information. I’m only studying because sophomores are required to take it at my school.

18

@intparent Oh, I wasn’t aware of that. That just goes to show that I have a lot to learn. Tuition is definitely an important factor for my family. Thank you!

19

“Most of the Big 10 schools are state universities, and you would pay out of state tuition there. So they’d be quite expensive.”

More expensive then his listed colleges: Northeastern, Brown, Northwestern, & NYU?

20

@socaldad2002 I read that private colleges and universities have more financial aid and merit scholarships to give and I’m aiming to be a National Merit Finalist, although that’s a stretch.