What schools should I look at?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi! I am currently a caucasian, junior, female from Texas.

My intended major is political science.

I have a 3.7 UW, 4.3 W GPA with a 1490 SAT (720 Math, 770 Reading/Writing, 17 Essay). My school does not rank, but I am in the top third of my class. I go to an extremely highly ranked high school with only 66 students in my graduating class.

My APs, including my expected senior year APs include:
Human geography, world history, french language, biology, computer science, statistics, psychology, us history, art history, english lang, english lit, physics 1, enviro, macroeconomics, computer science principles, us gov, comp gov, calc ab, and euro.

My ECs are:
Mock Trial (4 years, senior year captain)
Junior World Affairs Council (3 years, senior year president)
Literary Magazine (2 years, music writer and editorial board)
Teen Court (2 years, I am a volunteer attorney for teenagers who commit Class C misdemeanors)
Part-time job (20 hours per week, ice cream scooper)
Law firm summer internship (full-time, 4 weeks summer after junior year)
Yearbook (4 years, senior year editorial staff)
National Honor Society, National English Honor Society
(possible National Merit Semi-Finalist, 218 NMSQT score)
UIL Journalism (regional and district awards in multiple events)

If anyone could let me know any match schools for me, that would be great! Thank you so much.

2

I am sure that you need to provide more information to get solid feedback. Things like the maximum amount per year you can afford to pay for college, what you want to major in, what size school interested you, what locations and settings are preferred, etc.

Also being from Texas do you qualify for automatic admission to UT-Austin?

I suggest that you start compiling a list of potential safety schools that your family can afford and that you would be happy to attend. Then build the list with some match and reach schools.

Our daughter went the opposite way starting with reach and then working down. That is fine if dreams come true but somewhat crushing initially if dreams don’t come true. You should be aware that you are in a tough demographic.

3

In terms of law school preparation, you may find a match or two from within an analysis such as this:

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4

Thanks for your response! For more information, I would prefer large, urban schools rather than liberal arts colleges. I intend to major in political science but I am also hoping to go to law school later down the road. Unfortunately, because of the size and competitive nature of my high school, I do not qualify for UT auto-admit. Currently, cost is not too much of an issue as I am only looking to start a broader list of schools to narrow down.
Thanks again!

5

What about Georgetown, Rice, Vanderbilt, or Tufts? All mid-sized, urban(-ish in some cases), with good poli sci/IR programs. Your SATs are so good and your GPA is strong, you’ve got a solid shot at these.

6

19 APs … what.

7

I feel like you’re missing something, like maybe a sport.
Anyhow, I’d consider lower tier Ivies a match.

8

Congratulations on your hard work and success so far in high school!

Here’s some advice as you start to put together a list.

  1. Treat all schools with under a 15-20% acceptance rate as a reach. They are a reach for everyone these days. The process is just too unpredictable to think of these schools as a match. I don’t mean it’s not a good idea to learn about them and apply to any that seem a good fit. Just understand the odds are challenging, including for well prepared students like yourself.

  2. Consider applying ED and/or EA. ED commits you to the school, so only apply ED IF you are sure about a school and can afford it. But there is a trend for schools to take a larger % of incoming classes from their ED/EA pools.

  3. Interview if that is an important part of the process at a school.

  4. Schools on above list are all terrific and extremely competitive. I think Vanderbilt announced its ACT 25/75 range was 34-36 for the admitted class this year. Maybe some more match type schools, although these can be very competitive as well, especially in RD: WashU, in St. Louis, more a reach, but seems much more reasonable for ED applicants, especially those that show interest and interview well. It’s very competitive RD. University of Michigan is in an urban environment (does feel like a city) and has a spectacular law quad adjacent to undergrad campus. Wake Forest has a fantastic Wake the Vote program that did some really cool things during the recent presidential election. It’s about 4 miles from downtown Winston-Salem, which is a nice small city. School has a new Wake Downtown bio facility. University of Richmond: Richmond (RVA) has undergone a real renaissance and is a vibrant city with lots to do these days. Tufts and Boston College in Boston. Tufts is very close to downtown, BC a little more suburban but has a subway stop adjacent to campus. Would you consider a women’s school? Wellesley is a tremendous school and very beautiful. It’s close to Boston. It’s smaller, but students have lots of ties (social and academic) to MIT and Harvard and other local schools. Maybe NYU if you really want to be in the city. Besides Georgetown, GWU and maybe American in DC provide great opportunities for political work. GWU is downtown and has a very urban campus. American is basically in the very close-in suburbs. If PNW appeals, the University of Washington is just about 3-4 subway/light rail stops (about 10-15 min) from downtown Seattle. You can see the Space Needle and downtown skyscrapers from downtown side of campus. Campus is beautiful, weather is mild though obviously often overcast. We love the outdoorsy vibe there.

Good luck!