<p>Okay, so I'm a junior in high school, and I'm curious of what caliber of schools to look at. I have good SAT scores, 2230, with 790 math, 700 writing, and 740 reading. My AP scores from this year are probably going to be okay; I expect a 5 in chem and environmental, a 4 or a 5 in english, and a 3 or a 4 in US history and human geography. My grades, on the other hand, aren't too good. My average is around an 88, with a few of my grades in the 70s. This puts me around 40th in a class of around 300. I can probably get really good recommendations, and write good essays.</p>
<p>So what level of schools do you all think I could get into?</p>
<p>You should really try to get into the top 10% of your class--only then can you be considered a fair applicant for the most selective schools in the country. I would recommend that you take a look at the book "Greene's Guides: Making it into a Top College". It contains an excellent list of what the authors consider to be the top (both academically and selectivity) college/universities in the country, divided up into "Demanding", "Very Demanding", and "Extremely Demanding" categories. The Ivies and Ivy types and the 5 or so most selective LAC's are in the Extremely Demanding categories, the bulk of the top LAC's and excellent but slightly less selective universities (Tufts, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, etc.) are in the Very Demanding category, and slightly lower ranked LAC's and strong but generally less well-known universities are in the Demanding category. It isn't totally comprehensive, and I don't always agree with the categories (a few Extremely and Very Demanding schools are academically inferior to some of the top schools in the next lower category, in my opinion), but it is a very good starting place. For someone with your credentials, I would say that the Extremely Demanding schools would be pretty big reaches (maybe apply to a couple, but not focus on these schools), mostly because of grades/class rank, the Very Demanding schools would be anywhere from matches to lower reaches, and the Demanding schools would be safe matches/safeties. </p>
<p>I used this book to help me make my list, and it worked out well for me--it has a long list of schools, but is still more manageable than a book with hundreds of schools in it (like the Fiske's Guide, which is good once you have a slightly narrowed down list). Plus, reading further into the book, you will be able to better figure out which schools you should target and how to go about applying to colleges. It is very realisitc and has a lot of good, clean, honest advice. However, be careful not to overestimate your chances based on this or any other book--the college admissions process has gotten so much more competitive so quickly, that even though the book is not that old (circa 2000), it is pretty out of date chances wise.</p>
<p>Arr. Any more specific ideas?</p>
<p>There are many schools that you could get into. What specifically are you looking for in a school: large? small? big-time sports? academics? rural? urban? any programs in particular?</p>
<p>Remember: colleges would prefer to see a B in an AP class than an A in a regular class. Overall, you seem like quite the applicant. </p>
<p>Obviously, top schools are a reach for everyone. It's okay to apply to them, but make sure to find some matches and safeties that you love just as much. </p>
<p>Most of the highly regarded LACs would probably be in your match range, as well as a number of the selective universities. Examples: Lehigh, Carnegie Mellon, Oberlin, NYU, Claremont McKenna, Wake Forest, Brandeis, Michigan, etc. There are tons of matches out there for you, depends on what you like. </p>
<p>For safeties, some of the better middle-tier LACs and state universities.</p>
<p>So being ranked kinda low in my class won't hurt all that much?</p>
<p>If you are not in the top 10%, you are not a competitive applicant for the tippy top schools (Top 20 on either list, probably (esp. Nat. Universities)). The only mitigating factors to this would be if you attended a very strong private or magnet school, or your lower grades were caused by something serious (illness, death in family, etc.). </p>
<p>Now, that's only a few schools--less than 40 in the whole country, possibly. It's fine to reach, but not to overstretch--if you are not very qualified, you could apply to each of the 30 or 40 most selective colleges and not get in. That's a very extreme example, but I have seen people online with less than top 10% rankings (again, from a normal public hs) or a 21 ACT who applied to one safety and a 7 or 8 really selective schools and get into only that one safety. Had they applied to 1 or 2 really selective schools, and focused more of their applications on a middle ground between their dreams and their safeties, they would have probably had a better experience and ended up at a better school. </p>
<p>If you get a USN&WR, they list the % of accepted applicants who were in the top 10% for each school. This is a good way to guage whether or not you have a shot--if it is 90%+, as it is at HYPMS, etc., then you should realize that that is a very big reach for you. But if it is more like 50 or 60 or even 70%, there is room for you with your slightly lower rank. Your other qualifications sound good, and with a strong application, these type of schools will be likely to accept you. But realize that at the most selective schools, there simply is not room for less than incredibly qualified applicants (which in this case means at least top 10% rank) unless they have a strong hook. </p>
<p>I know that you want specific school names, but there are simply too many schools for that to be plausible. You will be much more likely to end up with a good list and a good choice next april if you take the advice offered here on CC and put in the leg work researching and making the list yourself.</p>
<p>P.S: You are not that far from the top 10%!! You would help yourself soooooooooo soooooo much by really busting your rear and pulling your rank up.</p>