<p>Hello all, I have frequently visited and read these forums but have never posted. They are very interesting and well kept. Last night I had a pretty bad "uh oh" moment with regards to colleges. I am a junior in high school and realized I don't have that much left before applying to colleges. It kind of hit me like a wall and freaked me out. My dream school is the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School of Business) but I know I need many more schools. I have a few on my list but don't really know what would be right for me. Here's a little bit about myself and I would appreciate any help at all. Thank you!</p>
<p>Grades:
99.5 GPA (unweighted)
1/150 class rank
Accelerated, honors, and AP classes (I've taken the hardest classes my school offers)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
-DECA (a business/marketing club)
-2 time regional winner
-placed 3rd in New York state last year (I am competing in this competition next week and if I place there I will attend the international competition again)
-medaled at DECA internationals last year
-President of our school's chapter
-Manager/accountant of the bookstore DECA runs
-Organized and ran a telethon to benefit local kids in the area</p>
<p>-Football
-Captain of the varsity team both my sophmore and junior years
-Defensive MVP
-Honorable mention in the area newspaper for linebacker
-I coached a local flag football team</p>
<p>-Junior class treasurer
-Member of our school's science olympiad, also won first place last year in a regional competition
-Member of the school's math team</p>
<p>These are just my main extracurriculars. I have not taken the ACT or SAT yet (But I have it all planned out. If anyone could recommend any colleges or where I should look, thank you.</p>
<p>Penn/Wharton is unusual among highly selective schools. If you want another top 20 private university, you’ll be looking mostly at arts & science programs. So if you don’t get into Wharton, would you rather bypass the other Ivies, etc., to find a lower-ranked school with an undergraduate business program?</p>
<p>Thank you for the reply. I’m very conflicted right now on whether I want to pursue business or science. I love business but I also love science, especially physics (which I’m taking this year). Do you have any advice on what I could do with that? (I’ve been asking around but no one has given me a good answer, including my guidance counselor)</p>
I’m sure you’ll get suggestions, but IMHO they’ll have no more real bearing on what you should do than throwing darts at a list of colleges. With all you wrote, not a sentence about what you want in a college. Large or small? Lectures or seminars? What part of the country? Within that part, urban or rural? What type of students do you enjoy being around?</p>
<p>Like many students, you might see the college app process as trying to get into the most prestigious college you can. College is college, ranking excepted. All the students at #15 would have been better off if they went to #10, and even better off if they went to #5. And you can certainly go about your search that way. Giving a list of qualifications and then waiting to see what people match you up with is a step in that direction.</p>
<p>On the other hand, you might consider the concept of “fit”, finding the type college that provides the atmosphere and education best suited for you. You might consider that among elite colleges, a student happy in the bustle of NYC (Columbia) might find something missing should they instead enroll in rural New Hampshire (Dartmouth). A student pleased to discuss the classics everyone takes in a core curriculum (Chicago) might not get the same enjoyment at a school where its roll-your-own (Brown). And so on…</p>
<p>You have a very nice profile, but you do not say one word about how your family plans to pay for your education. Sit your parents down, and have them run the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculators at the College Board website. Find out if they can afford your EFC or not. If they can, that’s great! If they can’t, you need to either find schools that are less expensive than that, or ones that will give you merit-based scholarships that will make your education affordable. For lots of good ideas along that line, spend some time reading through the various threads in the Financial Aid Forum.</p>
<p>As a New York State resident, you should take a long hard look at the various programs offered by the College of Ag and Life Sciences and the College of Human Ecology at Cornell. You would get the in-state tuition rates there.</p>