Where should I apply? Maybe Ivies? Help me select any help is great

College Search & Selection
1

African American
Parents are immigrants from Africa (I doubt this helps at all but idk lol)
GPA: 3.33 Unweighted (yeah this is the bad part) (i screwed up freshie year, but my junior year so far ive had a 3.9)
Extra curriculars:
Over 400 hours volunteering at Church
Church Teaching Assistant
Over 200 hours working at my charity i Founded. I tutor kids who can’t afford tutors. I spend alot of time doing this.
Over 50 hours at Summer Camp helping kids who struggle with english
Freshmen Class President, and next year I’ll be Senior Class President
2 year Member of Robotics Club
3 year member of Chinese Club (I’ve taken Honors Chinese since freshmen year) ( I founded Chinese Club)
SAT: 2250, But I’m shooting for a perfect score next time
2 year member of SADD group (students against destructive decisions.
Cross Country Freshmen Year, And I still do it as a hobby
National Service Honor Society
Science National Society
Speech and Debate Freshmen Year

I take Class’s at a community college during the school year. So I’ll have a couple credits done before I apply to college. But nearly enough that I’ll classify as transfer

Do I have a shot at any Ivies? If you have an idea a school you think I could get into say something :wink:

( I’ve alredy done this thread but got no replies)

2

Why don’t you review the Common Data Set for the Ivies and for any other schools in which you are interested; that should answer your question(s).

3

Thanks!

4

I think you have a strong start, yeah. You have very good extracurriculars and high test scores, even though your unweighted GPA is lower. What was your SAT breakdown? Colleges will see that it was just your freshman year and take that into account. Plus you have tons of leadership, which they love. What state are you in? I’m sure that state schools will take you almost unquestionably, and possibly offer good money (I assume you’re looking for scholarships too). If you’re in a state that has an Ivy, definitely look at that one. Not that it costs less, but it’s closer and easier to visit, because college visits are extremely important.

5

@blackbutterfly‌ My SAT Breakdown: 780 in Math 780 in Critical Reading 690 in Writing. I live in Maryland, the nearest Ivy would be Upenn. I heard some kid got into Northeastern with a 3.5 UW and a 2200, So I’m thinking Northeastern should be on the list.

6

Northeastern is a good choice. If you’re shooting for Ivies, take a look at Johns Hopkins too, because they’re the next tier down really. Depending on how far you want to go, I know good schools a little further south. I don’t know much about the University of Maryland system, but I do know one of my teachers did his undergrad there. He got a graduate degree from Hopkins as well, he’s a very intelligent man. I could ask him which one he went to.

7

@blackbutterfly‌ Yeah, I’ll defintely add JHU to the list now. I’m ok with going down south. If you have any recommendations say something. I’m definitely willing to check out any school

8

@intentuspax‌ Well I live in North Carolina. Our top school is by far Duke University (private), it’s my top in-state choice. If you’re looking toward engineering, NC State is a good option, they also have an honours college. Then there’s UNC-Chapel Hill, another good school, again with an honours college (and a Phi Beta Kappa chapter). For Chapel Hill and State there are two scholars programs, Morehead and Park respectively, that are open to in-state and out-of-state students. And if you like the idea of those scholar programs, Levine at UNCC is really good. UNCC isn’t “the best” school, but the program is amazing. Also there’s Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, William and Mary (teeny LAC, but great town and solid school), Vanderbilt in Tennessee, and Wake Forest in NC.

9

What have your parents told you about how they expect you to pay for college?

What recommendations has your guidance counselor given you?

10

With those stats, you have a lot of options. But you haven’t really told us what your personal preferences are. How big of a school do you want to go to? Research university or liberal arts college? What do you want to major in? Would you prefer an urban, suburban or rural setting? What part of the country? More liberal or more conservative? Religious or non-religious? Being African American, are you interested in historically black colleges? You might not know the answers to all of these questions right now, but telling us some of your preferences will help us in suggesting good places for you.

11

any good book about college admissions will discuss how to select a set of reach, match, and a safety school. You’ll find far more info in a book than anyone will type in here.

12

@lalalemma‌ I don’t want to go to a small school. I prefer a urban environment, because I want to do pre-med. I’m thinking about Majoring In Molecular biology with a minor in french. Urban = more research/internship opportunities. Also, I prefer the North East,Mid Atlantic or West Coast. I’m not crazy about the south, but I guess I’d be willing to add a school or two down south. (but not the deep south) I currently attend a Catholic School, So I’m ok with going to a Catholic University, but im totally ok with a regular school. I prefer liberal campuses! or somewhat balanced ones, but I don’t want to attend a conservative one. I do NOT want to attend an historically black college.

@happymomof1 Money is not a huge issue I think. I’m willing to get student loans, and I’ll get some financial aid definitely. (Mom and dad may pay a small portion)

My recommendations will be very strong because I am very close with my teachers.

@mikemac I look at colleges all the time! It’s just I feel like because of my GPA, I’m a little different. I see schools that have an average GPA of like 4.3 and stuff, and my gpa is trash. and for some schools its hard to tell if they are super holistic or kinda, or if they care about gpa alot, or what. I’d rather just have someone at this AMAZING website help me out. I’m sorry guys its just I’m so scared about choosing colleges and the guys on this website are just so good.

@blackbutterfly Thannks a ton for your suggestions. I’m defintely interested in UNC Chapel Hill

I just want to know if anyone thinks there is a specific Ivy League school, or a schools near that level. (schools like jhu) that i have a shot at.

13

One ivy-level school that is a little less competitive is Georgetown. It matches all your criteria and has a very good language program, which would be good for your French minor (I don’t know about their bio department, but I’m sure it’s good). It’s also a Catholic school.

Some ideas for less competitive schools: Northeastern, BU, NYU, UCLA, USC, George Washington, and American.

14

“Money is not a huge issue I think. I’m willing to get student loans, and I’ll get some financial aid definitely. (Mom and dad may pay a small portion)”

How do you know that you will qualify for any financial aid? Have you run the Net Price Calculators at the websites of the colleges and universities on your list?

Instead of thinking that your mom and dad may pay a “small portion”, you need to find out what they can commit to paying. That way you will know how deep and how far you will have to dig to find affordable places.

You can only borrow the federal loans on your own. That is a whopping $5,500 your freshman year, $6,500 your sophomore year, $7,500 your junior year, and $7,500 your senior year. Beyond that, your parents will have to borrow the money, or will have to co-sign loans with you.

So yes, money can be a huge issue. Make sure that you have at least one place on your list that you know for dead certain will be affordable.

15

I think you have a misconception. Penn State, for example, is not urban.

Please re-read post 13 by @happymomof1‌. Dead truth.

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@happymomof1 thanks for the advice. I’ll do more research. I asked my mom and she said as long as its below 50K I should be alright.

@Erin very true

17

Money is almost always an issue, at least to a certain extent. Particularly if you are wanting to go to grad school or med school afterwards.

My advice, FWIW, is to concentrate on finding a group of matches/high matches that you really like, visit, meet some professors in your department and talk to some students. Once you have that covered, then add on some reaches. Finally add at least one rock solid financial safety, such as a state U that you like.

18

@‌intentuspax Boston is the top biotech cluster in the world, so it is going to have lots of opportunity.

Schools of interest on the left bank of the Charles River would be MIT, Harvard and Tufts (they are about two miles apart and connected via the Red Line) as well as Brandeis (Which is a few miles further out and connected by the commuter train which is a little less convienent and more expensive.)

BU, Northeastern and BC are on the right bank of the Charles River (connected by the Green Line).

Political leanings are pretty consistent with the naming of the banks of the river (as long as you take into account the fact that engineers tend to be more conservative than non-engineers).

Northeastern and BC are very good schools, but they are not as well known for life sciences as MIT, Harvard, Tufts, BU and Brandeis. Harvard, Tufts and BU all have medical schools and MIT is very strong in life science research. Brandeis is a smaller university but strong in the life sciences.

MIT and Tufts were recently ranked among the top colleges for bio majors.

http://college.usatoday.com/2014/09/13/top-%C2%AD%C2%AD%C2%AD10-colleges-for-a-major-in-biology/

Tufts might be a good fit for you because it also has a very strong IR program and an international focus (all liberal arts majors are required to take a few language/culture courses). Tufts also has a campus in the French Alps with a summer program that is very attractive for those interested in French language/culture.

http://ase.tufts.edu/europeancenter/

Ease of admission for Tufts is hard to predict because it is holistic and essays are weighted very heavily. On a pure numbers basis it is similar to JHop, but Tufts tends to look for different attributes (which creates a different culture), so it will be easier for some candidates and harder for others.

BU might be a better fit for you than Northeastern due to your intended major and it may be easier to get into - so you might want to give it a look.

Brandeis is worth checking out as well.

19

Take a look at Pitt - they have good financial and merit aid for someone like you, and they are a very well respected research university. There are research ops at pretty much any school. Also consider that a smaller LAC is dedicated to educating students without being distracted by its research affiliations, but they still have plenty of research opportunities, often with more flexibility to support you in your interests. But as you intend to go to med school, or generally aspire to grad school, there are amazing schools with lots of personal attention and aid. Going to an Ivy or similar caliber school, could mean a constant struggle to keep up and competition for research opportunities. Going to a school where you are a good fit or better, one that is totally focused on the undergrads, could mean a richer experience all around, better financial aid, and a stronger foundation and resume as you launch into grad/med school.

20

What is your intended major?

You might have a good shot at Penn if you apply ED, and I think you also have a shot at all the Ivies because of your race, SAT scores and ECs, which are very impressive.