<p>Did I miss what the intended major is? </p>
<p>Whenever I see JHU, I think “pre-med”. Will you be pre-med?</p>
<p>Knowing your major would help as well. </p>
<p>Since your EFC/parent contribution is confusing (3k EFC but parents will pay $20k), it’s hard to really know what might work.</p>
<p>Have you looked at: Loyola Maryland, DePauw, Fordham, Villanova, Emory, Oxford (Emory). Some of these schools give very good aid. </p>
<p>*Look, it is all very complicated to me, but I do know that different schools have different percents of need that they will meet. *</p>
<p>“The percent of need met” is irrelevant. That doesn’t tell you anything unless need is met 100%. </p>
<p>Seeing stats like 80% of need met means nothing…especially to a student with a low EFC.</p>
<p>First of all, that is the reported number of students who ENROLLED…not the average of need met for accepted students. Those who got lousy aid didn’t enroll. </p>
<p>Also, it’s very easy to “meet need” for students with high EFCs. Give a student loan and need is met. Those students throw off the calculations. Students with low EFCs will often have bigger gaps, so they either don’t enroll or the family comes up with the money somehow (loans, whatever).</p>
<p>My assessment would be that your problem with admission to the more selective schools is going to be that your SATs, in particular your CR score, are not up to the level of your grades. For that reason, I think that the most selective schools you are LIKELY to be able to get into will be elite LACs that are test-optional: Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, et al. Of those, Bowdoin seems to me a place that would like your leadership and ECs. They also happen to have good FA and Bowdoin is arguably the strongest of them. That is why I suggested Bowdoin.</p>
<p>If you aren’t interested in any LACs, then I was misled by the presence of Conn College on your list. But in your situation I would strongly suggest that you keep an open mind. Applying does not mean you have to attend: it just means that you have the option IF you get in and IF you can afford it.</p>
<p>If you are looking for more urban universities, I suggest taking a look at American in DC. It is test-optional, but your current scores are not out of line there. Another, possibly stronger, school to consider is Wake Forest, which is test-optional. Finally, I recently read that the University of Rochester is going test optional. I don’t know if that is for this year, but it is a very good school that is well worth checking out.</p>
<p>Right now I am thinking about Rochester, Lehigh and rensselaer. My intended major is physics. Would these be good schools for me to apply to?</p>
<p>I think all three are good schools for you, especially given that your likely major is physics, and would round out your list nicely. Your current scores generally put you in their middle 50%, albeit in the lower half. But I think your GPA, course rigor, and AP scores are strong for them. None of them is a slam dunk, but I think you have a reasonable chance of admission.</p>
<p>While you are at it, take a look at U Pitt. Unfortunately, your scores are probably not good enough for their Honors College, but it is a solid school in a city that many find engaging these days. (The old joke about Pittsburgh was “if you can’t see it move, it isn’t air.” 
But those days are long gone.)</p>
<p>I still think you should throw at least one of the elite LACs that are test optional on your list, preferably Bowdoin. You never know. Better to have more choices than fewer, come April.</p>