Which colleges should I apply to?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello. I am going into my senior year in high school, but still have no idea where I stand on college admissions. Some parts of my application are great, and others are severely lacking. Me (and my parents) were hoping that I would have a chance at a competitive college, but I’m just not sure. I’m looking for advise for my ED/EA application in the fall. Here’s my profile:

GPA : ~3.8/4.3: I took several high level math classes at a public university, but did poorly in one of them. I got a C in Calculus III during my junior year, which I am worried will really hurt my application.

College GPA: ~ 3.3 (I got some As, and of course, the C, but mostly Bs. I did take high undergraduate level math and science courses, 6 of them)

Standardized Testing: 1570 SAT Superscored (2 attempts)
750, 770 reading
800, 720 math
1550 not super scored
Subject tests: Math II, Biology (Have not taken, but assume high scores)

APs:
Microecon : 4
Calc BC: 4 (AB 4)
Comp Science: 3
AP Psych: 4
AP Lang: 5

ECs: Varsity Tennis 3 years, state level awards
Science internship 15 hours per week junior summer. Gold medal state science fair + several other miscellaneous prizes.
Highest chair in District, Allstate and New England Orchestra. Band all 4 years.
Multiple school awards that don’t carry much weight.

Coding club member
Math league member

I want to go to a good college, but with my subpar GPA I’m not sure where I have a chance at. I am a legacy at Dartmouth, and was thinking that applying ED could boost chances, but am unsure. My other thoughts would be NYU, UCLA, Hopkins… but these are all high reaches in my opinion. Do you think I have a chance at these school, or should I aim lower? If so, which schools would you recommend?

Thank you very much for reading.

2

What is your home state? How much can your family afford?

3

Do you intend to major in math?

4

Sure, you should apply to Dartmouth since you’re a legacy (note that legacy truly only counts if one has a parent who attended the target institution), but what you really need to do is find target/match schools. Admission to “elite” colleges have become cut-throat, so why not find a few schools that you love with acceptance rates in the 40-50% range? There are lots of great schools beyond those that are perceived as elite.

Yes, ED will give you a tiny boost (as will legacy), but standard logic says that you should apply to your state’s flagship as a safety and that you should have several match schools. There are applicants every year who aim too high (even though they have pretty awesome credentials) and get rejected/waitlisted at all of their reach schools. And because they only applied to reach schools, the results do real damage to not only these students’ prospects for the following fall but also their senses of self-worth.

5

I am confused on the GPA, what is your cumulative unweighted GPA?

6

my cumulative unweighted GPA is around a 3.8

7

My home state is Vermont, money is not really a factor in deciding where I should go

8

No, I don’t intend on majoring in math. (Hopefully) colleges will view subpar math grades in University courses as not a deciding factor, just evidence that I tried something new.

9

You mentioned four colleges in your first post. Of those, which would be your favorite? Your answer could help you inform the rest of your list.

10

My favorite would be Hopkins

11

Then also consider the University of Rochester and CWRU.