| I noticed that you mentioned Dartmouth as one of the schools you may be interested in. Since you're in-state you should definitely drive up and see it this summer. One of its biggest turn-offs to many is the location, but since you're a New Hampshire native you might find the setting comfortable. If you wouldn't mind explaining your concern about the school I'd be happy to share what I know about it with you.
With a 1530 SAT and a rank somewhere in the top 10 out of 300 you definitely have the academic credentials and I think your extracurricular involvement will also make you highly competitive. I had pretty similar stats as you when I was applying last year and basically did a 'shotgun' approach applying to all the ivies (except Cornell) and was only accepted at Dartmouth. It wasn't until I started comparing it to other schools I got in at (Pomona, Rice, UChic) that I realized how great it really was. In terms of quality of undergraduate education and focus on the students, Dartmouth is the best out there. Now, I would still have gone to HYPS for the increased prestige factor and because the education would have been almost the same, but Dartmouth comes in at the top of the next group imo (rejected waitlist offers at Duke and UPenn).
Best of luck to you and let me know if you have any more questions about the application process! |