I started out as an average student in high school but my grades have increased to my junior year and I have some EC’s. I I am planning a college tour currently and deciding between going to the northeast, mid west or south to look for colleges. I am not sure where to go but I need some match schools for where to look. I am looking to major in economics, math, physics, chemistry or computer science.
Location: New Jersey
GPA (Regular is out of 4.0, Honors out of 4.8, AP out of 5.0) I the highest level of every class I could, 3 AP’s Sophomore year 4 Junior
Freshman: 3.916 (Weighted) 3.5 (Unweighted)
Sophomore: 4.192 (Weighted) 3.71 (Unweighted)
Junior: 4.65 (Weighted) 3.88 (Unweighted)
Combined: 4.25 (Weighted) 3.70 (Unweighted)
Also: I included every class even Gym and Band
AP’s
AP Physics
AP Calc AB (At John Hopkins University CTY)
Ap Calc BC (Also CTY)
AP Lang
AP Chem
AP Comp Sci
Multi Variable Calc (Weighted as an AP)
Next year I will take
AP Psych
AP USH
AP Lit
Ap Span
Two independent studies above AP level
Standardized Tests
ACT, 32 combined, 31 English, 26 Reading, 35 Science, 34 Math (I will retake I took this without any prep)
SAT II Math II 790 Physics 750
EC’s
Vice President Model UN
Three year Varsity Track and Cross Country
Area Youth Orchestra
Science Olympiad
NHS
Tri-M Music Honors Society
Also the two John Hopkins classes were taken over the summer and I got a B and B- on them so not so good but I did them both in only 50 days so idk how that looks.
Thanks for any help and feel free to ask for more info.
Matching some schools to your academic interests will not be that hard. But first, do you know yet whether you want urban or woodsy, larger or smaller? ( It’s fine also to not be sure yet.) Will you want to concentrate on the quantitative track that you seem to be on, or will you also want to challenge yourself in the humanities?
I am not sure yet on setting. Living in a small suburban town I know that I definitely want a school larger than my high schools student body of only 1,000 kids. I am open to really any setting but have no experience living in cities so I will question those options more. I want to focus on the quantitative track (Math, Physics, Chem or Comp Sci) with a minor focus in humanities. Due to my good experiences with mock government I want to participate in a club with public speaking and policy making as well as pursue at least a minor in economics.
After viewing your other thread, you may also need to clarify whether you are looking for a school that offers merit scholarships versus one that provides need based aid. Either can make college affordable, depending on your circumstances.
In the meantime, you’d be an excellent candidate at the University of Rochester. They have a defined campus on the edge of a medium-sized city, so I think you’d be comfortable with the environment. Their curriculum is strong pretty much across the board, with flexible distribution requirements.
If you like the thought of URochester, then CWRU and CMU are other excellent schools to consider, with CMU having especially competitive admissions.
A good LAC could also work really well for you, with the opportunities for some students being even better with this option. Grinnell and Hamilton are strong in science and have open curricula; Hamilton would ask you to write more than some comparable colleges – that’s a good thing.
You were probably looking for a longer list of schools than this, but a thoughtful look at just a few at first can help you establish what you want in a college – either in terms of finding similar schools, or in moving on to other types of institutions.
I’m hoping your class rank is pretty good. Most good colleges are pretty holistic, but grades are a very important factor.
I am looking for either merit or financial aid, I should qualify for some financial aid; I really should look into how much. Basically I need affordable education. I don’t want to go to small school like Grinnell or Hamilton after going to a rather small high school, around 1,000 students, because I want a setting that has lots of resources and options. My school doesn’t rank but to make NHS you need to be top 25 percent so I made that. Anyway CMU is one of top choices as I’ve heard good things form alumni but I don’t know if they give much financial aid and the tuition is massive. Is CWRU in any way related to the military? It sounds like a pre-military school but I’m not sure. The University of Rochester sounds like a nice college to visit that fits my qualifications I will look into visiting it.
CWRU (Case Western Reserve University) is not related to the military. It’s a mid-size research university located in Cleveland, OH. Often considered a peer of places like the University of Rochester, Brandeis, etc. CWRU gives out quite a bit of merit aid and is well know for the sciences and engineering but has strong offerings across the board.
CWRU is similar in mission to CMU and Rochester. Not military. I think the Western Reserve part of their name is related to Connecticut’s former claim on the surrounding land.
Research colleges that meet full-demonstrated need for all or most students. If CMU is one of these, then you should not hesitate to apply there.
Of the reasons you may not want to apply to a top smaller college, lack of resources should not be one of them – some approach university resources and academic breadth, but without the competition for access. Most are a magnitude greater in the number of students than your high school.