A college with a NAME, but realistic to get into?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>I’m a rising senior with some messed up stats so i’m not super sure what kind of college i can get into. I’ve been leaning towards a Vanderbilt ED for a long time now, but recently i’ve been thinking about name recognition a lot more.</p>

<p>With name recognition being a high priority on my list, does anyone have any specific college suggestions? Here’s is a rough outline of my stats</p>

<p>GPA</p>

<p>Freshman: 3.1
Sophomore: 3.9
Junior: 3.55</p>

<p>All the most difficult courses, therefore i get 100 weighted bonus (almost), however a certain system calculates weighted</p>

<p>AP Bio: 5
AP US History: 5
AP Lit: 4 (self study)</p>

<p>SAT I
Reading: 780
Math: 780
Writing: 780
Total: 2340</p>

<p>SAT II
Chem: 760
Math II: 800
US History: 760</p>

<p>ECs:
300+ hours com serv
Violin for 8 years, StateLevel musician
Varsity Wrestling, Freshman and (maybe) senior year</p>

<p>I have this weird thing going where i do a lot of teaching…like i volunteer at chinese schools and either teach or help teach. I also went to a university in china during the summer to teach english to the students there</p>

<p>So basically, after reviewing everything, i’m seeing my best shot to be UC Berkeley. However, since i do not live in CA, i’m afraid im shafted. Do i have a chance? Thanks all!</p>

2

<p>oh right and i’m a boy not a girl
i just don’t know how to change my sex</p>

3

<p>Click on My Control Panel and then Edit Profile.</p>

4

<p>Uh with your kick ass SAT score / ECs and the fact that you’ve taken the toughest classes, I think quite a few schools will overlook your slightly lower GPA.</p>

5

<p>quite a few…like what kind of colleges?</p>

6

<p>my list so far is something like</p>

<p>Northwestern
Vanderbilt
Tufts
BC
UMich
UNC
UT Austin
UCB UCLA
Syracuse</p>

<p>I know i need more safeties, but i have no idea what kind of school is a match!</p>

<p>Also, I dont know what kind of school is a realistic reach.</p>

<p>I have always considered my EC’s to be weak.
Realistically speaking, I have never actually done all-state, although i participated in orchestras at the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and the New England Conservatory School of Music with kids all around me doing that stuff.
Also, will 300 hours of com serv be on any benefit to me? + the wrestling was only frosh year…</p>

7

<p>I think you have a shot at every one of those colleges.</p>

<p>If you’re gonna use an ED anywhere, I’d say Northwestern as it’s very selective and one that may not look past your GPA.</p>

8

<p>i need brand names! more brand names to add to my list… All of the schools on my list (except for the publics) are like…huh??? whats that???</p>

9

<p>Based upon fact that you are out of state and that state school’s implement a very number based system(test scores and gpa/class rank), I would say that UCB, UCLA, UMich, and UNC are reaches unless your class rank is higher than your gpa would suggest. Private schools are more willing to take a holistic approach, so keep that in mind.</p>

10

<p>dude get a grip. brand names impress shallow girls at parties. We are talking about a decision that influence your LIFE. NW, Vandy, TUfts, BC are great colleges that kids would kill to get into. If that is what makes you happy, who cares what brand it is.</p>

<p>good luck growing up</p>

11

<p>No, swish, I totally agree that those colleges are awesome. But if i can chose between two school of relatively comparable academic caliber, I’d chose the one with the better name recognition. This is only one of many factors, but the reason I made this thread was to take suggestions for recognizable additions to my college list. I’m a laid back kinda guy, but hey if you wanna say what you wanna say i respect that.</p>

12

<p>Hmm…if you’re down to the decision between two good schools, I wouldn’t let name be the deciding factor. Go to the school that’s good AND where you’ll be happiest. I suppose if you like each school equally, then name would be a good determinant. In the end though, most employers and grad school committees are aware of the top schools in the nation, regardless of whether they are well known by the public.</p>

<p>That said, given your GPA, you may add UChicago if that interests you. I don’t think any other schools in the top 10 would overlook such a GPA, and even Chicago might not.</p>

13

<p>what about NYU?</p>

14

<p>Emory, Georgetown, Chicago?</p>

<p>maybe some of the liberal arts, Amherst or Williams?</p>

<p>Rice? Middlebury, and maybe even Johns Hopkins</p>

15

<p>Hmm yeah NYU and JHU are what popped up.</p>

16

<p>…Do you honestly think that no one has heard of Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, and Tufts?</p>

<p>(I can assure you, almost everyone has.)</p>

17

<p>thanks for the posts, everyone!
Georgetown and JHU sound pretty good, thanks!
NYU was also on my list, forgot to add that.</p>

<p>So so far,
UCB
JHU
NYU
Georgetown</p>

<p>anything else?</p>

<p>and worldchanger, Northwestern might be pretty well known and Syracuse because of their sports, but Vanderbilt and Tufts are only well known by the average population in the southeast and the northeast respectively.</p>

18

<p>Colgate and Holy Cross.</p>

19

<p>Harvard?
Yale?</p>

<p>^Some name recognition for you.</p>

20

<p>Emory, especially if you’re going pre-med or into business.</p>