Hi! I wanted to check in and thank everyone for their incredibly helpful words of wisdom and encouragement. I wish I had found this site before the college application process. It would have saved me so much angst. I was really naive and relied on one website, College Vine, which gave me really skewed results, even going so far as telling me I had over a 60% chance of getting into Pomona and Bowdoin! I have spent the past several weeks, stressed like countless of college applicants, waiting for decisions and hoping I would end up in a college I could feel some enthusiasm about attending. This site is such a wealth of information, making me realize how many great colleges are out there, as well as outstanding opportunities for merit aid. At the very least, my misguided approach to applying for colleges will help my younger brother in a few years when it is his turn to make his college list. He will know to head to CC first to see others’ experiences and advice.
In the end, I am happy to report that I was fortunate enough to have some excellent options and I have decided to go to Wesleyan University in the fall. Below I am listing my results, which clearly have no rhyme or reason. I was disappointed that neither of the SUNY schools did not offer me any honors or entry into the research immersion program, as I may have given them more consideration. Queens College offered me half tuition and placement in their honors college but ultimately it was not my preferred college experience. Thanks again everyone!
Safeties:
SUNY Geneseo - accepted
SUNY Binghamton— accepted
CUNY Queens College- accepted
Targets (as defined by CollegeVine, though I’m thinking they are more reach schools):
Amherst College— WL
Bowdoin College- rejected
Bates College—WL
Colby College - WL
Haverford College - WL
Pomona College - rejected
Swarthmore College - accepted
Vassar College - accepted
Wesleyan University - accepted
Williams College -WL
Reach:
Brown University - rejected
Stanford University - rejected
Yale University- rejected