Any schools to add to the list? [NY resident, 95 UW GPA, NMSF, 1570 SAT, likely Bio or Biochem]

College Search & Lists
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We’re building a list of places to visit/research with S26 and wondering if there are any obvious ones we’re overlooking and should add.

His stats are 95 UW GPA, 1570 SAT, 1520 PSAT

School doesn’t rank, probably about top 25%. Extremely selective specialized public high school in New York. About 25% attend top 25 schools.

No budget constraints, fine with full pay anywhere.

His preferences are –

  • Urban (preferred) or in-town location
  • Medium to medium-large undergrad body (about 5,000 to 20,000)
  • Easily accessible lab research opportunities (likely major is bio or biochem)
  • Not too much of a sporty/rah-rah vibe,
  • Not too much emphasis on Greek life, but that seems negotiable as long as it’s easy to avoid
  • No religious or conservative schools
  • No technical schools, must have a broad liberal arts curriculum
  • Distance – no more than a 3 hour flight from NYC with easy access to an airport

So far we/he have visited:

  • UChicago – he’s most excited about, favorite so far
  • Northwestern – liked it but not as much as Chicago
  • Cornell – liked about as much as Northwestern
  • Emory – liked the school quite a bit but not the surrounding area (too far from the city)
  • UPenn – liked it but feels like it may be more of a reach than the others
  • Brown – same as Penn, they just don’t take many kids from his school
  • Boston U – liked it a lot
  • Tufts – liked okay, but felt too suburban and sleepy
  • Lehigh – not his favorite but he didn’t hate it
  • GA Tech - did not like the emphasis on internships

Still planning to visit –

  • Pitt
  • CMU
  • Case Western
  • George Washington
  • U Maryland

Is there anything we’re missing? I feel like we’re short on the targets and, especially, likelies. He will probably apply to some SUNYs (all of which should be likely), but he’s just not excited about any of them.

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University of Rochester

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Since UChicago is his clear favorite, and since you can afford it, why not ED? With his stats + ED it is probably a target (unless his school counselor indicates otherwise.)

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Rice. Its can be a tad over 3 hrs flying time, but everything else checks your boxes. The many major medical centers right across the street opens up lots of research opportunities.

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I guess I see a few of these and I scratch my head.

But given you have a Lehigh, I’d add a Syracuse - but here you have schools with large Greek life - but it doesn’t have to dominate. Or you can look at SUNY ESF - save the $$, take part at SU, even eat in the dining halls - but be at the smaller neighboring campus.

Another I thought of that’s in city - but not to the pedigree you note is College of Charleston. It’s uber urban - but not GW or BU like urban. They have the Charleston Fellows program that my daughter is in. Her BFF chose it over Rice, Vandy, and Penn - so yeah, the school isn’t at the level you are looking but the program is strong and students amazing. And like most “name” schools, they have Ivy league types walking on campus.

We know your student excels academically but we don’t know their overall body of work - outside of class, etc. so it’s a reach heavy list. Even if they excel outside the classroom, it’s a reach heavy list.

Cornell - to me doesn’t make sense nor does NU. Lehigh neither. UMD is another - makes zero sense given its size.

And I think, while Pitt will work and GW/UMD likely will, admit wise the list is reach heavy. Some of the others - short of an ED, will be tough.

So I think Syracuse or ESF and College of Charleston would make nice additions that fit your criteria as safeties. U Denver is likely a tad long on the flight - but easy access to airport via public transport or uber and it’d be another safety. U Miami could work as well.

I just wanted to offer up some schools with a greater chance of admissability as you have plenty of high level ones.

Good luck to your student

College of Charleston | Charleston Fellows

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When I was reading the original post I kept thinking, “They’re describing the University of Chicago”. :joy: Reading further that it is currently the favorite makes this one of the most cogent “match me” kind of posts I think I’ve ever read.

Completely agree they should ED if full pay isn’t an issue and it is the clear favorite.

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Agree that this is one of the best “Match Me” threads I’ve read on CC in a long time. It makes things so much easier when the OP has visited extensively and gives you specific examples of what they like and don’t like. No links to magazine polls from me.

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Thank you! U or Rochester has been on the radar, though I believe it’s not actually in town. We’ll have to take a closer look.

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Absolutely thinking about ED’ing to UChicago! But even with ED, I believe his school has about a 40% success rate there, so still a reach.

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We visited but I honestly do not remember what the surrounding area was like.

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I agree. No matter the student’s stats, a school with 6% acceptance rate is never a target, especially when the essays are such a large part of Chicago’s application.

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Thank you for the suggestions! We definitely need to add more easier admits. Will look into Syracuse and Charleston.

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Thank you! Rice is a bit too far, but if it checks all the other boxes, probably worth a look.

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Is Brandeis too small? It’s smaller than your 5-20K - but will be an admit. Wesleyan as well - a bit small - but might it work?

Brandeis a likely.

I don’t see WUSTL nor Vandy - which I know some worry about Greek life but I’ve not heard issues. Another two reaches though.

Good luck.

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I thought about Wesleyan, too. But if Tufts is too “sleepy”, they probably won’t be too impressed by Middletown. :grin:

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I can’t speak to the day to day at Wesleyan but there was a write up the other day about a visits to Tufts and the person said it was a Monday and the campus was dead.

No idea if it’d be the same - but Middletown is a place and not far from Harvard and New Haven.

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Wesleyan does not clear out on weekends. So, there’s that.

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I think Pitt could end up a good Likely sort of choice given the stated qualifications and interests. It is just so good for Bio stuff and right in the heart of Pittsburgh, including lots of local hospitals and labs and such.

I agree it is worth checking out Rochester. It is in a kinda interesting setting–the main campus is in a bend in the river (and in fact called River Campus), and then the land side is mostly lined by a large cemetery. So it feels sort of isolated. But then it is a quick shuttle ride into downtown, which among other things is where the Eastman School is located. Not sure what he will think but could be worth seeing since it seems like a good fit academically.

Have you considered Minnesota? Lots of direct flights to MSP that are just over 3 hours, and the Twin Cities are really fun. Minnesota itself is again very strong in Bio stuff. If you are looking for a bigger city Likely with those interests, I think it is worth considering.

This isn’t helping on the Likely/Target front, but have you considered WashU? Very strong in Bio stuff, gothic campus somewhat similar to Chicago, nice location in St Louis across from a fantastic park and with easy Metro access to Downtown. Lots of direct flights, right at 3 hours.

I also have a question, which is whether you have actually tried visiting any smaller colleges? In my experience the sorts of kids who like Chicago for the sorts of reasons you are giving sometimes like various Liberal Arts and Sciences Colleges, aka LACs. Of course if he has visited a couple and they have no appeal due to size, that is fine for that to be the end of the process. But I think sometimes kids end up surprised.

And I am not sure where exactly you are located, but close to NYC it is easy enough to visit colleges like Wesleyan or Vassar. Or maybe Swarthmore and Haverford. If any of those were appealing, you could start looking at suitable options where a flight would be involved, which could be more Likely/Target range, and so on.

But again, possibly you have already been down this path. I just thought it was worth mentioning.

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Both Brandeis and Wesleyan have been floating somewhere on the periphery. I keep bringing them up, and he keeps shrugging them off. Not completely ruled out though, so may revisit them as we get closer to applying and the realization that many of the schools are a big reach sets in.

I’ve mentioned both Vandy and WUSTL, but he thinks we already have enough reaches on the list. And he’d much rather be in Chicago than St. Louis or Nashville.

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Which is fine, but . . . has he ever been to St Louis?

Not that you have to try to force him to consider WashU, I just think sometimes kids have these ideas of what they want or don’t want in their heads, but they are not particularly well-informed by actual experiences. And so visiting–if you have the times and means for this–can sometimes be used to test some of those notions.

And sometimes the result is confirmation–yep, I do like X, I don’t like Y. But sometimes there are surprises–I liked X less than I thought I would, or I liked Y a lot more than I expected.

And I think all this is related to the issue of finding good Likelies and Targets.

If you have an abundance of those that fit your pre-conceived parameters, great–but I think if possible you should still try to confirm that you would be excited to attend all those colleges, because properly defined a lot of kids actually end up at a Likely or Target.

And then if you are instead struggling to find enough fitting your pre-conceived parameters, it is possible relaxing one or more of those could really help you find Likelies and Targets that are otherwise exciting to you.

Again, this doesn’t so much apply to WashU specifically, since it is a Reach school. I just wanted to mention the concept of how it can be beneficial to actually do some testing of these notions before ruling colleges in or out.

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