Chance me as a junior and provide ANY advice/feedback (be blunt) (unique circumstances) [4.0 GPA in 3+ high schools, 1500 SAT, math, biology, or engineering]

You seem like a great student but, to put it bluntly (since you asked) there’s a lot of great students out there. Sometimes great students just don’t get in to schools for which they clearly meet and exceed the admittance standards, simply because there’s a lot of them out there.

So I think it would be a good idea for you to add a few more lower tier schools to your list, just so you know you’ll have something that feels like a good fit. What kind of school vibe are you looking for? You sound like a STEM kid with the math/bio/engineering interests - would you consider a STEM school? (like an RPI, WPI, RIT, URochester or a Case Western) I’m not particularly good at knowing who is known for merit aid, but those are all great schools if you want a STEM focus, and all should be easier to get into than the ones currently on your list - they could fill a mid-level hole.

But maybe you want something more liberal arts-y, or something bigger (those are smallish), or something that’s got a little more rah-rah school spirit and athletics. You’ve got a mix of some very urban and some fairly rural/suburban, does one of those call to you more?

What are you thinking feels like the right environment for you?

I think you can get into the schools you’ve listed, but I also think it’s a cr@pshoot for almost anyone, so I think you should expand your list.

Someone mentioned adding in some state schools - if you can claim VA residency, think about adding Virginia Tech and JMU. The downside of VT is that you have to declare the college you are interested in, and if you pick engineering (instead of Science, which would be where Bio and Math are housed), that is really competitive, but you’d still be a strong candidate. I’d expect you’d get into JMU with no problem and it’s so inexpensive in state.

In short, I think there’s nothing wrong with your list, but I think it would be smart to add more choices, and if you let us know what matters most to you in terms of fit, there are folks here who can help you come up with some solid options.

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