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]

Hi OP,

Congrats on all your accomplishments. All the hard work you have put in to prepare yourself academically will pay off no matter what college you end up at.

I agree with those above who say that figuring out your financial situation is very important. Unfortunately, a lot of students end up in a “donut hole” situation where their parents make “too much” to qualify for aid, but their families don’t have enough money to pay for expensive schools.

I agree with those above who say the good news is that all 3 states you have lived in (NY, MA, VA) have terrific public schools. Finding out which schools are going to qualify for in-state status is going to matter. Here are the various rules:

https://www.suny.edu/smarttrack/residency/

https://www.schev.edu/financial-aid/in-state-residency

https://www.umass.edu/bursar/undergraduate-residency

In terms of your current list, the good news is that you are an excellent student and are qualified for any of these schools. The bad news is that almost all your schools attract tens of thousands of applications from strong students like yourself from all over the nation and world. And you are “unhooked”, i.e. you are not a recruited athlete, or major donor, or child of an alum or faculty member. The admit rate for unhooked applicants to these schools is even lower than the published admit rates. So these schools must be considered an extreme reach for ALL unhooked applicants. So you need to add more non-reach schools. You need more schools on your list that are like Stony Brook (i.e. schools that are highly respected by employers and grad schools, provide rigorous academics in your desired majors, have more accessible admit rates, and are potentially affordable.)

Best wishes! Any school would be lucky to have you. We are rooting for you!

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