Demographics
US resident and citizen
Illinois resident
Public High School
Upper Middle Class (around 200k)
Intended Major(s)
Physics and English (study with history + creative writing if possible)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.85/4
Weighted HS GPA: school does not do weighted (doesn’t offer APs)
Class Rank: N/A (school doesn’t do)
ACT/SAT Scores: 1560 (800M/760R), ACT not taken
List your HS coursework
(all classes are honors)
English: Language and Literature 1, Lang/Lit 2, Postmodern lit (historical fiction), Short Story, Asian American Lit., Nonfic. Writing
Math: Math 3, Calc 1, Calc 2, Calc 3, Statistics
Science: Earth Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Physics (A, B, and C)
History and social studies: World History, U.S. History, Political Theory, Revolutions
Language other than English: Spanish 1 through 4
Other academic courses: Music Theory, Computer Programming
College Coursework (taken at state school and CC)
Calc 1 (taken at community college, A)
University Physics: Mechanics (state school, A), University Physics: Elec & Mag (state school)
Awards
National Merit Semifinalist
Extracurriculars (small note, I moved the Summer before my sophomore year, so most will be around 1-3 years of participation)
Independent Study on Modernist Literature (finished with presentation at school) - year long
School music club founder, almost always performing at school events - 3 years
Acting/Run Crew in school theater, wrote music for one show and wrote a script that was performed - 2 years
Co-President of Mock Trial team, first competitive team in history of school - 2 years
Summer Research Student under grad student mentor on non-Euclidean geometry and tilings, ended in presentation - 1 summer (but lot of time spent)
Co-Founder of school book club - 2 years
Lead teacher and creator of curriculum for robotics summer camp, had 40 middle-school-aged students - 1 summer (again, lot of time spent)
Volunteer special education aid at local elementary school - 1 summer (again, lot of time spent)
Math team, annual participation in competitions, some placements to name but none super significant - 3 years
Essays/LORs/Other
LORs (why aren’t these called LsOR? (bad joke, sorry lol)):
One written by English teacher I did independent study with, would say we’re very close and he saved me a spot for writing a recommendation. (estimate maybe 9/10?)
Other written by physics teacher. Not as close as English teacher, but often stayed after class to ask for/discuss extra problems or seek calculus help. (estimate around 7.5-8.5/10)
Essays:
Personal statement was about a personal discord server I have conversations with myself in. Used it to reflect on self, development, previous projects. Counselor and English teacher said the structure “shouldn’t work, but it does”. I feel quite good with it. (estimate 9/10)
Supplemental essays for each college mostly cover my trans identity and its conflicts with my parents, interests in teaching, and explanation of interests in both physics and literature (estimate average of 8/10, specifically the ‘why college’ essays for Cornell and Princeton maybe around 7/10)
From this list, UIUC will happen. U Mich could happen.
The rest, except for Purdue and UIC, are reaches.
Purdue is an odd choice given your interests. IU would be a better choice but frankly Iowa would be the best and it’s not on your list. It’s arguably a top 10 English / Creative writing school.
So are all these affordable because you have high income. And most have no merit. U Michigan is $80k plus and arguably Iowa is the better school for your interests and it costs a lot less. What is your budget ?
The NMSF / NMF could help you financially but you’d need to attend a school which rewards it.
U Tulsa is a small school like many on your list and a full ride. And they have a BA both in English and in creative writing.
I actually considered between Iowa and Purdue and ultimately chose Purdue as it seemed to have more on the physics end from my research into both. I’ll likely consider Iowa for grad if I lean towards writing after my undergrad.
I wouldn’t consider most affordable, but I am hoping they will fit my budget (semi-flexible 250k for the four years) after scholarships, which I am in the midst of applying to currently, and aid if I get any.
The most money comes from schools themselves and you have Purdue which will easily make budget.
The unknown was Brown, Chicago and the rest of your list ? Did your family run the NPCs ?
Michigan has near zero chance to hit and an Amherst, for example, is about $350k - so unless they determine you to have need it’s a wasted app vs a Macalester or Kenyon which have merit or a Kalamazoo or Beloit which would crush your budget.
So hopefully you checked the NPCs b4 you applied to your list.
But if you love Purdue and/or UIC, you’re in great shape.
I think you have a 50% chance or better at UIUC, UMich, Bowdoin, NYU, Northeastern, Purdue, and UIC. I realize these schools are difficult, but you are strong IMO.
I note there are a variety of private colleges which would be very good for both Physics and English which are also less Reachy than the privates currently on your list, and indeed which might offer you merit. Rochester, Kenyon, Franklin & Marshall, and Oberlin, for example.
I’d call this a budget of $60k/year, as college costs always increase every year, so I’d save that last $10k for increases over your last three years.
Did your family run the Net Price Calculator (NPC) at these schools to see if they are willing and able to afford the amount the colleges say they expect your family to pay? If your family earns around $200k, I am not very optimistic that you would receive any need-based aid.
As @tsbna44 mentioned, most scholarship money comes from the colleges themselves, and the vast majority of the colleges on your list don’t offer any merit money at all. Thus, I am concerned that even if you do get into the majority of the schools, that they may end up being unaffordable (whether in your first year or after your third year after your college savings have been depleted).
With respect to chancing, these are my guesses. Please not that Low Probability does NOT mean no possibility. It just means that when schools have single digit acceptance rates (or near that) that the odds for even very strong candidates are low:
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
UIC
UIUC
Likely (60-79%)
Northeastern - starting at a non-Boston campus
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Lower Probabilty (20-39%)
Purdue: I believe they fill most of their slots in EA…@momofboiler1, can you confirm?
UChicago: ED2 (perhaps even a toss-up)
UMich
Low Probability (less than 20%)
The rest of your list
If the NPC at the private schools is not coming out as affordable for your family, please let us know, as I am sure a number of posters would be willing to help brainstorm possibilities that you can still apply to that are strong in your field. But with a $250k budget, and if no merit aid is received, I think that the Illinois publics and Purdue are the only affordable options.
P.S. I’m curious to know what you like so much about Brown and U. of Chicago, as I find that’s a very unusual pairing to be someone’s top two choices. I’d love to hear your thinking on those!
Yes, Purdue fills most of its class in EA, which is also the deadline for merit and honors college consideration.
That said, for straight physics, I think this poster is strong enough to be accepted even in RD. It’s unfortunate they missed the EA deadline because they would have been a strong candidate for honors college.
But seriously. ED2’ing to Chicago after ED1’ing to Brown? There’s a slight whiff of prestige-chasing here, but I’m not here to cast judgments. Personally, I’d swap out Bowdoin for Wesleyan University for Physics unless you’re just wedded to the idea of an outdoorsy campus (Wes has more faculty.)
I’m realizing I should have come for a match me a while ago lol… However, to explain the lack of more sensible choices and less reachy schools, my parents (and a small part of myself) are not on board with paying most of our budget or possible more on a less immediately prestigious college (to the point that a fair amount of convincing had to be done to even add LACs). Besides the immediate cultural and monetary reasons, this is also because (while I prefer smaller environments) I would be happy going to UIUC and the affordability + prestige in physics would be hard for them to give up. Once again, I can’t completely blame them for this.
I apologize as I realize this is an immature way of viewing education and applications.
If you are interested in physics, why not Arizona - which many rate top 10. For physics, it’s more prestigious and less costly than much of your list. And big PhD producer.
I’m not sure I read anyone asking why Chicago brown or bowdoin vs UIUC.
I think people asked, because the family has a substantial income, did they run the NPCs to assure affordability because the budget is less than those cost ?
It’s the overall vibe on the forum and a poster should never have to apologize for wanting to apply to prestigious universities or explain why their parents have different criteria on what they’re willing to pay for.
I appreciate the response! (I’m starting to look like chatGPT with these openers… I swear I do actually appreciate your response!)
As said in my other response, I really wish I came here sooner for matching!
In response to my first choices being two admittedly very different schools with very different atmospheres (which someone else brought up too), while I do understand the icky prestige-focused suspicion (and it likely is justified to the extent detailed in my other reply, the reasons would be:
I found that I liked the ‘vibe’ of both of their students (from my visits and looking over the videos) more than others on my list. I realize this may be a strange primary choice of criterion choosing a college, but I’ve found that the community at a school makes a world of difference.
Outside factors (ranging from parents to counselors). My parents are of the ‘Well doesn’t ED raise your chances? You HAVE to ED somewhere!’ belief, and of my RDs that offer ED2, I was considering both Bowdoin and UChicago and ultimately chose the latter by their suggestion and my personal preference for the community. My counselor also suggested UChicago based on my interests and personality.
Addressing the big difference, while I would vastly prefer an open curriculum, I would enjoy a core curriculum and what it would introduce me to that I would not have taken without otherwise.
By academics, I believe UChicago has the most to offer me and I would have also pursued (significant) rigor at Brown if admitted (to address the other big difference in the schools).
Please ask me more questions on this if you would like to know more! Writing this reply was fun for reflection and I understand the doubt so I would love to answer more questions.
Yes, I think I detect the Chicago-style of donnish humor in your posts. And, for the record, nothing beats “vibe” in my book, if you have the opportunity to pick up on it.
You’re a great candidate and, believe me, I am familiar with the familial and cultural pressures you describe. I’ve posted about my friend, The Investment Banker, many times. I’m accustomed to acting as a sounding board. LOL I get the impression you are far more self-aware and at an earlier age than he.
It would seem to me that your sincere desire to engage in writing and history, along with a hard science (physics) and your math background, would not only make you a perfect candidate for Uchicago, but someone who would thrive there. At many other schools on your list as well, but it does seem to mesh with what Uchicago seems to seek.
I look forward as to how this application process works out for you as I can see some great opportunities in your future. Good luck.
