I think that’s probably true (above certain threshold doesn’t matter anymore), but for Harvard specifically, I think the threshold is probably a bit higher (1540 is what I’ve seen college counselors advise).
Agree with other poster who suggested ACT could be worth a shot. I’d recommend taking a practice ACT cold and see where you land.
If you prefer to stick with SAT, there are summer sittings. Not sure if NC has more limited SAT testing options though than where I am….
I’ll be taking the ACT soon because of my school. I didn’t mean that NC has limited options with the SAT, I just meant that I was busy and school only offered the ACT. I have something every Saturday until May, then I have 6 AP tests in May, then I might have Governor’s School during the summer, so I don’t know how to squeeze in the SAT during all that. But I’ll study for the ACT and look for a way to take the SAT before college apps if I can.
New England is a cool place to attend college. It has the largest concentration of elite LACs anywhere in the country, plus four Ivy League universities setting the pace for innovation and cultural influence. The advantages of smaller LACs are, of course, their smaller, more intimate communities where daily contact with scholars in their field still harken back to the golden days of Oxford and Cambridge. They are each a little different; some are rural; some are closer to towns. Some offer more in the arts; some are more sporty. But as everyone keeps saying, “they all have more in common than they have in differences.“
Ugh that is terrible, and it’s reasonable that you’ve been frustrated by the school’s making that change. And the practical reality of the bus situation is frustrating as well. And I’m sure you have a ton of work with all of your APs. So I know you’re slammed. But if a few friends would help the journey, here are a few thoughts, and maybe one or two of them might help …
You have a lot on your plate, and it sounds like you’re navigating it as well as you can. So definitely don’t see my wall of text above as more “to dos” to tackle. But as you look to connect with more people, maybe one or two of the above will land for you. Good luck! You’re doing a great job!
For others on this thread NC requires that all public high school juniors (whether they are planning on college or not) take the ACT as part of the state’s benchmarking. (This may contribute to NC’s low ranking in K-12 education.)
I think Davidson might be a really good fit for you. It is hard to beat the price on the public UNC system schools though. App State and UNC-A and UNC-W are a little smaller for the publics (UNC-A much smaller).
I think you’ve done great. With ECs, maybe you can find a part time job. You’re going to get into many schools. I’m not sure W&M is right cost wise for you.
You don’t need legacy or location for you to get in - you are an outstanding applicant on your own.
You will find partiers and non partiers everywhere, especially at large publics like UNC/UNCW. You’ll also find nice and probably not nice everywhere.
Yes, it’ll be great if you can visit some but you needn’t be nervous. The colleges on your list need you more than vice versa - in most cases. Taking an SAT/ACT could be good - if you want to. But you don’t need to. Harvard will be tough with a 1520. But it also will be with a 1550 or 35 ACT.
Honestly, you’re well ahead of the curve here short of visiting to find what you’d truly like. Your criteria can be met most anywhere. But you should experience different environments, and go when weather is bad as you’ve lived in warmer places all your life.
But getting into schools - as long as the family can afford it, you’ll have no issue.
Thank you so much for your help. I’ll be sure to keep everything in mind. I didn’t think about asking librarians or teachers this kind of thing. I can’t find out anything online, so hopefully they’ll have some answers. Again, I’m really grateful that you took the time to respond to this. Have a good day!
I did tour Davidson and really liked it. I do worry about the low acceptance rate and the cost of it though. I definitely want to apply, but I don’t want to get my hopes up or anything. I’m drawn to the idea of the honors programs at the UNC schools because of the cost. I haven’t toured most of them, so hopefully I can do that soon!
Thanks so much for your help!
Davidson is reasonable. As I noted earlier, the acceptance rate for U.S. students, while still low (18% or so), is much higher than the overall rate which includes international.
But yes if cost is an issue, get to Furman - a reasonable sub, great name and they will THROW money at you. Rhodes too.
Davidson has some full rides but ultimately cost should drive the list. And you can sometimes go OOS for as little as in state. Schools like Christopher Newport, Salisbury, UT Chattanooga, Juniata, Ursinus, St Mary’s Maryland might fit you and easily make budget.UNCA is cutting programs (like philosophy) so I’d be careful there.
I had heard about UNCA’s financial troubles, so it’s definitely not one of my top choices right now. I’ll look into the schools you mentioned. Thank you for your suggestions.
Given your diverse interests and your desire for community, I’m prompted to think of Carleton College in Minnesota, Grinnell College in Iowa, Kenyon College in Ohio, and Connecticut College. I believe that all 4 have the kind of community that you are seeking.
Grinnell has an open curriculum, so you would have broad latitude to explore and room to do a double major if you choose. Carleton and Kenyon both have distribution requirements but no fixed set of core courses. Exploration is encouraged at both. Double majors are available at both with interdisciplinary study being encouraged at Kenyon. Carleton requires “comps” (see their website) fir each major, so that is a consideration but students still do double majors there. Connecticut College utilizes an approach which it calls “Connections” involving some distribution requirements but with a great deal of flexibility and which leads to “integrative Pathways”. The goal is to bring your different interests together in a way which is uniquely your own. It is worth reading about on their website. Like the others, you can double major at Connecticut.
It would be a mischaracterization to say what is going on at UNC-A (and other UNC system schools) is a financial issue. It’s a political issue. The GOP has taken over the UNC system Board of Governors and is pushing their own agenda and that doesn’t include valuing things like philosophy. All UNC system schools including UNC Chapel Hill are subject to this political interference. A private school will cost more, but may be more free to go with their own mission rather than be forced to follow politicians whims.
I’m not sure I can agree with the need to get involved in a new club at this point. Joining a club right before one’s senior year does not usually add much of anything and can backfire because it may look wrong/give the wrong impression of trying to pad one’s résumé without really being actively interested or involved. And you have no need to pad your résumé. You’re a strong candidate. And you have lots of schools on your list that are likely to give you merit money. If as you say, your parents are able to afford to pay a significant portion of your college cost, you are in the enviable position of having options to choose that don’t require you to pick the cheapest possible school.
Not necessarily – ask Oberlin about Ohio bathroom regulations.
Just to be clear, my intent in suggesting that @chocobean get involved in a new club wasn’t to do with padding her application — I 100% agree with you, she’s a very strong candidate already, and I don’t see a semester or two of “writing for the newspaper” or “D&D club” or whatever as improving her application odds. The goal there was really just to have a more fun/robust teenage experience, to make friends, and to find her place/people in a new school.
Understood and agree, but the risk of adding something new in one’s senior year can backfire. It’s the optics. It’s explainable if the goal is to meet new people in a new place. That’s different, but may not be worth mentioning on an application as an activity
This student moved states mid-high school. If they want to join a new club for social reasons, I’d think it would be easy in the short activities section to write in the description, something along the lines of “joined the knitting club to meet more kids in my new school who have similar interests.” 1-2 hours per week.
Any school that actually dings a kid who joins a club spring of junior year is probably not somewhere someone looking for community wants to attend. Not getting any application bump? Fine. But the notion that any kid, let alone one who moved halfway through high school should not join new clubs because it looks bad to colleges, is highly problematic if any schools actually do that. I would not make my kid resist trying something fun for that reason. For what it’s worth, my kid is trying a new school activity this semester, spring of senior year, because it seemed fun. She is having a great time and getting to know a different set of kids. Any college that has a problem with that is ridiculous.
Understood, but this student has so many activities, It looks like they may run out of room before the opportunity to mention one they just joined. There may be somewhere else to bring that up about their relocation. Might be better to bring up in the personal statement.
I dunno. This seems reasonable. Is it just spin ? I know politics are in play everywhere.
I think the reason not to consider UNCA is they dropped Philosophy.
I have no reason to think the rationale is smoke.
The school maybe a great choice for those whose interests are met.
“UNC Asheville Chancellor Kimberly van Noort is proposing to eliminate several academic programs and departments from the university. According to van Noort, enrollment and tuition declines has led to a current $6 million deficit for the university. This deficit is projected to grow to $8 million next year.
The following programs have been identified for elimination:
According to van Noort, these programs and concentrations have averaged 25 graduates a year combined. Seventy-two students are currently majoring in the affected programs. UNC Asheville’s student body is about 2,900 undergraduate students.”