Does this college list look okay?

College Search & Lists
1

Class of 2020 (rising senior):
ACT 35 (E 35, M 35, R 33, S 35, Essay 9)
SAT Subjects: Math II 800, Biology 800, Chemistry 800, US History 770
GPA: 4.0
club leadership, volunteering, APs, a summer internship, but no strong hook
Intended Major: Biochemistry w/ double or minor in Economics (subject to change)

Yale
Princeton
UChicago
Brown
WashU St. Louis
Amherst
Pomona
Hopkins
Tufts
Wesleyan
Case Western Reserve
McGill (Canada)
Ohio State
Safety (that would reveal my residence location, but think very safety)

Is it too many schools? Am I aiming too high? Thanks guys!

2

Since you have LACs on your list, how about adding a LAC or two a little less selective than Pomona, Amherst, Wesleyan? That way you can have a small school option if other options don’t work out? Although your stats look great. Many of these schools also provide merit aid.

3

Thanks! I just feel like because LACs are so small, if I do get into a less selective one, it might not be the best fit for me. However, I’m open to suggestions!

4

Holy Cross

5

Not too many schools in total. Just considering Yale, Princeton, U.chicago, Brown and Amherst. These are five highly selective schools but they are very different. Aside from selectivity, what makes you a good fit for each of these schools? Give that some thought. No question you have the academic credentials for any of them

6

So a college is a fit for you by virtue of it being selective? That makes no sense.

7

If you aren’t in state for Ohio, how would you be able to afford it?

8

I don’t see how this list is good for an aspiring journalist.

Where’s Northwestern, UNC, and USC (Cal) or even Mizzou? None of these schools really fit the needs of an aspiring journalist. The ivies don’t even have a journalism major or school. This list seems really arbitrary.

9

Why tOSU? Boston U or Pitt could replace it. U Rochester is AWOL (less reachiness and solid biochem/econ). Amherst looks a bit odd, for size preference. Would you attend Amherst simply because of prestige, if it came down to it? Duke could replace it.

How are the finances? Have you run the NPCs on all of these?

10

???

11

This list looks mainly focused on prestige. You need to define more specifically what you are looking for in a school. What sort of person are you? Who are your people and what type of environment do you thrive in?

12

Guys…calm down. I did so much research in selecting these schools. My most important factor was student body fit, and you’ll see that none of the schools have fratty or superficial-type students (except OSU). Also, I really wanted a diverse campus in a relatively urban spot, as long as there was some sort of town (hence, no Williams). Additionally, I wanted good academic advising, so the schools I chose don’t have a crazy amount of students (except OSU and McGill). And, since I’m majoring in science & econ, I wanted schools that had strong departments in those. I ideally wanted good flexibility in courses so Amherst and Brown are my faves, but I was willing to forgo that because with multiple distributional requirements, I feel like I would have taken courses in those areas anyways. I also really wanted a school with a nice sense of community, which is why I didn’t put BU or Columbia or NYU down.
Now, since you all are convinced I chose these schools based on prestige, I’ll explain. Because I’m quite an academic student, an academic environment is one what would best fit me. Therefore, the schools I have chosen have academic environments and don’t primarily focus on “partying”. It just happens to be that academic environments also carry prestige, but prestige was definitely not the reason why I chose these colleges. The most “prestigious”, Harvard, isn’t even on my list.
Yale - love the environment, focus on undergrad, even though not strongest for sciences, it’s academics overall are great
Princeton - visited, felt like environment was perfect, focus on undergrad, great for science/econ, love senior thesis, Community-Based Learning Initiative
UChicago - visited, loved environment, awesome for econ, does have Core Curriculum so not my top option, but close to home
Brown - open curriculum, great environment, love Brown +1 program, focus undergrad, pretty much everything
WashU - visited, nice environment, very strong in sciences, and great flexibility in courses
Pomona - seems rlly nice environ, great academics, not greatest flex but that’s ok, just seems very conducive to learning and proximity to LA is nice, focus undergrad bc LAC
Amherst - open curriculum, great environment, not strongest in sciences but academics are strong anyways so sciences are still relatively strong, focus undergrad bc LAC
Hopkins - strong sciences, I used to live near Baltimore, flexibility courses
Tufts - focus on international stuff is cool, strong sciences
Wesleyan - focus on undergrad bc LAC, MA free program, nice environment, good sciences
Case Western - strong sciences, close to home, SAGES seems cool
McGill - love Canada & Montreal, great resources, good low match college that isn’t too fratty
OSU - state school, great resources
other safety - very close to home, cheap tuition

@CaliCash I live in Ohio, so I do get in-state tuition for OSU, which is my main reason for applying. Also, people’s plans can change - journalism is no longer my chosen career, but even if it does become it, journalism can be approached from unconventional routes, as proven from the multitude of journalists who didn’t go to the usual j-schools.

@Dunboyne I get in-state tuition for OSU so it’s my state school safety.

Colleges I’m still debating whether to apply or not:
Princeton vs. Yale - I don’t know whether it’s worth it to apply to both bc it’s so selective
Pomona - all the way in Cali, and that’s plus for me bc I’ve always wanted to experience Cali, but not a plus for my parents
Tufts - not sure whether environment fits me well, hope to visit soon
Case Western - not sure whether environment fits me well, hope to visit soon
McGill - it is in Canada, and international student probs

So, please instead comment on whether you think this list is balanced or not and whether I need more low matches, since I feel like I’m aiming too high. Also, if you have any other suggestions for colleges I should look into.

13

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Safety (that would reveal my residence location, but think very safety)


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If you’d be HAPPY to go to this school and it’s affordable, even though it’s NOT selective, then it’s a safety

However, if you’d feel pretty sad having to go to some local school, then it’s NOT a safety.

Kids with your stats can and should have more than one safety, particularly if your only safety is some local school. Do you really want to leave yourself open to possibility of only having ONE school that you must go to? Wouldn’t you rather have a choice if your top schools didn’t work out?


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Just considering Yale, Princeton, U.chicago, Brown and Amherst. These are five highly selective schools but they are very different.

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? Why did you pick that group of schools? They’re all so different from one another. It appears that you picked them simply based on prestige and rank.

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What sorts of opportunities are available to kids interested in journalism? Is the school newspaper popular? Are there abundant resources for journalism? Thanks!

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Is this an intended second major?

14

Then why not add BYU or any other religious institution if that’s really what you want. There are literally thousands of colleges in North America. Surely the top 25 in the country aren’t the only “academic ones.” You know that. These schools range from giant state school to tiny LAC from big city, to small area. Why do you actually want to get from college? There are a plethora of non party schools that focus on academics. And it’s not gonna cut it if you use that in a supplement for why you want to go to that school. Even though these schools may seem similar on paper, the environments in these colleges are all very different. Have you visited a few of these schools? It will help you narrow things down. You should also choose a safety that you would be happy at. It doesn’t seem like you would be happy at OSU.

15

Just to clarify, I made a huge spreadsheet and a point system to come up with these colleges, as well as student reviews and personal visits, so please don’t accuse me of merely choosing them for prestige.
@mom2collegekids Yes, I’d be happy attending that local school, but OSU would be another safety. I did not choose these schools based on prestige, and if you see in my post above, you’ll see that reasons why I chose each school.
@CaliCash I’d be happy at OSU. It has a bunch of resources, is close to home, has many friends, and it’s large enough to find my own niche. Also, I’d rather not attend a religious institution for personal reasons. I have my own reasons for attending each college that is much more specific, so don’t worry about that. Also, I listed some general ones in my post above. I have visited some of the schools and I’m planning on visiting more. Can you suggest other non-party schools that focus on academics?

16

What do you mean when you say “focus on academics”? All colleges “focus on academics”. Are you talking about being with likeminded students? You can find them at the colleges below. I know you don’t wanna go all the way to NY, but public NYC colleges are notoriously not party schools and are very affordable out of state.

  1. Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill.- Very good school and I think it would be a good match for you.
  2. College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo.
  3. Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, Calif.
  4. U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
  5. Grove City College, Grove City, Pa.
  6. Wesleyan College, Macon, Ga.
  7. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Conn.- free
  8. U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.- free
  9. Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich.
  10. City University of New York-Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, N.Y.- very good
  11. City University of New York-City College, New York City- very good
  12. City University of New York-Queens College, Flushing, N.Y.
  13. Mills College, Oakland, Calif.
  14. Agnes Scott College, Atlanta/Decatur, Ga.- Women's college
  15. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Needham, Mass.
  16. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.- Elite
  17. Simmons College, Boston- women's college
  18. Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.- women's college
  19. Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans
17

I am not going to jump on the bashing bandwagon because I can understand how all the schools on your list might appeal (and also that rising seniors in HS might not know exactly what they will want a year from now and might want to keep some options open). Also, I think there are plenty of people who are adaptable and could be happy at a variety of schools – what appeals about one place may be different than what appeals about another.

However, I do think you might want an option of a university a little less selective than most of the schools on your list so that if none of those work out, you have something beside tOSU and your super safety (and also McGill since I believe Canadian school admissions are pretty stats based). Of course, CWRU fills that role too but you don’t sound convinced that you like it that much. So I am going to suggest U of Rochester - strong in the sciences and good all around mid-size University that seems to have pretty serious minded students (in fact, my S16 may be applying there ED).

18

As a biochem major I am going to HIGHLY recommend you rethink your plan of attack. Not in terms of which schools you’re choosing but the subjects. You want to be a journalist. It’s all over the place. Choose a school that has a creative environment with a bustling culture where you can do what you want. DO NOT MAJOR IN BIOCHEMISTRY. It is an incredibly difficult major for people actually interested in science who don’t worry about journalism projects.

Why would you want to major in biochemistry in the first place?

19

Does anyone read or

20

I think you have a ton of schools that are reaches for anyone (Yale thru Wes on your list are reaches or high matches I’d say) and you should add a few schools that are between your high tier and safety schools. I always think it is a good idea to apply to a match school you like EA or rolling so you have an acceptance by December. But with all of the energy you are expending defending your choices, I’m not sure if you really want advice or if you just want people to tell you it is a great list. In the end, you will do what you want.