Alright yall, I’m approaching my senior year & I’ve been thinking about applying to a school with early decision; I’m just conflicted as to which school is the best choice. I’m mostly interested in LMU for the location (other than it being great academically). I’m also interested in Reed College, which is smaller & very selective, but they allow pets. Fordham U is what I’m leaning to the most; I love NYC, great school, & beautiful dorms. But I still have my heart set on living in LA/cali.
I have a 3.5 GPA with an upward progression, a 600 for reading & a 480 for math (that I am studying for & plan on retaking) & pretty extensive EC’s. Bc of my stats I’m concerned that w/out early decision I might not have a chance at any of these schools at all.
If any of yall have gone there or have any insight into these particular schools pls help me out!!!
Based on what you have posted, I don’t believe you would have a realistic chance of acceptance to Reed. With improved standardized scoring, you might have a reasonable chance at LMU or Fordham, and I recommend you concentrate your further research on these two schools, as well as on others from outside your listed group that might interest you, at least at this time.
Reed is a beautiful school, but it will be a big stretch. Looking at the CDS for LMU and Fordham, your current test scores put you in/around 25th percentile of admitted students. However, your math score (as you know), is very low for these schools. Look at the links below to see where you need to score to be a more competitive applicant. With some prep work, you can do it.
If you want a warm weather, beach-adjacent school that is pet-friendly, look at Eckerd in Florida. It’s excellent academically but not as big a reach as Reed. (And honestly you don’t sound like you’re looking for the super-intense environment of Reed anyway.) https://www.eckerd.edu/housing/pet-life/ (There are also multiple Instagram accounts devoted to the pets of Eckerd.) It’s known for its gorgeous campus and coastal recreation as well as for being one of the most pet-friendly campuses in America, and for great academics.
I’m not sure even the “ED bump” would get you into Fordham or LMU with your current stats. Eckerd is more in “match” range - your SAT is just barely above their 25th percentile but your GPA is above median and the overall acceptance rate is 73% so your chances would be pretty good. They have EA, not ED. Even if you do attempt ED admissions to a reach school (which both Fordham and LMU are), consider submitting EA apps to Eckerd and/or other schools in this competitiveness range.
Reed is not like the other schools on the OP’s list. True, the OP’s stats make Reed doubtful (to be honest, Fordham is pretty selective, too). Reed is a great school, but it is very…um…unique. I consider myself very progressive, yet I would probably get labeled as conservative at Reed. Again, great school (great school!), but Reed is like Hampshire, Goucher, Evergreen State, and Oberlin. Very, very progressive.
That said, though Reed is a very selective school, its admissions system can be idiosyncratic. There are students on these boards who get into Ivies but rejected by Reed. And there are students who get into Reed but are rejected by the state flagship. Still, Reed students are very high-achieving academically, but it’s possible if one has outstanding and interesting ECs/life experiences to get Reed to look past GPA and test scores. Just don’t count on it.
Make sure you have safeties and matches, OP. Even LMU is not a given. Someone mentioned Eckerd, which is a good choice. It’s one of the Colleges that Change Lives schools. Checking out that book or website (there’s also a Wikipedia entry that lists the forty CTCL schools) might be a good place to start. Most of the schools there are very strong (transparency alert: I am a graduate of a CTCL school), and most are open to B/B+ students or students with above average/lopsided test scores (such as the OP’s 600/480 split).
Honestly I would focus on trying to get your SAT scores up before thinking about where to ED. Right now your SAT is below the 25th percentile for the schools you are considering. If the standardized test scores don’t improve you should look at some test optional schools. https://www.fairtest.org/university/optional/state
Fordham average SAT 1310 (25th percentile)-1450 (75th percentile) - per class profile on website
LMU average SAT 1250-1400 - per class profile on website
Reed average SAT 1310 - 1520 - per common data set
In general I would only apply to a school ED if both are true:
You have an absolute top choice AND
The school appears affordable (run net price calculator) and you have no need to compare financial offers between colleges.